Paul Giambarba
Encyclopedia
Paul Giambarba is an American graphic designer
, cartoonist
, writer
and illustrator
.
Giambarba's most recent work was introduced at the International Center of Photography in New York City on 18 December 2009, a collection of 15 film and 3 camera packages for the Paul Giambarba Edition of Polaroid cameras and film commissioned by Dr Florian Kaps, founder and director of The Impossible Project of Vienna, Austria.
He initiated Polaroid's
corporate image development and product identity in 1958. His innovative black packaging and the ubiquitous Polaroid color stripes subdued the dominance of Eastman Kodak
's yellow packaging at the point-of-purchase. Giambarba designed and produced hundreds of Polaroid packages and collateral material including consumer literature and How to Make Better Polaroid Instant Pictures, a trade book for Doubleday & Co. in his more than a quarter of a century for this client.
Giambarba has also been a design consultant for Tonka Toys
and Tonka Corporation, as well as Polaroid and other corporate clients. His work has been the subject of articles in Graphis (Zurich), Industrial Design, American Artist, Idea (Tokyo), Relax (Tokyo), Grafik (London), Brand eins (Hamburg) and Communication Arts.
In his capacity as a cartoonist and illustrator, Giambarba was a regular contributor to Sports Illustrated
and This Week Magazine, as well as True
and Spy
magazines. He was a member of the San Francisco Society of Illustrators during the nine years he lived in Sonoma County, California
. Giambarba is the author of thirteen books, founded the Scrimshaw Press and CapeArts Magazine, and was, with his wife, Fran, a founding partner of Arts & Flowers, publisher of botanically accurate greeting cards from 1985 through 1996.
Graphic designer
A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, printed or electronic media, such as brochures and...
, cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
.
Giambarba's most recent work was introduced at the International Center of Photography in New York City on 18 December 2009, a collection of 15 film and 3 camera packages for the Paul Giambarba Edition of Polaroid cameras and film commissioned by Dr Florian Kaps, founder and director of The Impossible Project of Vienna, Austria.
He initiated Polaroid's
Polaroid Corporation
Polaroid Corporation is an American-based international consumer electronics and eyewear company, originally founded in 1937 by Edwin H. Land. It is most famous for its instant film cameras, which reached the market in 1948, and continued to be the company's flagship product line until the February...
corporate image development and product identity in 1958. His innovative black packaging and the ubiquitous Polaroid color stripes subdued the dominance of Eastman Kodak
Eastman Kodak
Eastman Kodak Company is a multinational imaging and photographic equipment, materials and services company headquarted in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded by George Eastman in 1892....
's yellow packaging at the point-of-purchase. Giambarba designed and produced hundreds of Polaroid packages and collateral material including consumer literature and How to Make Better Polaroid Instant Pictures, a trade book for Doubleday & Co. in his more than a quarter of a century for this client.
Giambarba has also been a design consultant for Tonka Toys
Tonka
Tonka is an American toy company most known for its signature toy trucks and construction equipment.-History:On September 18, 1946 Mound Metalcraft was created in Mound, Minnesota with three men as partners, Lynn Everett Baker , Avery F. Crounse, and Alvin F. Tesch. The first products produced by...
and Tonka Corporation, as well as Polaroid and other corporate clients. His work has been the subject of articles in Graphis (Zurich), Industrial Design, American Artist, Idea (Tokyo), Relax (Tokyo), Grafik (London), Brand eins (Hamburg) and Communication Arts.
In his capacity as a cartoonist and illustrator, Giambarba was a regular contributor to Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
and This Week Magazine, as well as True
True (magazine)
True, also known as True, The Man's Magazine, was published by Fawcett Publications from 1937 until 1974. Known as True, A Man's Magazine in the 1930s, it was labeled True, #1 Man's Magazine in the 1960s. Petersen Publishing took over with the January 1975, issue...
and Spy
Spy (magazine)
Spy was a satirical monthly magazine founded in 1986 by Kurt Andersen and E. Graydon Carter, who served as its first editors, and Thomas L. Phillips, Jr., its first publisher. After one folding and a rebirth, it ceased publication in 1998...
magazines. He was a member of the San Francisco Society of Illustrators during the nine years he lived in Sonoma County, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Giambarba is the author of thirteen books, founded the Scrimshaw Press and CapeArts Magazine, and was, with his wife, Fran, a founding partner of Arts & Flowers, publisher of botanically accurate greeting cards from 1985 through 1996.
Honors and awards
- Gold Medal, Art Directors Club of New York
- Certificates of Merit, Art Directors Club of New York
- Gold Medals, Art Directors Club of Boston
- Certificates of Merit, Art Directors Club of Boston
- Certificates of Excellence, American Institute of Graphic Arts Packaging 1972, 1974, 1976
- Andy Awards, Advertising Club of New York
- Hatch Awards, Advertising Club of Boston
- Certificate of Excellence of Design, Industrial Design magazine Annual Design Review
- Invited Lecturer at:
- Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
- Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA
- Simmons College, Boston, MA.