SPRIN G 2016
ISSU E No.1
A NOT E FROM T HE WR I T ER
5 T HE K NOW NOT HING S ON
6 T HINK COMP O SI T ION
14 K RONE ON MESS AGE
22 S P R I N G
2 0 1 6
WRITER & EDITOR
FRED L AMECK
ART DIRECTOR
FRED L AMECK
K RONE IN COLOR
28 P OR S CHE INSIDE OU T
34 IN T ERV IE W
40 CLO SING T HOUGH T S
42 S OURCES
46 KRONE
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A NOTE FROM THE WRITER The Creative Revolution of the 1960s
driven, and often tried to reveal a central
brought us into the modern age of adver-
truth about the product. He had an ability
tising, and through the work of visionaries
to make brands standout out from their
like Bill Bernbach the environment was set
competitors by going against current visual
for the Art Director to finally take a more
trends. He was also known for convincing
prominent place in the agency hierarchy
clients to forgo logos in their advertisements
(Cracknell 55). Helmut Krone was one such
by using all the components of the ad to
art director who made a name for himself
cultivate the look and feel of the brand. Ac-
under the leadership of Bill Bernbach at
cording to Krone, “There’s a way of keeping
DDB. Krone was a first generation Amer-
the bottom of the page so clean and effective
ican son of two German immigrants who
that they know they can’t – they don’t dare
would eventually be inducted into the Art
– put a logo in.” He adds, “I don’t leave out
Directors Club of New York’s Hall of Fame
the logo. I give the client something better”
(Challis 63).
(Snyder 13). His large and diverse body of
Through his use of color, composition,
work spanning decades across multiple
and messaging Krone is able to create effec-
industries has made Krone a well-known
tive ads that clearly present a benefit to his
and highly regarded art director.
audience. Krone’s work was conceptually
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On July 16, 1925, on 68th Street and Third Avenue in New York City, Helmut Krone was born to Otto and Emilie Krone. He was the first generation American son of two recent German immigrants (Challis 1). His parents had a profound impact on his work philosophy. Krone said of his upbringing, “A German son is always wrong until he’s proved himself to be right. You tend to rework things and believe they’re never
THE KNOW NOTHING SON
good enough, because, after all, you’re a ‘know-nothing’” (Fox 266). From an early age Krone says he was attracted to design and creating. “I’ve never been interested in anything else. When I was five, I built with blocks. The other kids knocked it down. I built it again” (Snyder 13). Helmut Krone had a number of influences, but he lists Paul Rand and Lester Beall as two of his earliest because they “were famous, made money, did sophisticated things that looked like art but which had a life outside the galleries but which spoke to people.” Challis adds, “These were 18-yearold Krone’s heroes” (7). It was in Krone’s final year at The High School for Industrial Design that Paul Rand became the art director of the new advertising agency, William H Weintraub, and his work there influenced many designers going into the Creative Revolution (Challis 6).
Helmut Krone, 1941. New York City, 1954. KRONE
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Lester Beall, TVA 1939.
Lester Beall, TVA 1937.
Paul Rand, Apparel Arts 1938
Paul Rand, Direction 1940
“It was a time when doing unconventional things had a tremendous effect, and one person could influence thousands.”
After the Second World War, Krone started
functionality and beauty. From the street
to look for work armed with a portfolio that
developed the idea that the masses could
was a mix of industrial design and adver-
be won over by intelligence” (Heller 231).
tising. Krone describes looking for his first
This was a time poised for a rebellion,
job when he states, “The fashion agency
“with the icons of James Dean and Marlon
interview came first. They said: ‘We’ll pay
Brando to emulate” (Cracknell 72). It was
you $50 a week.’ I said: ‘Good, I’ll take it.’ I
an exciting time to work in advertising,
never went to the other interview. And I’ve
and designer Milton Glaser, cofounder of
never been sorry. In fact I’m happy that I
Push Pin, said, “It was a time when doing
didn’t spend my life designing flashlights”
unconventional things had a tremendous
(Vaske 229).
effect, and one person could influence
During the time Krone began his design
thousands” (Heller 231). With the lead-
career there was a Creative Revolution
ership of its co-founder and director Bill
happening in advertising, and the revolu-
Bernbach, a leading advertising agency
tion had a number of influences that set the
during the Creative Revolution was DDB.
