Susan Jackson Keig, a pioneer in the development of graphic design

Photograph credits: Susan Jackson Keig’s c.1982 blind-embossed business card from the collection of David Versluis. The black and white portrait is from 27 Chicago Designers. 27 Chicago Designers. Vol. 34. Chicago: 27 Chicago Designers, 1982. Print. The late Morton Goldsholl was posthumously honored as a recipient of a 2009 AIGA Fellow Award. Photograph of Ms. Keig accepting the award on Goldsholl’s behalf. Ms. Keig received the 2002 AIGA Fellow Award.

“Once they find out what you can do, they can’t do without you.”
—Susan Jackson Keig, Designer

Susan Jackson Keig design consultant, Chicago, is listed by R. Roger Remington in his Graphic Design History Resource as a woman pioneer in the development of North American design. Currently, at age 92, Keig still manages her design practice.

I first heard Susan Jackson Keig speak in 1982 at the annual STA (Society of Typographic Arts) fall conference in Chicago, where she and Bruce Beck gave an presentation on the history of the STA. The duo recalled memories with first-hand anecdotes, presenting a commendable early history of Chicago graphic design. They focused primarily on the charter members of a group called “27 Chicago Designers.” The STA was a professional association of graphic designers based in Chicago and founded in 1927. Keig and Beck were both STA Fellows, interestingly—Keig was conferred in 1964 and Beck a year later in 1965.

In 1983 I had the opportunity to meet Ms. Keig at an evening STA event featuring a guest design manager (I think it was Christopher Pullman, WGBH). As I introduced myself she was friendly and gracious, with a sense of Southern hospitality—perhaps a reflection of her Kentucky roots. I still have the business card that she gave me that evening. I was teaching at the time at Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, Illinois and Ms. Keig seemed interested in the school’s part of the family tree of the Dutch Reformed Church. At that time she was involved in the graphic identity for Chicago’s Prairie Avenue Historic District.

Ms. Keig has been honored as a Distinguished Alumna of the University of Kentucky College of Fine Arts where she graduated with a BA in art in 1940. In addition, in 2010 she was honored as an inductee into The University of Kentucky Hall of Distinguished Alumni. For the occasion the UK alumni association wrote a brief biography:

Susan Jackson Keig is an internationally recognized art designer in private practice. She also is a Fellow and past-president of the Society of Typographic Arts/American Center for Design, and she has lectured at Yale University, Heritage of the Arts SUNY and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Some of her design projects include an LP record and album for Buckminster Fuller, a medallion from the Free Congress Foundation for Margaret Thatcher, and the Clare Booth Luce medallion from the Heritage Foundation for Ronald Reagan.

She is a leading authority on the Shakers, their village at Pleasant Hill, and has more than 3,000 photographs of Shaker Village. This is her 40th year of designing and producing the Shaker calendar for Pleasant Hill.

She taught at the Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, has had one-woman exhibits in Louisville and New York, and is a Distinguished Alumna of the UK College of Fine Arts.

A few years ago at an AIGA Chicago evening event called “Fresh Talent 2008”. Ms. Keig, speaking to the audience, optimistically and wisely said, “Once they find out what you can do, they can’t do without you.” These are indeed encouraging words to take to heart as graphic designers.

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Glorifying God with Light, Space and Sound — Eliel Saarinen’s Example of Exquisite Church Architecture in Minneapolis

The renowned twentieth-century modernist architect, Eliel Saarinen designed Christ Church Lutheran, 1949, Minneapolis, Minnesota. The left photograph shows the chime tower and sanctuary structures, which are of honey-colored brick. The photograph on the right is an east façade detail showing the indigenous Mankato limestone wall and sculptural accent pieces by William M. McVey (1905–1995). Photographs by versluis ©2010. For additional photographs see Peter J. Sieger’s photo gallery.

