Paul Rennie: Social Vision

Read full article: Paul Rennie: Social Vision: RoSPA’s WWII Safety Posters Challenge Orthodox Views on British Modernism (PDF)

Harman, G. (Mr)

Harman was a ‘well-known commercial artist’ who, although not necessarily the originator, introduced ‘Potato Pete’ to the public.

Information collated from: Anonymous, ‘Potato Pete’s Farewell: May Live to Fight Another Day’, Advertiser’s Weekly, Vol. 128, No. 1,665, April 19 1945, p.81.

Robert Harling

Harling was a typographical designer for the Post Office, and wrote a book on Edward Bawden.

Information collated from: Anonymous, ‘GPO Follows up Appeal to Public’, Advertiser’s Weekly, Vol. 121, No. 1,579, August 26 1943, p.264.

Milner Gray (b.1899)

Of British descent, Milner Gray studied painting and design at Goldsmith’s College. Known as a graphic, exhibition and industrial designer, he was a founder member of the SIA based in London, being its president from 1943 to 1948. Gray taught at the RCA, Goldsmith’s College, and the Reimann and Chelsea Schools of Art from 1934 to 1940. From 1937 to 1940, he was also principal of the Sir John Cass School of Arts and Crafts. In 1940 he joined the MOI as head of the exhibition branch, until 1941, when he served as principal advisor. Advertiser’s Weekly noted his leaving in 1943 with an article.

In 1943 Gray was a founder, with Misha Black, of the Design Research Unit, London, remaining as a consultant until the early 1980s. Their work included the interior design of the passenger liner Oriana. Gray was was co-ordinating artist for the exhibitions Design at Home and Design at Work, London, 1948, and consultant to the BBC schools broadcasts Looking at Things, 1949-55. He participated in the design of the British pavilion at the New York World Fair, 1939, the Britain Can Make It exhibition, 1947, and the Festival of Britain, 1951.

Gray’s work has been widely exhibited, including industrial design exhibitions, the Paris International Exhibition, 1937, the Milan Triennale, 1957 and the exhibitions of AGI, Paris, London and Lausanne. Known for his development of house styles and identity programmes for large British companies, Gray ‘contributed significantly to an improved public awareness of design practice in the UK’ by his various public offices. Papers related to Gray’s work, 1910 to 1955 are held at NAL.

Information collated from: ‘Milner Gray Leaves M.O.I. After Three Years’, Advertiser’s Weekly, November 25 1943, p.187; Amstutz, W., Who’s Who in Graphic Art 1962, p.237; Livingston, A. and Livingston, I., Dictionary of Graphic Design and Designers, 1992, p.92; National Art Library, ‘AAD Holdings’, http://www.nal.vam.ac.uk/aad/aadalpha.html, accessed August 28 2003. Read: http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-Arc02_01DesR-t1-body-d3.html

Mary Gowing

Mary Gowing was Past President of the Women’s Advertising Club of London, and a Consultant to Mather & Crowther Limited, a member of ‘FIPA’. She worked on the ATS recruiting campaign with Hans Schleger and Ruth Gill, and reviewed the work of several other graphic designers.

Information collated from: Gowing, M., ‘The Creative Mind in Advertising: Ruth Gill’, Art and Industry, Vol. 63, No. 375, September 1957, pp.84-89.

Floods? Snow? Swine Flu? Terrorist Threats? “Keep Calm and Carry On”

“Floods? Snow? Swine Flu? Terrorist Threats?  “Keep Calm and Carry On”

During the Second World War, the British government sought to use appropriate communications tools to convey policy to the populace, whether via posters, newspapers, radio, or legislation. Resource restrictions meant that there was not always a free choice in which to use.

Sound familiar? It should.”

Read the full abstract.

Keep Calm and Carry Yarn

We clearly have David Simpkin on the look out for images of subversion now (nothing new there then), so here’s another gem he’s found from “The Daily What“

Sergo Grigorian Collection

“This collection boasts more than 1000 Soviet political posters spanning the whole Soviet era from February 1917 to December 1991.

