Image of Alan Fletcher in his Studio

References
Rawsthorn, A. (2013, July 7). Alan Fletcher: The Man Who Taught People How to Look. Retrieved April 10, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/08/arts/design/Alan-Fletcher-The-Man-Who-Taught-People-How-to-Look.html

Early Life

Hello and welcome to the blog dedicated to the inspiring Alan Fletcher! During the twentieth century, Alan Fletcher had one of the most recognizable and influential names in the graphic design world (Alan Fletcher | Biography, Designs and Facts). His designs were embodied in the streets of London, where he primarily worked in the advertisement industry that showcased his artwork and creative mind (Rawsthorn, 2013). In order to grasp how he impacted graphic communications, it is important to learn about his early life and how he became involved in the business.

Alan Fletcher was born on September 27^th, 1931 in Nairobi, Kenya. His father at the time worked as a civil servant in Kenya until he started to experience health issues, causing his family to move to England when he was at the age of five (Alan Fletcher | Biography, Designs and Facts). Fletcher grew up being raised primarily by his mother and his grandparents in West London until he was sent to boarding school known as Christ’s Hospital in 1939 (ALAN FLETCHER Graphic Designer (1931-) Designing Modern Britain – Design Museum Exhibition). As it was post-war times, Fletcher and many of his classmates believed that their future was going to be focused in the army or the church (ALAN FLETCHER Graphic Designer (1931-) Designing Modern Britain – Design Museum Exhibition).

Fletcher felt that these careers were not suitable for him, and he instead enrolled in 1949 at the school of Hammersmith School of Art (Alan Fletcher | Biography, Designs and Facts). He then moved on to study at the Central School of art, where he became involved in typography as an apprentice under the accomplished typographer Anthony Froshaug (Alan Fletcher | Biography, Designs and Facts). Fletcher became then acquainted and made friends with other notable artists like Colin Forbes, Theo Crosby, Derek Birdsall, and Ken Garland who later be some of his future partners (ALAN FLETCHER Graphic Designer (1931-) Designing Modern Britain – Design Museum Exhibition, 2006). After his graduation, Fletcher moved to Barcelona where he began teaching English for a year at the Berlitz Language School (Alan Fletcher | Biography, Designs and Facts). After returning back to England, Fletcher enrolled at the Royal College of Art where he met major artists Joe Tilson and Peter Blake (ALAN FLETCHER Graphic Designer (1931-) Designing Modern Britain – Design Museum Exhibition, 2006).

Fletcher was dedicated to his studies, continuing his education even after getting married at the Yale School of Architecture (Alan Fletcher | Biography, Designs and Facts). He began working with other influential designers like Paul Rand, Herbert Matter, Alvin Eisenman, and Josef Albers (Alan Fletcher | Biography, Designs and Facts). This was a peak time in Fletchers life where his art and creative skills developed to a high degree (Alan Fletcher | Biography, Designs and Facts). He won an opportunity to design a cover for Future magazine for the magazine’s art director Leo Lionni (ALAN FLETCHER Graphic Designer (1931-) Designing Modern Britain – Design Museum Exhibition, 2006). This is the foundation of how he became involved in the industry, and now you can learn about how this started his life in the graphic communications industry, his major accomplishments, or skip to how his legacy after death.

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References

ALAN FLETCHER Graphic Designer (1931-) Designing Modern Britain – Design Museum Exhibition. (2006, November 26). Retrieved April 10, 2019, from https://web.archive.org/web/20060218101712/http://www.designmuseum.org/design/index.php?id=102

Alan Fletcher | Biography, Designs and Facts. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.famousgraphicdesigners.org/alan-fletcher

Rawsthorn, A. (2013, July 7). Alan Fletcher: The Man Who Taught People How to Look. Retrieved April 10, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/08/arts/design/Alan-Fletcher-The-Man-Who-Taught-People-How-to-Look.html

Impact & Major Accomplishments in Graphic Design

Alan Fletcher had many major accomplishments in changing the vision of design in England in the industry. He became involved in developing his own company in 1962 with his friends Colin Forbes and Bob Gill known as “Fletcher Forbes Gill” (Alan Fletcher | Biography, Designs and Facts). Shortly later, the company released the book “Graphic Design: A Visual Comparison”. This company had major successful cliental like Pirelli, Cunard, Penguin Books, and Olivetti (Alan Fletcher | Biography, Designs and Facts). The firm evolved over the decade, Bob Gill was replaced by Theo Crosby and two other designers became a part of their team (Alan Fletcher | Biography, Designs and Facts). The company became known as Pentagram, which Fletcher came up with to represent all five members as it stands for five-pointed star (ALAN FLETCHER Graphic Designer (1931-) Designing Modern Britain – Design Museum Exhibition, 2006).

