Jacqueline S. Casey (20 April 1927 – 18 May 1992) was a

graphic designer A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming ...

best known for the posters and other graphic art she created for the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT). While practicing a functional Modernism, Jacqueline S. Casey was a graphic designer in the Office of Publications (later retitled the Office of Design Services) from 1955 to 1989, and was appointed director in 1972. In discussing her design, Casey stated, "My work combines two cultures: The American interest in visual metaphor on the one hand, and the Swiss fascination with planning, fastidiousness, and control over technical execution on the other."

Early life and education

Casey was born Jacqueline Shepard in 1927 in

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county. Quincy is part of the Greater Boston area as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in ...

, the only child of a working-class couple. She studied for a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

degree in fashion design and illustration at the

Massachusetts College of Art Massachusetts College of Art and Design, branded as MassArt, is a public college of visual and applied art in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1873, it is one of the nation's oldest art schools, and the only publicly funded independent art sch ...

(MassArt), graduating in 1949. After graduating, she had a number of jobs, including work in interior design and advertising, however she never obtained a job she was completely interested in; she stated, "I broke the negative cycle by traveling through Europe for three months" and came back "with the decision to focus my life on something related to the arts... to develop my visual sensitivity."

MIT

The professional quality and creative additions to design are what made the MIT's campus design group widely respected in the field. MIT is acknowledged as the first American college to employ graphic designers as part of the faculty, and Jacqueline Casey was one of the few who were hired. The prototype for the university's publisher (

MIT Press The MIT Press is the university press of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The MIT Press publishes a number of academic journals and has been a pioneer in the Open Ac ...

) was implemented by the graphic designers, who became known for the meticulous and straightforward style of their typography. Campus projects, programs, cultural, and scientific events were advertised on campus, locally, and to the world at large through the group designer's works. In 1955, Jacqueline Shepard was recruited by fellow MassArt alumna

Muriel Cooper Muriel Cooper (1925 – May 26, 1994) was an American pioneering book designer, digital designer, researcher, and educator. She was the first design director of the MIT Press, instilling a Bauhaus-influenced design style into its many publication ...

to work at the Office of Publications at MIT. She later stated, “In my early days at MIT, a designer working on summer materials would interview faculty and have a mini-course in a subject such as radioisotopes from the professor in charge. There was an opportunity to learn something new every day.” In 1972, Casey became Director, taking over this position as her colleague joined the MIT faculty. The two women were among the few working at this professional level at MIT of the time. During her tenure as Director, Casey became known for designing distinctive publicity posters for MIT events, working alongside Ralph Coburn and Dietmar Winkler. Casey's designs were influenced by the

International Typographic Style The International Typographic Style is a systemic approach to graphic design that emerged during the 1930s–1950s but continued to develop internationally. It is considered the basis of the Swiss style. It expanded on and formalized the modern ...

recently developed in Switzerland, particularly designers such as Karl Gerstner,

Armin Hofmann Armin Hofmann ( HonRDI) (29 June 1920 – 18 December 2020) was a Swiss graphic designer and design educator, considered one of the most influential figures of Swiss design. Biography Hofmann began his career in 1947 as a teacher at the Allgeme ...

, and

Josef Müller-Brockmann Josef Müller-Brockmann (9 May 1914 – 30 August 1996) was a Swiss graphic designer, author, and educator, he was a Principal at Muller-Brockmann & Co. design firm. He was a pioneer of the International Typographic Style. One of the main master ...

. Casey's posters generally consisted of a striking image or bold typography, accompanied by informational details in smaller text. She often used typographic wordplay and

visual pun A visual pun is a pun involving an image or images (in addition to or instead of language), often based on a rebus. Visual puns in which the image is at odds with the inscription are common in cartoons such as '' Lost Consonants'' or '' The Fa ...

s in her work. Speaking of her designs in 1988, she said: "My job is to stop anyone I can with an arresting or puzzling image, and entice the viewer to read the message in small type and above all to attend the exhibition." As well as being used for promotion of on-campus events and in MIT publications, Casey's work was exhibited at MIT, the

Chelsea School of Art Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art and design university in London, England. It offers further and higher education courses in fine art, graphic design, interior design, produ ...

in London, and the

London College of Printing The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. Its origins are in education for the printing and retail industries; it now specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation ...

Personal life

In 1958, Jacqueline Shepard married William "Bill" Casey, and changed her name to Jacqueline S Casey. Her spouse was a psychologist doing social work from a home office in their art-filled home in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline () is an affluent town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. An exclave of Norfolk County, Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton ...

. In 1975, he died of cancer. Jacqueline Casey herself was diagnosed with cancer in 1982, and struggled to handle the workload at MIT with assistance of her staff. In 1989 she was forced to retire, but her longtime colleague, neighbor, and friend

arranged for her to continue work as a visiting scholar at the

MIT Media Laboratory The MIT Media Lab is a research laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, growing out of MIT's Architecture Machine Group in the School of Architecture. Its research does not restrict to fixed academic disciplines, but draws from ...

