Barbara Stauffacher Solomon in Memoriam (1928 - 2024)
On Tuesday, May 7th, Barbara “Bobbie” Stauffacher Solomon passed away in her beloved sun-filled home on Telegraph Hill, not far from our office. We were fortunate to be able to collaborate with Bobbie on several projects. It was always a joy to walk over to her home and sit at her table to watch her think and work.
We published a blogpost several months ago at the time of the exhibition of her work at SFMOMA and shared the project that we worked on together – the restrooms at the Marin Country Mart which she used as canvases for her super graphic wizardry.
We worked together on another project which unfortunately was not realized, but which we wanted to share. The project was a strange commission – how to activate a half-completed project in Sunnyvale, California. In many respects it was a giant construction barricade.
"Life can be So Sweet on the Sunny Side of the Street" graphic by Barbara "Bobbie" Stauffacher Solomon.
Rendering of Downtown Sunnyvale, Aerial to North.
Rendering of Downtown Sunnyvale, Macy's Entry.
Rendering of Downtown Sunnyvale, Aerial to North.
Rendering of Downtown Sunnyvale, Macy's Entry.
Rendering of Downtown Sunnyvale, Taaffe to East.
Rendering of Downtown Sunnyvale, Taaffe and McKinley to Northeast.
Rendering of Downtown Sunnyvale, Taaffe to East.
Rendering of Downtown Sunnyvale, Taaffe and McKinley to Northeast.
The obituary for Bobbie in the New York Times the day after her passing begins, “Trained as a ballet dancer, painter and graphic designer, she was at the forefront of a movement that opened design and architecture with bold graphics.” The mention of her training and performing as a dancer brought me back to our Sunnyvale project. She was captivated by the place name “Sunnyvale” and her idea came to her immediately.
Life can be so sweet on the sunny side of the street.
If I remember correctly, she broke out in song. “Sunny Side of the Street” is a song composed by Jimmy McHugh with lyrics by Dorothy Fields. The first recording of the song was released in 1930 when Bobbie was a toddler, and she has this tune clearly imprinted on her at an early age.
For the project, Bobbie designed a typeface that took the mantra of the song and made it a frieze that ran above her bold, diagonal lines. Sadly, the project was abandoned, but I will always remember the joy she took in Sunnyvale and remember her in her light-filled sunny home.
Our last visit to her home was in the summer of 2022 and again we were working on a project for Marin Country Mart. This one also unfortunately did not proceed, but I snapped some photos of us on Zoom with our client and Bobbie ever creatively engaged.
Our lives are so enriched by all her creativity.
Bobbie's desk.
Bobbie's design table.
Bobbie and BCV Project Manager Aaron Cook on a Zoom call with the client.
Bobbie's desk.
Bobbie's design table.
