ALAN GERARD FLETCHER

BIOGRAPHYAlan Gerard Fletcher was a British graphic designer. In his obituary, he was described by The Daily Telegraph as "the most highly regarded graphic designer of his generation, and probably one of the most prolific".

1931 Born in Nairobi, Kenya, the son of an English civil servant.1936 When his father becomes terminally ill, the family return to England,

where he lives in Shepherd’s Bush with his mother, grandparents and great-grandfather.

1941 Sent out of bomb-struck London to the Christ’s Hospital boarding school.1949 Enrols at Hammersmith School of Art and later transfers to the Central

School where he is taught by Anthony Froshaug with Colin Forbes as a classmate.1953 Studies at the Royal College of Art. 1956 Wins an exchange scholarship to Yale University’s School of Architecture

and Design, where he is taught by Alvin Eisenman and Paul Rand. Works for Leo Lionni at Fortune magazine in New York and at Saul Bass’s studio in Los Angeles.

1959 Returns to London via Milan, where he works briefly for Pirelli.1960 Renting space in Forbes’ studio, he freelances for clients including Time

and Life and Pirelli as well as teaching one day a week at the Central School.1962 Founds Fletcher/Forbes/Gill with former classmate Colin Forbes and the

US graphic designer Bob Gill. Clients include Penguin and Shell.1965 Bob Gill leaves the company and Theo Crosby joins, forming Crosby/

Fletcher/Forbes.

1965 Designs a new identity for the Reuters news agency by spelling its name in lines of black dots to replicate the printing of its news reports.

1970 Designs the Clam plastic ashtray for production by Mebel in Italy.1972 Forms Pentagram with Theo Crosby, Colin Forbes, Kenneth Grange and

Mervyn Kurlansky.1974 John McConnell joins Pentagram.1980 Designs the identity for the Commercial Bank of Kuwait.1986 Develops the signage for the architect Richard Roger’s headquarters for

the Lloyd’s of London insurance market and the corporate identity of Lloyds.1989 Creates a new identity and signage system for the Victoria & Albert

Museum in London.1992 Leaves Pentagram and establishes an independent studio in his home in

Notting Hill Gate.1994 Becomes consultant art director to Phaidon Press1994 Publishes the monograph Beware Wet Paint.2001 Publication of The Art of Looking Sideways on Fletcher’s visual

philosophy.2003 Starts to develop the visual identity of the Novartis Campus Project in

Basel, Switzerland.2006 Alan Fletcher dies in East Sussex, England

Dipping into design history: Alan Fletcher

Alan Fletcher is an icon of post-war graphic design in Britain.  He spent over fifty years creating stunning identities for clients as prestigious and diverse as the V&A and Reuters. He was a founding member of D&AD and founding partner of international design firm Pentagram.

His style and approach can be best understood by flicking through his seminal publication, ‘The Art of Looking Sideways’ Fletcher himself described the book as 'a journey without a destination'. The book is a collection of images, quotes and comments that provides insight into Fletcher’s inspiration and visual philosophy.

Here's a selection of his work.  A big thank you to Pentagram for sourcing images.

Pirelli cintura: 1961

Reuters Logo: 1965

D&AD exhibition poster, 1963

Designers Saturday:

1982

IBM Poster Series: 1983

IBM Poster Series: 1983

Masterpiece

We think it’s art colorful and it has a good meaning in the picture.

MembersM.5/12 Luck # 17

Pan # 11 Aoy # 3