Design Research Unit
Encyclopedia
The Design Research Unit (DRU) was one of the first generation of British design consultancies
combining expertise in architecture, graphics and industrial design. It was founded by the managing director of Stuart's Advertising Agency, Marcus Brumwell with Misha Black
and Milner Gray (designer)
in 1943. It became well known for its work in relation to the Festival of Britain
in 1951 and its influential corporate identity
project for British Rail
in 1965. In 2004, DRU merged with Scott Brownrigg architects.
the previous year. An early set of notes proposed a "service equipped to advise on all problems of design", addressing the needs of "the State, Municipal Authorities, Industry or Commerce." They anticipated a post-war demand for technical expertise and a need for "the reconditioning and re-designing public utility services" recommending "contact... with the railway companies, motor coach lines and so on."Milner Gray "Notes on the Formation and Operation of a Design Group" 20 October, 1942 (unpublished) p.1
Herbert Read became their first member of staff, sharing offices in Kingsway
with Mass-Observation
, another initiative that Brumwell supported under the umbrella of the Advertising Services Guild. Read was joined by Bernard Hollowood
in 1944 and after an unsuccessful tour of factories in the Midlands they engaged the sculptor Naum Gabo
to design a new car for Jowett
. The contract was terminated by the company in 1945.James King, "The Last Modern: A Life of Herbert Read" (Weidenfeld and Nicholson: London, 1990) p. 214–216
Black and Gray were initially committed to wartime roles within the Exhibitions Department for the Ministry of Information. Under their leadership, DRU made important postwar contributions to the Britain Can Make It
exhibition (1946) and Festival of Britain
(1951). At BCMI DRU designed the Quiz Machines that sought to gauge public taste as well as the highly didactic ‘What Industrial Design
Means’ display (by Black, Bronek Katz, and R. Vaughan). For the Festival of Britain they were the architects for the Regatta Restaurant and designed a series of displays for the Dome of Discovery
.
Key DRU commissions included the 1954 Electricity Board Showrooms, by Black, Gibson, and H. Diamond, the BOAC
engineering hall at London Airport (Heathrow) by Black, Kenneth Bayes, and BOAC staff from 1951 to 1955, and a number of interiors for the P&O
Orient Line's new liner Oriana
by Black and Bayes in 1959. Other companies for whom DRU worked included Ilford
, Courage
, Watney Combe & Reid
Dunlop
, London Transport
, and British Railways. The 1968 City of Westminster
street name signs by Misha Black have become an integral part of London's streetscape.
Since this time, DRU has worked for many high profile companies, in Interior Design, Graphic Design and Architecture. Projects of note include:
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
combining expertise in architecture, graphics and industrial design. It was founded by the managing director of Stuart's Advertising Agency, Marcus Brumwell with Misha Black
Misha Black
Sir Misha Black was an Azerbaijan-born British architect and designer. In 1933 he founded with associates in London the organisation which became the Artists’ International Association. From 1959 to 1975 he was a professor of industrial design at the Royal College of Art in London, England...
and Milner Gray (designer)
Milner Gray (designer)
Milner Connorton Gray was one of the key figures of British industrial design in the 20th century, having played an important role in establishing design as a recognized profession, the emergence of British design consultancies, and the development of Design Management...
in 1943. It became well known for its work in relation to the Festival of Britain
Festival of Britain
The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition in Britain in the summer of 1951. It was organised by the government to give Britons a feeling of recovery in the aftermath of war and to promote good quality design in the rebuilding of British towns and cities. The Festival's centrepiece was in...
in 1951 and its influential corporate identity
Corporate identity
In Corporate Communications, a corporate identity is the "persona" of a corporation which is designed to accord with and facilitate the attainment of business objectives...
project for British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
in 1965. In 2004, DRU merged with Scott Brownrigg architects.
