April Greiman Research Paper

In today’s using technology in the creation seems almost second nature. This, though, has not always been the case. With the development of computers in the 20^th century, also came the development of using technology to create art. April Greiman was one of the first people to embrace this technology. Today she is a world famous graphic designer and award-winning professor.

Much of April Greiman’s personal life is kept private. She was born in New York on Long Island in 1948. She has a very extensive education and is very knowledgeable in her field. She received her bachelor’s degree in graphic design and attended the Kansas City Arts Institute. April Greiman had an adventurous and curious personality and she wanted to know what the rest of the world had to offer her. Her parents encouraged this curiosity and supported her in her endeavors and adventures. Wanting to continue her education she left the United States for Basal Switzerland. There she attended the Allegmeine Kunstgewerbeschule (the General Arts Trade School). Eventually, after finishing her education, she would return home.

In the mid 1970’s Greiman returned to her home state of New York. She had the opportunity to work and study in New York City under Emilio Ambasz, curator of the Museum of Modern Art. It was here that her career in design really began to flourish. One of the first major projects she participated in was in conjunction with the curator. The work is titled the Taxi Project. Ambasz’s goal with the Taxi Project was to create a new sort of vehicle that could be used to replace the thousands of disgusting and uncomfortable taxicabs, making traveling by car in the city less chaotic and more comfortable. This project became one of the most iconic and famous exhibits at MoMA in recent history.

© 2003, The Museum of Modern Art, New York

Eventually, April Greiman decided that she wanted to do something different and expand her career. So she decided to head to the opposite end of the country. Greiman moved to Los Angeles and opened her own design firm, Made in Space in 1976. It is here where the designer has produced some of her most iconic pieces. In Los Angeles, She started her work with technology and digital art. She embraced what companies such as Macintosh had to offer her. Not only is she one of the first major female graphic designers, she became one of the pioneers in her field of digital design overall. Throughout her career she helped to create the posters for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles as well as the logo for Lifetime Television used thoughout the 1980’s.

Many major companies have recruited Greiman and Made in Space for new and innovative design projects. Such major clients include California State University, Los Angeles and the United States Postal Service. A large-scale project that Greiman designed was the student union at the California State University, Los Angeles. The project was developed in 1997 after the Los Angeles earthquake three years earlier, where a number of buildings in the area were deemed unsafe. Greiman brought a new modern design to the campus. The student campus is full of bright colors and a multitude of building materials. Such elements are visually appealing and include brick, glass, wood and concrete. The resulting building was equivalent to six stories in height and surrounded by colorful banners.

Another recognizable and major project that Greiman headed was a stamp design for the United States Postal Service. The stamp was designed to honor the 19^th amendment of the United States Constitution. The 19^th amendments gave women in the United States the right to vote. The stamp celebrated the 75^th anniversary of the ratification of the amendment in 1995. The stamp depicts a digitally designed image of a women’s suffrage march.

http://www.usps.com/images/stamps/95/equality.gif

Greiman has written or contributed to many pieces of literature illustrating her career path in design and some of the projects she has taken part in or headed. Some of these works include Floating Ideas Though Time and Space. In this book she and author Liz Farrelly describes her design process as well as discusses some of her most famous and recognizable pieces of art. Another book that she authored is titled Something from Nothing, where she talks about some of her designs since starting her design firm, Made in Space. In addition to her writings, in her time as a designer and digital artist, April Greiman has won numerous prestigious awards. Some of these award include Apple Master from Apple Computers in 2000 as well as the American Institute of Graphic Arts Medal for Innovation awarded to her in 1998.

Today, April Greiman continues her work in digital design. While still the head of the firm, Made in Space, she became a partner of Pentagram in the year 2000. The design firm Pentagram works with companies such as United Airlines, Polaroid and also Nike. Currently April Greiman and her firm have a digital photography exhibit titled “Drive-by Shooting” at the Pasendena Muesem of California Art. The photographs are mostly blurry pictures of moving vehicles of street signs. To the viewer it looks as though the photograph is moving in front of their eyes. The exhibit can be seen here: http://drive-byshooting.com/ . During her career and life, April Greiman has made significant contributions to the design and art world.

Portrait:

http://www.thedetroiter.com/v3/2009/02/toyota-lecture-series-features-april-greiman/

Poster: http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/image_galleries/towerhamlets_olympic_posters_gallery.shtml?7

Bibliography

"April Greiman." AIGA. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2010.

content.cfm/medalist-aprilgreiman>.

"April Greiman." Art Directory. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2010.

.

"Drive-by Shooting." Drive-by Shooting: April Greiman. N.p., n.d. Web. 1

Mar. 2010.

Farrelly, Liz, and April Greiman. April Greiman: Floating Ideas into Time and Space. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1998.

Goldberger, Paul. "Wanted: New Cabs." MetropolisMag.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar.

2010. .

Greiman, April. aprilgreiman. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2010.

1053655_Wilshire_Vermont_Hand_Holding_a_Bowl_of.html>.

Greiman, April, and Aris Janigian. Something from Nothing. Crans-Près-Céligny: RotoVision, 2001.