Lou Dorfsman - CBS Imagemaker

October 26, 2008 10:28 AM

Long-time CBS in-house designer Lou Dorfsman passed away this week. He did a lot of great work, but let's just focus on one part: His cafeteria wall at CBS, dubbed Gastrotypographicalassemblage. More about the wall. And an interview with Mr. Dorfsman about the wall.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner (14 comments total)

And used copies of the out-of-print 1988 book Dorfsman and CBS (mentioned in today's NYT obit) start at $99 on Amazon. "A review in The Times said, 'Leafing through this abundantly illustrated book, one is struck by the fact that television nurtured one of print’s most innovative graphic designers.'"
posted by pmurray63 at 11:17 AM on October 26, 2008

Dorfsman is why I'm obsessed with Bodoni.

. Thanks, Lou!
posted by Mcable at 11:23 AM on October 26, 2008

I think these are photos of some pages from the book mentioned above.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 11:31 AM on October 26, 2008

The second and fifth photos in the Gastrotypographicalassemblage link both feature the phrase "Tom and Jerry", who I recognize as a cartoon show about a cat and a mouse, but not a food. Google seems to agree, given the content of the first page of links, even if I add "food" to the search. It is kind of a stretch that it would fit because Tom wants to eat Jerry...
posted by idiopath at 11:37 AM on October 26, 2008

Tom and Jerry is a drink.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 11:42 AM on October 26, 2008

as an art/design major in the 70's i loved this type of thing. now it looks dusty and dated, like an avacado coloured shag rug.....
posted by billybobtoo at 12:26 PM on October 26, 2008

Had heard of this guy but only vaguely. It's nice to know about him now and especially to see his fontastic mural.

used copies of the out-of-print 1988 book Dorfsman and CBS (mentioned in today's NYT obit) start at $99 on Amazon

There's one on AbeBooks for $85. Looks like a good investment since the copies go up to US$ 791.13 for an ordinary used copy.

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posted by nickyskye at 1:17 PM on October 26, 2008

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posted by Smart Dalek at 1:24 PM on October 26, 2008

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posted by hal9k at 1:31 PM on October 26, 2008

I'm fortunate to own the Dorfsman and CBS book, and — price be damned — it's highly recommended for anyone in the business or with an interest in the field. Dorfsman was one of the great masters of American graphic design, and his influence is everywhere.
posted by Haruspex at 2:09 PM on October 26, 2008

Dorfsman, Paul Rand and Saul Bass collectively defined corporate graphics and identity and set the standards for the rest. It's hard to exaggerate how ubiquitous their work was or the extent of their influence. It's possible that any American who owned a TV, watched movies, worked in an office or shopped in a grocery store was exposed to the work of at least two of these men every single day for over twenty years.

What made Dorfsman's prominence remarkable, even in comparison to Rand and Bass, was that instead of working on contract for numerous large corporations, he spent almost his whole career at one company. Even his interior decoration -- more usually the thing a graphic designer does on the side to stretch his legs -- was in the service of one company.
posted by ardgedee at 5:24 PM on October 26, 2008 [2 favorites]

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posted by Thorzdad at 8:11 PM on October 26, 2008

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Of course, you note that CBS took down and threw away his great wall. That must have really hurt....
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 11:01 PM on October 26, 2008

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posted by notclosed at 9:21 AM on October 27, 2008