Graphic Journey Blog

Carroll, Dempsey & Thirkell: Part five: The birth of CDT

We slid seamlessly into the 90s while all around were fighting with their banks. In 1993 we were voted number 1 in three categories of Design Week's yearly survey: identity design, editorial/book design, annual report design and poster design. Various publications ran profiles on the company including Graphis and Blueprint…

All very flattering. We were in a good place and the attention was a great morale-booster, coupled with the company running smoothly and profitably.

Above brand identities for the South Bank Centre 1994, Our Price 1993, Docklands Symphonetta 1994 and the Design Museum 1995. Sadly all no longer exist.

Things were going so smoothly, in fact, that Nicholas and I started to think about the long-term future of the company. We had turned down an offer from a major advertising agency in order to keep our independence, but we also realised that we needed a succession plan.

The problem was - and still is - that very few 30-something designers could afford the share value; most have marriages, mortgages and children to pay for. So we hit on the idea of setting up a new company.

Annual reports for The British Land Company from 1991 and 1992. We continued to work with the company for 2 decades.

We called it CDT Design. Removing the individual personalities would allow new designers to surface and hopefully shine. We had identified 4 staff members who were good designers in their own right. Sadly one of them, Fernando Gutierrez, came to tell me that he was leaving to move to Spain to work. It was an emotional moment for both of us, as we’d worked so well together over the years. So off he flew. The others - Iain Crockart, Ian Chivers and Neil Walker - became Associate Directors. We divided up our clients between them and gave them responsibility for their own teams and profit centres.

The Royal Mail Year Book was devised by us in 1984 and we produced it for 10 years before bowing out. Above the 10th anniversary edition 1994.

Stained glass window Christmas stamps for Royal Mail 1992.

We had a 5 year plan at the end of which - depending on their individual performances - they would become full share-holding directors. Leaving Nicholas and I retaining controlling interest of the new company. It all sounded fine and dandy. Contracts were drawn up and signed. But we had been fore-warned that the chances of all three making it were pretty slim. Ever the optimist, I thought it would work out. Famous last words.

In 1994 we designed the physical shape for the South Bank area signage with a nod to the famous Skylon from the Festival of Britain. 

In addition to the 3 Associate ‘Design’ Directors, we also gave our in-house finance guy a small share allocation too.

CDT Design. Clockwise from the left: Nicholas Thirkell, Ian Chilvers, Mike Dempsey, Iian Crockart, Neil Walker and (centre) Ashwin Raithataha.

Over the first two years the underlying personalities of the 4 became apparent. It would be insensitive of me to identify the traits of each individual - so, without naming names, we had the following types: one charming, at ease with clients, presentations and working well directing assistants, the second intense, stressful, pessimistic and a major procrastinator, while the third did not work well with assistants, found it difficult to confront problems head-on and was extremely stubborn. The fourth was a cross between Iago and Machiavelli; he had discovered the concept of divide and rule in childhood and would use it to great effect to disrupt the company further down the line. Few of these people had any real experience of running anything.

To dovetail with the creation of CDT we published a book of our work in 1993. A very rare find these days.

We completly redesigned the French cultral listings magazine,Telerama in 1992 and contiued to act as their editorial design consultants until 2000.

D&AD Silver nominated seasonal stationary range for still life photographer Andy Seymour.

So a seemingly-straightforward idea turned into a high-risk experiment. But we soldiered on and trusted that things would bed-in. Nicholas told me that he wanted to leave in 1999. He admitted that he was losing interest in the rough and tumble of the design world and wanted to pursue more gardening which was a big passion with him; and he hated the dreary British winter months and planned to spend that time of the year in India. So the die was cast, there was no going back.

Complete book on Russian textiles.

We deigned the title sequence and promotional material for Louis Malle's movie Damage 1992.

In July of 1995 I learned that I was going to be made a Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) but had to keep it under my hat until the awards were presented by the RSA later in the year. I’d just turned 50 and was deeply honoured to be in the same company of so many design greats. I remember, at the very first RDI meeting that I attended, there was Abram Games puffing away on his pipe, Herbert Spencer chatting to Robin Day, and Alan Fetcher sharing a joke with Derek Birdsall and Dennis Bailey. At the head of the table sat the sartorially immaculate Jean Muir and next to her the great textile designer Enid Marx and illustrator David Gentleman. And that was just a few of this exclusive cross-disciplinary design fraternity. It was astonishing.

One of many publications we produce for our rebranding of the Willis Group PLC in 1991.

