Robert Brownjohn
Encyclopedia
Robert Brownjohn was a graphic designer
known for blending formal graphic design concepts with wit and sixties pop culture. He is best known for his motion picture title sequence
s, especially From Russia with Love
and Goldfinger
.
, Brownjohn showed early artistic promise and in 1944 earned a place at the Institute of Design in Chicago
, formerly known as the New Bauhaus by founder László Moholy-Nagy
. Brownjohn became a protégé of Moholy-Nagy and much of the structural quality in Brownjohn's graphic design can be traced to his important influence. Upon graduation, Brownjohn initially worked as an architectural planner in Chicago before returning to the Institute of Design to teach.
in order to pursue his graphic design career. Working freelance, he completed projects for a wide variety of clients including Columbia Records
. Brownjohn's effusive personality and fondness for jazz music allowed friendships with Miles Davis
and Charlie Parker
, among others, to blossom as he became a part of the social scene in the city. Brownjohn also became addicted to heroin during this period. He was never to conquer this affliction and it contributed to his untimely death at the age of 44.
In 1956 Brownjohn married Donna Walters who later gave birth to their daughter, Eliza. The following year, Brownjohn formed Brownjohn, Chermayeff & Geismar (BCG) with fellow designers Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar
. BCG designed for print initially, producing experiments in typographical design as well as taking on commercial projects. Amongst the experimental work was the booklet, Watching Words Move, in which words were redesigned to suggest their meaning in graphical as well as literal terms, e.g. "+dd", "-tract" and "sexxx". In 1958 BCG won the commission to design the United States' stand at the Brussels World's Fair
. BCG also counted the Pepsi-Cola Company amongst its largest clients at this time. In addition to designing the company magazine, it also created the widely hailed Christmas decorations for Pepsi's New York headquarters.
The end of 1959 also saw the end of BCG. Brownjohn's drug use had escalated and he moved to London with his family in order, he hoped, to take advantage of the UK's more liberal attitude to drug use. The company is called Chermayeff & Geismar
today.
scene effortlessly. He worked at advertising agency J. Walter Thompson
initially and in 1962 left to join McCann Erickson
. It was in this year that Donna left Brownjohn, taking daughter Eliza, and moved to Ibiza.
Brownjohn's career began to shift to working primarily with moving images. In 1963, the producers of the James Bond
films approached Brownjohn after disagreements with film title designer Maurice Binder
. Harry Saltzman
asked Brownjohn to design the title sequence for the second James Bond
film, From Russia with Love
.
and Goldfinger
, is probably his most widely known achievement. In these he used the technique of projecting moving footage onto the bodies of models and filming the results. The idea of filming projections is one gleaned from the Bauhaus and was used by László Maholy-Nagy in his early constructivist
films of the 1920s. The combination of this artistic technique with the style and glamour of the 1960s typify Brownjohn's work. The use of wit and risqué humour, for example the deliberate lining up of a projected shot of a golf putt so that the ball appears to roll down gold painted model Margaret Nolan
's cleavage, are also classic Brownjohn devices.
Goldfingers title design, photographed by David Watkin
cost £5000. Brownjohn also designed the British posters for the film featuring Sean Connery and Honor Blackman over a gold painted Margaret Nolan. A second poster, featuring the characters in a golden hand, was designed for Ireland. Eventually Saltzman and Brownjohn fell out, and Brownjohn worked on no other Bond films.
In all, Robert Brownjohn designed four title sequences:
. He also created moving graphics for Midland Bank
and Pirelli
between 1966 and 1970. His final piece of graphic design was a poster for the New York Peace Campaign in 1969: an ace of spades playing card is laid on a plain white background with the letters "PE" hastily scribbled to the left of it and a question mark to the right. Brownjohn also had a small role as a fur coat clad heavy in Dick Clements' film Otley.
Robert Brownjohn died from a heart attack in London on August 1, 1970.
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...
known for blending formal graphic design concepts with wit and sixties pop culture. He is best known for his motion picture title sequence
Title sequence
A Title Sequence is the method by which cinematic films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound...
s, especially From Russia with Love
From Russia with Love (film)
From Russia with Love is the second in the James Bond spy film series, and the second to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1963, the film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and directed by Terence Young. It is based on the 1957 novel of the...
and Goldfinger
Goldfinger (film)
Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
.
