John Sewell: Cut and paste

This is John Sewell…

Born in 1926, he was a key figure on the British graphic scene in the 1960s.

His work was included in 17 Graphic Designers, which was published in 1963 and was the precursor to D&AD – a rare find if you can lay your hands on a copy.

Sewell studied at Hornsey School of Art and then at the Royal College of Art. In 1954, he became the first graphic designer to be employed by BBC television to take charge of on-screen graphics. He also directed a few experimental films, which have been recently released on DVD by the BFI:

 

Above two frames from Everybody's Nobody (1960) directed by John Sewell. The bottom image clearly shows Sewell's fascination with graphic abstraction, something that was to dominate his later print work.

But for me it is Sewell’s later publishing work that I have found most rewarding. His dynamic low-tech approach, using vibrantly coloured paper cut-outs, letterpress print and simple textures, gave his work a distinctive style.

Not only did he design many book jackets and covers but he also designed identities for independent bookshops, Better Books and The City Bookshop, both now long gone.

Better Books at 94 Charing Cross Road, London in the late 1960's which features Sewell's fascia graphics.

Sewell's cover for Design Magazine 1967

The following run of Penguin covers from the mid 1960’s Writing Today series really crystallises his distinctive graphic approach:

Sewell died in 1981 at the young age of 55.

Comments

[Jonathan the writer's Blog]

Hi! I am curious if you have a lot of subscribers to this blog?

[mike dempsey]

I have many regulars. Nearly 4 million visits since I started the blog.

Regards Mike

[Neil Boorman]

Great post Mike. So inspiring.