Graphic Journey Blog: Travelling light

Travelling light

There was a time when all you needed was a little pot of Indian ink, a nibbed pen, some Kent or CS10 board, plus your imagination. The images below (with the exception of one) are from a book I bought back in 1963. Its title - Drawing for Radio Times. It was by R.D. Usherwood who was art editor of the magazine from 1950 to 1960. It was a period when Radio Times was printed letterpress and the finest reproduction screen was only 65dpi.

So simple clarity was the order of the day.

These restrictions produced a plethora of highly individual and beautiful work from a stable of regular illustrators who graced the pages of the magazine. Each week I would cut out and keep the illustrations created by my favourites. I’d copy them, using the techniques that I thought they had used – blotting, scratching, smudging and even using my fingerprints. I was never brave enough to send my offerings to the Radio Times. Here is an example of my efforts from the early 70's...

These little works of art that appeared in the magazine were there to attract and entice you to the programmes they were highlighting.

The tradition of using intelligent, and gifted illustrators continued well into the 1970’s under the skilful art directorship of David Driver. Driver steered the Radio Times into a new era of colour and more sophisticated methods of printing. In the process he introduced not only a large number of new and highly talented illustrators but lashings of inspiration and suprise. Sadly today the Radio Times is an utter mess – typographically, photographically, journalistically and most of all illustratively. Instead of creating a unique personality for itself it apes the many listing publications now on the magazine racks. It is a casualty of crass commercialism treating its readers like morons.

To give you a sampling of the Radio Times in its heyday for monochrome illustration, here is some work from the 50s and 60s…