format; its type was elegant and the graphics were sprinkled with signposts
that guided the viewer through a hierarchy of information. Burtin took this
to an even greater level of virtuosity. Edited for physicians,Scopewas
intended to improve the understanding of modern therapeutics, establish
goodwill, and help sell Upjohn’s products, yet Burtin gave it entry points
that allowed access to the average reader, as well. It is no wonder that
Burtin’s mastery at translating tough scientific concepts—the ability to
transform technical language into visual symbols—afforded readers a clear
grasp of the material.
For the professional reader, arcane medical articles were not
cluttered with dreary text boxes and drab flow charts. “The choice of
format was... of great importance, not only to give the new journal the
distinction we wished it to have but to appeal appropriately to the
physician,” explained Burtin in Print. The house organs already in existence
ran the gamut in design from the most conservative to the most modern,
and from those that used design sparingly to those that were highly and
almost flamboyantly ornamental. Since conservatism was inappropriate for
a journal devoted to a rapidly progressing science, contemporaneousness of
design seemed mandatory but frivolousness seemed out of place. Burtin’s
designs were conceptually acute and couched in an idiom that was scientific
in its clarity. His use of photographs of microscopic imagery gave the work
an abstract quality that suggested modern art. And in the modern spirit,
design was not used for its decorative effect but as an integral part of the
scientific presentations. Even the covers of Scopewere designed not only to
be attractive, but also to suggest the content. Inspired by contemporary art,
the visually poetic collages and montages echoed formal elements of
modern plastic art. In so doing Burtin developed a visual method that
influenced how the pharmaceutical industry approached advertising and
promotion for years to follow.
tuis.
(Tuis.)
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