In our new roles at CDT, Nicholas and I spent most of our time mentoring and hand-holding. The strengths and weaknesses of each Associate were bubbling to the surface.

In 1995 we embarked on our third art sponsorship - once again with the Tate Gallery. This was ‘Art Now’ an experimental gallery space within the original Tate building featuring new works. The first in the series was installation artist and film-maker Mathew Barney...

Mathew Barney OTTOshaft Hypoxia-Hypertrophy-Hubris Thr AI Davis Suite.

By this time I was well into my second marriage with two more children, making it a total of 5 from both marriages. I was living in Islington and had also had a cottage in Dorset, where my family and I would spend the holidays. I’d also thrown myself into photography having discovered Polaroid’s 35mm Polapan film, which was an instant black and white transparency, with a beautiful grainy quality. Whenever I decide to pursue something new I absorb as much as I can. These are just some of the books I consumed...

 

I had set up a studio at my home and began by photographing friends, family and then moved on to models, in fact anybody I could find…

Above: 2 of my photographic efforts used in our ENO work.

And this was one of 6 underground posters to promote ENO. I selected members of the audience to give a reality to this  'Everyone Needs Opera' campaign in 1995.

While out one sunny Sunday morning, I spotted a very attractive oriental girl walking past Tavistock Gardens. I stopped my car, which at the time was an old 2CV, and asked her if she would be interested in being photographed (I know, it all sounds very dodgy now). She agreed and this was one of the shots…

A short time after the above shot was taken she moved back to the West Midlands. But she was to reappear again, but not for 16 years.

Above: I removed this original vitreous enameled sign - in glorious Akzidenz Grotesk Bold - from our Brownlow Mews building when the new CDT sign went up.

The first few years under the new CDT Design banner had gone well with rising profits. But all was not well with me. I’d started to feel a little under the weather and eventually went to see my doctor who referred me on to a specialist. This culminated in my having a biopsy, the result of which I was supposed to get before a Bank Holiday Weekend. The Friday came but no letter. While at work I phoned the consultant - but he’d gone off for the weekend. I was told that a letter had been posted. “What does it say? I need to know”. After a bit of persuasive pleading, I managed to get the secretary to read the contents. Everything went a bit fuzzy after the word “Positive” filtered through. It appeared that I had prostate cancer. My world froze at that moment. I thanked her, replaced the receiver, went to the loo, locked the door, looked at the blank wall and felt tears cascading down my face. I spent the next week hidden from sight in the local library, reading everything and anything I could lay my hands on about the condition. The more I read, the more paranoid I became. After taking advice from a range of medics I underwent a major operation.

 

1995. This is a very special project for me. It was the last thing that I worked on before going into hospital. Although I'm not a great fan of packaging, I loved every moment of this job and subsequently became great friends with the owner. The labels have never changed.

While still in a state of post-operative euphoria, brought about by the most fantastic drugs, my three Associate Directors arrived clutching a rather nice frosted glass award. Apparently on the day of my operation we had won the ABSA Arts sponsorship award, the first design company ever to do so.

I was away from the CDT for about 8 weeks and it took me many months more to recover from the operation. But even then I managed to work on a project that I really wanted to do...

Film title sequence for David Hare's The Designated Mourner 1997. All shot at my home in 1996, while convalescing.

But the moment I got back to work I was able to quickly engage my brain in problem solving - something that has always fascinated me.

I was also very involved with D&AD, as it had been announced I was to be the next president in 1997. That news enabled me to divert my mind from the thought of the cancer returning, which tended to gnaw away in the background.

The whole horrid experience of 1996 dramatically changed my view of everything. I was no longer interested in next year, month, week or day. I had made up my mind to ‘live in the moment’. Life was suddenly a very precious thing.

The final 10 years of my time at CDT Design were to be rewarding, challenging and traumatic in equal measures and I rediscover painting. (To be continued)

For the other posts in this series... Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. 

Not invented here No2.

ATTENTION ALL GRAPHIC DESIGNERS WHO CARE...

The late great Raymond Hawkey is not having a great time at the moment. 

Earlier this year I posted a piece about some limited edition posters that lifted Hawkey's classic 60's Penguin Len Deighton covers without apology or attribution. Well, it's happened again with his iconic 1962 Ipcress File book jacket...

Hawkey¹s classic 1962 book jacket published by Hodder & Stoughton

Now take a look at this...

