Salon.com > J.J. Sedelmaier http://www.salon.com Sat, 25 May 2013 20:30:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 America’s road sign legends http://www.salon.com/2012/05/15/americas_road_sign_legends/ http://www.salon.com/2012/05/15/americas_road_sign_legends/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=12920325 ImprintIn a simpler time, when automobiles went slower and the pre-Eisenhower highway system in the United States was less developed, there was a popular advertising campaign that ran from 1927 until 1963. It consisted of rhymed messages sequentially staked on the right side of the road, all ending with the advertiser's name, "Burma-Shave."

[caption id="attachment_320381" align="aligncenter" width="511" caption="Examples of vintage Burma-Shave road signs, including a blue South Dakota version. (Ray Crockett photo)"][/caption]

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/05/15/americas_road_sign_legends/feed/ 7 7Up’s branding revolution http://www.salon.com/2012/05/07/7_ups_branding_revolution_salpart/ http://www.salon.com/2012/05/07/7_ups_branding_revolution_salpart/#comments Mon, 07 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=12913846 ImprintI became interested in pop bottles (I grew up in the Chicago area where we all said "pop") and related stuff when I was about 12 years old. I had gone inside an old garage that was attached to a neighborhood house that was being torn down and inside was a cache of un-returned pop bottles that must have dated from the 1940-'50s period. I took one of each type home (about 20 of 'em) and yes, still have them to this day. I really got off on all the different labels and colors of glass and because I used to like to read old magazines I actually recognized most of the brands that were no longer around or had changed their design. I'll go into this more in a future post, but wanted to lay some sort of a foundation for this piece, which is exclusively on 7Up, with a special focus on their branding efforts of the 1950s.

The soft drink that would be known as 7Up was created in 1929 by Charles Leiper Grigg in St.Louis as part of his "Howdy" line of sodas and was originally called "Bib-Label Lithiated (it contained the mood stabilizer lithium citrate until 1950) Lemon-Lime Soda." It was almost immediately re-labeled "7 (7 natural flavors) Up Lithiated Lemon-Lime," and then finally just "7Up".

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/05/07/7_ups_branding_revolution_salpart/feed/ 10 Pop culture’s Rosetta Stone http://www.salon.com/2012/04/19/pop_cultures_rosetta_stone/ http://www.salon.com/2012/04/19/pop_cultures_rosetta_stone/#comments Thu, 19 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=12881091 ImprintIn the wake of Chicago's "C2E2" 2012 ComicCon at McCormick Place, it seems fitting that I do a piece on an aspect of comic books that everyone even remotely acquainted with the realm knows well - the Johnson Smith & Co. of Detroit. You may not recognize the firm's name, but I'll bet you know some of its wares, its advertisements, and have seen its influence on pop culture and graphic design. This is a company that's been around since 1914 and after having had locations in Chicago, Racine, Wis., and Detroit, it continues to this day in Bradenton, Fla. Jean Shepard called the Johnson Smith Co. catalog "the Rosetta Stone of American Culture."

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/04/19/pop_cultures_rosetta_stone/feed/ 3 Disney’s animation guide http://www.salon.com/2012/04/06/disneys_animation_guide/ http://www.salon.com/2012/04/06/disneys_animation_guide/#comments Fri, 06 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=12788841 ImprintWhen the word "Disney" is mentioned, it's almost impossible to separate it from the craft of motion picture cartoons. Whether it's used to describe a multinational entertainment corporation, or it alludes to Walt Disney the man, it's easily synonymous with the technique of film animation. This was obviously not always the case. In 1920, animated cartoons were well known and part of a growing and thriving movie industry, but this is also when the 19-year-old Walt Disney was just beginning as a cartoon filmmaker in Kansas City, Mo. This post presents one of the important reference pieces he used as a catalyst to learn and expand his knowledge of animated cartoons.

(I strongly encourage reading Michael Barrier's wonderful book, "The Animated Man," University Of California Press 2007. I've used Barrier's book to put together a brief sketch of Disney's early years.)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/04/06/disneys_animation_guide/feed/ 3 Drawing “Pinocchio” http://www.salon.com/2012/03/21/drawing_pinocchio/ http://www.salon.com/2012/03/21/drawing_pinocchio/#comments Wed, 21 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=12701011 ImprintIn 1948 Simon and Schuster published a book titled "He Drew As He Pleased." It's a tribute to Albert Hurter, an inspirational sketch artist who worked at the Walt Disney Studio from 1931 until his death in 1942.