stage. “From the Bauhaus came the idea that it was not important to distinguish between
James Dean, 1956. KRONE
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Helmut Krone’s 1940s Portfolio
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Bill Bernbach was a major fixture in the Creative Revolution starting the in the late 1950s and continuing into the 1960s. The creative work DDB produced under his leadership attracted Krone to advertising. Krone once stated, “Bernbach turned the field into a profession and suddenly it became OK to answer your kid truthfully when they said, ‘Daddy what do you do for a living?’” (Abbott 14). Bernbach helped place the role of art director on equal footing with the copywriter to create a new partnership. “To Bernbach, this fusion of writer and art director became so natural as to be unquestionably the way for creative people to work and for advertising ideas to be developed. It was the only way of producing complete ideas that are born from thinking of the way that words can most effectively combine with, and compliment, pictures” (Cracknell 55). Creative ideas were central to Bernbach’s philosophy on advertising, and it would be in this environment that Krone would do his most memorable work. Krone discusses working for Bernbach when
“To Bernbach, this fusion of writer and art director became so natural as to be unquestionably the way for creative people to work and for advertising ideas to be developed.”
he states, “When I first got into the business they wanted to know if you could lay down a number 2 wash evenly with a brush. Bill never asked anybody that, he wanted to know how they could think” (Abbott 15).
Bill Bernbach
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Helmut Krone, 1964.
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Under Bill Bernbach’s supervision in
“The clarity and simplicity never came easy
1959, Helmut Krone, with writer Julian
to him. Every ad was a struggle. Boiling
Koenig, developed one of the most fa-
ideas to their essence was hard on him and
mous advertising campaigns of all time,
everyone around him.”
Volkswagen’s Think Small. Krone said
Throughout his advertising career Krone
of Bernbach’s philosophy, “You were
would have a complicated relationship with
charged with dominating the medium.
“design,” which was indicative of a tension
If you had an ad in Life magazine, he
growing between advertising and the larger
wanted you to dominate the whole
graphic design community during the 1960s.
book. I once said to him, ‘You mean
“On the one hand, advertising became asso-
the editorial too, Bill?’ He said, ‘Why
ciated with commercial imagery whose bud-
not?’” (Abbott 15). Bernbach’s attitude
get and goals targeted a vast audience and
toward creativity and advertising had a
hence were subject to economic restraints,
profound influence on Krone. Fueled by
whereas on the other hand “design” willing-
Bernbach’s directive to “dominate the whole
ly leaned toward institutional and cultural
book“ Helmut Krone developed his own
sectors (allowing the fringe development of
attitudes and philosophies about design and
the notion of personal or politically commit-
advertising. Krone describes his approach
ted design)” (Jubert 316). Through his work
to art direction when he states, “That’s what
and his career Krone evolved from a young
I’m into. The most direct approach possible.
designer with heroes like Paul Rand to a
To be an anonymous art director, to make
dedicated art director who viewed design as
the concept come through” (Snyder 13).
tool used to solve problems, like in his work
Krone worked very hard to create cam-
for Avis and American Airlines.
paigns that would stand out. Cooke states,
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T H I N K
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COMPOSITION In the 1950s, if the American auto industry had a motto it probably would have been bigger is better. “And look at the cars Detroit was turning out. Big Cars. Long cars, retouched to look even longer in the ads. Cars for people who thought big” (Cooke). The stage was set for something different. In 1958, Sociologist and author John Keats stated, “You didn’t have to be that much better educated to appreciate the difference between what Detroit was pushing, and what was actually needed:… barely one-fifth of the Eldorado’s massive 503.1 cubic feet is reserved for human habitation” (Challis 56). Through his art direction of Volkswagen’s 1959 advertising campaign for the Beetle, Helmut Krone challenged the notion of big and tried to speak to consumers honestly. “At a time when advertising, particularly automobile advertising, idolized mythic perfection, this was the first time that an ad rejected pretense and hyperbole in word and picture” (Heller 231). Through layout, typography, and photography Krone created a campaign that would define the Volkswagen brand for years to come.
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“The accompanying copy was deadpan yet self-depreciating, tacitly assuming the readers intelligence.”
By today’s standards the layout of the Krone’s
The typography also places an important
Volkswagen campaign seems very tradition-
role in the advertising campaign. Krone
al, but Krone was intentionally playing with
chose Futura, a geometric typeface created
the convention of the traditional Ogilvy
by German type designer Paul Renner. It
Layout. “The layout Krone adopted for VW
reinforces simplicity of the layout with
was what everyone thought of as The Ogilvy
its clean crisp forms, which aligns with
Layout, the one he’d appropriated and given
the tone of the ad. Krone also wanted the
new life to with his campaign for Hathaway
body copy to reinforce the frankness of
Shirts” (Challis 61). Krone made changes
the messaging. “The copy would be in an
that transformed the layout, “The accom-
austere sans serif typeface with ‘widows,’
panying copy was deadpan yet self-depreci-
incomplete lines at the end of paragraphs,
ating, tacitly assuming the readers intelli-
to avoid symmetrically solid blocks of print”
gence” (Tungate 50). Krone was influenced
(Fox 256).
by two leading New York philosophies. “Bernbach’s, that creativity must bring dead
Krone purposely tried to move away from the colorful and stylized ads that
truth to life, and that art and copy working
characterized the American automobile
together was the way forward. And Ogilvy’s:
industry, and he utilized a more honest
that campaign’s which produce results don’t
approach.
draw attention to themselves” (Challis 61).