History
The group officially formed in 1943 following discussions begun by Marcus Brumwell, and the poet and the writer Herbert ReadHerbert Read
Sir Herbert Edward Read, DSO, MC was an English anarchist, poet, and critic of literature and art. He was one of the earliest English writers to take notice of existentialism, and was strongly influenced by proto-existentialist thinker Max Stirner....
the previous year. An early set of notes proposed a "service equipped to advise on all problems of design", addressing the needs of "the State, Municipal Authorities, Industry or Commerce." They anticipated a post-war demand for technical expertise and a need for "the reconditioning and re-designing public utility services" recommending "contact... with the railway companies, motor coach lines and so on."Milner Gray "Notes on the Formation and Operation of a Design Group" 20 October, 1942 (unpublished) p.1
Herbert Read became their first member of staff, sharing offices in Kingsway
Kingsway (London)
Kingsway is a major road in central London in the United Kingdom, designated as part of the A4200. It runs from High Holborn, at its north end in the London Borough of Camden, and meets Aldwych in the south in the City of Westminster at Bush House. It was built in the 1900s...
with Mass-Observation
Mass-Observation
Mass Observation was a United Kingdom social research organisation founded in 1937. Their work ended in the mid 1960s but was revived in 1981. The Archive is housed at the University of Sussex....
, another initiative that Brumwell supported under the umbrella of the Advertising Services Guild. Read was joined by Bernard Hollowood
Bernard Hollowood
Albert Bernard Hollowood was an English writer, cartoonist and economist. He was editor of the humorous weekly magazine Punch from 1957 to 1968.- Life and career :...
in 1944 and after an unsuccessful tour of factories in the Midlands they engaged the sculptor Naum Gabo
Naum Gabo
Naum Gabo KBE, born Naum Neemia Pevsner was a prominent Russian sculptor in the Constructivism movement and a pioneer of Kinetic Art.-Early life:...
to design a new car for Jowett
Jowett
Jowett was a manufacturer of light cars and light commercial vehicles in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England from 1906 to 1954.-Early history:Jowett was founded in 1901 by brothers Benjamin and William Jowett with Arthur V Lamb. They started in the cycle business and went on to make V-twin engines...
. The contract was terminated by the company in 1945.James King, "The Last Modern: A Life of Herbert Read" (Weidenfeld and Nicholson: London, 1990) p. 214–216
Black and Gray were initially committed to wartime roles within the Exhibitions Department for the Ministry of Information. Under their leadership, DRU made important postwar contributions to the Britain Can Make It
Britain Can Make It
Britain Can Make It was an exhibition of industrial and product design held in London in 1946. It was organized by the Council of Industrial Design, later to become the Design Council....
exhibition (1946) and Festival of Britain
Festival of Britain
The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition in Britain in the summer of 1951. It was organised by the government to give Britons a feeling of recovery in the aftermath of war and to promote good quality design in the rebuilding of British towns and cities. The Festival's centrepiece was in...
(1951). At BCMI DRU designed the Quiz Machines that sought to gauge public taste as well as the highly didactic ‘What Industrial Design
Industrial design
Industrial design is the use of a combination of applied art and applied science to improve the aesthetics, ergonomics, and usability of a product, but it may also be used to improve the product's marketability and production...
Means’ display (by Black, Bronek Katz, and R. Vaughan). For the Festival of Britain they were the architects for the Regatta Restaurant and designed a series of displays for the Dome of Discovery
Dome of Discovery
The Dome of Discovery was a temporary exhibition building designed by architect Ralph Tubbs for the Festival of Britain celebrations which took place on London's South Bank in 1951. The consulting engineers were Freeman Fox and Partners, in particular Oleg Kerensky The Dome of Discovery was a...
.
Key DRU commissions included the 1954 Electricity Board Showrooms, by Black, Gibson, and H. Diamond, the BOAC
Boac
Boac may refer to:* Boac, Marinduque, a municipality in the Southern Philippines* Boac , an American rapper* British Overseas Airways Corporation, a former British state-owned airline...
engineering hall at London Airport (Heathrow) by Black, Kenneth Bayes, and BOAC staff from 1951 to 1955, and a number of interiors for the P&O
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company
The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which is usually known as P&O, is a British shipping and logistics company which dated from the early 19th century. Following its sale in March 2006 to Dubai Ports World for £3.9 billion, it became a subsidiary of DP World; however, the P&O...
Orient Line's new liner Oriana
SS Oriana (1959)
SS Oriana was the last of the Orient Steam Navigation Company's ocean liners. She was built at Vickers-Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria and launched on 3 November 1959 by Princess Alexandra...
by Black and Bayes in 1959. Other companies for whom DRU worked included Ilford
Ilford Photo
Ilford Photo is a manufacturer of photographic materials known worldwide for its black-and-white film and papers and chemicals, as well as its range of Ilfochrome and Ilfocolor colour printing materials. Ilfochrome was formerly called Cibachrome, developed in partnership with the Swiss company...
