Addressing an envelope is a design problem that was once confronted daily. It could not have been a more mundane task. Sometimes it was approached with care. More often it was simply done and forgotten. Today, one hardly ever has to consider an envelope except to pitch it in the recycling bin. However, for many years envelopes were an important part of communication and business.
How did (and do) type designers and graphic designers—people who dedicate(d) their lives to letterforms and communication—tackle addressing an envelope? Sometimes beautifully. Sometimes tragically. In this exhibition you’ll find envelopes (and postcards) addressed and mailed between 1931 and 2024 by thirty-six masters of modern type- and graphic design to show how the greats approached this most ephemeral problem.
Featuring mail from:
- Peter Biľak
- Erik van Blokland
- Max Caflisch
- Matthew Carter
- P.J. Conkwright
- Joshua Darden
- W.A. Dwiggins
- Cem Eskinazi
- Jean Evans
- Louise Fili
- Adrian Frutiger
- Milton Glaser
- S.L. Hartz
- Stephen Harvard
- Lance Hidy
- Cyrus Highsmith
- Armin Hofmann
- Dorthea Hofmann
- Jan van Krimpen
- Zuzana Licko
- Richard Lipton
- Marie Otsuka
- Christopher Pullman
- Paul Rand
- David Jonathan Ross
- Rudolph Ruzicka
- Tré Seals
- June Shin
- Erik Spiekermann
- Saul Steinberg
- Sumner Stone
- Ladislav Sutnar
- Jan Tschichold
- Gerard Unger
- Rudy VanderLans
- Dyana Weissman
- Hermann Zapf
Although the bulk of the pieces on display come from our own collection, some pieces have been loaned by the following incredibly patient friends: Hosea Baskin, Matthew Carter, Claudia Cohen, Jean Evans, Lance Hidy, Darrell Hyder, Preston McClanahan, and JP Williams.