Chevrolet, print 1959.
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Oldsmobile, print 1959.
The man in the Hathaway shirt. Ogilvy, print 1955.
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Just like the car, the ad avoids the unnecessary, including color, allowing the viewer to focus on the imagery, composition and copy. “The photography, in intent, was a little more than a snapshot. Almost invariably Krone shot the car straight on to its front, back or side. Very rarely did he shoot the car from the ¾ view used by Detroit” (Challis 72). The first ad, “Is Volkswagen contemplating a change,” ran in Life Magazine in the summer of 1959 (Challis 62). The simple layout consists of a square image filling the top two-thirds of the page, and the lower third contains the headline and the body copy. The simple straightforward layout speaks to the brands messaging. “Is Volkswagen contemplating a change?” Yes, but it’s not stylistic or superfluous, and says in the copy, “None of these are changes you merely see.” The image of the cars is the most dominate part of the composition, and cars lead the viewer down to the headline and the body copy. There is a harmony and symmetry in the repetition of the large rectangular car shape. There’s not meant be mystery about what is under the draped car, and it plays into the viewers intelligence and sense of irony. “It was the first design of a national ad to reveal a decidedly American phase of modern thinking rooted in both economy and irony” (Heller 231).
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Is Volkswagen contemplating a change? Volkswagen, print 1959.
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The “Is Volkswagen contemplating a change?” was the first in the campaign, but it would be a reference to American’s most famous neighbors, “What year car do the Jones drive?” that would push the tone of the campaign forward in the summer of 1959. In this two-page spread Krone broke away from the two-third-photo single page layout established by the first ad. The photograph is still the dominant image, but the car doesn’t take up much space in the frame. This speaks to size of car, and the fact that even in its own ad the car doesn’t dominate to frame speaks to humility of the brand. The ad also takes the car out of the studio and into the neighborhood. “The natural environment provides an abundance of physical forms, patterns, and movements that establish rhythm” (Bowers 78). The suburban environment allows Krone to use the repetition of similar looking houses and the pattern of trees to let the car stand out as unique, and the lightness of the car contrasts against the surroundings. The image and the message try to get viewer to place the car in their own neighborhood, and hopefully in their driveway.
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What year car do the Jones drive? Volkswagen, print 1959.
Think small. Volkswagen, print 1960.
In the fall of 1959 Krone art directed an advertisement that made him famous. It told the audience to think small in world that praised the big. “’Think small.’ hit a raw nerve in late ‘50s American where positive thinking could only mean thinking big – and then bigger still. To read opposite, especially in the heartland of positive thinking, and advertisement – a car advertisement – felt like an incitement to treason” (Challis 69). Helmut allows for a lot of empty space in this composition. The large space reinforces the idea of the smallness of the car, which the body copy connects to fuel efficiency. Also, a sense of contrast is achieved through the light gray background compared to the black car. Although the car is small and only takes up a small amount of space in the frame, it is still the dominant image. “In the middle of magazines filled with colorful excess, he put a tiny, homely, b&w picture of a German car” (Cooke). All the elements of the Volkswagen campaign work to convey humility and cleverness. This is done consistently through a simple layout, stark black and white photography, and a clean typeface combined with smart headlines and copy.
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KRONE 0N MESSAGE
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Messaging is a central part of advertising, and Helmut Krone believed all the elements should support the concept. According to Krone, “Everything in the ad should advance the idea. Nothing should interfere with it” (Challis 118). In his work for American Airlines and Avis in the early 1960s, Krone pushed the boundaries of advertising art direction, and as we saw with Volkswagen, Krone avoids anything extraneous and tries to get right to the value or benefit to the consumer. American Airlines approached the advertising agency DDB in 1962, where Krone worked with copywriter Jack Dillion. They needed an ad campaign aimed at businessmen that would increase ticket sales (Challis 107). Throughout the campaign the primary elements were the headline, body copy, and simple imagery. In the first iteration, the imagery is two information graphics. The first graphic shows how much faster American’s new fan-jet engines climb compared to ordinary jets, and the other demonstrates the large size of their fleet. The simple layout, supporting body copy, and the incorporation of modest infographics communicate that these new planes are much faster and quieter but uses a straightforward
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“The theory behind Krone’s non-art directed looking art direction relied on having new and radical information to impart. ”
visual language that appeals to businessmen. “The theory behind Krone’s non-art directed looking art direction relied on having new and radical information to impart. Fan-jets were different, more efficient and powerful: you did take-off quicker, with less runway, and American Airlines did have more of them” (Challis 107). The information is exciting enough that the visuals can just layout the facts, and the composition is meant to be easy to decode and avoids any metaphors, like a business report (Challis 106). In the second iteration, “Dillion and Krone looked to the basic proposition: a way to give business travellers permission to indulge in the luxury of first class (and a way to get the increased expenditure okayed by their finance directors)” (Challis 106). In comparison to the first, the ad uses appropriated imagery. Denotatively, it is an image of the Russian army after its military took status away from the officers. Connotatively it communicates a sense of chaos and disorder. It is
Convair, print. 1960
reinforced by language in the copy that reads, “A man cannot think ‘poor’ on his way to the client and then turn around and think like vice president when he gets there.” It communicates to businessmen that they have an inherent special status and their flight experience should reflect that.
