Jacqueline Casey

Background

Casey was born in 1927 in Quincy, Massachusetts.

Education

She studied for a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in fashion design and illustration at the Massachusetts College of Art (MassArt), graduating in 1949.

Career

After graduating, she had a number of jobs, including work in interior design and advertising. In 1955, she was recruited by fellow MassArt alumna Muriel Cooper to work at the Office of Publications at In 1972, Casey became Director, taking over this position as her colleague joined the faculty. The two women were among the few working at this professional level at of the time.

During her tenure as Director, Casey became known for designing distinctive publicity posters for events, working alongside Ralph Coburn and Dietmar Winkler.

Casey"s designs were influenced by the International Typographic Style recently developed in Switzerland, particularly designers such as Karl Gerstner, Armin Hofmann and Josef Müller-Brockmann. Casey"s posters generally consisted of a striking image or bold typography, accompanied by informational details in small text.

She often used typographic wordplay and visual puns 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 publications, Casey"s work was exhibited at, the Chelsea School of Art in London and the London College of Printing.

Casey retired from her role as Director in 1989, but continued to work as a visiting scholar at the Media Laboratory.

Casey"s work is held in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Cooper-Hewitt Museum. The Museum mounted an exhibition of Casey"s graphic work in 1992, and again in 2012. In addition to the holdings, the Rochester Institute of Technology has a collection of 99 posters, donated posthumously at the designer"s request.

Achievements

• Jacqueline Casey has received numerous awards and honors for her work, including the following: William J. Gunn Award, Creative Club of Boston. 1988. Honorary doctorate of fine arts, Massachusetts College of Artist 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.

Membership

Member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale and of the American Institute of Graphic Arts.