A blatant and shameful copy of Hawkey¹s work to be published in June by Birlinn

The Art Director of the publishers of this lamentable effort  stated in an email to Edward Milward-Oliver (a friend and supporter of Hawkey's work) that this "cover is homage to Ray Hawkey's original jacket for The Ipcress File." 

I think that it an absolute insult to Ray and his work. And from what I understand, no permission was sort from Raymond Hawkey's widow. They just ripped it off, and it has to be said in a most inept way. What is more shocking to me is that neither Barry Fantoni (a very talented illustrator) nor the  cover designer (so called) James Hutcheson thought twice about this and went ahead with this effort. Did they not have an original idea between them?

Ray can't speak for himself so I would like any designer reading this, who is as outraged as I am, to lodge an email protest to the publishers with the message:  

STOP THE HARRY LIPKIN P.I. JACKET, IT HAS RIPPED OFF RAYMOND HAWKEY'S WORK! to info@birlinn.co.uk. 

They just might relent.

In my view they should send a letter of apology to Mary Hawkey and a design fee for their lamentable copy of Ray's cover. There is a delicate line between paying homage and ripping off. This effort falls wildly over the latter.

 

Alternative road signs

Children beware of the Caped Crusader

Big, bold and brassy

Back in the mid  to late 1960s  I had a soft spot, and considerable admiration, for Corgi Books in-house Art Director John Piper. He had a love of big, bold and brassy slab sans serif typefaces. Even in the highly commercial arena of mass-market paperback covers, he somehow managed to hold on to his typographical integrity. Here are some examples of his unashamedly commercial covers…

This last cover was designed for Heinemann in 1965 when John Piper had established a group called Designers Collaborative. If anyone knows what became of Piper, do add a comment, as I would like to fill out his history.

 

I like this...

Simple, beautiful, graphic...

Carroll, Dempsey & Thirkell/ Part 4: The grown up years

Above the large format mailer we sent to clients in 1990

The end of the decade was a very busy period with all three partners working as separate entities but contributing to the company pot. This inevitably set up a spirit of competition, which I have never liked (too much like school). But we would still comment on each other’s work and take or give constructive criticism.

Both Nicholas and Ken were keen to develop overseas clients and seemed to relish the prospect of jetting around the world. I on the other hand couldn’t think of anything more boring, I’ve always hated the process of travelling.

Environmental programming book for Central Television

At the time I’d made a mental plan to attract clients from the arts - film, music, television, theatre, dance and opera. I worked on the premise that if you targeted areas that you have a passion for, it follows that you would give more of yourself to them.  My ideal was to have all of my clients within a square mile of the studio. And that’s exactly what I eventually achieved.

Ken travelled to New York for a project and Nicholas to France and later India. Meanwhile I stayed in our delightful studio in Bloomsbury, cafetière to hand, classical music gently purring in the background and a view of laburnum blossom from my window. Bliss.

But things were to change in 1990 when Ken left the company for personal reasons. It was a sad time, but with growing staff to pay and clients to service, we picked up the pieces, regrouped and in that great British spirit ‘carried on’.

The post Ken Carroll line up. From the bottom clockwise: Nicolas Thirkell, Iain Crockart, Fernando Gutierrez, Neil Walker, Ian Chilvers and me. I must say we look rather glum lot.

Above programme book for LCO 1990

Poster for LCO 1990

Our work for London Chamber Orchestra (LCO) had caught the attention of English National Opera. I went to see them knowing that they had already seen five other consultancies. I got on so well with ENO’s director of corporate affairs, Keith Cooper that he sellected us to create their new identity before I’d left the meeting. For me, this was to become another of those projects of a lifetime.

The story of the creation of the logo is worth a few lines. I used to live in Islington and travelled to work on the 38 bus. This is well before mobile phones. So it was a great place to think. And over the ensuing years I would clock up a lot of thinking on that bus. So there I was trundling down the Kingsland Road thinking about the essence of English National Opera. I started scribbling singers, arms out stretched, opened mouthed. I looked down at my drawing, zeroed in on the face and had one of those rare ‘eureka’ moments. The face turned into an E and an N for the eyes and a large O for the mouth. Later that day in the studio it became this...

ENO logo created in 1991, with thanks to the 38 bus

That’s how things happen sometimes, quickly and effortlessly. And the art of looking beyond what is before you is crucial to capture the unexpected. I presented the above sole option to the client. I was so sure it was right, and it was. We went on to overhaul everything, and for many years working for ENO were a real joy and I gained, and still have, a soft spot for opera...