Caravelle, print. 1961
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American Airlines, “fan-jet story.” print 1962
American Airlines, “In, 1917, Russia…” print 1962
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The American Airlines campaign will begin Krone’s focus on creating copy-driven work with a pragmatic approach to his art direction. This carried over in his work for Avis in 1962. Krone states, “I’m not interested in beauty, I’m not interested in craftsmanship. The only thing I’m interested in is new” (Vaske 230). Partnering with Copywriter Paula Green, he developed a campaign that was driven by Avis’ position as second in the industry behind Hertz. “By admitting they were No.2 they gave everyone a reason to believe that they would try harder” (Challis 112). In comparison to his work for American, the initial layouts for Avis were more visually dynamic. “The first incarnation of the Avis campaign, big pictures and big type; a kind of mission statement aimed at the Avis employees as much as the car-renting public. It was used to improve standards and raise staff morale” (Challis 112). The campaign featured hands doing work related to maintaining a car, the hands denotatively illustrating the manual labor with a connotation of hard work. The photographic approach gives the sense of something being documented and factual.
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Avis, “Avis can’t afford thirsty radiators.” print 1962
“The Avis ads, they’re not very good looking. And that is what was good about them, that is was what made them stand out.”
In the second incarnation of the Avis No.2 campaign, Krone further develops his design philosophy on ”Avis is only No.2.” In response to the Volkswagen Beetle ad copycats, Bob Gage asked Krone, “How much smaller can headlines get before you can’t read them?” In an effort to stand out, he “very consciously did a layout with a big headline on top where it didn’t belong” (Snyder 13). And the standard layout of the campaign was very simple. It featured the large headline, body copy, and small image wrapped in the text. There is one photograph that depicts a hand holding up two fingers. The visuals in the ad are very direct and literal. It was subversive in its ordinariness. Krone received the most attention for his “Avis needs you. You don’t need Avis.” execution, done in 1963. The ad messaging is directed at the intellect of consumers and their ability to think in-
Avis, “Avis is only No.2.” print 1963.
dependently and make their own choices. There is a photograph of a hand pointing at the viewer that conveys a sense of direct address that is being used in language in the headline and the body copy. According to Bob Cage, “The Avis ads, they’re not very good looking. And that is what was good about them, that is was what made them stand out” (Challis 117). In response to some of his ads being a commercial success but not winning any industry awards, Krone states, “The Art Directors Club has never given awards for what I consider my shtick. It never gives awards for innovation” (Snyder 13).
Avis, “Avis needs you…” print 1963.
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KRONE IN COLOR In Helmut Krone’s Audi Fox advertising print campaign of the early 1970s he uses a lot of bold colors. Mike Managano, a writer working with Krone, explains his approach, “When we worked on the Fox [ads], he was very concerned about the stuff being loud and cutting-through” (Challis 170). With the foreign auto industry still being influenced by simple straight forward “honest car photography” made iconic by Volkswagen, Krone decided to move in a different direction (Challis 171). According to Krone, ”Everything in the car advertising looked factual and honest, shot with normal photography. So I decided, the hell with that, and went back to glorified drawn and airbrushed car illustration” (Challis 171). At the time, Krone’s type choice of Avant Garde also made the campaign stand out. John Bulcroft, who worked with Krone on the client-side describes the impact of the typography, ”It was unusual. It didn’t look like any other car ad, which I felt was important. Helmut was an art director who understood type” (Challis 171). Although designed in 1968 for Ralph Ginsberg’s Avant Garde Magazine, 1970 was the first time the typeface was made available for wide communication and commercial use (Lubalin 7). The campaign plays with allusions to the tradition of foxhunting. KRONE
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“Everything in the car advertising looked factual and honest, shot with normal photography. So I decided, the hell with that.”
