Jacqueline Casey was born in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1927 and  grew up with a passion for art. While her parents encouraged her to study bookkeeping, she pursued art against their wishes by entering the Massachusetts College of Art. It was at MassArt that Casey met and befriended Muriel Cooper. In 1949, Casey graduated from MassArt with a degree in fashion design and illustration. She entered the workforce which was very gradually becoming more accepting of women and worked in fashion design, advertising, and interior design. Except none of them felt quite right. Frustrated, Casey took three months to travel across Europe and clear her head. In 1955, Muriel Cooper hired Casey to work with her at MIT’s Office of Publications. Casey would soon become responsible for posters, catalogs, and other promotional materials. In 1958, Casey worked with Thérèse Moll, an assistant to seminal Swiss designer Karl Gerstner. Moll introduced Casey to the International Typographic Style. Casey was later appointed director of the Office of Publications, and MIT’s public image became recognizably influenced by the International Typographic Style. Under Casey’s directorship, the MIT Office of Publications adapted ITS and went on to play a critical role in popularizing Swiss modernism across America.

TIMELINE

1927 –  b Jacqueline Casey in Quincy, Massachusetts.
1949 – Casey graduates from Massachusetts College of Art with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and a focus in design/illustration.
1955 – Casey is hired by friend and fellow MassArt alumna Muriel Cooper to work at MIT’s Office of Publications.
1957 – Cooper leaves MIT and Jacqueline Casey takes on a larger, more active role within MIT’s Office of Publications.
1958 – Casey that summer works with Thérèse Moll, friend and assistant to famous Swiss designer Karl Gerstner. Moll introduces Jacqueline Casey to the International Typographic Style, which Casey adopts.
1972  – Casey is appointed director of the Office of Publications at MIT and under her influence MIT’s public image becomes recognizably influenced by the International Typographic Style. MIT goes on to influence American graphic design, spreading ITS and Swiss modernism across the country.
1989 – Jacqueline Casey retires but continues to work with MIT as a visiting scholar.
1992 – d Jacqueline Casey at age 65 in Brookline, Massachusetts from cancer.

REFERENCES

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Jacqueline Casey. (n.d.). Rochester Institute of Technology. Retrieved 25 May 2021 from https://www.rit.edu/carycollection/jacqueline-casey

Jacqueline Casey: A forgotten design hero. (2018, April 12). Documenting Design. Retrieved 25 May 2021 from https://wordpress91977.wordpress.com/2018/04/12/jacqueline-casey-a-forgotten-design-hero/

Jacqueline Casey research. (n.d.). Jacqueline Casey Research. Retrieved 25 May 2021 from https://samsgraphicresearch.weebly.com/history.html

Reinfurt, D. (2017). Muriel Cooper. MIT Press.

Resnick, E. (2008). Women at the edge of technology. Eye Magazine. Retrieved 25 May 2021 from http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/woman-at-the-edge-of-technology

The Humanistic Designer: Jacqueline Casey. (2016). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 25 May 2021 from 
https://mit2016.mit.edu/campus-cambridge/century-employees/casey

Sherin, A. (2012, February 6). Casey, Jacqueline. In_ Grove Encyclopedia of Classical Art and Architecture_. 
https://doi.org/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T2021558