Max Huber [Anglais] [Relié]

From the 1940's to the 1980's Max Huber earned an international reputation as one of the most innovative, distinctive, and significant designers of his generation. His work was bright, sharp, always surprising, and effective. Combining painting and photography with other graphic media, he remained avant-garde throughout his career, bringing the utopian vision of the modern masters to bear on corporate identity and commercial design.

MAX HUBER, by Stanislaus von Moos, Mara Campana, and Giampiero Bosoni, is the most comprehensive monograph on the graphic designer ever published-- including an impressive collection of never before published original artwork and archival photographs shown in twelve thematic portfolios accompanied by essays by experts in the field of Italian and Swiss design. Tracing and illustrating Huber's entire life and career, from his early years in Switzerland to his more mature work in Italy, this volume is essential for design students, professional designers, or anyone interested in the history of graphic design.

The first section recounts Huber's formative years in Zurich, describing the influences and connections with artists and designers on the international scene. The second section covers his time in Milan where he gained his first experience at the Studio Boggeri and then went on to design posters, advertisements as well as corporate identities for major publishers and companies. The third and final section focuses on Huber's activity in the related fields of interior and exhibition design and in particular on his collaboration with the Castiglioni brothers.

Huber's celebrated posters for the Monza races, his jazz record covers, and book series for major publishers such as Einaudi and Etas are still appreciated today as superb examples of their genre. However, his most enduring achievements are on a completely different scale and remain in the collective memory of generations on the street of Italy: his logo design for the department store La Rinascente and the supermarket chain Esselunga changed the public's perception of these two popular stores and the visual landscape of Milan.

The research of this book had the full support of Huber's widow, Aoi Kono, who gave the book's authors and editors unrestricted access to the renowned archive of Huber's work that is now housed in the m.a.x.Museo, in Chiasso, Switzerland.

This wide-ranging and exhaustively researched book demonstrates the importance of this fascinating and influential figure in the history of modern graphic design.

Mara Campana trained as an architect. She is a lecturer on design and architecture and regularly publishes in specialized journals.

Giampiero Bosoni lectures on the history of design at Milan Polytechnic. He has written books on interior design between 1945-2001, contemporary domestic landscapes and on the work of Jean Nouvel.