, Courage
Courage (brewery)
Courage is a former British brewery. The brands are now 100 per cent owned and brewed by Wells & Young's Brewery as part of a venture called Courage Brands Ltd.-History:...
, Watney Combe & Reid
Watney Combe & Reid
Watney Combe & Reid was a leading brewing business in London. At its peak in the 1930s it was a constituent of the FT30 index of leading companies on the London Stock Exchange. It produced the beer brand Watney's Red Barrel.-The Stag Brewery:...
Dunlop
Dunlop Rubber
Dunlop Rubber was a company based in the United Kingdom which manufactured tyres and other rubber products for most of the 20th century. It was acquired by BTR plc in 1985. Since then, ownership of the Dunlop trade-names has been fragmented.-Early history:...
, London Transport
London Transport Executive
The London Transport Executive was the organisation responsible for public transport in the Greater London area, UK, between 1948-1962. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operational brand of the organisation was London Transport.-Creation:On 1...
, and British Railways. The 1968 City of Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
street name signs by Misha Black have become an integral part of London's streetscape.
Since this time, DRU has worked for many high profile companies, in Interior Design, Graphic Design and Architecture. Projects of note include:
- Architectural Design for: London UndergroundLondon UndergroundThe London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
's Jubilee LineJubilee LineThe Jubilee line is a line on the London Underground , in the United Kingdom. It was built in two major sections—initially to Charing Cross, in central London, and later extended, in 1999, to Stratford, in east London. The later stations are larger and have special safety features, both aspects...
extension works, Docklands Light RailwayDocklands Light RailwayThe Docklands Light Railway is an automated light metro or light rail system opened on 31 August 1987 to serve the redeveloped Docklands area of London...
(DLR), Copenhagen MetroCopenhagen MetroCopenhagen Metro is a rapid transit system serving Copenhagen, Frederiksberg and Tårnby in Denmark. The system opened between 2002 and 2007, and has two lines, M1 and M2. The driverless light metro supplements the larger S-train rapid transit system, and is integrated with DSB local trains and...
, Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway, NottinghamNottinghamNottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
's guided bus system. - Graphic Design & Wayfinding for: Network RailNetwork RailNetwork Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
, Lee Valley, TarmacTarmacTarmac is a type of road surface. Tarmac refers to a material patented by Edgar Purnell Hooley in 1901...
Notable partners and associates
- Kenneth Bayes, joined 1945
- Misha BlackMisha BlackSir Misha Black was an Azerbaijan-born British architect and designer. In 1933 he founded with associates in London the organisation which became the Artists’ International Association. From 1959 to 1975 he was a professor of industrial design at the Royal College of Art in London, England...
, 1943-1977 - Marcus Brumwell, 1943-1974
- Frederick GibberdFrederick GibberdSir Frederick Ernest Gibberd was an English architect and landscape designer.Gibberd was born in Coventry, the eldest of the five children of a local tailor, and was educated at the city's King Henry VIII School...
, 1945-46 - Alexander Gibson, (joined 1948)
- Milner Gray (designer)Milner Gray (designer)Milner Connorton Gray was one of the key figures of British industrial design in the 20th century, having played an important role in establishing design as a recognized profession, the emergence of British design consultancies, and the development of Design Management...
, joined 1943 - Jock KinneirJock KinneirRichard 'Jock' Kinneir was a typographer and graphic designer who, with colleague Margaret Calvert, designed many of the road signs used throughout the United Kingdom. Their system has become a model for modern road signage....
, 1949-56 - Herbert ReadHerbert ReadSir Herbert Edward Read, DSO, MC was an English anarchist, poet, and critic of literature and art. He was one of the earliest English writers to take notice of existentialism, and was strongly influenced by proto-existentialist thinker Max Stirner....
, 1943-1968 - Richard RogersRichard RogersRichard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside CH Kt FRIBA FCSD is a British architect noted for his modernist and functionalist designs....
, 1967-71 - Su Rogers, 1967-71
- Felix SamuelyFelix SamuelyFelix James Samuely was a Structural engineer.Born in Vienna, he immigrated to Britain in 1933. Worked with Erich Mendelsohn on the De la Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea , the British Pavilion for the Brussels World’s Fair and on various parts of the Festival of Britain. Published MARS plan for...
, 1945-46 - Sadie Speight, 1945–46