Ladislav Sutnar (9 November 1897
13 November 1976) was a graphic designer from the Czech Republic who was a pioneer of information design and information architecture. Although he is uncredited, his contributions to business organisation benefited society, which included creating a user-friendly telephone directory by implementing parenthetical area codes. He received design commissions from a variety of employers, including McGraw-Hill, IBM, and the United Nations. He also worked as art director for Sweet’s Catalog Service for almost twenty years. Sutnar held many one-man exhibitions, and his work is on permanent display in MoMA. (Wikipedia) ‘Visual Design in Action’ is a snapshot from Sutnar’s American period (1936-1976) and includes graphics for Carr’s Department Store, Advertising for the Vera Neumann Company, the visual appearance of Addo-X and other amazing contemporary designs. Sutnar’s best-known work is the redesign of the entire Sweets Catalogue Service as its art director. He is less well known for the introduction of the clip as a typographic solution for distinguishing the prefix from the rest of a phone number.
‘Visual Design in Action’ is a testimony to the historical relevance of modernism and a philosophical reverberation on Sutnar focus on the functional beauty of total clarity. In regard to the influence of design and design thinking , this reprint of the 1961 first edition published in limited edition, is as relevant and to the point, as was the original 1961 publication. 378 illustrations Limited edition