Joseph
Binder (1898-1972) was an Austrian-born designer whose influence permeated
Europe and the United States. He applied reductive compositional principles
derived from Cubism and De Stijl to his posters, including the one he designed
for the New York World’s Fair in 1939. He emigrated to the USA in 1934 and won
many poster competitions, organized by the Museum of Modern Art, for such
agencies as the National Defense, the United Nations and the American Red
Cross. He also designed covers for Fortune
and Graphis magazine.
In 1948 Binder became art director for the U.S. Navy Department, and in the
1960's he returned to his primary passion of painting.
Joseph Binder was born in late-19th century Vienna. He trained as a
lithographer and in 1922 entered the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts. As a
student, his work won many awards, including his poster designs for the
American Red Cross, for whom he was to work during his years in the United
States. In 1924 he founded his own studio, Vienna Graphics, and acquired a
reputation as an advertising artist and poster designer.
In 1927 he acted as one of the founding fathers of the
national Austrian designers association, Design Austria, who continue to
remember him through an international design competition, the Joseph Binder
Award.
Between 1933 and 1935 he visited the United States as a
guest lecturer at the Chicago Art Institute and the Minneapolis School of Art.
His international status grew as he began to be represented in poster
exhibitions in New York and Tokyo, and his designs were given first prizes in
competitions organized by the Art Directors Club New York and the Museum of
Modern Art. In 1936 Joseph Binder settled in New York for good and in 1944
became an American citizen.
In his
design he focused on the reduction of geometric forms, on color contrasts and
the psychological impact of colors. His clients included American Railroads,
American Airlines, A&P Iced Coffee, Fortune
and Graphis. In 1948
the U.S. Navy made him their art director and designer.
In the 1960’s Binder turned away from commercial graphic
work and renewed his explorations in graphic works of art in the abstract
style. His non-objective art was shown in international exhibitions such as in
the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Museum of Applied Art (MAK) in
Vienna.
Important designs:
1924 Musik- und
Theaterfest, Vienna
1926 Rax-Bahn
1931 Arbeiter-Sport-Klub Österreichs
for the 2nd Worker's Olympiad
1935 Nivea Creme,
1936 Opernball
1939 World
Fair,
1948 Pax, United Nations
1952 Answer
the call, American Red Cross
1955 Join the
new era, US Navy
Stamp catalogue
Austria
last revised: