Muriel Cooper Design Zine Article

< a t r i b u t e to t h e d e s i g n e r s W E G LO S S E D O V E R i n s c h o o l>

Written & Designed By Jayna Durfee Issue 01 | Edition 01

“Information is only useful when it can be understood.”

-Muriel Cooper

Photo Credit: Marie Cosindas via MIT Media Lab on Medium

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By Jayna Durfee

Muriel Cooper: a master of all things design.

A designer of all things digital and print.

A teacher of many and an inspiration to everyone, an American icon that’s done it all.

Cooper, born in Massachusetts in 1925, earned both a Bachelors of Arts degree and a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in Design by the year 1948 at only 23 years old - and later earned a Bachelor of Science degree as well.1 Shortly thereafter, she began a career with the Massachusetts Institute of Design (MIT) that would span across four decades.

The remaining impact on M I T and the surrounding design world due to Cooper’s work is formidable even 25 years after her passing. Her start as a designer in the Office of Publications in 1952 lead her to be the first Director of Design at the MIT Press (the university press and media site affiliated with MIT) where she improved their production system and designed books at the same time.2 However, her work in the MIT Press only came in 1967 after leaving the school in 1958 to partake in a scholarship abroad.

Amid her time away from MIT, she also created her ow n desig n st ud io in her h o m e t o w n o f B o s t o n , M a s s a c hu s e t t s ,

during which one of her biggest clients happened to be the MIT Press. 3 It is during this time that Cooper would create the iconic M I T P r e s s lo g o: a n a b s t r a c t representation of the lowercase let t er s ‘m it p’ t h r ou g h s e ven vertical rectangles, reminiscent of books on a shelf. 4 Hav i ng met Pau l R a nd wh i le living in New York earlier in her career, he recommended her to lead the MIT Press as the Design Director fol low ing her 9 year absence from the inst itut ion. 1 In 1974, Cooper began instructing a course on the “intersection of typography, graphic design, and technology” called ‘Messages and Means’. 3 She has been credited as one of the great innovators 5 Below: MIT Press colophon (logo) design process

5 Above: MIT Press f inal colophon (logo) design

of i n for m at ion present at ion; “perhaps no one has had a greater af fect on the way information — pr i nted a nd elect ron ic — is presented today than Muriel Cooper..her explorations into the interactions between technology and design broke new ground in both graphic design and computer interface development..”. 3 Cooper stated that one of her goals was to transfor m infor mat ion into a form of communication.

She viewed information on its own as lacking a “filter” that an innovative layout could bring. 3 While working on this mission, Muriel began to see the limits of print; when computers became more readily accessible, Cooper was able to explore the newfound depths and possibilities that this technology offered. Cooper was able to introduce computers to the designers at the MIT Press as well as be involved in the new course of ‘Computers and Design’ that

featured prominently in her design of the famous english-language version of Bauhaus: Weimar, Dessau, Berlin, Chicago, a project created for the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Bauhaus school.

Her fresh yet familiar cover design and layout is still viewed as one of her most noteworthy pieces of work. Additionally, years later during her experimentation with newer technologies, Cooper made a 16mm f ilm of the book. One frame was used for each spread a nd l a sted on ly a l it t le over a minute. This quick run-through of the book allowed the onlooker to gain an overall understanding of the layout and outline that is featured in most books. Sadly, the original film has since been lost; however, a former MIT Media Lab student has since recreated the f ilm in honor of Cooper. 5 Although she left the MIT Press in 1975, Cooper continued her work with the institute as the cofounder of the MIT Visible Languages Workshop. This workshop strived t o e x a m i n e t h e i nt e r s e c t i o n of computers, typography, and computer interfaces for personal devices. At the time of the Visible Languages Workshop’s creation, Cooper retained a par t in the MIT Press as a Special Projects Director, showing her dedication to cont i nue ex per i ment i ng a nd educ at i ng a l l she cou ld .

I n 19 8 5 , a b out t e n y e a r s

5 Above: Muriel Cooper, 1988

after the creation of the Visible Language Workshop, it would evolve into what is now the MIT Med i a L ab. T h i s ad apt at ion saw to a collaboration with other depa r t ment s, t hough Cooper would remain the main professor. 5 Unfortunately in March of 1994 at the age of 68, Cooper passed away suddenly after a heart attack in Boston, Massachusetts. In her memory, a prize was created in

1997 at the Design Management Institute, just 3 years after her death, that aimed to honor those who “challenge our understanding and exper ience of interact ive digital communication.”5 Muriel Cooper was and remains a pioneer in our understanding

the complex intersection of com mu n icat ion, desig n, technolog y, and infor mat ion.

Her t h ir st for k nowledge a nd creation never circumvented the people around her - it was always ba sed on t he idea t h at ever y person was needed to design a better world.

*Below: Muriel Cooper at MIT, early 1970s

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1“Muriel Cooper: Biography, Designs and Facts.” Famous Graphic Designers, www.famousgraphicdesigners.org/ muriel-cooper.

2Carlos, Dante. “Muriel Cooper: Turning Time into Space.” Walker Art Center, 9 Apr. 2014, walkerart.org/ magazine/muriel-cooper-turning-time-into-space.

3“Muriel Cooper.” ADC, ADC Global, adcglobal.org/hall-of-fame/muriel-cooper/.

4“Muriel” Pentagram, https://www.pentagram.com/work/muriel/story 5The MIT Press. “University Press Week: Throwback Thursday Featuring Muriel Cooper.” The MIT Press, The MIT Press, 13 Nov. 2014, mitpress.mit.edu/blog/university-press-week-throwback-thursday-featuringmuriel-cooper. *Wiesenberger, Robert. “Muriel Cooper.” MIT Press, 28 Mar. 2018, https://mitpress.mit.edu/blog/murielcooper/.