Apparently, a modern style church building wasn’t the original idea of the building committee. Saarinen, as he had done in 1942 for First Christian Church in Columbus Indiana, suggested breaking away from the traditional Gothic and Georgian styles. He wrote, “The last drop of expression has been squeezed out of these once so expressive styles.” (1)

Because church architecture should express theology — the central theological question for Saarinen, as he developed plans for Christ Church, was “How does Christ communicate himself to his people and how can it be expressed architecturally?” For Saarinen, one way of answering that question is, “If a building is honest, the architecture is religious.” In fact, all of Saarinen’s buildings are characterized by integrity through an “honest” use of materials. Specifically in the case of Christ Church honesty is expressed through the design of acoustics and natural light. In addition, Saarinen did not try to hide the use of common materials: wood, glass, brick, stone, and concrete are all crafted together to form a worship space that conveys simplicity, dignity and tranquility.

In the book, Christ and Architecture, authors Donald Bruggink and Carl Droppers write in chapter 2, The Word of God, “How does Christ communicate with his people? The answer of the Church of Jesus Christ reformed according to the Word of God is that Christ communicates himself to his Church through Word and Sacrament! This is the message Luther and Calvin found in God’s Word; this remains the position of those churches which are reformed according to his Word. God communicates himself through Word and Sacrament.” (2)

Saarinen’s Christ Church acknowledges that Christ communicates himself through Word (biblical preaching) and the Sacraments (Eucharist and baptism). One observes this in the chancel (the front of the sanctuary) with the centered table (alter) and the baptismal font on the left combining to form a unity that balances the size of the pulpit on the right. The counterpart of the outside cross high on the chime tower highlights the west wall of the chancel. A very minor criticism is that the size of the baptismal font is relatively small. However, to help achieve greater visibility a processional banner is utilized to highlight the font.

For full effect of the space one should attend a worship service to experience the liturgy and to understand the impact of the architectural design. Within the space, the tone and clarity of the music and flow of light through the interior enfold the congregation. As a result, the thoughtful program of this building correlates with Saarinen’s insights about modern architecture.

(1) Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce, Inc. A Look at Architecture. Sixth ed. Columbus, IN: Visitor's Center, 1991. 28. Print.

(2) Bruggink, Donald J., and Carl H. Droppers. Christ and Architecture, building Presbyterian/Reformed churches. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1965. 58. Print.

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Dooyeweerd, Rookmaaker meets Don Draper

Mad Men image from Cultural Trends Examiner

In a recent AMC television episode of Mad Men, character Don Draper tells one of his creative’s that, “You’re not an artist but a problem solver”. What Dutch art historian Hans Rookmaaker (1922–1977) once said about architecture could also be applied to graphic design. That is, we should not try to simplify the status of graphic design as “applied art” since it is not really art applied but rather it is genuine activity of its own accord and not primarily artistic. A graphic designer helps to construct and send messages to someone for the purpose of communicating a desired effect. Obviously, graphic design needs to be fitting for its purpose, which is the first principle of graphic design. A brochure or a logotype, for instance, needs to answer all the duties that it is required to fulfill. In addition, another principle is that everything that a person makes not only shows the attitude of the maker but also tries, intuitively, to be beautiful. A graphic design piece should adhere to the principles of harmony, a unity-in-diversity aesthetic and the elements of form. These principles are related to styles, which at various periods of time can have very distinct and positive meanings and this is where styles in graphic design can become evident and are important. However, graphic design is not intended just for the object of beauty if that were so then that would indicate decadence rather than real and vigorous cultural development.

Conversely, from the perspective of style and beauty, graphic designers make their pieces as something necessary to meet and fulfill contemporary needs, and therefore modern forms are needed. Although it is very difficult to tell why style, requirements, spiritual needs, and inclinations are somehow complementary with each other in every real integral culture. As graphic designers, if we only see the latest styles as a matter of unharmonious cultural development, a sign of inner confusion. When we only see the really old-fashioned as grandeur then our work becomes irrelevant and without any real style.

H. R. Rookmaaker’s thoughts come from correspondence with Mr Norman Matheis in a letter dated 13 October 1955.

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