23/09/09 – Old toy model of the Tatra T600 Tatraplan automobile designed in 1946-7 in Czechoslovakia by Josef Chalupa, Vladimír Popelář and Hans Ledwinka. The Tatraplan had a monocoque streamlined six-seater saloon body with a drag coefficient (Cd) of just 0.32. It was powered by an air-cooled flat-4 cylinder 1,952 cc rear-mounted engine. Only 6,342 were produced. Toy dimensions: 10″x 3.75″ x 3.5″. (more…)
17/07/09 – Selections from Design and Paper (13): Controlled Visual Flow by Ladislav Sutnar, New York (1943). (more…)
16/07/09 – Selections from Design and Paper (19): Shape, line and color by Ladislav Sutnar, New York (1945). (more…)
28/06/09 – Monograph for Czech artist and designer, Karel Teige (1900-1951): Karel Teige a typographie: Asymetricka harmonie (2009) by Karel Srp, Polana Bregantova and Lenka Bydzovska. Text in Czech. (more…)
29/01/09 – PIE books, Japan: Cesky Filumenisticky Design (2005) and Japanese Matchbox Label Collection 1920s-40s (2004). Text in Japanese. Maraid’s matchbox labels on flickr//
08/02/08 – Josef Lada (1887-1957) calendar illustrations featuring traditional Czech occupations, pastimes and holiday scenes. (more…)
10/10/07 – “While Richard Saul Wurman is credited with the term ‘information architect,’ Sutnar was one of the Modern pioneers. Sutnar contributed a no-nonsense structure to how graphical information could be presented…” -Steven Heller
Czech designer, Ladislav Sutnar (1897-1976), is considered a pioneer of communication design and information architecture. His vast and varied output ranges from graphic works including all manner of book covers, pamphlets, and corporate letterhead to orientation systems in large department stores; from tea sets to oil paintings; from children’s toys and books to visual flow diagrams based on research into optics and psychology.
He worked as an academic and graphic designer in Czechoslovakia until 1938 when he traveled to the United States to work on the Czecho-Slovak Pavilion for the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City. While working there, war broke out in Europe effectively leaving him stranded in the United States. (more…)