[caption id="attachment_279751" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="A 1939 shot of Hurter at work on "Pinocchio"."][/caption]

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/03/21/drawing_pinocchio/feed/ 3 A Superman art mystery http://www.salon.com/2012/03/09/superman_imprint/ http://www.salon.com/2012/03/09/superman_imprint/#comments Fri, 09 Mar 2012 01:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=12607981 ImprintI used to spend a lot of time as a kid visiting antique (actually, “junk”) shops. It was like visiting a museum, except you pick up stuff and hold it. One of the things I found (probably around 1972) was a book by author George Lowther from 1942 about Superman. I’d never heard about this novel and considering the amount of time I spent obsessing about comic books, I was surprised and puzzled by it all of a sudden popping up! It would take quite a few years and the availability of the Internet before I could find out anything substantial about it. Basically, it was a rare book but unless it was in beautiful condition with a dust jacket it didn’t command an outrageous price. It's interesting to note that Lowther, in this, Superman's first novelization and first story credited to someone besides Jerry Siegel, was responsible for defining Superman's birth, early life, and the first detailed description of life on doomed Krypton. He also officially named Superman/Kal-El's parents Jor-El and Lara ― who'd previously been known as Jor-L and Lora...

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/03/09/superman_imprint/feed/ 10 Tasty food that looks disgusting http://www.salon.com/2012/02/22/soviet_cookbook_imprint/ http://www.salon.com/2012/02/22/soviet_cookbook_imprint/#comments Wed, 22 Feb 2012 01:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=12397811 Imprint
Soon after we started our White Plains, N.Y., animation/design studio in 1990, a neighborhood church opened a special volunteer bookstore three doors down the block on Main Street.  People would donate books to the store’s inventory and the church would accept financial donations in exchange for whatever volumes you wished to leave with – you gave whatever you felt was fair and exited with your book(s). At a certain point, it became so popular as the place you could give your old books a good home, that people would back trucks up to the front of the store in the middle of the night and literally dump libraries of tomes at the store’s threshold. If you arrived early enough, you had your pick of the tasty, choice ones and could come to the store after it opened to contribute your donation. Without a doubt, I was able to acquire some very unusual and esoteric books this way. This is also how I came to own two editions (acquired at different times) of a Russian book titled “A Book About Tasty And Healthy Food”.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/02/22/soviet_cookbook_imprint/feed/ 23 The “lighter side” of the Vietnam War http://www.salon.com/2012/02/08/vietnam_comics_imprint/ http://www.salon.com/2012/02/08/vietnam_comics_imprint/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=12314821

I picked up this book years ago because I was astounded by its naive “design” and its raw unadulterated (hardly p.c.) presentation of a GI’s view of the Vietnam War. I also haven’t seen many cartoon books done by or about Vietnam GIs. I wouldn’t go as far as comparing it to Bill Mauldin’s “Up Front” with Willie & Joe,

the three books done by one-time Sardi’s caricaturist Alex Gard during WWII,

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/02/08/vietnam_comics_imprint/feed/ 16 Posters that rival the London Underground http://www.salon.com/2012/01/27/posters_that_rival_the_london_underground/ http://www.salon.com/2012/01/27/posters_that_rival_the_london_underground/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=12237271 [caption id="attachment_237001" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Samuel Insull - 1920"][/caption]

ImprintThe thought of Chicago in the 1920s usually conjures up images of gangsters, Prohibition and other Roaring 20s clichés, but there was another movement in the Chicago area that encompassed this decade. It inhabits the world of graphic art and has gone relatively unheralded, especially outside the Windy City region – The Insull Transit Posters.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/01/27/posters_that_rival_the_london_underground/feed/ 10 The bizarre Bruce Lee flipbook craze http://www.salon.com/2012/01/13/the_bizarre_bruce_lee_flipbook_craze/ http://www.salon.com/2012/01/13/the_bizarre_bruce_lee_flipbook_craze/#comments Fri, 13 Jan 2012 01:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=12093101 ImprintThe Bruce Lee craze of the 1970s produced an endless array of merchandise in the hopes of cashing in on the world-renowned martial artist’s popularity -- especially after his untimely death in 1973 at the age of 32. I'd been a fan of his since he'd played "Kato" in the old "Green Hornet" TV series, so I certainly had collected my share of Bruce Lee posters and magazines. One of the more interesting things that I came across and still makes me laugh is a three-volume set of flipbooks that re-create choice action scenes from his films.  I was initially attracted to them from the standpoint of having the opportunity of analyzing how his amazing body moved, but they’re also a hilarious example of foreign-based hard-sell copywriting and package design.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/01/13/the_bizarre_bruce_lee_flipbook_craze/feed/ 1 Holiday greetings: A design retrospective http://www.salon.com/2011/12/30/holiday_greetings_imprint/ http://www.salon.com/2011/12/30/holiday_greetings_imprint/#comments Fri, 30 Dec 2011 01:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=10712201 ImprintAs the holiday season draws to a close, it seemed like a fun idea to post a retrospective of some JJSP holiday greeting cards! Even though we did half of them in-house, I have to say that the ones we did with designers and artists OUTside the studio were more fun! It also gave us an opportunity to brand ourselves with sensibility as opposed to any one type of design or style...

