Ontwerp voor een apothekersetiket voor slemstroop 1931

Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries made this design for a pharmacy label with graphite and red chalk. I wonder how many iterations it took to arrive at this specific arrangement of text and ornament? There’s a real push and pull between the need for clarity and the desire for visual interest. The geometric forms are lovely, softened by the chalky texture. Look at the way the corners are anchored by these star-like motifs, kind of anchoring the design. I can see the ghost of art nouveau in the decorative elements, but it’s been tempered by a more practical sensibility. The lettering has a kind of earnest quality. It reminds me of other artists who balanced commercial work with a broader studio practice. In the end, all artists, designers, and craftspeople take inspiration and ideas from the same source. They make things by hand. They talk to each other.