Helmut Krone creates contrast and hierarchy through the use of color in his Audi Fox magazine print advertisement “Your Hunt Is Over.” An abstractly rendered, dark field of green grass takes up most of the space in the advertisement, but the main action is taking place in the top third of the spread. Avant Garde’s geometric letterforms contrast with the more organic shapes of the ad. A pack of brown and white hounds is circling the red Audi Fox, like they might do to a real Red Fox during at hunt. Krone used the complimentary colors of the green the grass and red of the car to create contrast in the composition. In comparison to the grass, the car is rendered more realistically with an attention to detail. The car lives in a physical space, which is achieved through the use of perspective, textures, shadows, and highlights. Krone continues the foxhunt narrative in “The Quick Brown Fox by Audi.” We see a consistent use of a desaturated color palette in the first two ads of the campaign, with a repetition of red, green, and brown found in both. In this ad, we can see elements of tradition-
Audi Fox, “Your Hunt Is Over.” 1973.
al foxhunting making their way in the copy. In comparison to the previous execution, he doesn’t use any abstract graphics, with the exception of the typography. The type takes up most of the two-page spread, and it becomes it own graphical element. Krone fills in letterforms and uses overlapping the play into the typefaces geometric forms, like the “O”s in Brown and Boot. The filled in letterforms connote bullet holes and reinforce the fox hunting narrative.
Audi Fox, “The Quick Brown Fox.” 1973.
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Helmut Krone did not just use earth tones in the Audi Fox Campaign. “For ’75, the Fox campaign moved away from expensive and slow-to-execute hound and Fox illustration and onto a new look – one that was quicker and cheaper to put together” (Challis 175). Using less complicated illustrations with fewer elements cut time and costs. In the “Corners on All Fours” ad, a bold saturated yellow snakes through the composition. In comparison to the very flat rendering of graphics seen in previous advertisements, the yellow line uses an increasing of scale as it moves down the composition to create
Volvo, “When We Can Make Volvos That Look Like This.” 1962.
a sense of depth. In this execution, Krone has chosen a very vibrant blue to illustrate the car, and it is also reflected in the type. The coolness of the blue contrasts with the equally vibrant warmth of the yellow, and the pure white background allows the design elements to standout.
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Polaroid, “Time-Zero.” 1980.
Polaroid, “Time-Zero.” 1980.
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“What looked like image developing w a s a l s o t h e a r g u m e n t d e v e l o p i n g .”
In comparison, Helmut Krone’s work on
elements, like a large headline or a logo.
saturated, and this works to create the feel-
Polaroid’s 1980 Time-Zero campaign used
We’re meant to just focus on the main two
ing of an image developing and the photo
more saturated colors to communicate its
elements.
process. In comparison, the execution with
central message, “Here’s color as you’ve
In the execution featuring the Toma-
the women the hat uses the same composi-
never seen it before in instant photography.”
to Polaroid, there is a flood of a saturated
tion and similar deep saturated colors, but
The campaign featured two-page spreads, a
bright hue of red that takes up most of
it uses more cool colors. The exception, the
single Polaroid photo on each page. On the
the composition, but through the central
saturated red used in the woman’s face. This
right is a clear colorful image, and on the
placement of the two images our eyes are
creates some contrast and brings the wom-
left, instead of the image, is copy discussing
drawn toward the center. The tomato is an
an’s face more to the foreground. This helps
the Time-Zero Supercolor film that uses
organic shape, and creates contrast to the
lessen the ambiguity of the image created
color in the type to give the impression of an
geometric square shapes that make up the
by the tight cropping of the image. Although
early image during the quick film develop-
composition. The white rectangular shape
Krone uses a simple composition with few
ment process. “The picture was the idea of
that makes up the Polaroid picture frame
elements, his expert use of color conveys the
the product incorporated into the plane and
works to bring the text and image to the
complex process of photo development that
the graphics of the page. What looked like
foreground. Krone has chosen a photograph
highlights value of Polaroid’s film.
image developing was also the argument
that uses analogous colors that gives a sense
developing” (Challis 210). Throughout
of harmony and includes the red of the
Krone uses color to reinforce the central
the campaign, Krone used a very simple
tomato, the pink lighting on the floor, and
messaging in the ads. In the Audi campaign
composition, where the geometric square
the purple background (Bowers 94). We see
he uses it to create a sense of speed and
and rectangular shapes that make up the
a repetition of these colors used in the typo-
agility, and for Polaroid, he uses color to
Polaroid pictures are centrally placed on
graphic recreation of the tomato image on
communicate the films quality and quick
the page adjacent to each other in a solid
the left, but through the white spaces in the
processing.
