Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Dan Friedman Papers

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.1277
Creators:
Friedman, Dan, 1945-1995
Dates:
1967 - 1995
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
16 Cubic feet
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
General correspondence files contain all communications that do not pertain to a specific project. Because Friedman's personal life and business were so interconnected, many of his business associates also shared personal correspondence with the designer.,Materials in this collection document Friedman's work from 1967, as a student, until his death in 1995.
Files that document his affiliations with Yale University and the State University of New York at Purchase include administrative memos, proposals, lecture outlines, syllabi, bibliographies, examples of students' work, and design projects Friedman did for each school. A copy of the goals and objectives of the Division of Visual Arts within the School of the Arts at SUNY Purchase written by Friedman is included.
Project files include business correspondence, invoices, sketches, contracts, clippings, photographs, and slides. In the case of his graphic projects, some samples of stationery and brochures are included. Extensive documentation exists for Friedman's projects for Citibank, WilliWear, National Public Radio, and Bonwit Teller. Some correspondence is in German. Friedman's lecture notes, proposals for articles and books, and drafts of many articles are included. Clippings of articles on the designer and his work are arranged chronologically.
Research files consist of articles and Friedman's notes on topics of interest to him, such as typography, structure, simultaneity, and information theory. Photographs, slides, and transparencies of many of Friedman's projects, his sources of inspiration, and the work of his students are included.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Record Groups include:
1: General Correspondence
2: University Affiliations
3: Project Files
4: Lectures and Writings
5: Clippings
6: Research Materials
7: Photographs and Slides

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Educator, graphic and furniture designer. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, 1945. Friedman recieved a BFA from Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburg, PA. He studied graphic design at Hochschule fur Gestaltung, Ulm, and studied with Armin Hofmann and Wolfgang Weingart at Allgemeine Gewerbeschule, Basel. Friedman returned to America in 1969 and began his career as graphic designer for large corporations.
He worked with the firm Anspach Grossman Portugal as a senior designer from 1975 to 1977. Friedman contributed significantly to what came to be known as "post-modern" or "new wave" typography in the 1970s. He taught graphic design at Yale University, 1970-73. He became Assistant Professor and Chairman of the Board of Study in Design at the State University of New York at Purchase, 1972-1975. Friedman designed catalogs and brochures for both universities. Friedman worked with Pentagram Design in New York City from 1979 to 1984. He designed corporate identity programs, posters, publications, packaging, letterheads, and logos, for clients such as Citibank, and Williwear.
Friedman was a long-time friend of artist Keith Haring, and designed the book, "Keith Haring", 1982. He was the author of "Dan Friedman: Radical Modernism", 1994, and co-authored with Jeffrey Deitch, "Cultural Geometry", 1988, and "Artificial Nature", 1990. He designed the books "New Italian Design", 1990, and "Post Human", 1992. He also designed furniture, lighting, screens, wall elements, and interiors. Many of his furniture designs were done especially for Galerie Noetu in Paris. Among his best known furniture designs are the 1989 Virgin Screen, 1989 Zoid sofa and chair, and the Three Mile Island lamps.
Friedman served as the Frank Stanton Professor of Graphic Design at the Cooper Union in New York city, from 1994 until his death in 1995.

Administration

Author
NMAH Staff
Custodial History
Transferred to the Archives Center in 2012.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was donated to the museum by the designer's brother, Ken Friedman in 1995.
Processing Information
Collection is unprocessed.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Preferred Citation
Dan Friedman Papers, 1967-1995, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Related Materials
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Drawings and Prints Department
Hundreds of designs for letterheads, logos, business cards, invitations, greeting cards, furniture, lighting, screens, office interiors, shoppings bags and gift boxes, calendars, packaging, weather pattern diagrams and maps, book covers, and posters
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Applied Arts Department
"U.S.A." table and dome-shaped floor lamp.,.
Friedman's work can be found in the collections of the following museums: Museum of Modern Art, New York City; Museum of Decorative Arts, Montreal, Canada; Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL; Seibu, Tokyo; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA; and Israel Museum, Jerusalem.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Stationery Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Clippings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Statistics Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Packaging -- Design Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Design education -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Graphic arts -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Furniture design -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Signs and symbols -- Design Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lecture notes Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Letterheads -- Design Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Corporate image -- Design Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Logos (Symbols) -- Design Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Printing Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Postmodernism -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Posters -- Design Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Book design -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Speeches Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Graphic designers Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Packaging designers Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sketches Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Slides Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brochures Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mechanicals Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Transparencies Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Financial records Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Articles Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Haring, Keith Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hochschule für Gestaltung (Ulm, Germany) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Allgemeie Gewerbeschule Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
State University of New York at Purchase Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Anspach Grossman Portugal, Inc. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
WilliWear (Firm) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gran Fury (Artists' collective) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Citibank (New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bergdorf Goodman (New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pentagram Design Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Deitch, Jeffrey Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cooper-Hewitt Design Archive Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jeffrey Deitch Art Advisory Services Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Neotu (Gallery) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Public Radio (U.S.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bonwit Teller & Co. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Yale University Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
Business Number: Phone: 202-633-3270
Fax Number: Fax: 202-786-2453
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