Robert Brownjohn

Robert Brownjohn (1925 – 1970) was a graphic designer. His combination of typography, illustration and objects made him an iconic designer in 1950s New York and 1960s London. He has designed titles for James Bond films, graphics for the Robert Fraser Gallery and artwork for the Rolling Stones. A lot of his inspiration came form sixties pop culture.

The illustration to the right is an example of a piece of work from Brownjohn, Chermayeff & Geismar (BCG). These three artists collaborated to create many commissioned pieces of art for various clients. Much of their work was extremely simple, but just as effective. It was perhaps their simplicity that made them all the more intriguing. The illustration to the right is part of a booklet called ‘Watching Words Move (1959)’ and is extremely fascinating. By using only the top half of the word ‘top’, BCG have given meaning to the word they are portraying and have shown wit in they’re interpretation. More examples of this type of his work are shown to the left.

However, Brownjohn not only explored uncomplicated illustrations. One of his more famous pieces of work would be the title he created for the James Bond film, as shown below. The way in which the words ‘From Russia with Love’ are distortedly written is effective in portraying a mysterious or sinister atmosphere. This was most probably Brownjohn’s aim as James Bond films are thrilling in essence. This more complicated illustration gives us more insight to the typographical talents of Robert Brownjohn. He became sought after for both his simple and intricate means of portraying a message using wit, and is now imprinted into the history of prominent graphic artists.