field of color. There isn’t a lot of extraneous
type the image has lower value and feels less
In the campaigns for Audi and Polaroid,
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PORSCHE I N S I D E O U T In the late 1970s, Helmut Krone continued his art direction work for automotive client Volkswagen and developed a campaign for Porsche. Compared to previous work for clients like Avis, Krone turned towards design driven concepts, with the goal of differentiating his clients. “Right now, I’m using design, I’m the only one in hard-core advertising who is doing heavy design. (I also know how not to be a designer) I’m doing it knowing exactly why – because no one else is doing it” (Snyder 13). Krone’s central concern continued to be creating a “New Page,” and he employed whatever style needed to achieve something that would speak some truth about the product. “Krone’s major contribution to advertising art direction – to advertising as a whole – was that each product and its benefit contained an aesthetic truth. The job of the art director aided by the writer was to find it” (Challis 206). When it came to the concept for campaign for Porsche, Krone took a technical approach and continued to challenge common advertising conventions in order to create something new. “Knowing how his readers felt about advertising, he doubled his efforts to make ads that didn’t look or speak like ads. These efforts reached their zenith with his infamous ‘technical’ campaign for Porsche in the mid-70s.” Cooke continues, “They don’t look like ads. They don’t look like editorial.” Krone explains how he pitched the concept to the client when he states, “I sold them on an engineering concept with copy that’s almost indecipherable to the average person” (Snyder 13). Krone uses scientific signs and engineering language to highlight the beauty and complexity of the car but in a language that is suppose to be objective and unbiased.
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Porsche 924:Orientation 5. print
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“He wanted the layout to evoke the breathless feeling an automotive aficionado would get upon opening the hood of a Porsche for the first time”
Taking a closer look at Orientation 5 in the
used in automotive ads, but here it also
to favor compositions in which the parts are
series for Porsche 924, the advertisement
serves as a contrast to the more technical
related in some way yet different, however
focuses on the “Optimization of Vehicle
aspect of the ad. If the car were shot in a
subtle or pronounced” (Bowers 75). The
Aerodynamic Form.” Overall the layout of
studio, like some of the earlier Volkswagen
repeated lines in the graphic work to give a
the advertisement is complicated and so-
ads, it may have appeared as too clinical.
sense of volume and reinforce a sense of air
phisticated, just like a Porsche. “He wanted
The car is surrounded by graphical ele-
movement. Also, numbers are used to create
the layout to evoke the breathless feeling
ments. Integration of the type, graphics,
movement and a sense of cohesion. There’s
an automotive aficionado would get upon
and the photography give the impression
the dominant five serving as the headline,
opening the hood of a Porsche for the first
that the advertisement is meant to do more
the 924 model number, the numbers moving
time” (Cooke). There’s no big headline, just
than just show off an image of the newest
over the car, and the numbers in the graph.
a large five in the left corner signifying “No.
model, it is meant to inform us. This is also
The numbers surround the car give a sense
5 in a Series of Technical Papers.” Krone
accomplished by the inclusion an infographic
of movement as they take the viewer over all
stated that he “wanted to make the entire
at the bottom of the page that is so large it
the different parts and curves of the vehicle.
page like the car” (Snyder 13).
almost competes with the car. The com-
The numbers in the graphic do something
position creates movement with elements
similar as they move up and down, across
up the entire two-page spread, and the car
that are similar in form. There is movement
the bottom of the page. The first paragraph
is placed centrally. Krone places the car in
and a repetition of similar shapes with
of the copy states, “Air resists the movement
a mountainous outdoor scene that evokes a
the mountains in the background and the
of a vehicle passing through it.” The numbers
sense of freedom. This is a common theme
graph at the bottom of the page. “We tend
are moving towards the right and the car is
In the composition the photograph takes
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Porsche 924:Orientation 5, print.
facing towards the left, and this helps to illustrate the messaging in the copy about air resistance. In comparison, the body copy is fairly static, and it is neatly organized into a four-column grid. Helmut Krone also uses colors in the photograph and the graphics to create hierarchy and interest. Krone chose photography that had a “grainy, un-automotive look” (Snyder 13). The grainy photography is in contrast to the crisp and clear photography often used in automotive advertising. The colors in the photography are unsaturated and have a cool tone to them that gives the image a more mechanical look by using connotations associated with steel and metal. The unsaturated colors allow the imagery to fall to the background. There’s the light-blue gray of the sky in the top right, the cool dark-greys and browns of the mountains, and light steel cool tone of the car. This is in contrast to the saturated orange, a warm color and compliment to blue, that is used in the five and the pressures zones highlighted around the car and in the graph. It brings these numbers to the foreground. “Generally speaking, analogous colors tend to create harmony among elements and discordant colors create instability and movement” (Bowers 97). The orange is used to highlight parts car that were designed to reduce air resistance signify their importance to the viewer. White is used in the rest of the numbers and body copy, and we see a reuse of a saturated blue in the graph to signify low-pressure zones. Krone’s art direction creates an ad that is purposely layered in complexity in order to convey the complex engineering of the Porsche.
