Lou Dorfsman
Lou Dorfsman | |
|---|---|
 Dorfsman circa 1983 | |
| Born | April 24, 1918 |
| Died | October 22, 2008(aged 90) Roslyn,New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Cooper Union |
| Occupation | Graphic designer |
| Employer | CBS |
Louis Dorfsman(April 24, 1918 – October 22, 2008) was an Americangraphic designerwho oversaw almost every aspect of the advertising and corporate identity for theColumbia Broadcasting System(CBS) in his 40 years with the network.
Biography
[edit]Early life and education
[edit]Dorfsman was born in 1918 on theLower East SideofManhattan,and moved as a child tothe Bronx.His parents were Jewish immigrants from Poland. Dorfsman attendedTheodore Roosevelt High School,graduating in 1935. Dorfsman had wanted to attendNew York Universityand studybacteriologythere, but was unable to afford the tuition. He chose to attendCooper Union,where he received a four-year scholarship[1]and graduated in 1939. Dorfsman served on Cooper Union's board of directors for many years.[2]
Early career
[edit]After graduation, his design jobs included making displays for the1939 New York World's Fair.
World War II
[edit]Dorfsman served in theUnited States ArmyduringWorld War II,using his design skills.[2]
With CBS
[edit]Dorfsman was hired in 1946 as art director for theCBS Radio Network.Dorfsman's designs were described byThe New York Timesas featuring "clear typography, simple slogans and smart illustration". He commissioned work from portraitistFeliks Topolskiand painterBen Shahn.AfterWilliam Goldendied in 1959, Dorfsman was named creative director of CBS Television. By 1964, he was selected as the director of design for all of CBS and was later promoted to senior vice president and creative director for marketing communications and design in 1968. In this role he maintained creative control over the network's use of the CBS Eye logo to its proprietary CBSDidot typeface.The Timescredited the "cleverness and subtle beauty of his advertisements" with drawing viewers to the network's news and entertainment programs.[2]
The print advertising Dorfsman created for CBS created a sense of urgency for the network's news and public affairs programming. A full-page newspaper ad for the seriesOf Black Americashowed ablackman in black and white, with half his face painted with the stars and stripes of the United States flag. A newspaper ad forThe Warren Report:A CBS News Inquiry in Four Partsshowed a hand holding theJohn F. Kennedy assassination's "magic bullet"with a headline stating that" This is the bullet that hit bothPresident KennedyandGovernor Connally.Or did it? "Advertising of CBS News coverage of the1972 presidential electiondescribedCBS NewsanchormanWalter Cronkiteas having been "Re-elected the Most Trusted Man in America".[2]
Dorfsman oversaw design of annual reports for CBS and created promotional commemorative volumes, including a 1969 limited-edition book with a cover em Boss ed to resemble the lunar surface, after thefirst crewed Moon landing.He designed sets for Walter Cronkite'sCBS Evening Newsand for theCBS Morning News.[2]
InEero Saarinen'sCBS Buildingon52nd StreetandSixth Avenue,Dorfsman was responsible for all of the building's graphics, designating the type, design and spacing for wall clocks, elevator buttons, and elevator inspection stickers.[2]He designed a 35-foot-wide (11 m),8+1⁄2-foot-tall (2.6 m) design calledGastrotypographicalassemblagefor the building's cafeteria that listed all of the foods offered to patrons in hand-milledwood type.Dorfsman considered this work to be "his magnum opus, his gift to the world".[3]The work has now been installed in a building on theHyde Park campusofthe Culinary Institute of AmericainHyde Park, New York.
Dorfman retired from CBS in November 1987 to establish his own studio. The responsibilities for advertising, which had previously been handled in-house under Dorfsman's supervision, were transferred to Backer, Spielvogel, Bates.[4]
Dorfsman died at age 90 on October 22, 2008, inRoslyn, New Yorkof congestive heart failure.[2]
Honors and recognition
[edit]In 1978, Dorfsman was recognized as a medalist by theAIGA,"awarded to individuals in recognition of their exceptional achievements, services or other contributions to the field of design and visual communication".[5]He was awarded the TDC Medal by theType Directors Clubin 1995.
The 1988 bookDorfsman & CBSby Dick Hess and Marion Muller covered his more than 40 years with the network.[6]
References
[edit]- ^"The Center for Design Study".thecenterfordesignstudy.Archived fromthe originalon 2008-08-20.
- ^abcdefgHeller, Steven."Lou Dorfsman, Design Chief at CBS, Dies at 90",The New York Times,October 25, 2008. Accessed October 26, 2008.
- ^Anwyl, Richard."Rebuilding a Legacy: The Gastrotypographicalassemblage",AIGA,March 5, 2008. Accessed October 26, 2008.
- ^Dougherty, Philip H."Advertising; Louis Dorfsman Retires From CBS Design Post",The New York Times,November 5, 1987. Accessed October 26, 2008.
- ^Medalists,AIGA.Accessed October 26, 2008.
- ^Brown, Patricia Leigh."IN SHORT: NONFICTION; HIS DAYS AT BLACK ROCK",The New York Times,March 13, 1988. Accessed October 27, 2008.
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