In 1973, a first class stamp cost 8 cents and gas was 39 cents a gallon. The Vietnam War was ending as Richard Nixon’s Watergate trouble was deepening. The Dow was at 850 and a new graphic design firm had just opened for business. Since then commercial supersonic flight, the World Trade Center, NASA’s space shuttle program and the TV show Cheers have all come and gone. As Bernhardt Fudyma completes its 4th decade in business, we’ve taken a look back at some of the events and developments that have shaped our world since the beginning of 1973 and juxtaposed them to a few of the design assignments that were also occupying our thoughts at the time.
Charles F. Noyes (currently Helmsley-Noyes), a lower Manhattan realtor and developer, chooses our newly established firm to develop its corporate identity.
The Supreme Court hands down its original ruling on Roe v Wade
Bernhardt Fudyma creates a combination identity and masthead to distinguish Electrical Digest, a publication for electricians and contractors.
Derek Jeter is born
Working with Art Director Sam Antupit, Bernhardt Fudyma creates the cover art for each issue of the newly designed Consumer Reports magazine.
The movie Jaws is released in theaters
Seagram Distillers chooses Bernhardt Fudyma to redesign and produce its quarterly employee magazine.
Tiger Woods is born
Burlington Industries assigns Bernhardt Fudyma to develop an identity for a program that recognized the creative use of its fabrics in the home furnishings market.
The first Star Wars premieres
Bernhardt Fudyma redesigns and begins an eight
year stint producing the flagship employee/ shareholder publication for W.R.Grace.
John Paul II becomes Pope
Viking Penguin assigns Bernhardt Fudyma to design a series of posters to promote the release of their new book titles.
Howard Stern begins broadcasting on WCCC in Hartford CT
The Maxwell House division of General Foods asks Bernhardt Fudyma to ‘reincarnate’ its corporate magazine which was first published in 1924.
John Lennon is shot in NYC
Holt Rinehart and Winston assigns Bernhardt Fudyma to redesign their catalogues of school textbooks and instructional materials.
MTV is launched
Bernhardt Fudyma creates a system of marketing materials for Citibank’s commodity trading programs using M.C. Escher’s Metamorphosis as a visual metaphor.
Maya Lin’s controversial Vietnam War Memorial is dedicated in Washington, DC
To explain the properties and quality of their custom made filters, Bernhardt Fudyma creates marketing materials that differentiate Fluid Conditioning Products from their competitors.
Launched in 1972, Pioneer 10 becomes the first
man-made object to leave the solar system
Using a ‘what’s wrong with this picture?’ scenario and illustrations by Richard Hess, Bernhardt Fudyma creates a brochure for Citibank’s Cash Management Consulting services.
LeBron James is born
Bernhardt Fudyma is chosen by the El Torito restaurant chain to tell the story of the company’s explosive growth in its annual report.
The wreck of the Titanic is found
To help one of the ‘big eight’ accounting firms raise funds for the restoration of Ellis Island, Bernhardt Fudyma creates a timeline of immigration using the stories and experiences of the families of the firm‘s own employees.
The space shuttle Challenger explodes on liftoff
During their first year in operation, Bond Investors Guaranty assigns Bernhardt Fudyma to develop a coordinated identity system to distinguish this newcomer to the municipal bond insurance arena.
Rita Hayworth dies and Jersey Shore’s Snooki is born
Citibank’s Global Trade Division asks Bernhardt Fudyma to develop materials that explain the
benefits of its services – less paperwork, better
control and decreased costs when buying goods overseas.
The stealth bomber is revealed
To increase legibility, improve reproduction accuracy and convey a more contemporary look, Nabisco assigns Bernhardt Fudyma to perform the first major graphic update of its familiar triangular logo since Raymond Loewy first designed it in 1952.
Read about the history of the Nabisco logoThe Berlin Wall falls
The Gilbert Paper Company invites Bernhardt Fudyma to contribute a design based on the theme ‘freedom of expression’. The current events of the time inspire our solution.
View an online version of this projectNelson Mandela is released from prison after serving 27 years for his opposition to apartheid
The Brooklyn Hospital Center asks Bernhardt
Fudyma to create a coordinated, flexible and
efficient system of resident recruiting materials.
The ‘perfect storm’ strikes the northeast US
The Association of American Indian Affairs asks Bernhardt Fudyma to create the identity, promotion and event materials for the Native American Film and Media Celebration.
See more of this projectDow Corning announces that it will stop making silicone breast implants
Tanagraphics, one of New York’s premier printers, assigns Bernhardt Fudyma to design a quarterly promotional calendar series that showcases its printing capabilities.
The public is allowed into Buckingham Palace for
the first time
Using anthropomorphic graphs and charts, Bernhardt Fudyma helps AIG explain its hedging services that protect both producers and consumers of oil and gas from the volatile nature of energy pricing.
OJ Simpson is arrested for the murders of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman
Working with Makovsky & Company, Bernhardt Fudyma creates the branding and promotional materials for ThinkQuest – a competition that challenged students to develop and build educational websites for their peers.
Toy Story, the first ever full length computer animated film is released
Bernhardt Fudyma creates an advertising campaign for GE Equity Capital that explains how they could provide a ‘window of opportunity’ for small businesses.
Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be successfully cloned from an adult cell, is born in Scotland
Bernhardt Fudyma develops a typographic ‘evolution’ of messages for the John Wiley & Sons’ annual report to explain how they were adapting products and processes to meet the needs of their customers.
Hong Kong is returned to the Chinese
To help Citigroup attract the best and the brightest, Bernhardt Fudyma develops a coordinated system of recruiting materials, ads and the overall campaign theme: ‘Institutional Power. Individual Energy’.
The Clinton sex scandal explodes and he becomes
the 2nd American president to be impeached
For the merger of two of New York’ most prestigious hospitals and medical schools, Bernhardt Fudyma
creates a new identity system that not only
represents the overall institution, but also
accommodates application to its many individual hospital centers, colleges and satellite clinics.
The last Checker taxi cab is retired in New York City and auctioned off for approximately $135,000
Bernhardt Fudyma creates the identity and all internal and external marketing and fulfillment materials for the Travelers’ Marquis Portfolios.
See more of this projectThe billionth living person in India is born
American Express assigns Bernhardt Fudyma to redesign its flagship employee publication to
function as both a conventional magazine and an interactive module with expanded content on the company’s intranet.
The iPod is introduced
Bernhardt Fudyma is asked to create a combination case statement and annual report for the Jewish Theological Seminary to convey the schools mission, raise funds and acknowledge supporters.
The Mars Odyssey rover finds signs of large water ice deposits on the planet Mars
As part of an integrated branding system developed for the Beginning with Children Foundation, Bernhardt Fudyma designs the websites for the foundation and its two charter schools.
The Human Genome Project is completed, with 99% of the human genome sequenced to 99.99%
Bernhardt Fudyma provides both the content and design for a corporate image brochure that
showcases the extent of Standard & Poor’s
businesses against the backdrop of the world’s financial markets where they operate.
The Curse of the Bambino is broken when the
Boston Red Sox win the World Series for the first
time since 1918
American Express chooses Bernhardt Fudyma to design and produce its annual report – in print and online – for the 6th consecutive year.
Hurricane Katrina makes landfall along the Gulf
Coast causing severe damage and over 1,800 deaths
Bernhardt Fudyma is chosen by New York Women in Communications to create a brand identity and graphic system that would better convey the relationship between the organization and its prestigious Matrix Awards.
Download a case study of this projectWestern Union discontinues its telegram service
The MacDowell Colony, the oldest artist residency program in the country, chooses Bernhardt Fudyma to create a refreshed identity that would distinguish its communications for its centennial year – and beyond.
Download a case study of this projectBarry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants breaks baseball great Hank Aaron's record by hitting his 756th home run
In order to energize the look and feel of their brand, The Yale Club of New York City asks Bernhardt Fudyma to create a refreshed, contemporary identity system that would also retain the character of the century old institution.
Download a case study of this projectThe price of gold hits $1,000 per ounce and the price of oil hits $100 per barrel for the first time
Reval, one of the world’s leaders in the specialized space defined by derivatives, accounting, and SaaS technology, enlists Bernhardt Fudyma to upgrade its brand and reinvigorate its market potential.
Download a case study of this projectMichael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett both die on the same day
Bernhardt Fudyma is assigned to create a new brand for Applied Minerals that would help reposition the company from a traditional 20th century mining operation to a 21st century high-tech nano materials business.
Download a case study of this projectThe Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest man made structure, is officially opened
Working with the archivists at JPMorgan Chase, Bernhardt Fudyma designs and produces a series of exhibits that chronicle the bank’s interesting
evolution from its earliest roots to its current
standing as one of the world’s financial
powerhouses.
The planet Neptune completes its first orbit since
its discovery in 1846
Having completed its first year as a public company, Air Lease charges Bernhardt Fudyma to develop an annual report that communicates how it successfully landed at the forefront of the aircraft leasing business.
A power grid failure leaves over 600 million people in India without power
The oldest library in New York, assigns Bernhardt Fudyma to energize its brand and streamline their website while maintaining its distinguished character and esteemed history.
Download a case study of this projectAs the events of this year are yet to unfold, we'd like to use this space to acknowledge not only our current talented team, Mario Aguilar, Nancy Caldwell, Kate Dautrich and Marlyn Pollard, but also the many other skilled designers and staff who have worked at the firm over the past 40 years:
We’ve also had the pleasure of working with hundreds of talented photographers, illustrators, writers, type designers, web developers, retouchers, photo researchers and printers who were part of the thousands of projects produced for our clients over the years.
Thank you all, Craig Bernhardt and Janice Fudyma