Alan Fletcher
Alan Fletcher was one of the most important and most influential graphic designers to come out of Britain in the early 1960’s. His famous design for Pirelli would go on to revolutionise the British graphic design industry.
Fletcher was born in Kenya in 1931 to a British family but moved to London at an early age. His creative talents would soon earn him a scholarship to Yale in America, where he was heavily influenced by American art and culture. After returning to London in 1960, Fletcher began consulting for clients like Time, Life, and Pirelli. His unique designs stood out for being totally original and eye-catching.
“I try to solve their problems, but in solving their problems take an opportunity to find that extra twist that adds the magic.” The art posters he did for IBM are a good example of this. IBM asked him to design a placard for their new Paris headquarters, which said a painting would shortly arrive for the space on the wall occupied by the placard. In response he produced a series of posters interpreting the word “art” as defined by an author or artist, and added the line, ‘Quest for Quality: an IBM exhibition’ along the bottom of each poster. The artwork image for each poster was thoughtfully interpreted by Fletcher and in turn reflected his keen eye and sense of humour. Keeping each poster in greyscale and black and white unified the series thematically, each poster telling a unique story. By incorporating quotes by well-known figures such as F Scott Fitzgerald and Confucius to J.F. Kennedy, the posters remain universal as well as personal.
View and our collection of Alan Fletcher IBM posters here:
Marshall McLuhan Quest for Quality: an IBM exhibition – Alan Fletcher
Emanuel Swedenborg Quest for Quality: an IBM exhibition – Alan Fletcher
Jonathan Swift Quest for Quality: an IBM exhibition