Bob Gill (artist)
Encyclopedia
Bob Gill American
illustrator
and graphic designer
. He played the piano
at summer resorts in the Catskill Mountains
, New York
, to pay his school tuition. He attended the Philadelphia Museum School of Art (1948–1951), Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (1951), City College of New York
(1952, 1955). When he graduated he became a professional graphic designer in New York City
. In 1960 after an interview in a New York hotel room for a job in London
, he moved to the UK to work for Charles Hobson, at a "hack advertising agency
", according to Gill, which was later sold to Grey Advertising (now Grey Global Group
).
April Fool's Day, 1962, Gill, Alan Fletcher
and Colin Forbes
established Fletcher/Forbes/Gill design studio, the forerunner of Pentagram
. More than 100,000 copies of the partnership’s book, Graphic Design: Visual Comparisons (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1963), were sold. F/F/G soon outgrew their small studio and moved into a huge Victorian former gun factory on a canal. They started the Designers and Art Directors Association D&AD
and opened a second office in Geneva.
In 1967, Gill left the partnership and assumed independent freelancing again, including teaching, filmmaking
and writing children’s books. He returned to New York in 1975 to write and design Beatlemania
, the largest multimedia
musical up to that time on Broadway, on which he worked with Robert Rabinowitz. He also proposed a peace monument for Times Square
, Gill wanted to collect military junk from all over the world, pile it 40 feet high, spray it matte black, and mount it on a block of white marble. The New York City Fine Arts Commission did not like the idea.
For his graphic design work, Gill has won a number of awards, sold illustrations to Esquire
, Architectural Forum
, Fortune
, Seventeen
, and The Nation
magazines and has illustrated children’s books and designed film titles. He has also designed for Apple Corps
records, Rainbow Theater, Pirelli
, Nestlé
, CBS
, Universal Pictures
, Joseph Losey
, Queen (now Harpers & Queen), High Times magazines and the United Nations
. He was elected to the New York Art Directors Club Hall of Fame in 1991 and the Designers and Art Directors Association of London has presented him with their Lifetime Achievement Award.
He lives in New York with his wife, New York Public Radio's Sara Fishko, their son Jack, and their daughter Kate.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
and graphic designer
Graphic designer
A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, printed or electronic media, such as brochures and...
. He played the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
at summer resorts in the Catskill Mountains
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, to pay his school tuition. He attended the Philadelphia Museum School of Art (1948–1951), Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (1951), City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
(1952, 1955). When he graduated he became a professional graphic designer in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In 1960 after an interview in a New York hotel room for a job in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, he moved to the UK to work for Charles Hobson, at a "hack advertising agency
Advertising agency
An advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services...
", according to Gill, which was later sold to Grey Advertising (now Grey Global Group
Grey Global Group
Grey Group is a global advertising and marketing agency, whose slogan is providing solutions - with headquarters in New York City, and 432 offices in 96 countries, operating in 154 cities — organized into four geographical units: North America; Europe, Middle East & Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin...
).
April Fool's Day, 1962, Gill, Alan Fletcher
Alan Fletcher (graphic designer)
Alan Gerard Fletcher was a British graphic designer. In his obituary, he was described by The Daily Telegraph as "the most highly regarded graphic designer of his generation, and probably one of the most prolific"....
and Colin Forbes
Colin Forbes (graphic designer)
Colin Forbes is a British graphic designer. He is notable as a former head of the graphic design program at London's Central School of Arts and Crafts and as one of the founders of the Pentagram design studio....
established Fletcher/Forbes/Gill design studio, the forerunner of Pentagram
Pentagram (design studio)
Pentagram is a design studio that was founded in 1972 by Alan Fletcher, Theo Crosby, Colin Forbes, Kenneth Grange and Mervyn Kurlansky in Needham Road, West London, UK...
. More than 100,000 copies of the partnership’s book, Graphic Design: Visual Comparisons (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1963), were sold. F/F/G soon outgrew their small studio and moved into a huge Victorian former gun factory on a canal. They started the Designers and Art Directors Association D&AD
D&AD
Design and Art Direction is a British educational charity which exists to promote excellence in design and advertising...
and opened a second office in Geneva.
In 1967, Gill left the partnership and assumed independent freelancing again, including teaching, filmmaking
Filmmaking
Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...
and writing children’s books. He returned to New York in 1975 to write and design Beatlemania
Beatlemania (musical)
Beatlemania was a Broadway musical revue focused on the music of The Beatles as it related to the events and changing attitudes of the tumultuous Sixties...
