IBM Poster Program: Visual Memoranda

In the late 1960s, IBM President Thomas J. Watson Jnr. hired world-renowned design consultants Eliot Noyes and Paul Rand to elevate the company's image. Rand also brought together a team of internal staff designers, including Ken White, John Anderson, and Tom Bluhm, who initiated a poster program to elevate internal communications and initiatives. These posters were displayed in hallways, conferences rooms, and cafeterias throughout IBM campuses and won Type Directors Club awards. The work of the IBM staff designers has often gone unnoticed, but their poster designs represent some of the most creative examples of mid-century corporate graphic design and embody the full extent to which Thomas J. Watson Jr.'s mantra, "Good Design is Good Business," permeated every facet of the IBM organization.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 136 pages
Publication date: 12 March 2021
Publisher: Lund Humphries Publishers Ltd

In the late 1960s, IBM was a global powerhouse, employing over 250,000 people across 100 countries and producing some of the most advanced products on the planet. IBM President Thomas J. Watson Jnr. aimed to elevate the company's image by hiring renowned design consultants, including Eliot Noyes and Paul Rand. Rand not only created the iconic IBM logo and a comprehensive corporate design guide but also assembled a talented team of internal staff designers. Among them was Ken White, who, along with John Anderson and Tom Bluhm, led the design team at the IBM Design Center in Boulder, Colorado. Together, they initiated a poster program as a platform to enhance internal communications and initiatives within the company. These posters were showcased in hallways, conference rooms, and cafeterias across IBM campuses, covering a wide range of topics such as promoting equal opportunity policies, emphasizing best security practices, and celebrating family fun days. Designers employed various techniques, including figurative typography, dry humor, visual puns, and photography, to craft memorable and compelling messages. Many of these posters received recognition from the Type Directors Club and were even re-appropriated from walls by enthusiastic IBM employees. While Paul Rand's creative genius has been widely celebrated, the work of the IBM staff designers who executed his vision outlined in the IBM Design Guide has often gone unnoticed. The poster designs featured in this book represent some of the most creative examples of mid-century corporate graphic design, offering a unique insight into corporate employee communications during that era. They also exemplify the extent to which Thomas J. Watson Jr.'s mantra, "Good design is good business," was embraced by IBM.

Weight: 666g
Dimension: 204 x 257 x 15 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781848224704