Design and Paper, No. 13 and No. 19, 1943 [Ladislav Sutnar]

Design and Paper: Controlled Visual Flow, No. 13 and Shape, Line and Color, No. 19 by Ladislav Sutnar, n.d. [1943–45]. Marquardt & Company Fine Papers, New York. 4.75 x 7.75, pp. 16, stapled with vellum endsheets and English text. Designed by Ladislav Sutnar.

Sutnar's articulate principles on information design and visual communication are still coherent and relevant more than 77 years later — superb!

Controlled Visual Flow, Number 13: Good design implies control of visual flow. Such control may be accomplished by simplification and coordination of design factors for the most efficient and continuous transmission of information. With seven illustrated and descriptive information design principles/techniques: the importance of upper right corner, starts and stops, importance of empty space, visual dominance, visual interest, coordination of parts, and integration.

Shape, Line and Color, Number 19: Considered individually, shape, line, and color, like anything simple and of everyday familiarity, do not immediately suggest the wide range of their potentials. Yet in the hands of a skillful designer—constructing in materials or designing on paper—these design elements have functions of unsuspected variety. With seven illustrated and descriptive information design principles/ techniques: shape for coordination, shape for identification, line for delimitation, line for indication, color for articulation, color for stimulation and shape, line and color—just for fun.

Pristine, uncirculated originals.