Wildscreen 90
Poster
1990 (designed and printed)
1990 (designed and printed)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This is the work of celebrated English poster artist Tom Eckersley (1914 - 1997). It was designed and printed in 1990 for the World Wildlife Fund to advertise the International Wildlife and Television Festival in Bristol. Eckersley harmonises image and text by depicting a panda to represent 'Wildlife' and a beam of light to represent 'Television'. The panda is also a direct reference to the WWF logo, which features the endangered animal.
All of Eckersley's posters demonstrate his ability to convey a simple, direct message through economical and effective design. His style is instantly recognisable - unlike other contemporary poster designers who introduced photography, airbrush, perspective and depth to their works, Eckersley favoured bold, flat areas of colour, reducing figures and objects to flat geometrical shapes. As he explains in his book 'Poster Design' (1954):
"The good designer can achieve far more with two colours than the poor one with twelve, since it is not the number of colours you use but the way in which you employ them which governs the result."
He was inspired by the striking, often abstract images by poster designers A.M. Cassandre and Edward Mcknight Kauffer.
After graduating from Salford Art School, Eckersley moved to London in 1934 to become a freelance poster designer. He collaborated with Eric Lombers on a number of commissions for London Transport, Shell and the BBC. During the Second World War, Eckersley worked independently for public service agencies including the Ministry of Information and the General Post Office.
In 1957 he became Head of the Design Department at the London College of Printing for twenty years. He then took early retirement in order to pursue his own work full-time. As well as producing posters for the World Wildlife Fund, Eckersley also designed works for the National Business Calendar, the Imperial War Museum, a set of film star posters and posters advertising his own exhibitions. One of his most popular designs, a Concorde platform panel at Heathrow underground station, is also in the V&A collection.
Throughout his career, Eckersley focused his attention on posters and is considered the last full-time English poster designer. This poster was bequeathed by Phillip Granville.
All of Eckersley's posters demonstrate his ability to convey a simple, direct message through economical and effective design. His style is instantly recognisable - unlike other contemporary poster designers who introduced photography, airbrush, perspective and depth to their works, Eckersley favoured bold, flat areas of colour, reducing figures and objects to flat geometrical shapes. As he explains in his book 'Poster Design' (1954):
"The good designer can achieve far more with two colours than the poor one with twelve, since it is not the number of colours you use but the way in which you employ them which governs the result."
He was inspired by the striking, often abstract images by poster designers A.M. Cassandre and Edward Mcknight Kauffer.
After graduating from Salford Art School, Eckersley moved to London in 1934 to become a freelance poster designer. He collaborated with Eric Lombers on a number of commissions for London Transport, Shell and the BBC. During the Second World War, Eckersley worked independently for public service agencies including the Ministry of Information and the General Post Office.
In 1957 he became Head of the Design Department at the London College of Printing for twenty years. He then took early retirement in order to pursue his own work full-time. As well as producing posters for the World Wildlife Fund, Eckersley also designed works for the National Business Calendar, the Imperial War Museum, a set of film star posters and posters advertising his own exhibitions. One of his most popular designs, a Concorde platform panel at Heathrow underground station, is also in the V&A collection.
Throughout his career, Eckersley focused his attention on posters and is considered the last full-time English poster designer. This poster was bequeathed by Phillip Granville.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | Wildscreen 90 (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Colour offset lithograph. |
Brief description | Eckersley, Tom; 'Wildsceen 90' poster advertising an international and television festival, 1990, British. |
Physical description | Panda's head and beam of light. |
Dimensions |
|
Marks and inscriptions |
|
Credit line | Accepted by H M Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the Victoria and Albert Museum, 2007 |
Subject depicted | |
Summary | This is the work of celebrated English poster artist Tom Eckersley (1914 - 1997). It was designed and printed in 1990 for the World Wildlife Fund to advertise the International Wildlife and Television Festival in Bristol. Eckersley harmonises image and text by depicting a panda to represent 'Wildlife' and a beam of light to represent 'Television'. The panda is also a direct reference to the WWF logo, which features the endangered animal. All of Eckersley's posters demonstrate his ability to convey a simple, direct message through economical and effective design. His style is instantly recognisable - unlike other contemporary poster designers who introduced photography, airbrush, perspective and depth to their works, Eckersley favoured bold, flat areas of colour, reducing figures and objects to flat geometrical shapes. As he explains in his book 'Poster Design' (1954): "The good designer can achieve far more with two colours than the poor one with twelve, since it is not the number of colours you use but the way in which you employ them which governs the result." He was inspired by the striking, often abstract images by poster designers A.M. Cassandre and Edward Mcknight Kauffer. After graduating from Salford Art School, Eckersley moved to London in 1934 to become a freelance poster designer. He collaborated with Eric Lombers on a number of commissions for London Transport, Shell and the BBC. During the Second World War, Eckersley worked independently for public service agencies including the Ministry of Information and the General Post Office. In 1957 he became Head of the Design Department at the London College of Printing for twenty years. He then took early retirement in order to pursue his own work full-time. As well as producing posters for the World Wildlife Fund, Eckersley also designed works for the National Business Calendar, the Imperial War Museum, a set of film star posters and posters advertising his own exhibitions. One of his most popular designs, a Concorde platform panel at Heathrow underground station, is also in the V&A collection. Throughout his career, Eckersley focused his attention on posters and is considered the last full-time English poster designer. This poster was bequeathed by Phillip Granville. |
Collection | |
Accession number | E.2706-2007 |
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Record created | June 8, 2009 |
Record URL |
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