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{{Short description|American graphic designer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}} {{Use American English|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Robert Brownjohn
| name = Robert Brownjohn
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1925|08|08}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1925|08|08}}
| image = Robert Brownjohn.jpg
| birth_place = [[Newark, New Jersey]]
| birth_place = [[Newark, New Jersey]], US
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1970|08|01|1925|08|08}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1970|08|01|1925|08|08}}
| death_place = London, England
| death_place = London, England
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== Early life ==
== Early life ==
He was born to British parents on August 8, 1925 in [[Newark, New Jersey]] where his father was a [[bus driver]]. In 1937, at age 12, his father died.<ref name=bleed/> Despite the comparative disinclination of his family, Brownjohn showed early artistic promise. After attending the [[Pratt Institute]] in nearby [[Brooklyn, New York]] for a year, he earned a place at the [[Institute of Design IIT|Institute of Design]] in [[Chicago, Illinois]], formerly known as the [[New Bauhaus]] by founder [[László Moholy-Nagy]], in 1944.
He was born to British parents on August 8, 1925, in [[Newark, New Jersey]], where his father was a [[bus driver]]. In 1937, at age 12, his father died.<ref name=bleed/> Despite the comparative disinclination of his family, Brownjohn showed early artistic promise. After attending the [[Pratt Institute]] in nearby [[Brooklyn]], New York, for a year, he earned a place at the [[Institute of Design IIT|Institute of Design]] in [[Chicago]], Illinois, formerly known as the New [[Bauhaus]] by founder [[László Moholy-Nagy]], in 1944.


Regarded as a prodigy by his peers, Brownjohn became a protégé of Moholy-Nagy and his successor, [[Serge Chermayeff]]; much of the structural quality in Brownjohn's graphic design can be traced to the former's important influence. In his spare time, he experimented with [[marijuana]] and [[heroin]] (culminating in an early rehabilitation stint at the behest of Chermayeff) and often frequented the city's [[jazz]] clubs with Chermayeff and [[Buckminster Fuller]], then an Institute faculty member. Because of his proclivities, Brownjohn became intimately acquainted with [[Charlie Parker]], [[Billie Holiday]] and other musicians.
Regarded as a prodigy by his peers, Brownjohn became a protégé of Moholy-Nagy and his successor, [[Serge Chermayeff]]; much of the structural quality in Brownjohn's graphic design can be traced to the former's important influence. In his spare time, he experimented with [[marijuana]] and [[heroin]] (culminating in an early rehabilitation stint at the behest of Chermayeff) and often frequented the city's [[jazz]] clubs with Chermayeff and [[Buckminster Fuller]], then an Institute faculty member. Because of his proclivities, Brownjohn became intimately acquainted with [[Charlie Parker]], [[Billie Holiday]] and other musicians of the era.


After receiving a nonprofessional [[B.A.]] in architecture in May 1948,<ref>https://robertbrownjohn.com/brownjohn-archives/institute-of-design-new-bauhaus-chicago-1944-1950/</ref> Brownjohn initially worked as an architectural planner in Chicago before returning to the Institute (which had been absorbed as a unit of the [[Illinois Institute of Technology]] in 1949) to assist Chermayeff and teach his own courses in the evening division. He also worked as a freelance designer for several magazines, including ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'' and ''[[Coronet (magazine)|Coronet]]''.
After receiving a nonprofessional [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] in architecture in May 1948,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://robertbrownjohn.com/brownjohn-archives/institute-of-design-new-bauhaus-chicago-1944-1950/|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190504061453/http://robertbrownjohn.com/brownjohn-archives/institute-of-design-new-bauhaus-chicago-1944-1950/|archive-date = 2019-05-04|title = Bj at institute of design chicago 1940's}}</ref> Brownjohn initially worked as an architectural planner in Chicago before returning to the Institute (which had been absorbed as a unit of the [[Illinois Institute of Technology]] in 1949) to assist Chermayeff and teach his own courses in the school's evening division. He also worked as a freelance designer for several magazines, including ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'' and ''[[Coronet (magazine)|Coronet]]''.


