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Leonetto Cappiello (1875–1942) was an italian designer renowned for his innovation in poster art design during the early 20th century. Cappiello worked in a way which opposed the usual painterly quality of early advertising poster design and that of his predecessors, such as Jules Cheret. Cappiello used simple, bold characters contrasted with a dark background. From this only, the audience could relate the advertisement to a particular product, without directly identifying the figure as a particular class, gender or celebrity. This skill in graphic design lead to his audience subconsciously associating an image with a product.
With no formal art education, Cappiello began with sketches and caricatures, later leading to finished designs which captured that same individuality and liveliness. A successful example of this is Cappiello’s 1921 advertisement for Cafe Martin. The designer crossed boudaries. A clear Art Nouveau influence can be seen throughout the work, along with more modernist, Art Deco inspirations.
Bibliography: Cappiello: the posters of Leonetto Cappiello, Jack Rennert 2004
http://www.cappiello.fr/anglais/biography.htm
Dani Fitzwalter
De Praeparatione evangelica
1470 was the date that ‘Eusebius' De Praeparatione evangelica’ was first printed, and with it came the establishment of the first true Roman typeface. The typography, which would later become known as ‘Venetian oldstyle’, was designed by the French engraver Nicolas Jenson. Jenson’s pioneering typeface was influenced by the humanistic hand developed in manuscripts by Italian intellectuals such as Poggio Bracciolini. ‘De Praeparatione evangelica’ saw the liberation of European printing, with Venice pushing printing away from the Gothic typefaces of the past. Jenson’s influence on the world of type continued long after his death in 1480, with William Morris, Doves Press, and Bruce Rogers all looking to emulate a type that was ‘so intelligently and carefully elaborated that the letters are neither smaller, larger nor thicker than reason or pleasure demand.’
Image: Eusebius' De Praeparatione evangelica, Nicolas Jenson, 1470.
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Library/exhibits/BooksPrinters/making.html#euseb
http://www.typofonderie.com/gazette/articles/typehistory
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/data/indiv/rare/type-exhibit/2rvi/eusebius.htm
http://www.linotype.com/731/nicolausjenson.html
Christopher Lacy
Leonetto Cappiello (1875–1942) was an italian designer renowned for his innovation in poster art design during the early 20th century. Cappiello worked in a way which opposed the usual painterly quality of early advertising poster design and that of his predecessors, such as Jules Cheret. Cappiello used simple, bold characters contrasted with a dark background. From this only, the audience could relate the advertisement to a particular product, without directly identifying the figure as a particular class, gender or celebrity. This skill in graphic design lead to his audience subconsciously associating an image with a product.
