Alan Fletcher: Fifty Years of Graphic Work (and play)
11 Nov 2006 – 18 Feb 2007
The Design Museum, London

‘As far as Fletcher was concerned life and work were inseparable’ Emily King, Curator

Alan Fletcher: Fifty Years of Graphic Work (and play) captures the impressive range and sustained productivity of Fletcher who seems to have been as creative and productive in domestic settings (making imaginative toys with grandchildren) as he was in the domain of business. Ultimately this retrospective show presents Fletcher as a father figure for aspiring designers and established professionals alike. In light of his recent death, the exhibition and the images it generates become all the more pertinent and profound. In this piece I attempt to explore the strategy of display in more depth, questioning the strength of the curatorial voice in the gallery setting.


Link to The Guardian obituary


Besides the attribution of paternal characteristics throughout the exhibition, Alan Fletcher is also presented as a formidable pioneering figure within the institution of Graphic Design. He is associated with both D&AD and Pentagram, from their beginnings, and is credited (in the catalogue notes) with establishing ‘a national design tradition’. This representation is carried through other kinds of design commentary and relate to his status as an author and teacher, in addition to his commercial output. Studying at the Royal College of Art and at Yale, Fletcher is seen to combine American visual literacy with Swiss methodology. This approach is particularly evident in the portfolio of Fletcher/Forbes/Gill who worked on identities for Reuters, campaigns for Pirelli and cover designs for Penguin books. Images available courtesy of Flickr

In these respects, the aspirations of the exhibition are all well and good. However this over-arching narrative of the torch-bearer and paternal figure is one of the dominant features of the exhibition and indicates, in parallel to the creativity in the work, the strength of the curator's voice. Indeed, this retrospective is compiled in such a way that it throws into sharp relief the mechanisms behind the Culture of Graphic Design (with its histories, reputations and related industries). I would not argue about his 'abundant visual curiosity' nor the playfulness of the work, however, there comes a point when the process of his becoming a Great Name (as he lives his life and undertakes commissions) is marginalized by the constant suggestion of his being (always already) a Great Name; that is, there is no room for error in this historical discourse. The work of biography and curatorship leaves no room for doubt ... Fletcher is the essence of Design and the embodiment of its ideals (as currently configured within the institutions that support and surround it). However, perhaps the building of a reputation by alternative means - by the word of mouth of satisfied clients and inspired colleagues - might also be addressed more fully? Through more extensive use of oral testimony, for example? This might prove a useful addition to the current emphasis on formal outcomes; for the latter comprises but one element from which his reputation - and the reputation of many designers - has been (and continues to be) established.See press release issued by The Design Museum

Not only does this seem like an unreasonable burden to place upon any single individual piece of work but, in the light of the vagaries of the market, I would suggest that it also paints an unrealistic view of the day-to-day successes of an individual practitioner. This conflation of the Ideal with the Real in the embodied existence of one man, on this occasion, offers a fitting tribute to the designer concerned but it works with a logic that is problematic in the long-term. At this point I choose to remember that Great Men are constituted as much by the work of exhibitions such as this as by each individual instance of the work of 'greatness' itself, and they are caught up in a system of relationships that might usefully be explored in and around the work.

This memory is merely stated to highlight the possibility for competing interpretations and variant readings, not only in the process of creating a Legend, but also in generating the guiding principles of graphic practice. Remembering that reputations are built on a number of factors - from the individual himself to the social relationships he finds himself working with - is a good way of feeling competent again; that there is a future for designers and design, and traditions that can be followed. We can also be 'good' (or good enough) to participate and compete.

This brings to mind the notion of 'inscription' which, in the realm of feminist theory, is frequently used to describe this very process of 'writing' across a surface with different types of instrument. In the case of Alan Fletcher: Fifty Years of Graphic Work (and play), the Design Museum operates as one such instrument, inscribing the surfaces of people and things with Histories and ideologies, and ones that serve to suppress alternative actions, meanings and constitutions of the work (and workers) in a profession called Design. In light of such concepts, Fletcher's portfolio bears witness to the multiple operations within the Culture of Design: its Museums, design writing, curatorial practices and existing expectations of the wider public. They reflect back on the institutions that would say, in that naturalistic way: 'this is so', and demonstrate how the work on show 'bears witness' to his own thoughts and sense of Being, as well as how they serve the wider culture in building a strong image of a work ethic.

This is most apparent when instances of Fletcher's portfolio encompasses the letterhead. Indeed, there is something intriguing in viewing a letterhead when not a receipt of the letter itself. An emptiness; whereby the incompeteness of the communication resounds with an absence (isolated, as it is, from its primary context of exchange). It has lost its moment, become disconnected from its own dialogue and found itself in a new context - the context of display. In the spirit of the exhibition's discourse, one is encouraged to read each wall mounted letterhead as an index of the man and his vision. However, the experiential gap for a gallery visitor, between a letterhead and an information panel for example, can be very small. This gap closes further still when one's interest in information signage or the work of Graphic Thought Facility (who undertook this commission) lends another context to the complex of competing signs. When one starts to notice the shadows cast by carefully mounted cards in glass cases (in the manner of a contemporary hanging of a painting), one's personal intellectual/historical/cultural constituency for the work starts to resist the primary agenda of the show. Either I am distracted or there is hope of resistance: this show offers a truth but if falls short of the Truth.

After a trip to the Design Museum, I can't help thinking that designers seem more softly spoken than the clients they serve. Set against the almost tyranical vocality of the exhibition narrative, the relatively understated whisper of GTF's information solutions start to configure their own meanings, as do the collages and florescent calendars of Fletcher and associates. One can find oneself back with the work and involved in starting again (building one's own story for the work) and establishing one's own perspective on Fletcher's contribution to the field of Design (and one's own understanding of what it is).

I like the work of Alan Fletcher. I like the fact that it is wittier than the work of the Culture industries, who would encourage us to chase Ideals that can never quite be reached in the exclusively formal terms stated (in spite of what they tell us and our best efforts to achieve). Indeed, I feel closer to understanding the process of Fletcher's becoming Great when I catch glimpses of his triumph in the face of (occasional) failure. Alongside this idea of Father or Pioneer, it is reassuring to find episodes of a humanity (aka flawed Greatness) to which audiences can relate and aspire to follow.