, the largest multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
musical up to that time on Broadway, on which he worked with Robert Rabinowitz. He also proposed a peace monument for Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
, Gill wanted to collect military junk from all over the world, pile it 40 feet high, spray it matte black, and mount it on a block of white marble. The New York City Fine Arts Commission did not like the idea.
For his graphic design work, Gill has won a number of awards, sold illustrations to Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
, Architectural Forum
Architectural Forum
Architectural Forum was an American magazine that covered the home-building industry and architecture. Started in 1892, it absorbed the magazine Architect's world in October 1938, and ceased publication in 1974.-Other titles:...
, Fortune
Fortune (magazine)
Fortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc. Founded by Henry Luce in 1930, the publishing business, consisting of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, grew to become Time Warner. In turn, AOL grew as it acquired Time Warner in 2000 when Time Warner was the world's largest...
, Seventeen
Seventeen (magazine)
Seventeen is an American magazine for teenagers. It was first published in September 1944 by Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications. News Corporation bought Triangle in 1988, and sold Seventeen to K-III Communications in 1991. Primedia sold the magazine to Hearst in 2003. It is still in the...
, and The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
magazines and has illustrated children’s books and designed film titles. He has also designed for Apple Corps
Apple Corps
Apple Corps Ltd. is a multi-armed multimedia corporation founded in January 1968 by the members of The Beatles to replace their earlier company and to form a conglomerate. Its name is a pun. Its chief division is Apple Records, which was launched in the same year...
records, Rainbow Theater, Pirelli
Pirelli
Pirelli & C. SpA is a diverse multinational company based in Milan, Italy. The company, the world’s fifth largest tyre manufacturer, is present in over 160 countries, has 20 manufacturing sites around the world and a network of around 10,000 distributors and retailers.Founded in Milan in 1872,...
, Nestlé
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
, Joseph Losey
Joseph Losey
Joseph Walton Losey was an American theater and film director. After studying in Germany with Bertolt Brecht, Losey returned to the United States, eventually making his way to Hollywood...
, Queen (now Harpers & Queen), High Times magazines and the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. He was elected to the New York Art Directors Club Hall of Fame in 1991 and the Designers and Art Directors Association of London has presented him with their Lifetime Achievement Award.
He lives in New York with his wife, New York Public Radio's Sara Fishko, their son Jack, and their daughter Kate.
Teaching posts
- 1955–1960, School of Visual ArtsSchool of Visual ArtsThe School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
(SVA), ManhattanManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York... - 1959, Pratt InstitutePratt InstitutePratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
, Brooklyn - 1967–1969, Central School of Art (now Central Saint Martins College of Art and DesignCentral Saint Martins College of Art and DesignCentral Saint Martins College of Art and Design is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. The school has an outstanding international reputation, and is considered one of the world's leading art and design institutions...
), London - 1969, Chelsea School of Art (now Chelsea College of Art and DesignChelsea College of Art and DesignChelsea College of Art and Design, the erstwhile Chelsea School of Art, is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation...
), London - 1970–1975, Royal College of ArtRoyal College of ArtThe Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
(RCA), London - 1972–1974, Horsley School of Art, London
- 1981, Parsons School of Design (now Parsons The New School for DesignParsons The New School for DesignParsons The New School For Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is the art and design college of The New School university. It is located in New York City's Greenwich Village, and has produced artists and designers such as Marc Jacobs, Dean and Dan Caten, Norman Rockwell, Donna Karan, Jane...
), Manhattan
Awards (partial)
- 1955, Gold Medal, New York Art Directors Club, for a CBS television title, US
- 1999, President's Award, D&ADD&ADDesign and Art Direction is a British educational charity which exists to promote excellence in design and advertising...
(British Design & Art Direction), UK
Books written
- Bob Gill’s Portfolio, Amsterdam: Wim Crouwel / Stedelijk Museum, 1967
- Bob Gill’s Portfolio, London: Lund Humphries, 1968
- I Keep Changing, New York: Scroll Press, 1971. | ISBN 0-87592-025-X)
- Bob Gill’s New York, London: Kynoch Press, 1971.
- Ups & Downs, Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1974.
- Forget All the Rules You Ever Learned About Graphic Design, Including the Ones in this Book, New York: Watson-Guptill, 1981. | ISBN 0-8230-1863-6
- Graphic Design Made Difficult, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992. | ISBN 0-442-01098-2
- Unspecial Effects for Graphic Designers, Graphis (New York); illustrated edition edition, 2001 | ISBN 1931241007