Back in 2011 (oh so long ago), I began a series of “lost designers.” The first and only entry was on Gustav Jensen, the Danish born designer whose work was elegantly streamlined and daringly multidisciplinary. There will be more in my series, but for now a reprise of sorts. Here is the original post, but in this post are images I did not show back then. This issue of PM (Production Manager) devoted to Jensen helps him bridge the gap between the disciplines. It also shows what a special draftsman he was.
GUSTAV JENSEN called himself a Designer to Industry, and indeed he designed some of the most appealing packaging and advertising of the late ’20s and early ’30s. His most enduring was the package for Golden Blossom Honey, which has had virtually the same label for over fifty years. He was called the “Designer’s Designer” by his peers, including Paul Rand, who in his early twenties tried to get a job at Jensen’s one-man studio, and also borrowed from Jensen’s contemporary beaux arts style on a few occasions before developing his own distinctive point of view.
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