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.