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Q&A: DEEANN BUDNEY Founder and Executive Creative Director of The Hive, a boutique advertising agency based in San Francisco Helmut Krone is a noted art director in advertising that began his career during the Creative Revolution. He is best known for Volkswagen’s “Think Small” Campaign. Why do think that campaign was so significant? It’s one of the first campaigns that used a conceptual idea to sell a product—not just the product’s benefits. And, it’s one of the first campaigns in which the idea transcended one ad or piece of communication, and worked across the whole campaign. Finally, the art direction stands out as one in which empty space focused consumers’ attention on the simple message. Do think that campaign has any relevance to advertising today? Yes, the campaign is still relevant today. It’s still great advertising—it’s timeless. In the 1950s, Bill Bernbach of DDB introduced the idea of a copywriter and an art director working in tandem to develop ad concepts. How do you think this new relationship impacted the art director role and how is that impact felt today?
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KRONE
This was a monumental change in how we made ads. It made
I’m not sure whether Glaser meant that these unconven-
the art director into an equal partner in the process, so some-
tional things were influencing the field (thousands) or the
one else’s ideas weren’t being “slipped under your door” to
consumer (millions). Let me take on the first. I do think inside
“wrist out.” And it gave the copywriter someone to think
the industry, everyone still watches their peers, and looks for
through the creative problem with, and someone to critique his
inspiration from them in creative thinking. Although much dig-
or her ideas. The quality of advertising ideas increased dramati-
ital advertising is much more transactional, great video ideas—
cally with this change.
and multi-media campaigns--are still celebrated.
Helmut Krone stated that he wanted, “To be an anonymous art di-
Roxane Jubert, in Typography and Graphic Design: From Antiq-
rector,” when talking about his approach to his work. Do you agree
uity to Present, describes a “rift” developing between advertising
with Krone, that an art director’s work should reflect the brand and
and graphic design during the 1960s where design was moving
not his or her personal style? Why or Why not?
towards cultural institutions and advertising was becoming more
I agree with Krone to an extent. First and foremost, your art
market-driven. Do think there is a tension that still exists between
direction should be in keeping with the brand you are commu-
advertising and graphic design? How do think advertising fits into the
nicating about. You can’t force-fit just any style onto a brand
field of graphic design?
that has its own look and feel. I see juniors in the business try to
The best ad agency art directors are great designers, too.
do that all the time—pick overly trendy fonts or photography
But it’s not a requirement. Many agencies don’t care about
for a classic packaged goods brand, for instance.
design much, and tend not to hire craftspeople. And so, many
But, all that said, inevitably, your own design preferences do show up in your larger body of work. And, once you’ve been in
of the art directors with design skills have left the field as the budgets for print advertising have dried up.
the business for a long while, clients choose to work with you
The more media types there are for art directors to design,
based on what they see in your portfolio—which can’t help but
the less they are specialists in any one field. In the last centu-
reflect you. So, you won’t end your career anonymous, but you
ry, you built your whole career on designing in an 8.5x11 or
should start your career that way.
17x11. Now, there are fewer standards and several more one-off
The 1960s advertising world was dominated by white male
advertising design assignments (a page takeover for a specific
creatives in search of the “big idea,” combining beautiful imagery
digital news site, a teeny animated banner for smart phones, a
and smart copy. When discussing the Creative Revolution, Milton
digital bus shelter, etc.) There’s a lot more to do, so you have a
Glaser stated, “It was a time when doing unconventional things had
tendency to do each thing a little less well.
a tremendous effect, and one person could influence thousands.” Is that still true in today’s advertising environment? Why or why not? Well, not that much has changed regarding the gender and
Good art directors have always looked up to graphic designers for their ability to make something beautiful out of something commercial. And yet, they’ve looked down on designers for
race of the majority of creatives, but I think that is a different
being less conceptual, and more “decorators” than thinkers.
subject!
I don’t see that as changing.
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41
Helmut Krone, 1995.