Above just a few of the many items we designed for ENO during the 1990's

The new identity was so successful for Keith Cooper that he was poached by The Royal Opera House and became a minor celebrity in BBC 2’s The House, ­a fly on the wall documentary charting a year in the life of the company.

Now I have to admit that I’ve never been that good at working with assistants. I’d have a thought and want to pursue it from beginning to end with as little help as possible, in a kind of school boyish, arm shielding kind of way. I’ve always been like that. But the company had grown and we had a lot more clients.

So, taking a leaf out of Nicholas’s book, who was an ace delegator and never sullied his hands with Cow gum or a scalpel  ­- something that used to irk Ken and me. We’d mutter, ‘He doesn’t seem to do anything’. But of course he did, but in a different way. He knew just how to get the best out of his assistants. I bit the bullet, and started to work more closely with my little group, but could only cope with the brightest of the bunch.

During the early 90's at Carroll, Dempsey & Thirkell I had some fantastically talented assistants. Too many to list here but there are some exceptions who worked very closely with me, so I’ll name check them. Barbro Olhson, a fiery and passionate Swede. Fernando Gutierrez a gloriously laid back Spaniard and the delightful and military camouflaged obsessed Rebecca Foster. There would be more to come. 

But I digress. After Ken’s departure we spilt the studio into two large teams and worked our way through the economic downturn of 90’s with many companies in our industry folding. The biggest casualty was the Michael Peters Group who had grown to an enormous size and consequently fell from a great height. We pottered along like busy little worker bees virtually oblivious to the financial maelstrom raging outside.

Above recruitment  brochure for Arthur Andersen 1990

Christmas card for the Chartered Society of Designers 1990

Poster for the cinema release of Dennis Potter's Blackeyes 1990

The 90s saw two major high street brands commissioning substantial amounts of work with very generous fees Boots and W.H.Smith.  They both had external design directors advising on and appointing outside design groups to work on projects. Pentagram’s John McConnell headed up the Boots operation and the more ‘off the wall’ Michael Wolff handled all of W.H.Smith’s commissions. They couldn’t have been more different in their approach.

At the time many of the major London design consultancies clamoured to get on the rosters of these two companies. We worked for both. Of the two, our most creative solutions were realised via Michael Wolff who, with his enthusiastic, child-like, inspirational personality, managed to engender a spirit of great work.

Over at Boots things were far more formal. There was a design steering group, headed up by John McConnell, whose job it was to approve all of the design work. Once that had happened your were passed on to the relevant Boots managers and buyers of the products. Many of these individuals appeared to resent being press ganged into using ‘fancy London designers’, rather than local Nottingham based groups. Consequently they could make life difficult. A sudden change to a cheaper production method or an off the shelf pack could often compromise or destroy the integrity of an already approved design.  And there was little one could do to save it. On top of this it was a long slog up to Nottingham, where you would often be kept waiting for 45mins for a meeting that only lasted 30 minutes. We tended to be given the talcum powder, eau de cologne and bathroom products to package. Nicholas did the lions’s share of work with great aplomb. I always felt that I was pretty useless at packaging, useless it was 2 dimensional.

One year John McConnell had the nice idea of inviting all of the design consultancies working for Boots to a drinks party at Pentagram along with the client. I seem to remember Ian Logan Design, Madeline Bennett and Lewis Moberly among many others, being there. It was the first time that all the competing design groups had been brought together. It became evident that there were mutterings of dissatisfaction permeating the room. The sound of a glass being tapped silenced everyone. John McConnell made a lovely little speech. He then welcomed an exchange of ideas and views between all present. There was an ominous pause with no one taking the initiative until Robert Moberly, of Lewis Moberly asked why we were always referred to as ‘suppliers’? He found the term rather demeaning , considering that our job was to help Boots enhance their products in order to make them appealing to the public.

This broadside opened up a flurry of criticism from the assembled designers. The party was reduced to a bit of a slanging match. There followed an embarrassed silence with poor John McConnell looking shocked and disappointed. Shortly after everyone left.

There were no such ‘get togethers’ at W.H.Smith, just Michael Wolff eulogising over a particular colour that had taken his fancy that day. ‘Just look at this yellow’ he would say, holding up a carrier bag, ‘Isn’t it fantastic?’ He is still exactly the same today. Bless him. Here is some of our best work for WHSmith much by Nicholas and his team...

Complete book featuring a variety of authors each with an individually commissioned illustration. 1992 

Packaging for W H Smith 1991

200th Anniversary logo for W H Smith 1992

VHS tape packaging for W H Smith

W H Smith booklet for staff on new technologies 1992

Above recruitment  brochure for W H Smith 1992

During the early 1990's Nicholas and I embarked on a new idea. Sponsoring the arts...