 This was designed by J.D. King. I’d worked with J.D. on a Nick@Nite ID and had also cast him as the actor in a Ballpark Franks spot.

 

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/12/30/holiday_greetings_imprint/feed/ 2 The beauty of billboards http://www.salon.com/2011/12/19/books_nature_imprint/ http://www.salon.com/2011/12/19/books_nature_imprint/#comments Mon, 19 Dec 2011 01:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=10421931 [caption id="attachment_232006" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption=""Outdoor Advertising" by Wilmot Lippincott - 1923"][/caption]

ImprintWhile researching an article I’m doing for an upcoming subject on 1920s posters, I pulled several books off my shelf to leaf through hoping to find some supplemental material. One of the volumes I grabbed was “Outdoor Advertising” by Wilmot Lippincott published by the McGraw-Hill Company in 1923. A relatively unassuming looking book from the outside – 8 ¾” X 5 ¾”, 340 pp, no dust jacket, simple binding, almost textbook (which I suppose it was) in appearance. I remember picking it up at a sidewalk book sale years ago, and I also remember how books like these could be had for a song, 20 or 30 years ago. Even Barnes & Noble would sell them for a couple bucks in their basement used-book section. I’d forgotten how tasty this modest little tome was! It traces the history and application of outdoor advertising. Posters, billboards and all the various techniques used in the 1920s are explained and analyzed.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/12/19/books_nature_imprint/feed/ 8 A fond farewell to the hard-wired phone http://www.salon.com/2011/12/05/a_fond_farewell_to_the_hard_wired_phone/ http://www.salon.com/2011/12/05/a_fond_farewell_to_the_hard_wired_phone/#comments Mon, 05 Dec 2011 01:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=10281972 [caption id="attachment_230823" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Our all pervasive and everyday friend, the telephone -- on TV and film."][/caption]

ImprintWhen it comes to using a telephone these days, most people spend more time on a cellular phone than a hard-wired device. Even the phone sets we use that are tethered to an outlet tend to be wireless. Folks are canceling their traditional telephone service in exchange for their cellphone plans. And you can forget pay phones or phone booths -- good luck even trying to find one of those! Makes sense, but it's caused me to reflect on a century of the telephone's history in our culture, and there's no better barometer of our popular culture than film and TV. I spent a lot of time in front of our television set when I was a kid -- I’d often turn it on and watch it as well. TV shows, reruns of programs that aired before I was born, cartoons … This self-imposed saturation also has a lot to do with why I love animation so much. There was even a program that aired on WGN/Ch9 in Chicago every Sunday night called “When Movies Were Movies” that specialized in showing the classic films of the Depression/World War II era. By the time I reached high school I’d become entranced by the 1930s-1940s time period. But while watching TV and especially old movies, I formed an affinity to a regular player beyond the actors -- the humble and ever present telephone.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/12/05/a_fond_farewell_to_the_hard_wired_phone/feed/ 31 How Ford built the ultimate lemon http://www.salon.com/2011/11/17/edsel_imprint/ http://www.salon.com/2011/11/17/edsel_imprint/#comments Thu, 17 Nov 2011 01:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=10228614 Imprint
The purpose of this piece is less about the actual history of the Edsel and more about the design and promotion of the car. I’ve always thought that it was one of the most outrageous looking automobiles to ever roll off an assembly line, and the name “Edsel” (Henry Ford's son) hardly does a lyrical dance off one’s lips... What also intrigues me is how much money and effort was spent on the beast and how terribly wrong everything seemed to go. To help put things in perspective, I’ve included a good postmortem analysis from a 1959 article in Business Week below.

[caption id="attachment_230031" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="From Business Week November 28, 1959"][/caption]

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/11/17/edsel_imprint/feed/ 24 When corporations invested in souvenirs http://www.salon.com/2011/10/28/when_corporations_invested_in_souvenirs/ http://www.salon.com/2011/10/28/when_corporations_invested_in_souvenirs/#comments Fri, 28 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=10150294 ImprintBefore branding and marketing had all the options afforded the advertiser today, there was a substantial period when companies spent their time and money on offering up little giveaway goodies to the public. Without the Web, television or even radio, corporations often relied on print to spread the word about their “Made in America” efforts.

Today it’s the small industries and independent firms that use this technique to reach their customers and clients. They're the ones that realize the intimate benefit of tangible “tokens” like these.

