El Atomo Para la Paz

A Swiss-born artist, Erik Nitsche bucked the popular Art Deco design trend of the 1920’s in favor of the more orderly, rational Bauhaus style. He moved to America in the early 1930’s to avoid the impending war in Europe. The Bauhaus style attracted attention in New York, and after a stint with fashion and decorative magazine spreads, he moved on to become the art director of Air Technology and Air News magazines. This technical topic suited him, and he worked with a large number of clients. Ever restless, Nitsche moved on again to work with General Dynamics Corporation. GDC was founded in 1899 and is an multinational aerospace and defense corporation. At the time of Nitsche’s work with them, they were working on developing submarine technology. General Dynamics hired Nitsche as art director in 1955 with the hopes that he could use his design skills to convey the message that atomic energy and the company were purveyors of peace instead of destruction. Nitsche was given total freedom to rebrand the company. Between 1955-1960 Nitsche built a total corporate identity for GDC. Poetic interpretations of atomic energy and their products were printed onto posters, postcards, brochures and even a 420-page book that detailed the history of the company. This particular piece is from the General Dynamic “Atoms for Peace” series printed in 1956.