Modernism lost a little-known talent. Last Sunday Lora Lamm—the “grande dame” of Swiss design—died at 97 years old. “With her passing, we lose a designer who made a significant contribution to a new way of communication in the 1950s,” states her friend, the designer Peter Vetter. “[She created] lyrical illustrations and posters for the famous department store La Rinascente in Milan, Italy, which she shaped and gave international prestige. She leaves behind an extensive oeuvre that captivates with its elegance and lightness, represents an original interpretation of the Swiss Style and remains with us in the collections of the Museum für Gestaltung (Zurich) and the m.a.x. Museum in Chiasso.”
After studying at the Zurich School of Arts & Crafts, Lamm joined Milan’s legendary Studio Boggeri in 1953 as its only woman designer. A year later she became a member of the graphic studio of La Rinascente, illustrating numerous posters, catalogs and announcements—signaling a new modernity in the company’s visual design.
According to Archivio Grafica Italiana, in 1958 she replaced Max Huber as the director of the graphic office until leaving in 1962. In 1963 she returned to Zurich to become a member of Frank C. Thiessing’s agency.
Lamm combined Swiss rationalism and Italian exuberance. “Her graphic style was modern, light and fun in a rational way,” notes the website Design Like Her. “It was surely influenced by her professors in Zurich School of Arts and Crafts: the influential typographer and designer Ernst Keller, with his clear and precise graphic style, and the Bauhaus master Johannes Itten, a leading figure of expressionism and color theorist.”
The post The Daily Heller: Lora Lamm’s Other Swiss Modernism appeared first on PRINT Magazine.