Game(s) on: Unit Editions reveals definitive Lance Wyman monograph
![The Monograph](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/MnLrwr8dorkyCJd5dET4oH-415-80.jpg)
If nothing else, graphic design aficionados will know Lance Wyman for a single blockbusting project: the corporate identity for the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games. Simultaneously of its age and yet still utterly contemporary, Wyman’s op art inspired designs are a highpoint of 20th century visual culture, an instant visual link to the era that endures long after subsequent Games identities have been and gone.
Naturally, there is substantially more to Wyman’s portfolio than this project. This new monograph from Unit Editions chronicles his life and work, including several years spent in Mexico shaping corporate and cultural identities for a number of other institutions (including the related identity for the country’s hosting of the 1970 World Cup – Wyman is a massive football fan). The depth and breadth of the work on display is testament to the designer’s total immersion in the relevant culture – this involved a four year spell living in Mexico itself – but also his training in industrial design at Pratt in the headily futuristic 1950s. Wyman worked with George Nelson, for example, and then had a long-running partnership with Bill Cannan in the 70s.
The book is a typically comprehensive Unit Editions production, drawing on the thousands of objects in Wyman’s own archives. Although the designer’s route into graphics was circuitous, it was spells working at General Motors and other corporate behemoths that gave him a crucial overview of designing identities of that scale and can be appended to anything. In later years Wyman has specialised in working on wayfinding, signage and environmental graphics, and his studio continues to work from its New York base, with recent projects like the Washington Metro Map proving he remains a vital force in visual design.
Best known for the corporate identity for the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games, Wyman’s op art inspired designs are a highpoint of 20th century visual culture
Naturally, there is more to Wyman’s portfolio than just that project; the book chronicles his life and work, including several years spent in Mexico shaping corporate and cultural identities for a number of other institutions
The depth and breadth of the work on display is testament to the designer’s total immersion in the relevant culture
The book is a typically comprehensive Unit Editions production, drawing on the thousands of objects in Wyman’s own archives
Wyman’s studio continues to work from its New York base, with recent projects like the Washington Metro Map proving he remains a vital force in visual design
INFORMATION
Lance Wyman: The Monograph (edited by Adrian Shaughnessy) is available now from Unit Editions; £75
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
Commune’s sustainable personal care products look ‘quite unlike anything else’
Commune’s Somerset-made products stand out in the sustainable skincare crowd. Madeleine Rothery speaks with the brand’s co-founders Kate Neal and Rémi Paringaux
By Madeleine Rothery Published
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
Colour me happy: RxArt’s fifth colouring book features cover art and stickers by John Baldessari
By Pei-Ru Keh Last updated
-
William Wegman: a profile
A video art pioneer and conceptual photographer, we retrace Guest Editor William Wegman's career and celebrate his four-legged sitters
By Paul McCann Last updated
-
Wild mystique: Ansel Adams retrospective opens at Quintenz Gallery, Aspen
By Tom Howells Last updated
-
Artist's Palate: Ralph Lauren's The Polo Bar brownie
By Pei-Ru Keh Last updated
-
Joining the dots: Pop master Roy Lichtenstein riffs on the sea at Guild Hall
By Brook Mason Published
-
Two years down: New York's RH Contemporary Art continues to break new ground
By Brook Mason Last updated
-
’Art as the first requirement’: Donald Judd’s 101 Spring Street to open as gallery
By Ann Binlot Last updated
-
Small fortunes: Alexander Calder’s miniature marvels on display at Dominique Lévy gallery
By Pei-Ru Keh Last updated