Our poster for our sponsorship of the Cindy Sherman show at the Whitechapel Gallery in 1992

We also put in place a succession plan for the long-term future of the company. This started out as one of the most exciting and optimistic periods for the company. But, in the event, it turned into a car crash. But there was something both exciting and far more frightening on the horizon for me. To be continued.

For Part One.  Part Two. Part Three.  

 

I like this...

This logo was designed by Bentley/Farrell/Burnett in 1971 for Secker and Warburg's Cinema Two Series. This is how it looked on the covers, which they also designed...

Unlike the logos designed for large corporations, where they get seen by millions, these more humble affairs pass us by like the fleeting glimpse of a glorious tree ,viewed from a speeding car.

I like this...

One colour, 33rpm, 12" vinyl. How lovely...

Carroll Dempsey & Thirkell Part 3: And then there were three

L to R: Mike Dempsey, Ken Carroll and Nicholas Thirkell in 1986

When Nicholas Thirkell joined us in 1986 the economic climate was still flat. But for us, this was a new beginning and we looked forward to exciting times. He arrived complete with assistants in tow.

There is always an uneasiness when new folk enter a well established nest, and it has to be said that Nicholas looked more suited to the world of banking or academia than design, but for the fact that he smoked roll ups. Looking back now, it must have been difficult for him to make his presence felt, in a company where the two existing partners were so closely linked.

But we all pulled together to crack a project that Nicholas had brought with him. The Independent was to be the first serious broadsheet newspaper for 150 years. Two of paper’s journalists, Geoffrey Chancellor and Nicholas Garland were disappointed with the proposed dummies of the paper, produced in printed dummy form before they had arrived on the scene. They incorporated full colour production featuring a slab serif headline face. The overall effect had  a mid market, Daily Express like feel, certainly not what they had expected. Chancellor apparently remarked to editor Andreas Whittam Smith, “ I thought we were joining a serious paper.” Garland contacted Nicholas Thirkell and asked him to produce a new design at breakneck speed, as publication day was a matter of weeks away.

There was a blur of activity in our studio with each of us taking responsibility for a section of the paper. We honed the design right down; discarding the idea of colour, because we felt the quality was not good enough at that time. Instead we proposed the notion of high quality black and white photojournalism. This was set against an understated typographical backdrop with a distinct literary feel.

Clutching an oversized portfolio, all three of us went to meet The Independent’s Editor, Andreas Whittham Smith and his key journalists. We stood like schoolboys in front of this formidable group. The meeting lasted mere minutes with Whittham Smith turning the pages aggressively, as he became increasingly red in the face to the extent that I thought he was about to have a heart attack. He hated what we'd done. I think it was more because it was so far removed from the designs that he had originally commissioned.

We left disappointed and dejected. But the next day Nicholas Garland called and explained that they'd had a change of heart. We where back in the frame. Nicholas went on to oversee the launch of the paper, which became an instant success and was short-listed for the first BBC Design Awards in 1986. In an ironic twist, a guy who worked in the production department at The Independent, and responsible for implementing our design, attempted to claim total credit for the design for whatever strange reason. However both D&AD and Blueprint Magazine accurately recorded our part in the story with Blueprint Editor, Dyan Sujic writing a very detailed and critical piece on the paper’s creation.

It is hard to remember the effect of that original design because there have been so many changes in the past quarter of a century. A little later we went on, with Nicholas at the helm, to design The Independent on Sunday, along with its large format colour supplement. An altogether more satisfying project and with, in my view, a far better result than The Independent.

The Independent on Sunday with its large formate colour supplement.

As the eighties progressed, our industry was flirting with the City. Michael Peters floated on the stock market followed by others. Companies began to borrow, expand and bolt on additional design disciplines. We took a far more cautious view and stuck to our core expertise and began to notice an increase in the volume of work.

Ken Carroll,  taken on the rooftop of our Regent Street studio in the summer of 1986 a few months prior to moving.

In late 1986 we moved from Regent Street to a quiet Mews in sleepy Bloomsbury...

21 Brownlow Mews in London's Bloomsbury

Our loos where created out of the building's old kiln.

We had the then relatively unknown architect David Chipperfield design the interior and on a very tight budget. He made a fantastic job of the space...

Our then trusty secretary Jo Maude installed in our shinny new reception. 

Ken Carroll in the pre digital age main studio at Brownlow Mews.