== New York career ==
== New York career ==
In 1951, Brownjohn returned to [[New York City]] in order to further his graphic design career. Continuing to work freelance for the next five years, he completed projects for a wide variety of clients, including [[Columbia Records]]. Brownjohn's effusive personality and fondness for jazz music allowed his friendships with Parker and [[Miles Davis]], among others, to blossom as he became a part of the social scene in the city. Brownjohn also became addicted to heroin in earnest during this period. He was never to conquer this affliction and it contributed to his untimely death at the age of 44.
In 1951, Brownjohn returned to [[New York City]] in order to further his graphic design career. Continuing to work freelance for the next five years, he completed projects for a wide variety of clients, including [[Columbia Records]]. Brownjohn's effusive personality and fondness for jazz music allowed his friendships with Parker and [[Miles Davis]], among others, to blossom as he became a part of the bohemian social scene in the city. Brownjohn also became addicted to heroin in earnest during this period. He was never to conquer this affliction and it contributed to his untimely death at the age of 44.


In 1956, Brownjohn married Donna Walters. The couple went on to have a daughter, Eliza. The following year, Brownjohn formed Brownjohn, Chermayeff & Geismar (BCG) with fellow designers Ivan Chermayeff and [[Tom Geismar]]. BCG designed for print initially, producing experiments in typographical design as well as taking on commercial projects. Amongst the experimental work was the booklet, ''Watching Words Move'', in which words were redesigned to suggest their meaning in graphical as well as literal terms, e.g. "+dd", "-tract" and "sexxx". In 1958 BCG won the commission to design the United States' stand at the [[Expo '58|Brussels World's Fair]]. BCG also counted the [[Pepsi-Cola Company]] amongst its largest clients at this time. In addition to designing the company magazine, it also created the widely hailed Christmas decorations for Pepsi's New York headquarters. During this period, he also taught advanced advertising design as an [[adjunct professor]] at Pratt and [[Cooper Union]].
In 1956, Brownjohn married Donna Walters. The couple went on to have a daughter, Eliza. The following year, Brownjohn formed Brownjohn, Chermayeff & Geismar (BCG) with fellow designers [[Ivan Chermayeff]] (a son of Brownjohn's mentor) and [[Tom Geismar]]. BCG designed for print initially, producing experiments in typographical design as well as taking on commercial projects. Amongst the experimental work was the booklet, ''Watching Words Move'', in which words were redesigned to suggest their meaning in graphical as well as literal terms, e.g. "+dd", "-tract" and "sexxx". In 1958 BCG won the commission to design the United States' stand at the [[Expo '58|Brussels World's Fair]]. BCG also counted the [[Pepsi-Cola Company]] amongst its largest clients at this time. In addition to designing the company magazine, it also created the widely hailed Christmas decorations for Pepsi's New York headquarters. During this period, he also taught advanced advertising design as an [[adjunct professor]] at Pratt and [[Cooper Union]].


The end of 1959 saw the end of BCG. Brownjohn's drug use had escalated and he moved to London with his family in order, he hoped, to take advantage of the UK's more liberal attitude to drug use.<ref name="Design Museum article on Brownjohn">[http://www.designmuseum.org/design/robert-brownjohn Design Museum article on Brownjohn]</ref> The company is called [[Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv]] today.
The end of 1959 saw the end of BCG. Brownjohn's drug use had escalated and he moved to London with his family in order, he hoped, to take advantage of the UK's more liberal attitude to drug use.<ref name="Design Museum article on Brownjohn">[http://www.designmuseum.org/design/robert-brownjohn Design Museum article on Brownjohn]</ref> Following Brownjohn's departure, the company (known as [[Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv]] today) became known for its seminal [[corporate identity]] programs.


