Jacqueline Casey
| Jacqueline Casey | |
|---|---|
| Born |
April 1927 Quincy, Massachusetts |
| Died | May 1992 |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Massachusetts College of Art |
| Known for | Fashion Illustrator, Interior Design, Graphic Design |
Jacqueline Casey (20 April 1927 – 18 May 1992)[1] was a graphic designer best known for the posters she created for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Background
Casey was born in 1927 in Quincy, Massachusetts. She studied for a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in fashion design and illustration at the Massachusetts College of Art (MassArt), graduating in 1949. After graduating, she had a number of jobs, including work in interior design and advertising.[1]
MIT
In 1955, she was recruited by fellow MassArt alumna Muriel Cooper to work at the Office of Publications at MIT. In 1972, Casey became Director, taking over this position as her colleague joined the MIT faculty. The two women were among the few working at this professional level at MIT of the time.[2]
During her tenure as Director, Casey became known for designing distinctive publicity posters for MIT events, working alongside Ralph Coburn and Dietmar Winkler. Casey's designs were influenced by the International Typographic Style recently developed in Switzerland, particularly designers such as Karl Gerstner, Armin Hofmann and Josef Müller-Brockmann.[2]
Casey's posters generally consisted of a striking image or bold typography, accompanied by informational details in small text. She often used typographic wordplay and visual puns in her work. Speaking of her designs in 1988, she said: "My job is to stop anyone I can with an arresting or puzzling image, and entice the viewer to read the message in small type and above all to attend the exhibition."[2]
As well as being used for promotion of on-campus events and in MIT publications, Casey's work was exhibited at MIT, the Chelsea School of Art in London and the London College of Printing.[3]
Casey retired from her role as Director in 1989, but continued to work as a visiting scholar at the MIT Media Laboratory.[1]
Legacy
Casey's work is held in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Cooper-Hewitt Museum.[1]
The MIT Museum mounted an exhibition of Casey's graphic work in 1992, and again in 2012.[4] In addition to the MIT holdings, the Rochester Institute of Technology has a collection of 99 posters, donated posthumously at the designer's request.[5]
Awards and honors
Jacqueline Casey has received numerous awards and honors for her work, including the following:[6]
- William J. Gunn Award, Creative Club of Boston. 1988.
- Honorary doctorate of fine arts, Massachusetts College of Art. 1990.
- Appointed by the late President Bartlett A. Giamatti of Yale University to the Visiting Committee of the Yale School of Graphic Design.
- Member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale and of the American Institute of Graphic Arts.
References
- 1 2 3 4 Sherin, Aaris (2011). "Casey, Jacqueline". In Joan M. Marter. The Grove Encyclopedia of American Art. Oxford University Press. p. 413. ISBN 978-0-19-533579-8.
- 1 2 3 "Woman at the edge of technology". Eye Magazine. 2008.
- ↑ Livingston, Alan (2003). "Jacqueline Casey". The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Graphic Design and Designers. Thames and Hudson. p. 45.
- ↑ MIT Museum. "The Poster Art of Jacqueline Casey". MIT Museum. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2014-02-28.
- ↑ RIT Libraries. "Jacqueline Casey 1927 – 1991". Graphic Design Archive Online. Rochester Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2014-02-28.
- ↑ "Designer Jacqueline Casey Dies at 65". newsoffice.mit.edu. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
- Posters: Jacqueline S. Casey, Thirty Years of Design at MIT. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Museum, 1992.