H is for Hayward Blake
Justin Ahrens · 2018 · Digital print
Justin Ahrens was selected as one of 26 Chicago designers to create a typographic poster for the Society of Typographic Arts' 'Chicago Characters' project, an alphabet series celebrating Chicago's most influential design figures, with each designer assigned a letter and a legend. Justin drew 'H' for Hayward Blake, a towering figure in Chicago graphic design whose career spanned from the 1960s through the 2000s. Blake ran Hayward Blake & Company and later Hayward Blake Design, producing landmark work for clients across corporate identity, print, and exhibition design. His archives are held in the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art, and he was an active member of the 27 Chicago Designers group as early as 1963. Justin had the pleasure of getting to know Hayward personally, meeting the man behind the legacy and experiencing firsthand the warmth, generosity, and quiet brilliance that defined him as much as his design work. The Society of Typographic Arts, founded in 1927, is Chicago's oldest design organization, dedicated to promoting international excellence in communication design through competitions like the STA 100, exhibitions, workshops, and community events. The poster reduces Blake's initials 'HB' to monumental, geometric white letterforms on pure black, a tribute to the clarity and confidence that characterized both the man and his work.
View this poster in The 29 Collection