Sergo Grigorian has meticulously constructed a collection of political posters, deliberately disregarding other interesting Soviet themes such as cinema, circus, theatre, sports and advertising (except those with clear underlying political meaning). In addition, Sergo Grigorian collects a wide range of literature and photographic materials related to the Soviet poster. Most recent acquisitions are found at the top of the general list of posters.

You can view the collection by catalogue number, year and author. All the posters are divided into groups and subgroups by category, historical period, author, series (e.g. The Fighting Pencil series), place of publication or edition, style, technique of manufacture etc.”

Visit site

John Gilroy (b.1898; d.1985)

Born on May 30 1898 in Whitley Bay, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, one of eight children. He attended Sandyford School, followed in 1909, by Heaton Park Road Upper School. From a young age, he decided that he wished to emulate his father, a marine landscape painter and technical draftsman. Learning his skill by copying cartoons from Punch, by the age of fifteen he was contributing caricatures of famous celebrities to the Newcastle Evening Chronicle. Gilroy won a scholarship to Armstrong College Art School at Durham University, but on the outbreak of the First World War, Gilroy joined the Royal Field Artillary, serving in France, Italy and Palestine. Post-war, Gilroy accepted a place at the RCA, winning more scholarships, and accepting a teaching position. In 1924, he married Gwendoline Peri-Short, a fellow student at RCA. In 1925, aged 27, he joined SH Benson’s creative department as an ‘in-house artist’. Gilroy was soon working on high profile campaigns, including Colman’s “Mustard Club”, with fellow artist William Brearley and copywriters Oswald Greene and Dorothy L. Sayers. Best known for his campaigns for Guinness, Gilroy created well over 100 press and poster advertisements for Guinness over thirty-five years, many using humorous character-based advertising. Famous by the Second World War, he worked with the MOI studios to produced photo-lithographic posters on a salvage theme, having been personally commissioned to do work for the MOI by Embleton, Edwin.

Best known for his humorous Guinness posters, Gilroy had a ‘remarkable’ versatile drawing style and a wide range of ‘technical skills’, covering the range from ‘intricate pen-and-ink drawings’ to expansive poster canvases. Gilroy’s work, particularly landscape and portrait paintings (including the Royal Family, Winston Churchill and Rupert Guinness), were regularly exhibited at the RA. Gilroy described posters as ‘a king of aesthetic meal-in-a-minute. The man in the street is usually in a hurry to catch a bus or avoid being caught by one, and has no time for lengthy contemplation.’

Information collated from: Anonymous, ‘The Guinness Collectors Club – John Gilroy’, http://www.guinntiques.com/gilroy, accessed March 24 2004; Davies, J., The Book of Guinness Advertising, 1998, pp.68-69 (quoting Guinness Time, Vol. 5, No. 2, Spring 1952, p.19); McDermott, R., ‘Gilroy at His Whimsiest for Ministry of Supply’, Advertiser’s Weekly, Vol. 128, No. 1,674, June 21 1945, p.504; Questionnaire submitted by Royall, K. to Embleton, E., Royall, K., ‘Posters of the Second World War: The Fourth Arm of British Defence’, Unpublished M.A., University of Westminster, 1991, p.123.

The Evolution of an Internet Meme

See the full story re this Keep Calm and Carry On diagram, and find a high res version (thanks to David Simpkin of P&G Wells for bringing it to my attention). In case you’re wondering, an internet meme: “The term Internet meme is a phrase used to describe a catchphrase or concept that spreads quickly from person to person via the Internet, much like an esoteric inside joke.” (Wikipedia)

“At first I LOLed, and then I was like “huh.” How did we get here? How did this meme evolve from stoic World War II propaganda to hilarious Richard Dawkins jokes?

And thus, the phylogenetic tree of “KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON” posters was born:”