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KRONE
CLOSING THOUGHTS Helmut Krone’s long career in advertising
visuals and the copy compliment each other
shows just how much a designer’s philoso-
(Cracknell 55). Bernbach as challenged his
phy and views can evolve over several years.
teams to “dominate the medium,” meaning
He began his career with prolific graphic
making ads that stand out even from the
designers Paul Rand and Lester Beall as
editorial content (Abbott 15). It was through
major influences (Challis 6). Like them, he
this type of leadership and environment that
wanted to create “sophisticated things that
Krone art directed the Volkswagen cam-
looked like art but which had a life outside
paign that began in 1959.
the galleries but which spoke to people”
Through the use of layout, typography,
(Challis 7). It was this approach that initially
and photography Krone created an adver-
drew him to design and would eventually
tising campaign that would define the Volk-
lead him to a career in advertising. During
swagen brand for years to come. The “Think
the time Krone was beginning his design
small” ad challenged the notion that big is
career there was also a Creative Revolution
better and tried to speak to consumers hon-
happening in advertising that was influ-
estly. Layout and composition were central
enced by the Bauhaus and its emphasis on
parts of the ads success, with Krone appro-
functionality and beauty as well as a cultural
priating The Ogilvy Layout and reimaging it
desire for rebellion (Heller 231).
(Challis 61). The smart copy and the visual
Bill Bernbach really attracted Krone to
elements work together effectively, and in
advertising. Krone states, “I never con-
the company of colorful big-car automobile
sidered working in advertising before he
ads, it stood out without aggressively trying
started his agency.” (Abbott 14). He also had
to draw attention to itself. We see Krone
a profound impact on the development of
differentiate brands thorough his clever art
Krone’s evolving philosophy and believed
direction repeatedly in his career.
in fresh ideas (Cracknell 5). Bernbach also
Borrowing from Bernbach’s emphasis on
placed the art director on equal footing with
fresh ideas and the importance of dominat-
copywriter, and he believed this to be only
ing the medium, Krone developed his “New
way to produce complete ideas where the
Page” philosophy through his work with
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43
“I’m not interested in beauty, I’m not interested in craftsmanship. The only thing I’m interested in is new” American Airlines and Avis. In these two campaigns we see Krone intentionally moving away from design-driven executions, the messaging and the copy drive the ads forward and the visuals are purposely placed secondary. Krone is more concerned about creating effective ads than putting his style of design into his work. He wants to be the “anonymous art director” (Snyder 13). He states, “I’m not interested in beauty, I’m not interested in craftsmanship. The only thing I’m interested in is new” (Vaske 230). Krone isn’t interested in making ads to impress other art directors, he’s interested in creating ads that stand out and appeal to the consumer. In this case of American Airlines, it was a composition that mimicked business reports, and for Avis, he wanted to revisit The Ogilvy Layout he used for Volkswagen and turn it on its head. Krone’s attitude during this time is indicative of a “rift” that was happening between advertising and graphic design. “It may seem paradoxical that such a split should have occurred where advertising and commercial graphics displayed such remarkable concern for (typo) graphic quality. Yet right from the mid-1950s, Paul Rand himself expressed great reservations about his own work in the advertising field” (Jubert 316). Krone, who once considered himself a Bauhaus designer, for a time believed “beauty” was unnecessary for effective advertising. He also lamented that the Art Directors Club never gave him awards for work that he considered be innovative (Snyder 13). Krone states, “I don’t think that advertising is an art form. I did for long time” (Vaske 232).
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KRONE
Helmut Krone
To Krone, “Art was what he created late a
any of his ads. As Krone was inducted into
night in his studio with paint brush. He was
the Art Directors Club of New York’s Hall
exceptionally clear that advertising has a
of Fame he stated, “I’ve spent my whole life
secular purpose” (Cooke).
fighting logos. Logos say I am an ad. Turn
Despite his talk of advertising as not
the page” (Challis 63). We see how he suc-
being an art form, Helmut was extremely
cessfully cultivated a brand without the use
dedicated to his craft. Krone states, “An art
of logos through the featured campaigns of
director sits down with a writer, and they
American Airlines, Avis, Audi Fox, Polaroid
get a concept, they put it down with color
and Porsche.
marker. They’ve done their job. For me,
More than just cultivating a brand with-
that’s where it starts” (Snyder 13). Perhaps
out logos, he worked diligently to highlight
it was his upbringing as the “know-noth-
and elevate a product’s benefit to try to ar-
ing” son of two recent German immigrants
rive at its “aesthetic truth” (Challis 206). He
that fostered such strong work ethic and a
did this by employing all the components of
very pragmatic approach to advertising and
an ad, be it the layout, typography, photog-
design (Challis 1).
raphy, illustration, color, composition, and
Beyond a dedicated work ethic and a shifting view of design, Krone also leaves us
messaging in order to create ads that would grab the audience’s attention.
a lesson on branding. He rarely used logos in
KRONE
45
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PORSCHE 924 GTP 1980. favcars.com. Accessed 02