Tag Archives: The Dot

Reflecting Back at 80: The Art Center Dot

As the unofficial school mascot, Art Center’s Orange Dot has a long and storied history. When the school was founded in 1930, designers were exploring primary shapes, so it is no surprise that a simple filled-in circle was chosen to augment Art Center’s printed materials. Advertising alum Robert Brown claims that the Dot was his idea, while Don Kubly, the College’s president from 1969 to 1985, noted that the school’s founder, Tink Adams, chose the Dot because it was an easy way to add a splash of color to the school’s publications.

1931 Art Center Catalog

The Multi-Colored Dot
The Art Center School, as it was then known, opened in 1930 in downtown Los Angeles in a courtyard of buildings on Seventh Street.  The glass front door had a red-orange border, and in the front window, the name of the school carried a matching red-orange dot. The Dot was not limited to this color nor was it the only shape Art Center used in promotions. However, the use of dots in published materials undoubtedly began nearly at the same time as the school.

The Dot Goes Into Semi-Retirement
Due to changes in contemporary design, or perhaps because of an association with the Japanese flag, Art Center stopped using the Dot, in any color, toward the end of World War II (mid-1940s). The timing also happened to coincide with the school’s move to its second location (Third Street in Hancock Park) and Art Center may have wanted to present a new look along with its new address. The essence of the Dot lingered, however, as many publications carried photographs cropped into circles.

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