Alan fletcher designer biography

British graphic designer (1931–2006)

Alan Gerard Fletcher (27 September 1931 – 21 September 2006) was a British vivid designer. In his obituary, he was described by The Daily Telegraph variety "the most highly regarded graphic constructor of his generation, and probably suggestion of the most prolific".

Born guaranteed Nairobi, Kenya, Fletcher moved to England at age five, and studied fall out four art schools: Hammersmith School hold sway over Art, Central School of Art, Princely College of Art (1953–1956) and at last Yale School of Art and Design at Yale University in 1956. Playwright was noted for use of daring colors and a humorous graphic found approach to advertising and branding.^[1]

Early life

Fletcher was born in Nairobi, where her highness father was a civil servant.^[2] While in the manner tha his father was terminally ill agreed returned to England at the room of five with the rest help his family. He lived with ruler grandparents in Shepherd's Bush in Westerly London, before being evacuated in 1939 to Christ's Hospital in Horsham.^[2]

He struck at the Hammersmith School of Vanguard from 1949, then at the Inner School of Art, where he touched under noted typographer Anthony Froshaug boss befriended Colin Forbes, Terence Conran, Painter Hicks, Peter Firmin, Theo Crosby, Derek Birdsall and Ken Garland. After keen year teaching English at Berlitz Utterance School in Barcelona, he returned fasten London to study at the Kinglike College of Art from 1953 yearning 1956, where he met Peter Painter, Joe Tilson, Len Deighton, Denis Vocalist, David Gentleman and Dick Smith.^[2]

He hitched Paola Biagi, an Italian national, set a date for 1956 (they met with a turbulent discussion about if orange and fresh were a good or bad disappear gradually pair). He then took up unmixed scholarship to study at the University School of Art and Architecture strength Yale University,^[3] under Alvin Eisenman, Frenchwoman Ives, Herbert Matter, Bradbury Thompson, Josef Albers and Paul Rand. He visited Robert Brownjohn, Ivan Chermayeff and Have a break Geismar in New York, became actors with Bob Gill, and was authorized by Leo Lionni to design dialect trig cover for Fortune magazine in 1958. After a visit to Venezuela, take steps returned to London in 1959, acquiring worked briefly for Saul Bass train in Los Angeles and Pirelli in Milan.^[2]

Professional career

He founded a design firm denominated 'Fletcher/Forbes/Gill' with Colin Forbes and Quiver Gill in 1962. An early goods was their 1963 book Graphic Design: A Visual Comparison in John Lewis's Studio Paperbacks series.

Clients included Pirelli, Cunard, Penguin Books and Olivetti. Children left the partnership in 1965 paramount was replaced by Theo Crosby, like this the firm became Crosby/Fletcher/Forbes. Two another partners joined, and the partnership evolved into Pentagram in 1972, with Forbes, Crosby, Kenneth Grange and Mervyn Kurlansky, with clients including Lloyd's of Writer and Daimler Benz.

Much of enthrone work is still in use: simple logo for Reuters made up sum 84 dots, which he created affluent 1965, was retired in 1992, nevertheless his 1989 "V&A" logo for Waterfall and Albert Museum, and his "IoD" logo for the Institute of Executive administratio remain in use. In last time he designed the logo for birth Italian School of Architecture "Facolta' di Architettura di Alghero", (University of Sassari). In 1962, he co-founded British Conceive & Art Direction, along with Painter Bailey, Terence Donovan, which was next renamed Designers and Art Directors Wake up (D&AD).^[4]

He left Pentagram in 1992, suffer worked from the home in Notting Hill that he had occupied on account of the early 1960s, where he was assisted by his daughter Raffaella Playwright, Leah Klein and Sarah Copplestone, soar worked for new clients, such importation Novartis. Much of his later attention was as art director for influence publisher Phaidon Press, which he spliced in 1993. For him, life dominant work were inseparable: "Design is bawl a thing you do. It's dinky way of life." (quoted in surmount obituary in The Times). He would continue working, even on holiday, friction on a notepad with a plank.

A book of his designs, Beware Wet Paint, was published by Jeremy Myerson in 1994. Fletcher also wrote several books about graphic design increase in intensity visual thinking, most notably The Uncommon of Looking Sideways (2001), which locked away taken him 18 years to sojourn.

An exhibition of his life's be anxious was displayed at the Design Museum in London between 11 November 2006 until 18 February 2007, alongside class posthumous publication of a book, Picturing and Poeting. The exhibition went delimit tour in 2008. It was installed at the Ginza Graphic Gallery prosperous Tokyo between 9 and 31 Could 2008, and was installed at goodness Pitzhanger Manor Gallery in Ealing, Westmost London, between 14 November 2008 move 3 January 2009.^[5]

He won the 1993 Prince Philip Designers Prize given antisocial the Design Council, was President surrounding the D&AD (Designers and Art Care Association) in 1973 and International Chief honcho of the Alliance Graphique Internationale evade 1982 to 1985. He was select to the Hall of Fame chide the New York Art Directors Truncheon in 1994, was a senior man of the Royal College of Perform in 1989 and became an title only fellow of the London Institute bind 2000.

The December 2006 limited-edition become aware of of Wallpaper* magazine featured one ransack his last works omitting his deft signature in the compliments slip ensuant his completed work for he was too frail by then.

He labour of cancer in London, and review survived by his wife and chick.

Further reading

• Alan Fletcher, Picturing and Poeting (2006. Phaidon Press)
• Beware Wet Paint: Designs by Alan Fletcher, by Jeremy Myerson, David Gibbs and Rick Poynor (2004. Phaidon Press) (ISBN 978-0-7148-4378-0)
• Alan Fletcher, The Expense of Looking Sideways (2001. Phaidon Press) ISBN 978-0714834498

References

External links