twen (selected pages) issue 4 / 1961

New York large postcards / 1960

I bought these wide cards in 1960 and I was fascinated by the night shots of skyscrapers with their lights blazing.  I also only searched out cards that didn't have any type or graphics on the front, not too easy as most had some sort of statement ruining the visual appeal of the photo.
    The city at night has always attracted photographers and every year or so there appears a new book on the subject, either for the tourist trade or the art market.  Times Square, in particular, is a favorite, with a sort of permanent daylight, especially now with the huge screens providing perfect moving images. 
     The Rockefeller Center is a Lego model in their architectural series which nicely doesn’t look like Lego because no studs are visible.  John Jakle wrote a book about night-time postcards of American cities: http://www.amazon.com/Postcards-Night-Views-American-Cities/dp/0890134561/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361536140&sr=1-7&keywords=john+jakle

Understanding taxes / IRS / 1978

I have always thought and I bet it’s a minority view among designer folk, that the most challenging and stimulating design jobs are those that use a minimum of creative resources: an airline timetable; financial pages of an Annual Report; Post Office Customs Declaration label or the example below from the IRS in 1977.  Though it has four color it is essentially a black and white (12.75 by 10.75 inches) forty page booklet full of copy and sample tax forms. 

     It could look deadly dull but it isn’t because someone has put a lot of creative thought into the presentation.  The thick and thin rules across the top of each page, the large chapter numbers, four column pages which vary in depth and ragged right copy predictably set in Helvetica, the universal typeface.  Just to prove it's not all taxing the back page has a crossword based on the copy though I've never found out where the answers are.  

     What gives all the pages a lift are the illustrations which blend in perfectly with the relevant copy.  I particularly like the cover with its interesting graphic and typography.  It was made into a poster and hangs in the IRS headquarters.  Oddly there no design or illustration credits.