. Casey died of cancer on May 18, 1992.

Legacy

Casey's work is held in the permanent collections of the

MIT Museum The MIT Museum, founded in 1971, is part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It hosts collections of holography, technology-related artworks, artificial intelligence, architecture, robotics, maritime history, ...

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

, the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

in New York, and the Cooper-Hewitt Museum. The MIT Museum mounted exhibitions of Casey's graphic work in 1992, 2012, and 2018. Her complete works for MIT are archived in the collection of the MIT Museum. In addition to the MIT holdings, the

Rochester Institute of Technology The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York, Rochester. It was founded in 1829. It is one of only two institute of technology, institut ...

has a collection of 99 posters, donated by the MIT Museum at the designer's request. Selected examples of these posters may be viewed online.

Works and exhibitions

Massachusetts Institute of Technology ''Give Blood''. 1983. ''Arts on the Line''. 1980. Poster for ''Coffee Hour''. 1979. ''Ger Dekkers (New Dutch Landscape)'' Exhibition Poster. 1979. ''Mediums of Language''. 1977. ''Art and Environment''. Poster for MIT’s ''Center for Advanced Visual Studies'', 1972. Poster for ''Octave of Prayer''. 1972. ''Goya: The Disasters of War''. 1971. ''Six Artists'' Exhibition Poster. 1970. Poster for ''Open House''. 1969. Poster for ''The Moon Show''. 1969. Poster for ''Center for Space Research''. 1968. ''Light 7'' Exhibition Poster. 1968. ''Miscellaneous Motions of Kinetic Sculpture''. 1967. Poster for ''Boston Visual Arts Union''. Hayden Gallery. Poster for ''MIT Gospel Choir: God Is...'' Poster for ''MIT Gospel Choir: There Is NoGreaterLove''. ''LincolnLab Recruitment Poster''. ''Walking in the Spirit: A Celebration of Gospel Music''. North Carolina State University ''Furniture by Architects'' Exhibition Poster. 1981. Two Views/Peter Berg, Two Sculptures/Ed Rothfarb. 1979. ''MIT Symphony Orchestra Tour 1973''. 1973. ''Medicine of the Future''. 1971. ''Monuments to Malcolm X Poster''. 1970. ''Stop Oil Pollution''. 1970. ''Library Booklet Cover''. 1967. ''Ocean Engineering Recruitment Poster''. 1967. ''Humanities Series Concerts''. 1966. ''Corners'' Exhibition Poster. ''Presidents' Ball Poster''. ''Technology and Policy Program at MIT''. Rochester Institute of Technology ''Jacqueline Casey''. 1990. ''Academic Honesty: Are Our Standards Clear?.'' 1984. ''Elijah: Felix Mendelssohn''. 1984. ''James Turrell: An Installation''. Wallace Library. 1983. ''Constructed Color: Sculpture by James Biederman, James Hoberman, Steve Keister, Lizbeth Marano, George Mayocole''. Wallace Library. 1982. ''Great Big Drawings''. Wallace Library. 1982. ''Intimate Architecture: Contemporary Clothing Design''. Wallace Library. 1982. ''4 Painters''. Wallace Library. 1981. ''Body Language''. Wallace Library. 1981. ''The Computer: From Counting To Cognition''. 1979. ''Chemistry at MIT''. 1978. ''Cancer:'' S''ymposium on the Occasion of the Dedication of the Seeley G. Mudd Building''. 1975. ''Brassai, The Eye of Paris: An Exhibition of Photographs''. 1974. ''Fredrich St. Florian Projects''. Wallace Library. 1973. ''A Spring Festival of Music 1972 in Honor of Klaus Liepmann''. 1972. Poster for ''Faculty-Student Exchange Program''. 1972. ''Lift Equilibrium: An Outdoor Experiment''. 1969. ''Hans Haacke'' Exhibition Poster. Wallace Library. 1967. ''Aesthetics of Progress''. ''Helène Aylon''. ''Seven Montreal Painters''. Other Casey, Jacqueline S. & Small, David. ''Fives''. Visible Language Workshop, October 1990. ''Russia, USA Peace''. 1985. Judge at ''Creativity on Paper'' exhibition. Sponsored by ''Art Direction'' magazine, 1966.

Awards and honors

Casey has received numerous awards and honors for her work, including: *William J. Gunn Award, Creative Club of Boston. 1988. *Honorary doctorate of fine arts, Massachusetts College of Art. 1990. *Appointed by the late President Bartlett A. Giamatti of Yale University to the Visiting Committee of the Yale School of Graphic Design. *Member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale and of the American Institute of Graphic Arts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casey, Jacqueline American graphic designers American women graphic designers 1927 births 1992 deaths Massachusetts College of Art and Design alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology staff Deaths from cancer