For the next two decades Fletcher worked and represented the Pentagram (ALAN FLETCHER Graphic Designer (1931-) Designing Modern Britain – Design Museum Exhibition, 2006).

Working at the Pentagram he created such as the logotype for London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, which still exists till this day as one of his major works (ALAN FLETCHER Graphic Designer (1931-) Designing Modern Britain – Design Museum Exhibition, 2006). This piece is best known for the clever use of the typeface Bodoni, and how Fletcher managed to immerse the museums nickname “V&A” into one unit with the ampersand (ALAN FLETCHER Graphic Designer (1931-) Designing Modern Britain – Design Museum Exhibition, 2006). Another logotype he created that had a major impact was the logo he created for the Institute of Directors (ALAN FLETCHER Graphic Designer (1931-) Designing Modern Britain – Design Museum Exhibition, 2006). Fletcher used the initials of the organization in conjunction with how important each one means in the representation (ALAN FLETCHER Graphic Designer (1931-) Designing Modern Britain – Design Museum Exhibition, 2006). Glancing at the logo one will be able to distinguish a medium “I”, a small “O”, and a large “D” (ALAN FLETCHER Graphic Designer (1931-) Designing Modern Britain – Design Museum Exhibition, 2006). Another notable work that Fletcher was recognized for was his witty advertisements, like the Pirelli slippers ad that was positioned on a London’s double-decker bus to match the bodies of passengers (Rawsthorn, 2013).

Another one of Fletchers major contributions with his other designers was setting up the Design and Art Directors Association or D&AD (ALAN FLETCHER Graphic Designer (1931-) Designing Modern Britain – Design Museum Exhibition, 2006). The very first exhibit took place at the Hilton hotel, where they select only the best art from each designer to represent the association (ALAN FLETCHER Graphic Designer (1931-) Designing Modern Britain – Design Museum Exhibition, 2006). The exhibit made quite an impression on many clients who saw the first show, allowing many artists the ability to increase their prices to make more profit (ALAN FLETCHER Graphic Designer (1931-) Designing Modern Britain – Design Museum Exhibition, 2006). This exhibit was a major influence on changing design in the British industry (ALAN FLETCHER Graphic Designer (1931-) Designing Modern Britain – Design Museum Exhibition, 2006).

Fletcher left the Pentagram in 1991 and continued to freelance his work to clients (ALAN FLETCHER Graphic Designer (1931-) Designing Modern Britain – Design Museum Exhibition, 2006). He worked from his home in Notting Hill where he still frequently worked on various projects and continued to contribute to graphic design through his book publications (Thompson, 2006). His next big assignment after the Pentagram was his work as a creative director for the publishing company Phaidon Press, this is where he became immersed with new designers that helped reshape his thinking (Rawsthorn, 2013). The Design Council in 1993 presented to him the Prince Philip Designers Prize for his captivating work (Alan Fletcher | Biography, Designs and Facts). His perspective on design can be read in Beware Wet Paint released in 1996 and The Art of Looking Sideways released in 2004 (Thompson, 2006).

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References

Alan Fletcher | Biography, Designs and Facts. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.famousgraphicdesigners.org/alan-fletcher

Thompson, P. (2006, September 25). Obituary: Alan Fletcher. Retrieved April 10, 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/news/2006/sep/25/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries

Legacy Left Behind & Next Steps

Alan Fletchers influence on the world can still be seen even till this day after his death in 2006 (MacCarthy, 2006). Over the course of his lifetime he built himself a status in the graphic communications industry, yet he always remained true to what it means to be an artist in design (Thompson, 2006). His legacy is carried on through his books, which he references himself as a “visual jackdaw”, feeling compelled to share his problem with how many people aren’t taught how to perceive things visually (Rawsthorn, 2013).

Fletcher’s family want to continue to make sure that his work can be accessed to the public to carry on his message and legacy (Rawsthorn, 2013). After a successful artist passes away, there is a lot of pressure in handling the work that has been left behind (Rawsthorn, 2013). They have had options like securing his studio to have opened for public access or even to donate or sell to museums (Rawsthorn, 2013). While this is yet to be decided, some of his work has been preserved in catalogues and can be acquired on the alanfletcherarchive.com (Rawsthorn, 2013). This site offers a simple, easy-to-navigate design that contains photos and more context on his career (Rawthorn, 2013). His wife and family hopes that the website will help inspire young designers with their own aspirations and work in graphic design (Rawsthorn, 2013).

It is a privilege to be able to represent and share his story to my fellow followers! Stay tune for any new updates or events on where you can see Alan Fletchers work. May he continue to be a role model for future graphic communicators!

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References

MacCarthy, F. (2006, November 11). Fiona MacCarthy on graphic designer Alan Fletcher. Retrieved April 10, 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/nov/11/art