The final artist in our Famous Logo Designer Series is Salvador Dali. I know you may be thinking, “What? He wasn’t a logo designer!” Actually, he was! He was a man of many skills, and his artistic ability spans many kinds of mediums!
Salvador Dali was born on May 11, 1904, in Figueres, Spain. He was interested in art at a very young age. He started drawing lessons at age 10, and during his teenage years, was enrolled at the Madrid School of Fine Arts. When he was 19, his father hosted his first solo art show in their family home. This exhibition showcased his incredible charcoal drawings.
In 1922, Dali began his education at the Special Painting, Sculpture and Engraving School of San Fernando in Madrid. While at school there, he was curious about many different styles, and experimented with many mediums. In 1926, during his final exam before graduation, he insulted a professor, and ended up being expelled from the school.
After being expelled from school, Dali took a trip to Paris, France. He became interested in ways to recreate motion and show objects from multiple angles. He also began studying works of surrealist artists and began experimenting with psychoanalytic ways of using the subconscious to create imagery. He used those ideas to dramatically reinvent reality and alter perception.
In the 1940’s and 1950’s, Dali’s work focused, mostly, on religious themes and the supernatural. During this period, he spent most of his time working alone in his studio. He did, however, make time to enter the community and perform stunts, or manifestations, as he called them. One example of these “manifestations”, was to drive around in a car filled with cauliflower.
In 1969, Salvador Dali was asked by a Spanish candy company Chupa Chups, to design a new logo for their company. He was excited to use his art in a different way. He incorporated the name into a brightly colored daisy shape. He also suggested that the logo be placed directly on top of the lollipop to make it more noticeable and to ensure that the consumer would always be able to see the entire picture.
Salvador Dali died on January 23, 1989, of heart failure. During his extensive career, Dali touched so many different mediums of art. He created a dream sequence in an Alfred Hitchcock movie, and created an animated cartoon for Walt Disney. He even made commercials for Lanvin Chocolates, Alka-Seltzer, and Braniff Airlines.
Dali said, “At the age of six I wanted to be a cook. At seven I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since.” Salvador Dali truly believed that life is the greatest form of art. He had so much ambition that nothing could stop him from trying something new. He wasn’t constrained by the limitations of boundaries or social judgement. He believed art should be as enjoyable to the artist as it is to the audience.
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