Bradbury Thompson
Encyclopedia
Bradbury Thompson was an influential American graphic designer and art director of the twentieth century.
Thompson was born in Topeka, Kansas
. He attended Washburn College and graduated in 1934. A facility called the Bradbury Thompson Alumni Center now stands at Washburn University
. In 1937, Thompson designed the college's mascot, "The Ichabod"
.
Thompson was art director of Mademoiselle
magazine for fifteen years beginning in 1945.
A signature design from Thompson was his Washburn College Bible. This book was one of the first to use the Sabon
typeface designed by Jan Tschichold
and released in 1967.
Thompson served on the faculty of Yale University. Thompson received the AIGA
Gold Medal in 1975. He received the Type Director's Club Medal in 1986.
He died on November 1, 1995.
) with lowercase a, e, m and n mixed with uppercase B, D, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, P, Q, R, T, U and Y. (The forms of C/c, O/o, S/s, V/v, W/w, X/x and Z/z are essentially the same in uppercase and lowercase to begin with). This simplification was intended to make the letters of the alphabet more logical and intuitive, and hence render the alphabet easier to learn and use especially for children. Thompson first published the alphabet in a Westvaco Inspirations for Printers.
The set of letters for Alphabet 26 thus appears:
Example:
Bradbury Thompson designed alphabet 26
Life and work
Communication Arts said of Bradbury "When it came to the blending of photography, typography and color, nobody did it better than Bradbury Thompson... In his own quiet way, he expanded the boundaries of the printed page and influenced the design of a generation of art directors."Thompson was born in Topeka, Kansas
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
. He attended Washburn College and graduated in 1934. A facility called the Bradbury Thompson Alumni Center now stands at Washburn University
Washburn University
Washburn University is a co-educational, public institution of higher learning in Topeka, Kansas, USA. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,400 undergraduate students and...
. In 1937, Thompson designed the college's mascot, "The Ichabod"
Ichabod Washburn
Ichabod Washburn was a church deacon and industrialist from Worcester County, Massachusetts, USA. His financial endowments led to the naming of Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas and the foundation of Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts.Washburn became an apprentice in...
.
Thompson was art director of Mademoiselle
Mademoiselle (magazine)
Mademoiselle was an influential women's magazine first published in 1935 by Street and Smith and later acquired by Condé Nast Publications....
magazine for fifteen years beginning in 1945.
A signature design from Thompson was his Washburn College Bible. This book was one of the first to use the Sabon
Sabon
Sabon is the name of an old style serif typeface designed by the German-born typographer and designer Jan Tschichold in the period 1964–1967...
typeface designed by Jan Tschichold
Jan Tschichold
Jan Tschichold was a typographer, book designer, teacher and writer.-Life:Tschichold was the son of a provincial signwriter, and he was trained in calligraphy...
and released in 1967.
Thompson served on the faculty of Yale University. Thompson received the AIGA
Aiga
‘Aiga is a word in the Samoan language which means 'family.' The aiga is the family unit of Samoan society and differs from the Western sense in that it consists more than just a mother, father and children. The Samoan family, also referred to as an 'extended family' is based on the culture's...
Gold Medal in 1975. He received the Type Director's Club Medal in 1986.
He died on November 1, 1995.
Alphabet 26
Thompson developed a font called Alphabet 26 or a "monoalphabet" - an alphabet where the uppercase and lowercase forms of each letter were identical, and case was expressed through the letter size only. (In the conventional Latin alphabet, this is already the case for letters like "o" and "O" or "u" and "U", but not for "a"/"A", "r/R", etc.) His monoalphabet was a transitional serif (modelled after BaskervilleBaskerville
Baskerville is a transitional serif typeface designed in 1757 by John Baskerville in Birmingham, England. Baskerville is classified as a transitional typeface, positioned between the old style typefaces of William Caslon, and the modern styles of Giambattista Bodoni and Firmin Didot.The...
) with lowercase a, e, m and n mixed with uppercase B, D, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, P, Q, R, T, U and Y. (The forms of C/c, O/o, S/s, V/v, W/w, X/x and Z/z are essentially the same in uppercase and lowercase to begin with). This simplification was intended to make the letters of the alphabet more logical and intuitive, and hence render the alphabet easier to learn and use especially for children. Thompson first published the alphabet in a Westvaco Inspirations for Printers.
The set of letters for Alphabet 26 thus appears:
Example:
Bradbury Thompson designed alphabet 26
Books by Bradbury Thompson
- The Art of Graphic Design, Yale University Press, 1980. (ISBN 978-0300043013)