Of the great design talents of the 20th century, none was more versatile than Alexander Girard, whose enormous output spanned just about every discipline, from architecture to graphics, furniture to textiles. No matter the format, Girard brought a signature playful optimism brimming with color. That production is celebrated in a blocky new monograph, Alexander Girard: Let the Sun In (Phaidon: $125), that is as vibrant as its subject. Edited by the popular designer Todd Oldham and design writer Kiera Coffee, it is stuffed with images that trace Girard’s career in chapters organized around essential themes and clients.
Among those, and of particular interest for Dallasites, was his work for Braniff International Airways, whose identity he reimagined beginning in 1965, after the Dallas-based airline opened up routes to South America. Inspired by the flair associated with those destinations, Girard suffused the brand in color and pattern, designing virtually every aspect of the company’s identity, from its iconic BI logo to the seats of its planes. The book explores that work in detail, including a series of foldout spreads that display the full scope of Girard’s genius.
