[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

returning to USA

When Barbara learned John F. Kennedy was going to run for president, she decided to return to the United States to try to improve the world with design. However, after coming back she realized the style that she’d learned from Hoffman was very different from the hippie wavelength of current art in San Francisco. Her designs were even sometimes called “Nazi Graphics,” in sharp contrast to typical San Francisco design of the 1960’s, which she characterized as “wiggles and squiggles.”

solomon’s scanlan’s design was unique for counter-culture publications at the time. although swiss modernism was a common corporate design language, it was foreign in this context. —steven heller, journalist and graphic design historian

Scanlan's Monthly Magazine cover with four cover stories

Scanlan’s Monthly Magazine, volume 1, № 7, September 1970.

sea ranch and supergraphics

Barbara’s first major job as a designer was to develop the corporate style of the Sea Ranch community in Sonoma County, California. She started with the iconic ram’s head logo, moved on to brochures and pictures for magazines, and, finally, in 1966 created Supergraphics—an abstract mural blending Swiss style, wooden architecture, and bright Bay Area colors. Supergraphics was featured in Life magazine and sparked a wave of imitations. Initially just the name of the Sea Ranch mural, supergraphics later became a common noun, denoting any mural spreading beyond one wall to playfully interact with the architecture of a building.

Sea Ranch Brochure cover

Ranch Design Brochure designed by Barbara Stauffacher Solomon, circa 1965.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17