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1978 AIGA MEDAL
A child of the Bronx, Lou Dorfsman went to public schools and
graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1935. He wanted to
attend New York University and study bacteriology, but during 1935, in the heart of
the Great Depression, the $300 tuition was simply too much. Lou
took and passed the entrance exam for The Cooper Union for the Advancement
of Science and Art, a highly selective school, where he received a
four-year scholarship that covered all of his costs. He went on to
graduate with the school's highest honors.
Dorfsman met his wife, Ann Hysa, while attending The Cooper
Union, as well as lifelong friend and collaborator, Herb Lubalin.
He held 11 jobs during and after school, and from 1943 to 1946, he
served in the U.S. Army, where he won first and second prize in the
National Army Arts Contest.
Lou Dorfsman joined CBS during 1946 after leaving the U.S. army.
Dorfsman was attracted to CBS because of its “high graphic
standards.” For 41 years, he would work within CBS, shaping every
aspect of its design and advertising. He became the Art Director of
CBS Radio during 1951, five short years after joining CBS, and
graduated to Creative Director of the CBS Television Network during
1960. Dorfsman was appointed Director of Design for CBS, Inc.
during 1964, and he became Vice President and Creative Director of
the CBS Broadcast group during 1968. Alongside William S. Paley and
Frank Stanton, he shaped every aspect of their advertising and
design, from their award-winning advertisements to the look of the
convention floor to the appearance of Walter Cronkite and the CBS
Newsroom. Dorfsman played an integral role in the Golden Age of
Broadcast Television. During 1978, Dorfsman became Senior Vice
President and Creative Director for Marketing Communications and
Design for the CBS Broadcast Group. Milton Glaser called him simply
“the best corporate designer in the world,” a testament to the
beauty and strength of his ideas, which still resonate with
designers of all ages.
Perhaps his most ambitious and audacious project, Lou Dorfsman
considers the wall of type that graced the CBS cafeteria, aptly
titled the Gastrotypographicalassemblage, his magnum opus. The
wall, which spans 35' and is 8'6“ tall, was Dorfsman's vision and
the result of his creative genius. Unveiled to critical acclaim;
each individual letterform was made of wood, hand milled and
skillfully assembled. After 25 years, the wall was removed from the
CBS cafeteria and placed in storage. (The
Center for Design Study undertook the wall's complete
restoration during 2007.)
The Art
Director's Club, of which Dorfsman is a past president, honored
him through the years with 13 Gold Medals and 23 awards of
Distinctive Merit for outstanding work in print and television
advertising, packaging, film titling, book design and direct mail.
He won two Clios and five 50 Ads of the Year. During 1978, The Art
Director's Club inducted Lou into the Art Directors Hall of
Fame
He was the recipient in 1984 and 1989 of an honorary Doctorate
of Fine Arts from the New School of Social Research and the Long
Island University, respectively.
Interestingly enough, after witnessing Ann and Lou's marriage,
Herb Lubalin married his wife, Sylvia Kushner, on the same day
during 1940. Lou Dorfsman currently resides in Great Neck, Long
Island with his wife of 67 years, Ann Hysa.
Copyright 2008 ©, The Center for Design Study, 400 Trabert
Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30309
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