== London career ==
== London career ==
As one of the most fêted and socially connected designers from New York, Brownjohn fitted into the [[Swinging London]] scene effortlessly. He worked at advertising agency [[J. Walter Thompson]] initially and in 1962 left to join [[McCann Erickson]]. It was in this year that Donna left Brownjohn, taking daughter Eliza, and moved to [[Ibiza]].
As one of the most fêted and socially connected designers from New York, Brownjohn fitted into the [[Swinging London]] scene effortlessly. He initially worked at the [[J. Walter Thompson]] advertising agency before leaving the firm to join [[McCann Erickson]] in 1962. It was in this year that Donna left Brownjohn, taking daughter Eliza, and moved to [[Ibiza]].


Brownjohn's career began to shift to working primarily with moving images. In 1963, the producers of the [[James Bond]] films approached Brownjohn after disagreements with film title designer [[Maurice Binder]].<ref>''Starlog'' magazine Maurice Binder interview Part 1</ref> [[Harry Saltzman]] asked Brownjohn to design the title sequence for the second [[James Bond]] film, ''[[From Russia with Love (film)|From Russia with Love]]''.<ref>p.66-67 King, Emily, Brownjohn, Eliza & Brownjohn, Robert ''Robert Brownjohn:Sex and Typography'' 1970 Laurence King Publishing</ref>
Brownjohn's career began to shift to working primarily with moving images. In 1963, the producers of the [[James Bond]] films approached Brownjohn after disagreements with film title designer [[Maurice Binder]].<ref>''Starlog'' magazine Maurice Binder interview Part 1</ref> [[Harry Saltzman]] asked Brownjohn to design the title sequence for the second [[James Bond]] film, ''[[From Russia with Love (film)|From Russia with Love]]''.<ref>p.66-67 King, Emily, Brownjohn, Eliza & Brownjohn, Robert ''Robert Brownjohn:Sex and Typography'' 1970 Laurence King Publishing</ref>
Line 41: Line 44:
*''[[The Night of the Generals]]'' (1967)
*''[[The Night of the Generals]]'' (1967)


== Later career and death ==
== Later career ==
The most notable work from Brownjohn's post-Bond career is probably the cover for the 1969 [[Rolling Stones]] album ''[[Let It Bleed]]''.<ref name=bleed/> He also created moving graphics for [[Midland Bank]] and [[Pirelli]] between 1966 and 1970. His final piece of graphic design was a poster for the New York Peace Campaign in 1969: an ace of spades playing card is laid on a plain white background with the letters "PE" hastily scribbled to the left of it and a question mark to the right. Brownjohn also had a small role as a fur coat clad heavy in [[Dick Clement]]'s film ''[[Otley (film)|Otley]]''.
The most notable work from Brownjohn's post-Bond career is probably the cover for the 1969 [[Rolling Stones]] album ''[[Let It Bleed]]''.<ref name=bleed/> He also created moving graphics for [[Midland Bank]] and [[Pirelli]] between 1966 and 1970. His final piece of graphic design was a poster for the New York Peace Campaign in 1969: an ace of spades playing card is laid on a plain white background with the letters "PE" hastily scribbled to the left of it and a question mark to the right. Brownjohn also had a small role as a fur coat-clad heavy in [[Dick Clement]]'s film ''[[Otley (film)|Otley]]''.


Robert Brownjohn died from a heart attack in London on August 1, 1970.<ref name=bleed>{{cite news |author=[[Alice Rawsthorn]] |coauthors= |title=The Man Who Broke the Record on 'Let It Bleed' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/12/arts/design/the-man-who-broke-the-record-on-let-it-bleed.html |quote=Born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1925, Brownjohn, whose father, a bus driver, died when he was 12, studied art at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn before enrolling at the Institute of Design in Chicago in 1944. ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=December 11, 2011 |accessdate=2011-12-11 }}</ref>
Brownjohn died from a heart attack in London on August 1, 1970, a week shy of his 45th birthday.<ref name=bleed>{{cite news |author=Alice Rawsthorn |author-link=Alice Rawsthorn |title=The Man Who Broke the Record on 'Let It Bleed' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/12/arts/design/the-man-who-broke-the-record-on-let-it-bleed.html |quote=Born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1925, Brownjohn, whose father, a bus driver, died when he was 12, studied art at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn before enrolling at the Institute of Design in Chicago in 1944. ... |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 11, 2011 |accessdate=2011-12-11 }}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
Line 50: Line 53:


== References ==
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
<references/>


== Further reading ==
== Further reading ==
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== External links ==
== External links ==
*{{IMDb name|0115226}}
*{{IMDb name|0115226}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20190223230034/http://robertbrownjohn.com/ Archive of official Robert Brownjohn website]
* [http://www.adcglobal.org/archive/hof/1995/?id=327 Art Directors Club biography, portrait and images of work]
* [http://www.adcglobal.org/archive/hof/1995/?id=327 Art Directors Club biography, portrait and images of work]


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[[Category:AIGA medalists]]
[[Category:AIGA medalists]]
[[Category:American graphic designers]]
[[Category:American graphic designers]]
[[Category:American typographers]]
[[Category:American typographers and type designers]]
[[Category:Film and television title designers]]
[[Category:Film and television title designers]]
[[Category:Artists from Newark, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Artists from Newark, New Jersey]]
[[Category:American expatriates in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:American expatriates in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Cooper Union faculty]]

Latest revision as of 12:09, 17 April 2024

Robert Brownjohn
Born(1925-08-08)August 8, 1925
Newark, New Jersey, US
DiedAugust 1, 1970(1970-08-01) (aged 44)
London, England
Occupation(s)Graphic designer, title designer

Robert Brownjohn (August 8, 1925 – August 1, 1970) was an American graphic designer known for blending formal graphic design concepts with wit and 1960s pop culture. He is best known for his motion picture title sequences, especially From Russia with Love and Goldfinger.

Early life

[edit]

He was born to British parents on August 8, 1925, in Newark, New Jersey, where his father was a bus driver. In 1937, at age 12, his father died.[1] Despite the comparative disinclination of his family, Brownjohn showed early artistic promise. After attending the Pratt Institute in nearby Brooklyn, New York, for a year, he earned a place at the Institute of Design in Chicago, Illinois, formerly known as the New Bauhaus by founder László Moholy-Nagy, in 1944.

Regarded as a prodigy by his peers, Brownjohn became a protégé of Moholy-Nagy and his successor, Serge Chermayeff; much of the structural quality in Brownjohn's graphic design can be traced to the former's important influence. In his spare time, he experimented with marijuana and heroin (culminating in an early rehabilitation stint at the behest of Chermayeff) and often frequented the city's jazz clubs with Chermayeff and Buckminster Fuller, then an Institute faculty member. Because of his proclivities, Brownjohn became intimately acquainted with Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday and other musicians of the era.

After receiving a nonprofessional B.A. in architecture in May 1948,[2] Brownjohn initially worked as an architectural planner in Chicago before returning to the Institute (which had been absorbed as a unit of the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1949) to assist Chermayeff and teach his own courses in the school's evening division. He also worked as a freelance designer for several magazines, including Esquire and Coronet.

New York career

[edit]

In 1951, Brownjohn returned to New York City in order to further his graphic design career. Continuing to work freelance for the next five years, he completed projects for a wide variety of clients, including Columbia Records. Brownjohn's effusive personality and fondness for jazz music allowed his friendships with Parker and Miles Davis, among others, to blossom as he became a part of the bohemian social scene in the city. Brownjohn also became addicted to heroin in earnest during this period. He was never to conquer this affliction and it contributed to his untimely death at the age of 44.

In 1956, Brownjohn married Donna Walters. The couple went on to have a daughter, Eliza. The following year, Brownjohn formed Brownjohn, Chermayeff & Geismar (BCG) with fellow designers Ivan Chermayeff (a son of Brownjohn's mentor) and Tom Geismar. BCG designed for print initially, producing experiments in typographical design as well as taking on commercial projects. Amongst the experimental work was the booklet, Watching Words Move, in which words were redesigned to suggest their meaning in graphical as well as literal terms, e.g. "+dd", "-tract" and "sexxx". In 1958 BCG won the commission to design the United States' stand at the Brussels World's Fair. BCG also counted the Pepsi-Cola Company amongst its largest clients at this time. In addition to designing the company magazine, it also created the widely hailed Christmas decorations for Pepsi's New York headquarters. During this period, he also taught advanced advertising design as an adjunct professor at Pratt and Cooper Union.

