My biggest takeaways from Chapter 16 & 17 was definitely learning about the foundations and the origins of some of the most popular typefaces that we see today. Times New Roman, Futura, Kabel, Gills Sans, etc. are such staples in the typography world that carry such a significance, value and history behind them. It was awesome to learn how each of them came about and read about the different influences into why they look the way they do today.

One thing that I love about art and design is when it breaks current trends and stigmas that had been in place during that time. In the 1930s, the US advertisements had tons of copy-writing and leaned very heavy in informing the viewer through text. This is seen in the poster/advertisement below for cigarettes:

Breaking away from something that informed and provided context of the poster was hard during this time— yet A.M. Cassandre, a French artist and designer did just that. His usage of illustration and minimal text broke design trends and norms during this time and he developed a different form of advertisement that was truly intriguing to learn about. Cassandre provided the U.S. (CCA) advertisements that would spark a new wave and revolutionize the way of marketing in the eyes of viewer.

His painting and artwork is incredible to look at, truly eye-catching and aesthetically pleasing to look at. Here is an advertisement of similar context to the one above, an ad for cigarettes:

Journal 7: Chapter 16-17