Now the proud owners of a whole building, all be it courtesy of the bank, we rolled up our sleeves and entered into the most creative and prolific period of the company.

The mailer we sent out on arriving at our new home

Nicholas Thirkell played an important part in sharpening up the financial running of the company. Ken and I had always used an accountant who had clients in the show biz area and he put forward a candidate to keep our books in house and would liaise with our accountant for more complex issues. Within a very short space our new in house chap dispensed with the services of our long serving accountant. Our bookkeeper and Nicholas began a good working relationship and set about transforming the running of the company. Time sheets were introduced and bi monthly ‘Board’ meetings and new external accountants appointed. Our turnover started to climb along with our efficiency and profitability.

One of the many beautiful little books that Nicholas Thirkell designed

Stamps became my passion. These were on the topic of transport and communication.

Meanwhile  Ken Carroll designed the bar at the agency Abbott, Mead, Vickers.

At that time advertising agencies were taking an interest in the design world. One morning, I received a call from a top agency. In strictest confidence they wanted to set up a meeting to outline a proposition. This took place in a cloak and dagger atmosphere of a private room at a well known Charlotte Street restaurant.

At the meeting we were told how much the agency admired our work and thought that we would make a good addition to their rapidly growing group, which at the time had been acquiring complimentary companies. By the end of the meal and some excellent wine, it all sounded rather wonderful. We would receive a substantial sum of money, part in cash and the rest in shares. Half of this up front and the rest in what was termed a three ‘earn out period’ during which were expected to attain 15% growth per year.
After a few of weeks of soul searching and advice, we reckoned that with hard work and determination we could earn the money on offer from the agency and still own our company, so we turned the offer down.

Following the success of The Independent Nicholas went onto redesign The Scotsman...

and Ken The Observer...

And this was a large format calendar he designed for the Observer

Nicholas and his team designed these delightful Californian wines for M&S complete with individual hand made retro labels

 

Taken in 1987. Our growing staff outside our building photographed by Ron Alexander. Most of us are waring French style work overall that I had designed and made.

This promotion book for Arthur Adersen won 1988 D&AD Silver Award

 I met a young conductor called Christopher Warren-Green at a recording session for a film that I had been designing the title sequences for.  The meeting was to be very fortuitous because not long after he phoned to say that he was forming a new chamber orchestra. It became the London Chamber Orchestra (LCO) and he asked me to create the identity. He was keen to embrace a younger audience and that became the brief. It was to be one of the key projects of my career.  While Nicholas and Ken were steeped in editorial design I put my heart into the LCO. This was the result...

A selection from the 10 album cover series which won the 1989 D&AD Silver Award.

Meanwhile personal issues were to disrupted my life.  In the late 80’s as I embarked on the road to divorce after a long marriage. For a while I was homeless and Ken kindly allowed me to stay with him at his Camden Mews house until I got myself sorted. Needless to say there was a lot of philosophising about life between the two of us. In times of difficulty I have always found that my work has kept me sane.

By the end of the eighties unemployment had fallen from 3 million to 1,600,000 and the city was awash with champagne drinking, Porsche driving traders kitted out in their Hugo Boss double breasted suits. It was the age of greed and deep social divisions between the North- South were widening. We were riding on the crest of a wave becoming increasingly busy. But we where not all pulling in the same direction and there was some rocks on the horizon. To be continued.

For Part 1 click here.       And Part 2 here.

 

Not invented here

Graphic Journey reader, Edward Milward-Oliver, brought these to my attention… 

Poorly crafted imitations.

The above two posters are from Manchester based, Piper Gates Design. They purport to be ‘retro graphic specialist.’  But in reality, all they appear to be doing is lifting another designer’s work wholesale and flogging it on eBay. They even have the audacity to sign them 'Piper Gates'. No reference on eBay as to where they ripped off the design from.

Well, in this case it was from the hand of the late and highly talented Raymond Hawkey… 

Raymond Hawkey's original 1960's Penguin paperback covers

It was he who produced the original designs on which the posters have been based.  

I find this kind of theft grossly insulting to Hawkey’s sterling work and hope that Penguin Book’s legal department descends on Piper Gates Design to stop them. And whatever monies made out of the sale of theses posters should be sent to Raymond Hawkey’s widow. 

There is a big difference between being ‘influenced’ or ‘inspired’ by a designer and what Piper Gates have done. It  is plain graphic robbery.  

For those of you interested to know more about the genuine artical, Raymond Hawkey, you can read my interview with him here.