The end of 1959 saw the end of BCG. Brownjohn's drug use had escalated and he moved to London with his family in order, he hoped, to take advantage of the UK's more liberal attitude to drug use.[3] Following Brownjohn's departure, the company (known as Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv today) became known for its seminal corporate identity programs.

London career

[edit]

As one of the most fêted and socially connected designers from New York, Brownjohn fitted into the Swinging London scene effortlessly. He initially worked at the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency before leaving the firm to join McCann Erickson in 1962. It was in this year that Donna left Brownjohn, taking daughter Eliza, and moved to Ibiza.

Brownjohn's career began to shift to working primarily with moving images. In 1963, the producers of the James Bond films approached Brownjohn after disagreements with film title designer Maurice Binder.[4] Harry Saltzman asked Brownjohn to design the title sequence for the second James Bond film, From Russia with Love.[5]

Movie title sequences

[edit]

Robert Brownjohn's work on two James Bond title sequences, From Russia with Love and Goldfinger, is probably his most widely known achievement. In these he used the technique of projecting moving footage onto the bodies of models and filming the results. The idea of filming projections is one gleaned from the Bauhaus and was used by László Maholy-Nagy in his early constructivist films of the 1920s.[3] The combination of this artistic technique with the style and glamour of the 1960s typify Brownjohn's work. The use of wit and risqué humour, for example the deliberate lining up of a projected shot of a golf putt so that the ball appears to roll down gold painted model Margaret Nolan's cleavage, are also classic Brownjohn devices.

Goldfinger's title design, photographed by David Watkin cost £5000. Brownjohn also designed the British posters for the film featuring Sean Connery and Honor Blackman over a gold painted Margaret Nolan. A second poster, featuring the characters in a golden hand, was designed for Ireland.[6] Eventually Saltzman and Brownjohn fell out, and Brownjohn worked on no other Bond films.[7]

In all, Robert Brownjohn designed four title sequences:[8]

Later career

[edit]

The most notable work from Brownjohn's post-Bond career is probably the cover for the 1969 Rolling Stones album Let It Bleed.[1] He also created moving graphics for Midland Bank and Pirelli between 1966 and 1970. His final piece of graphic design was a poster for the New York Peace Campaign in 1969: an ace of spades playing card is laid on a plain white background with the letters "PE" hastily scribbled to the left of it and a question mark to the right. Brownjohn also had a small role as a fur coat-clad heavy in Dick Clement's film Otley.

Brownjohn died from a heart attack in London on August 1, 1970, a week shy of his 45th birthday.[1]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Alice Rawsthorn (December 11, 2011). "The Man Who Broke the Record on 'Let It Bleed'". The New York Times. Retrieved December 11, 2011. Born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1925, Brownjohn, whose father, a bus driver, died when he was 12, studied art at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn before enrolling at the Institute of Design in Chicago in 1944. ...
  2. ^ "Bj at institute of design chicago 1940's". Archived from the original on May 4, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Design Museum article on Brownjohn
  4. ^ Starlog magazine Maurice Binder interview Part 1
  5. ^ p.66-67 King, Emily, Brownjohn, Eliza & Brownjohn, Robert Robert Brownjohn:Sex and Typography 1970 Laurence King Publishing
  6. ^ p.33 Nourmand, Tony James Bond Movie Posters: The Official 007 Collection 2004 Chronicle Books
  7. ^ pp68-69 Robert Brownjohn
  8. ^ Robert Brownjohn at IMDb

Further reading

[edit]
  • King, Emily, Robert Brownjohn: Sex and Typography, Laurence King Publishing, 2005
  • Chermayeff, Ivan and Geismar, Tom, watching words move, Chronicle Books, 2006
[edit]
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