Let's spend some time today diggin' on Raymond Hawkey (circa 1970) cold loungin' on a Saarinen chair and table. First off, like I've said before, guys into Mod style should NEVER be afraid of color. Here, he beautifully blends the muted blue shirt with a fantastic muted earth-tone tie which also includes baby blue stripes to match the shirt. The lavendar/blue pocket square brings it all together in a nice package wrapped up in a dark suit with clean, thin lapels and nice slim pants! Just a beautiful combination all around, including his cufflinks, which you can see in a B&W photo from this session in the new Brian Duffy photography book. The way he's put this whole outfit together, you'd think he had the eye of a graphic designer. Oh, wait! I almost forgot... this is Raymond Hawkey we're talking about... one of the most influential mid-century graphic designers!
Hawkey is most known for how he helped revolutionize book cover design, not to mention graphic design in general, in the late 1950s/early 1960s. By blending sans serif typography with photographic elements (something not done at the time), he helped create a visual style that still lasts to this day. I'm sure many Mod-oriented graphic designers today would recognize the influence of his style on their work.
The first book design to hit the public's eyes was the cover to Len Deighton's The IPCRESS File, which was considered shocking at the time:
