Michael Peters OBE

Michael Peters OBE (born in Luton, UK) is internationally famous as a designer. He has been on the forefront of design industry for more than 35 years. His work has revolutionised the relationship between design and business and his influence on consumers has been enormous. Over the course of his career, Peters has created some of the most successful design companies in the world including Michael Peters and Partners, Michael Peters Group PLC, and Identica.

Education

After completing Luton Grammar School, Peters went on to study at the London School of Printing and Graphic Arts (now London College of Communication

London College of Communication

The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, located in Elephant and Castle. It has about 5,000 students on 60 courses in media and design courses preparing students for careers in the creative industries...

). Design greats such as Tom Eckersley and Harry C. Beck, the creator of the London Underground plan, were just two of his teachers. After graduating he won a scholarship to Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

’s School of Art and Architecture in New Haven, Connecticut. Here he studied under major design figures such as Paul Rand, Josef Albers

Josef Albers

Josef Albers was a German-born American artist and educator whose work, both in Europe and in the United States, formed the basis of some of the most influential and far-reaching art education programs of the 20th century....

, Norman Ives, Herbert Matter

Herbert Matter

Herbert Matter was a Swiss-born American photographer and graphic designer known for his pioneering use of photomontage in commercial art...

 and Alexej Brodovitch and he acknowledges these teachers and the Bauhaus School as huge influences on his career. He graduated in 1963 with his Masters Degree (MFA Yale).

Early years

After graduating from Yale, Michael worked for 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...

 Television in New York under the Lou Dorfsman

Lou Dorfsman

Louis "Lou" Dorfsman was a graphic designer who oversaw almost every aspect of the advertising and corporate identity for the Columbia Broadcasting System in his 40 years with the network.-Early life and education:...

 and Teddy Andresakes. He worked on campaigns in advertising and design at this major US corporation.
In 1965 Michael moved back to London and set up Cato Peters O’Brien. Within six months of starting the new business, Peters was approached to work at Collett Dickenson Pearce, the most innovative advertising agency in London at that time. It was at CDP that Michael earned his first Designer and Art Direction Silver Award, the beginning of numerous design accolades. In 1968 Peters formed a partnership with Lou Klein and created a design company called Klein Peters.The company was a great success, specialising mostly in packaging and point-of-sale material, for which they won further design awards.

Michael Peters and Partners

In 1970, Michael set up his own design company, Michael Peters and Partners. From small beginnings Michael built the business into a company with a turnover of over £50 million in 1983.

He did some packaging design in the marketing of consumer products. A highlight among some D&AD awards of his career, he was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for his services to design and marketing; he helped found the Design Business Association and has had prominent roles in many international design organisations. He was also one of the founders of the School of Communication Art. He also famously became identity consultant to the Conservative Party, working closely with Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...

 to design the Conservative Party identity, a mark which perfectly captured the spirit of the times.

The list of clients that Michael Peters and Partners worked with is impressive and includes BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

, Virgin, Martell, British Airways

British Airways

British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...

, Penhaligon, Abbey Life

Abbey Life

Abbey Life plc was a leading life assurance business based in London also with an office in Bournemouth. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...

, Bird's Eye and the Conservative Party.

As Michael Peters and Partners continued to grow it was renamed Michael Peters Group (prior to becoming a publicly quoted company in 1983). MPG opened offices in New York, Toronto, Los Angeles, Madrid, Milan, Düsseldorf, Helsinki, and Tokyo. Along the way they acquired a number of businesses and in 1989 they bought Duffy Design Group, now Duffy & Partners

Duffy & Partners

Duffy & Partners is a branding and design firm that was founded in 1984 by Creative Director, Joe Duffy. Located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Duffy & Partners’ work spans many media and design disciplines including corporate and brand identity, packaging design, marketing communications, digital...

, consolidating the company's success.

During this time the client list continued to expand. MPG redesigned the identities and packaging design for major businesses such as, Shell International, Sweet Factory, Brocks Fireworks, Unilever, Phillips (Holland), Hamleys, Johnson and Johnson, Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....

, BP, Seagram, and many, many others.

Michael Peters and Partners developed some of the Uk's most outstanding design talent including, Howard Milton

Howard Milton

Howard Milton is a British designer who came to prominence during the 1980s UK design boom.Milton first studied Art at Emanuel School then Hammersmith College of Art under Ruskin Spear and under Tom Eckersley at the London College of Printing, graduating in 1974.He joined Michael Peters and...

 and Jay Smith, Glenn Tutsell, Madeleine Bennett.

In 1990, Michael Peters Group was acquired by The Princedale Group. In 1992 Michael set up his new business Identica.

Identica

From 1992 Identica became one of the leading branding and design agencies in Europe. In his new business, Peters forged ahead linking more closely design and commerce, their ideology becoming an integral part of his client's vision. Early on Identica won prestigious contracts for Universal Studios

Universal Studios

Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....

, Diageo (Johnnie Walker

Johnnie Walker

Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch Whisky owned by Diageo and originated in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland.It is the most widely distributed brand of blended Scotch whisky in the world, sold in almost every country with yearly sales of over 130 million bottles.-History:Originally known as Walker's...

, Captain Morgan

Captain Morgan

Captain Morgan is a brand of rum produced by alcohol conglomerate Diageo. It is named after the 17th-century, Welsh privateer of the Caribbean, Sir Henry Morgan...

, etc.) and worked on numerous international brands. Peters recruited extraordinary talent to help him achieve the vision in creating contemporary brands and redesigning older traditional brands to keep them relevant to modern consumers.

Michael Peters designs for supermarket packaging, airline identities, retailers, banks, and charities, have influenced us all for the last three decades. Seminal work in recent years includes new identities and packaging design for One 2 One, Aeroflot

Aeroflot

OJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines , commonly known as Aeroflot , is the flag carrier and largest airline of the Russian Federation, based on passengers carried per year...

, Tesco

Tesco

Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...

, Icesave, and the new Wembley Stadium

Wembley Stadium

The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...

, with outstanding work also for Vodafone

Vodafone

Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...

, NatWest, Ocean Spray, Planters, Reebok

Reebok

Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle...

, Pernod Ricard, and Russian Standard.

In 2004 Michael Peters sold Identica to Cossette Communications Group- one of Canada's largest advertising and communication firms.

He remains a key player in the design business as a brand consultant and continues to promote the power of design worldwide. YES Logo, a retrospective book charting Michael Peters' career and his contributions to the design world will be published by Black Dog Publishing

Black Dog Publishing

Black Dog Publishing is a British publishing company specialising in illustrated non-fiction books on contemporary culture. Topics covered by Black Dog include architecture, art, craft, design, environment, fashion, film, music and photography....

 in October 2008.

Awards and recognitions

Michael Peters has won countless design awards over the course of his career. His first D&AD

D&AD

Design and Art Direction is a British educational charity which exists to promote excellence in design and advertising...

 Yellow Pencil was won in the 60s early in his profession. His roster of clients include work for Bird’s Eye, Winsor and Newton Ink, Penhaligon, Lacroix Soups, Fine Fare, and Cordon Bleu to name only a small example of his esteemed clientele. Peters was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in June 1990 and was also nominated for the Prince Phillip Designer’s Prize in 2002.

External links

• http://www.artgraphics.ru/hibrand/05_eng.html
• http://www.dba.org.uk/MichaelPeters.htm
• http://vads.ahds.ac.uk/diad/article.php?title=297&year=1973&article=d.297.36
• http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE3D61331F934A25752C0A96F948260
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/midweek_20081029.shtml Radio chatshow with Micheal from 10:00 mins in.