Women’s History Month–Redefining Their Fields

Written By Linda Secondari

As a Certified Woman Owned Business, we love celebrating the brilliance, vision, and diversity of the female mind — especially when applied to creative problems.

Studiolo Secondari has been sharing the work and stories of brilliant women in design, culture, and the arts weekly through our "Women Wednesdays" social media series.  During this Women's History Month, we will take a deeper look at some of the figures we’ve highlighted in our #WomenWednesday series to offer you another chance to celebrate these brilliant girl bosses!

Black and white portrait of Sore Popitz on a sunny day outside, looking away from the camera.
A collection of magazine layout ad advertising designs by Sore Popitz
"I am often asked, 'Since when have you painted?' Answer: 'Since I could think!'" -Sore Popitz
 

Söre Popitz (1896-1993)

 

The Bauhaus’ only known woman graphic designer, Popitz distinguished herself from her male peers, embellishing her designs with blocky characters that depicted a uniquely female experience unseen in commercial advertising at the time. 

Born Irmgard Sörensen, Popitz attended the Academy of Arts in Leipzig before attending one semester at Weimar Bauhaus, likely to avoid being ushered out of graphic design and into the “woman’s field” of weaving. Back in Leipzig she freelanced for a while, incorporating a feminine ethos to her constructivist style in commercial designs. In 1931 she designed the cover for die neue linie, a popular magazine for young women at the time. She continued to work with the publisher, Otto Beyer, until the beginning of the Nazi Regime. After fleeing to Frankfurt, Popitz switched from advertising to working mainly in publishing, notably her covers for the Insel-Bücherei book series, where the titles wrap around abstract backgrounds. 

With much of her early work lost, the true scope of her work is impossible to know, though we are fortunate she slipped through the cracks of “womens’ art” and into the commercial world. Some of her works are now held at the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation.

 
 
 
 
Black and white portrait of Elaine Lustig Cohen in her home with a collection of unique combs on the wall.
A collection of colorful modern artworks by Elaine Lustig Cohen
"I've lived at least three lives – all of which made me who I am today. In that sense, I have always been someone that people cannot easily categorize." -Elaine Lustig Cohen

Elaine Lustig Cohen (1927-2016)

Pioneering graphic designer and artist, Cohen was lauded for the way her practice integrated European avant-garde and modernist influences into a new and unique American visual language . 

From an early age Cohen displayed artistic inclinations, graduating with a BFA from USC. She worked as an assistant for her husband, graphic designer Alvin Lustig, carrying out his visions and studying his processes. After his death in 1955 she received a commission to design the signage for the Seagram Building in New York. From here, she began working as one of very few female designers, designing book covers and museum catalogs, forging a distinctive, playful voice that spoke to the contents of each work being designed for.  In the late 1960s, along with her partner Arthur Cohen, she created the rare bookshop and library Ex Libris, designing catalogs that are now considered highly collectible.

Lustig Cohen’s work was heavily inspired by architecture, and her inclination towards typography and abstraction can be seen in everything from her designs, to her paintings, to her mixed-media, sculpture, and printmaking works. She has been the subject of multiple museum exhibitions, and in 2011 she received the AIGA medal for lifetime achievement in innovative design.

 
 
 
 
Black and white portrait of Florence Knoll Bassett, looking at the camera while working on an architectural model.
A collection of color images, drawings, and black and white images of furniture designed by Florence Knoll Bassett.
"I needed a piece of furniture, it was not there, so I designed it." -Florence Knoll Bassett

Florence Knoll Bassett (1917-2019)

Florence Knoll regendered, literally and symbolically, the various design fields in which she worked. Aesthetically, her Planning Unit transformed “interior design” from mere interior decoration (often associated with women) to spatial architecture. The image that she created for herself and her office subverted gendered conventions in professional work culture of the 1950s.

Orphaned at a young age, Knoll (nee Florence Marguerite Schust) was sent to boarding school in Cranbrook, where she gained an interest and was mentored in architecture. She attended many well-ranked schools and studied under well-established designers, including leaders from the Bauhaus school. Post-graduation she moved to New York and founded the Knoll Planning Unit in 1943, an interior design service at Knoll Associated, Inc, helping the company develop from selling furniture to becoming an international design powerhouse.

The signature “Knoll Look” was a sleek, holistic, modernist design plan that revolutionized the world of office spaces in the post-war business boom in the United States. Knoll is credited with professionalizing and legitimizing the world of interior design and decoration. She has received many awards in her lifetime, including the National Medal of Arts in 2002, as well as honorary doctorates from multiple universities.

 

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It’s been a minute, wanna catch up?

I've taken a break from my regular newsletter recently,  but a lot has been happening + I'd love to tell you all about it! My team and I are ready and able to help out with designing big, complicated book projects or developing design strategies that include branding, messaging, and ongoing digital communications. Feel free to grab some time to chat about your next project or just to say "hello"!

 
 

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Studiolo Secondari is a certified woman-owned design studio focused on the practical and strategic business aspects of branding and publishing. We offer stylish and intelligent design solutions for organizations seeking to drive storytelling in print, web, and digital communications to showcase their message to the world.

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Linda Secondari

I’ve spent more years than I care to mention honing my skills at preeminent academic publishers. As the Creative Director for both Oxford University Press and Columbia University Press, and Art Director for Russek Advertising (where clients included Shakespeare in the Park and John Leguizamo), I felt the call to take what I’d learned and what I’d done and start my own design studio (or studiolo).

Using intelligent design strategy and inspiring design solutions, I believe we can improve the world through better communication. I’ve been fortunate to do that for independent authors, major publishers, NGOs, educational institutions, nonprofits and think tanks. And while the industries might be varied, the one unifier is a desire to reach their audience and get their big ideas noticed.

Whether I’m cooking up a batch of puttanesca or helping an organization rethink their look, message and go-to-market strategy, I always strive to create an end result that wows.

My clients often remark how I interpret what they need from what they say and that I’m the calm voice of reason in their often frenetic industry. (must be all that meditating.)

If you have a project that could use some transformation, let’s turn the page together.

 

http://linda-secondari.squarespace.com/
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Women’s History Month–Proudy Vocal
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Women’s History Month–Pioneers in Their Field