These incredible N+M (Naturwissenschaft und Medizin) covers are from ekusupo on Flickr. They were apparently designed by Erwin Poell but I couldn’t find any more information on him to post along with the images. At any rate, this is some classic design done to perfection. Ekusupo says of them on the Flickr page:
"I share these as one of the best examples of graphic design as a methodic communications system I am aware of. Engaging and varied, as singles or as a set work tremendously well. The inside of the magazine may be considered disappointing if you want more of the same as the cover – but actually is delightful simple. The cover does its job really well selling the contents while the contents is true unto itself."
Indeed, this set is an amazing triumph of design for many reasons. You may recognize the name and some of the images from the Graphis Diagrams book.
Scott
Thanks for linking to our blog! I put up some more info about Erwin as I have a book of his work. He did some great scientific text book covers over the years. He’s an undiscovered hero!
http://thingstolookat.blogspot.com/2007/07/erwin-pll.html
After 75 years Erwin Poell retiered at the age of 75
Erwin Poell was born in 1930 in Ravensburg. In the age of 14 he made his apprenticeship as lithographer, typesetter, designer and bookseller and publisher.
Since 1951 he studied at the Staatliche Akademie der bildenden Künste in Stuttgart (Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design).
In 1953 he became production manager and Bookdesigner at the publishing house Keyser in Heidelberg. In 1955 he went into business for himself. In the followiing 50 years he worked as a Designer and was for over three decades one of the most busiest Bookdesigners in Germany.
As Art Director of the publishing houses Ullstein and Propyläen in Berlin from 1966 to 1971 he also designed among other things the logo of Ullstein, the Ullstein-Owl.
Among the designing jobs he also was engaged in the knowledge transfer of natural sience, working together with the (in Germany very popular) Prof. Hoimar von Ditfurth and other leading natural scientist and Nobel prize laureates.
In his last working years he redesigned the den letzten Jahren widmete er sich vornehmlich der Entwicklung eines visual image of Heidelberg and especially it’s logo.
For his work Poell received nearly 100 national and international Prices und honours. You can watch his works in a monography, which was published in 1993 at Birkhäuser Verlag Basel.
Hope this helps.