Will Burtin Papers, c.1857-1972 - RIT Libraries - Rochester Institute ...

Biographical Note
1908-1938
Designer, art director, and teacher, Will Burtin was born in 1908 in Cologne,
Germany. Burtin initially trained as a typographer and served as an apprentice in 1922. At
night, he expanded his education into design by attending, and later teaching at the Cologne
Werkschule. His successful design practice included the creation of exhibits and printed
publications for industrial clients. By the late 30s, Burtin’s work had garnered so much
attention in Germany, that he was approached by Hitler to design for the Nazis: “They were
insidious. I couldn’t refuse and stay in Germany.” Fleeing with his wife, Hilde, Burtin
immigrated to the United States in 1938.
1939-1948
Quickly finding work, Burtin designed the Federal Works Exhibition for the United
States Pavilion at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, and began teaching at the Pratt
Institute. As a freelance designer, Burtin earned a medal from the New York Art Directors
Club in 1941 for his cover design of Architectural Forum, and had an issue of A-D (vol. 8,
no. 3) devoted entirely to his work from the previous decade. These would be the first of
many honors awarded to Burtin over the course of his career.
In 1943, Will Burtin was drafted into the US Army and spent the next three years
designing gunnery manuals. This unique ability to visually express complex concepts
would emerge as a defining characteristic of Burtin’s work. Years later, photographer Ezra
Stoller cited this experience, along with Burtin’s background in typography and printing as
helping to define his tenure as art director (1945-1949) of Fortune magazine:
“The layouts suddenly invested Fortune with a new dimension. Copy and
illustrations were not just neatly organized; they were presented as
counterpoint to each other. Indeed, one could get the sense of a story by
simply following the layout with the text acting as a clarification and
reinforcement.”
The mid to late 40s saw Burtin expand his role in professional organizations,
serving as Director of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA). In 1948, Burtin’s
Integration: The New Discipline in Design exhibit opened at the Composing Room in New
York City. In the introduction to the exhibition, designer Serge Chermayeff stated:
“This new art of ‘visualization,’ of giving visual form in two or three
dimensions to a message, is the product of a new kind of artist functionary
evolved by our complex society. This artist possesses the inclusive
equipment of liberal knowledge, scientific and technical experience, and
artisticability….Among the small band of pioneers who have developed this
new language by bringing patient research and brilliant inventiveness to
their task is Will Burtin.”
Burtin papers, page 5