Though Salvador Dali is mostly known for his work as a fine artist, he had a major impact on the world of design and the whole art community as well.

Dali along with being the last member to join the Surrealism movement was also the first to be excommunicated. In 1929 he created the piece The Lugubrious Game where it depicts a man shitting himself. This piece soured his relation to the head of the movement and would lead to his eventual removal.

Dali moved to the USA during world war two where he was finally kicked out of the movement due to his failure to condemn Hitler which seemingly lined up with his occasionally fascist beliefs. Though this lead to Dali’s experimentation with other mediums.

One of Dali’s most influential works in the design world was his illustrations done for an edition of Don Quixote in 1946 where he went directly against the common theme of the book at the time. Instead of using the illustrations as a tool to enforce a feeling of sympathy with the reader, he invoked pity.

Later on, dali seemingly faded into obscurity, becoming a famous recluse as oppose to his previously extroverted persona. Dali met with Sigmund Freud and later moved back to Spain in 1948 where he focused on becoming what he called a “classic” such as Raphael. It was from here that his mental state began to decline as his persona shifted from eccentric to mentally unstable. His life itself became surrealist, as one can only theorize that his imagery and dreams that he cared so much about began to take over his life.

In 1980 Dali developed a tremor which caused him to stop creating art, and later in 1982, his wife, Gala died and he all lost hope in his life.

Dali’s work has left a significant impact on the design and art world, from the idea of creating without thought, to Warhol himself admitting Dali’s impact on his work. Dali may be dead, but his impact will live on forever.

Songs From This Earth on Turtle's Back

When you think of TV design firms from the 50s and 60s, you probably think of some smug execs making racist comments at the TV as they discuss how to exploit people, but during this time, at CBS, there was a man named Georg Olden who defied the norm.

Georg Olden was an African American designer who shook the world in 1945 when he became head of on-air promotions at CBS, joining right when public broadcasting was on the rise. His countless contributions paved the way for other African American designers in the field. He earned over 25 awards and even designed the Clio statuette in 1962, proving his talent to the world.

His work included title cards for many famous shows such as I Love Lucy and Lassie. Though not only did he work on promos but also iconic imagery such as the vote tallying board for the first publicly broadcasted election. Olden’s contributions helped usher in the golden age of TV and changed the design world as we know it.

He started simple, making posters to promote rationing and better resource management for the government during the second world war, but when the war ended, he was recommended to the CBS Vice President due to his expertise. He then joined CBS and stayed until 1960 when he left to join BBDO which was one of the biggest design firms of the time.

Even after leaving CBS, his imagery became iconic, bringing a modern simplistic style to a budding industry. His use of minimal design while still conveying the feel of the show became synonymous with his name. As he worked more and more, his style became more and more influential. Laying the foundations for the sleek and simple style of title cards that still exist even to this day.

Even though Olden stopped working for television, his contributions to the design world will persist for decades to come. His work established one of the first on-screen styles and paved the way for future African Americans going into the industry.