Bradbury Thompson
Kaitlin Mitchell Paper synopsis 3-24-12 Bradbury Thompson
Bradbury Thompson was born in 1911 in Topeka, Kansas. He was a lively child who was obsessed with brooks and type from an early age. In high school Thompson was heavily involved in his work as a draftsmen at a civil engineering firm. He was also quite the over achiever in high school. He was the president of his senior class; captain of the track team; and editor of two Kaw yearbooks. He loved working with what he had a challenging himself to “create a lot with very little.” Upon graduation he attended Washburn College, majoring in economics. He graduated college in 1934. Shortly after graduation he started working at Capper publications in Topeka. Here he learned every aspect of printing production. He also had to use and refine his skills for creating a lot with limited resources, going to lengths such as enlarging a halftone screen so large it became a design element. Thompson took his portfolio and headed off to New York, City in 1938. It didn’t take long for him to hit the graphic design scene with force: immediately being hired on as an art director at Rogers'Kellog and Stillson. Later while in New York he started to design for the graphic arts publication Westvaco Inspirations, a publication designed to promote paper sales. Bradbury became well know for his design of over sixty successful covers. In 1949 Bradbury Thompson created his Alphabet 26 after watching his son struggle with reading. He found that nineteen of our twenty sixletter alphabet used different upper and lower case symbols. His solution was to create a typeface that has the same symbol for both upper and lower case. He used only size to distinguish the difference between the two. He was careful to choose the right typeface to introduce Alphabet 26. As a modernist with a heart for the traditional; he chose a typeface that would
not be rejected by the public by designing the typeface with classic styles. Thompson chose Baskerville
Bradbury Thompson was born in 1911 in Topeka, Kansas. He was a lively child who was obsessed with brooks and type from an early age. In high school Thompson was heavily involved in his work as a draftsmen at a civil engineering firm. He was also quite the over achiever in high school. He was the president of his senior class; captain of the track team; and editor of two Kaw yearbooks. He loved working with what he had a challenging himself to “create a lot with very little.” Upon graduation he attended Washburn College, majoring in economics. He graduated college in 1934. Shortly after graduation he started working at Capper publications in Topeka. Here he learned every aspect of printing production. He also had to use and refine his skills for creating a lot with limited resources, going to lengths such as enlarging a halftone screen so large it became a design element. Thompson took his portfolio and headed off to New York, City in 1938. It didn’t take long for him to hit the graphic design scene with force: immediately being hired on as an art director at Rogers'Kellog and Stillson. Later while in New York he started to design for the graphic arts publication Westvaco Inspirations, a publication designed to promote paper sales. Bradbury became well know for his design of over sixty successful covers. In 1949 Bradbury Thompson created his Alphabet 26 after watching his son struggle with reading. He found that nineteen of our twenty sixletter alphabet used different upper and lower case symbols. His solution was to create a typeface that has the same symbol for both upper and lower case. He used only size to distinguish the difference between the two. He was careful to choose the right typeface to introduce Alphabet 26. As a modernist with a heart for the traditional; he chose a typeface that would
not be rejected by the public by designing the typeface with classic styles. Thompson chose Baskerville