Professional Context: Art Direction Icons; Alexey Brodovitch

Perhaps one of the greatest art directors of our time is the legendary Alexey Brodovitch. I first heard of Brodovitch whilst reading Grace: A Memoir by Grace Coddington, Coddington described his work as ‘spare, airy and innovative’ and even described his as legendary.(1)

As I like a clean, neat layout with a ‘less is more’ feel I looked in to Alexey Brodovitch’s work, curious to see what his work was like. I discovered that Brodovitch was a key player in magazine art direction and that he pioneered the style, which is used by many magazines today.

Brodovitch joined fashion magazine Harpers Bazaar in 1934(2) where he worked as the Art Director for twenty-five years, which seems like a record time for an art director to stay at one magazine. During his time he laid the foundations for modern magazine design. (3)

Harpers Bazaar editor at the time Carmel Snow called it a revelation, describing "pages that bled beautifully, cropped photographs, typography and design that were bold and arresting." (4)

To those who worked with him at Bazaar, the pinnacle of Brodovitch's career as a designer was the unfailing elegance of his pages. This elegance, combined with an element of innovation was the ideal mix for a fashion magazine. The quality that guaranteed his success was his devotion to the new, unending surprise and vitality. (5)

References

(1)Coddington, Grace. (2012) Grace: A Memoir. London. Chatto Windus.

(2/4)Gallagher, Jenna Gabriel. (2007) Alexey Brodovitch 1934-1958. [online] Harpers Bazaar. Available at http://www.harpersbazaar.com/magazine/140-years/bazaar-140-0607

(Accessed 20/1/13)

(3)Moser, Horst. (2003) The Art Directors' Handbook of Professional Magazine Design. High Holborn. Thames and Hudson.

(5)Grundberg, Andy: p61-62