carl regehr

Carl Regehr, Chicago graphic designer in 1960s and ’70s, name always comes up when discussing either Chicago design history, graphic design teachers, or sketching. Last year his daughter, Jana Regehr-Armstrong, discovered a trove of his journals, and another Chicago graphic designer, Jack Weiss, has edited them down to a compact, 154-page volume called Carl Regehr: The Lost Journals. The book features the designer’s sketches and notes interspersed with remembrances by his colleagues and students.

Regehr came to Chicago in 1953; by 1960 he started his own design shop, which turned out witty, sophisticated work for corporations and nonprofits. Regehr collaborated with theater director Shozo Sato, for whom he designed posters. An example of a concept sketch to reality poster is the 1981 Wisdom Bridge Theatre production of Sato’s Kabuki Macbeth, a bloodred arm rises upward out of a gold kimono, its hand where the wearer’s head should be. From 1972 until his death in 1983, Regehr taught design at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Carl Regehr: The Lost Journals Book release Friday, 26 October, 6-9 PM, Wright, 1440 West Hubbard. The release party coincides with the [ STA’s 85th anniversary ]

The concept of sketching in today’s digital world is sometimes overlooked. Here’s something to think about [ sketchy thinking ]