Tired of being plain old Dave from the suburbs, I made the decision to change my life. I began with a new name; settling on Farquhar, after the Irish dramatist, George Farquhar (1677-1707). And so it was, that on a grey March morning, with a new moniker, clean handkerchief and my father's old green tie on, I stepped boldly forth on a journey to find myself. Now back from my travels (chronicled here), life goes on, but not necessarily as before.
Alan Fletcher, graphic designer, died on September 21st. Together with partners Colin Forbes and Bob Gill, he was an inspiration to aspiring designers of my generation. Fletcher, Forbes and Gill, founded in 1962, revolutionised 'commercial art' in this country, creating design solutions that were rooted in ideas. We designers owe him much. In his own words, "Design is not a thing you do. It's a way of life."
Yup, a sad day. Mind you, I think of him as a mere McCartney to Bob Gill's Lennon. To continue the analogy, who was Elvis, the true king of graphics? To me, it was Robert Brownjohn. Like Elvis, he died of excess. Unlike Elvis, he died well before his prime. And unlike Fletcher, he was touched by true genius. Ah, those were the days! Er, so who does this new generation of graphic designers look up to? Seems to be Peter Saville, the Duran Duran of graphics. All floss and style with no creative substance. Yup, not just a sad day, but also a very sad time.
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2006-10-01 @ 23:58