A monograph on the optimistic and inclusive mantra of Girard’s design, celebrating the joyous and inspiring energy that pervaded throughout a wide range of projects – from products to restaurants and airplanes.
Girard in front of a tissue paper collage featuring marbled papers, foiled papers, and photographic cutouts, created for an exhibition titled Space for an Open Mind, Grand Rapids Furniture Museum, Michigan, 1951. Picture credit: Girard Studio / Todd Oldham and Jason Frank Rothenberg
Radios, offices, Braniff International Airways
The book then reflects upon Girard’s inventive approach to interior design for various businesses. In 1943, Girard was hired by the Detroit communications company Detrola to design radios and turntables, but was soon redesigning its offices, cafeteria, and even the factory itself. By the 1960s, Girard modernized Braniff International Airways through a groundbreaking rebrand, for which he designed more than 1,000 different assets such as logos, uniforms, textiles, and lounge furniture. The book also includes a chapter dedicated to Girard’s work with La Fonda del Sol restaurant and his creation of its visual identity, that includes eighty different sun designs, beautifully vibrant menus, unexpected and exalted interiors, custom tableware, and bold wall graphics.
A lively main dining room at La Fonda del Sol, New York City, 1960. Picture credit: © Yale Joel / The LIFE Picture Collection / Shutterstock
Interior design
The book’s latter chapters focus on Girard’s relationship with interior design. The thought of a completed and fixed interior design struck Girard as alien, and his own living spaces were in a state of constant change, deliberately designed to respond to seasons and new ideas. As Girard once humorously noted: “An interior design is really a slow-motion movie of junk changing position.” In addition to chapters highlighting Girard’s own homes and studios, the book chronicles his work on a slew of clients’ private residences across the United States, including The Miller House which featured a then-radical sunken conversation pit as the centerpiece of the living room.
Environmental panels
Researched and written by Todd Oldham and Kiera Coffee, in close partnership with Girard Studio, this monograph incorporates double gatefolds that immerse the reader in Girard’s object design sketches, his rich textiles called environmental panels, airport and airplane designs for Braniff International Airways, and his tireless explorations in textile design. The authors distilled Girard’s optimistic and inclusive mantra “Let the Sun In” and celebrate celebrates the joyous and inspiring energy that pervaded throughout Girard’s designs.
Todd Oldham, Kiera Coffee, „Alexander Girard. Let the Sun in”, hardback, English, 409 pages, 800 illustrations, 29 x 25 cm, Phaidon, London 2024, ISBN 9781838667597
