Vision 65: World Congress on New Challenges to Human Communication [Will Burtin]

Vision 65: World Congress on New Challenges to Human Communication, 1965. Program Chairman, Will Burtin. International Center for the Typographic Arts, Inc. (ICTA), New York City. 8.25 x 8.25, 282 pp. with front cover designed by Will Burtin.

Organized by Will Burtin et al. and sponsored by ICTA (Aaron Burns, Director) in cooperation with Southern Illinois University. The Vision 65 conference was held on the campus of S.I.U. at Carbondale, Illinois from October 21–23, 1965 with over 500 people in attendance!

Vision 65 had the ambitious task of exploring the challenges of communications as a result of recent technological and social developments. It was the first International Congress and “concerned itself with the broad emergent problems of communications and challenges posed by the technological and social developments in ways which will significantly stimulate the individual and the community.” With (28) printed texts. A fascinating look into the problems faced by designers – the speed of globalization, technological advancements in television, radio and film, the control of mass communication, mechanized systems such as computers, and the role of education and science in the advancement of society.

Presenters: Ousmane Socé Diop, Will Burtin, R. Buckminster Fuller, Max Bill, Masaru Katzumi, Eugenio Carmi, Thorold Dickinson, Willem Sandberg, Vera Horvat-Pintaric, Stan VanDerBeek, Charles D. Tenney, Roger L. Stevens, Aubrey Singer, Herbert Spencer, W.H. Ferry, Bruce MacKenzie, William Perk, David Hertz, Carl Lindegren, Edward Hamilton, Will Gay Bottje, Gottfried Michael Koenig, Tony Schwartz, Josef Müller-Brockmann, Wim Crouwel, Franco Grignani, Michael Farr, Marshall McLuhan, Delyte W. Morris and Robert Osborn. Acknowledgements, Sponsors and Attendees List at the end.

“We can not progress – or even survive – in our professions or as a society if we do not study the difficulties based on new conditions and aspirations, and define a new design perspective of social responsibility in all communication forms and techniques. We are living in dissonant times in which many well established practices, privileges and beliefs are questioned ...” — Will Burtin

A very good conference publication with light wear to the front and back wrapper edges and corners. Page 189/190 of Müller-Brockmann’s lecture is detached from the binding but still included. A formative document and historical record; recommended!