before basel

Barbara Solomon was born in San Francisco. During her adolescence she trained as a dancer and studied painting at the California School of Fine Arts. Later she married Frank Stauffacher, an experimental film director, best known for introducing European avant-garde techniques to American viewers. From 1948 to 1955 Barbara studied various subjects, including history, painting, ballet, and philosophy. In 1955 her husband died from a brain tumor, leaving Barbara to care for their daughter Chloe, then three years old.

learn some rules. if you are brilliant enough, you can break all the rules. if not, you will be competent at your profession. —armin hoffman to barbara stauffacher solomon

 

A page with a word 'Colorists'

Colorists poster made by Barbara Stauffacher Solomon.

studying under hoffman

 

Having no means to earn a living with her current skills, Barbara decided to become a graphic designer. She moved to Switzerland and enrolled in the Basel Art Institute to study under Armin Hoffman, one of the leading figures in the Swiss Style movement. The first task Hoffman gave her was to paint a complete Latin alphabet in Helvetica by eye. The assignment took six months. Hoffman’s training shaped her strong ties to Helvetica, which lasted throughout her career.

Kaiser Channel Studio in San Francisco, California. Mural by Barbara Stauffacher Solomon. NCSU Libraries, Design Library Image Collection.

A building with a sign 'KBHKch44KAISER'

[at the sea ranch] barbara stauffacher solomon painted supergraphics on the monochrome interiors: numbers, stripes, dots, and arrows, adding a layer of pop iconography within the still-sober weathered form. the combination of timelessness and whimsy, landscape form and antic decoration, made the sea ranch highly photogenic and instantly influential. —alexandra lange, architecture and design critic