[caption id="attachment_228269" align="aligncenter" width="445" caption="George Pullman 1831-1897"]George Pullman [/caption]

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/10/28/when_corporations_invested_in_souvenirs/feed/ 0 The art of character-reading http://www.salon.com/2011/10/20/vaught_imprint/ http://www.salon.com/2011/10/20/vaught_imprint/#comments Thu, 20 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=10127359

ImprintWhen it comes to printed material, I’ve grabbed some pretty strange stuff over the years to add to the studio’s reference library. Sometimes I’ll acquire a book just for its dust jacket, other times it could be a tome illustrated in a unique style I’d never seen (often for good reason) before. This has produced an unusual collection, to say the least. But the one piece I keep returning to is a 1902 edition of “Vaught’s Practical Character Reader.” I had no idea what to expect when I originally picked it up, but the cover itself, with its gold title and white-lined illustrations, was enough to pique my curiosity.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/10/20/vaught_imprint/feed/ 3 When Cartoon Network was born http://www.salon.com/2011/10/13/cartoon_network_imprint/ http://www.salon.com/2011/10/13/cartoon_network_imprint/#comments Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=10109517

ImprintIn the spring of 1992 I was contacted by and collaborated with Betty Cohen, Tom Corey and Tom Pomposello on an in-house sales film that was to help define what Turner Broadcasting had in mind for its newly acquired library of Hanna-Barbera cartoons. I was informed that the Atlanta-based network would launch a 24-hour “Cartoon Network." The thought was mind-blowing! Betty and both Toms were veterans of MTV Networks, specifically Nickelodeon, and were bringing their sharp marketing sensibilities to Ted Turner’s world.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/10/13/cartoon_network_imprint/feed/ 3 Lessons from a New Yorker cartoonist http://www.salon.com/2011/10/10/george_booth_imprin/ http://www.salon.com/2011/10/10/george_booth_imprin/#comments Mon, 10 Oct 2011 00:01:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=10104675 George Booth

George Booth

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="445" caption="Three New Yorker cartoons by George Booth."]Three New Yorker cartoons by George Booth.[/caption]

Imprint
I’ve been fortunate enough to work with George Booth on three advertising campaigns, and he was even kind enough to design one of our cards of “Happy Holidays” past.

Christmas Card

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/10/10/george_booth_imprin/feed/ 2 What you can learn from a sketchbook http://www.salon.com/2011/09/30/read_sketchbook_imprint/ http://www.salon.com/2011/09/30/read_sketchbook_imprint/#comments Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:01:00 +0000 Imprint One of the pitfalls of amassing an eclectic collection of "stuff" is that it's often difficult to remember where and under what circumstances you acquired something. That's the case with this sketchbook of W.G. Read's. I came across it at least 30 years ago after having moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., from Madison, Wis. -- that much I know. Other than that, I'm outta luck ...

As is the case with just about any sketchbook, it's a personal look into an artist's way of working. His choice of what to draw, the attention to details that undoubtedly will be used as reference later, even an article clipped from a Canadian newspaper. You get a rare and intimate feel for Read's process. There's an 1866 calendar affixed to the inside back cover of this 3.5-inch-by-6-inch booklet, but based upon what I've been able to find out (with the help of friends, Nancy Thomson and Margaret Walsh) about Read, it's doubtful that the drawings date from that time period. According to the value source website Worthpoint.com., Walter G. Read (1863-1950) apparently worked in and around the New York area from approximately 1910-1930 and lived in Brooklyn. Based upon information included in his drawing of locations, as well as the newspaper clipping mentioned earlier, this particular sketchbook seems to indicate that he spent at least a portion of his time in Ontario, Canada. For instance, the firm W.D. Hepburn & Co. depicted in one of his studies is listed as a boot and shoe manufacturer located primarily in the western section of Ontario -- possibly Prescott or Preston. Both these towns are on rivers (justifying the nautical-themed sketches) and close to the New York border. Read also drew some fellas with Cricket bats -- another U.K./Canadian indication. All things considered, and taking into account the attire depicted, I'm guessing that these sketches were done in the 1880-1890 period.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2011/09/30/read_sketchbook_imprint/feed/ 0 From illustration to animation http://www.salon.com/2011/09/26/gary_baseman_imprint/ http://www.salon.com/2011/09/26/gary_baseman_imprint/#comments Mon, 26 Sep 2011 00:01:00 +0000 This'll be the first of many posts (once a month, hopefully) presenting work I've done and the process used to produce it. When my wife, Patrice, and I originally opened the studio, it was to offer up to advertising clients our specialty of translating the work of illustrators, designers, cartoonists, etc., into animation for TV commercials. My relationship with artists has always been a key part of what I do and how I do it -- I love collaborating with these folks and each artist's way of working is different, so there's a freshness to each instance!

Cover of "Dumb Luck" book about Gary Baseman and his work

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