Early life
Born to British parents in Newark, New JerseyNewark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, Brownjohn showed early artistic promise and in 1944 earned a place at the Institute of Design in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, formerly known as the New Bauhaus by founder László Moholy-Nagy
László Moholy-Nagy
László Moholy-Nagy was a Hungarian painter and photographer as well as professor in the Bauhaus school. He was highly influenced by constructivism and a strong advocate of the integration of technology and industry into the arts.-Early life:...
. Brownjohn became a protégé of Moholy-Nagy and much of the structural quality in Brownjohn's graphic design can be traced to his important influence. Upon graduation, Brownjohn initially worked as an architectural planner in Chicago before returning to the Institute of Design to teach.
New York career
In 1950, Brownjohn moved to New YorkNew 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...
in order to pursue his graphic design career. Working freelance, he completed projects for a wide variety of clients including Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. Brownjohn's effusive personality and fondness for jazz music allowed friendships with Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
and Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
, among others, to blossom as he became a part of the social scene in the city. Brownjohn also became addicted to heroin during this period. He was never to conquer this affliction and it contributed to his untimely death at the age of 44.
In 1956 Brownjohn married Donna Walters who later gave birth to their daughter, Eliza. The following year, Brownjohn formed Brownjohn, Chermayeff & Geismar (BCG) with fellow designers Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar
Tom Geismar
Thomas H. Geismar is an American graphic designer.Geismar studied concurrently at the Rhode Island School of Design and Brown University...
. BCG designed for print initially, producing experiments in typographical design as well as taking on commercial projects. Amongst the experimental work was the booklet, Watching Words Move, in which words were redesigned to suggest their meaning in graphical as well as literal terms, e.g. "+dd", "-tract" and "sexxx". In 1958 BCG won the commission to design the United States' stand at the Brussels World's Fair
Expo '58
Expo 58, also known as the Brussels World’s Fair, Brusselse Wereldtentoonstelling or Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Bruxelles, was held from 17 April to 19 October 1958...
. BCG also counted the Pepsi-Cola Company amongst its largest clients at this time. In addition to designing the company magazine, it also created the widely hailed Christmas decorations for Pepsi's New York headquarters.
The end of 1959 also saw the end of BCG. Brownjohn's drug use had escalated and he moved to London with his family in order, he hoped, to take advantage of the UK's more liberal attitude to drug use. The company is called Chermayeff & Geismar
Chermayeff & Geismar
Chermayeff & Geismar is a prominent New York-based branding and graphic design firm. It was founded in 1957 by Yale graduates Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar...
today.
London career
As one of the most fêted and socially connected designers from New York, Brownjohn fitted into the Swinging LondonSwinging London
Swinging London is a catch-all term applied to the fashion and cultural scene that flourished in London, in the 1960s.It was a youth-oriented phenomenon that emphasised the new and modern. It was a period of optimism and hedonism, and a cultural revolution. One catalyst was the recovery of the...
scene effortlessly. He worked at advertising agency J. Walter Thompson
JWT
JWT is one of the largest advertising agencies in the United States and the fourth-largest in the world. It is one of the key companies of Sir Martin Sorrell's WPP Group and is headquartered in New York. The global agency is led by Worldwide Chairman and Global CEO Bob Jeffrey who took over the...
initially and in 1962 left to join McCann Erickson
McCann Erickson
McCann Erickson is a global advertising agency network, with offices in more than 130 countries. McCann is a subsidiary of the Interpublic Group of Companies, one of the four large holding companies in the advertising industry....
. It was in this year that Donna left Brownjohn, taking daughter Eliza, and moved to Ibiza.
Brownjohn's career began to shift to working primarily with moving images. In 1963, the producers of the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
films approached Brownjohn after disagreements with film title designer Maurice Binder
Maurice Binder
Maurice Binder was a film title designer best known for his work on 14 James Bond films including the first, Dr. No in 1962 and for Stanley Donen's films from 1958. He was born in New York City, USA, but mostly worked in Britain from the 1950s onwards...
. Harry Saltzman
Harry Saltzman
Harry Saltzman was a Canadian theatre and film producer best known for his mega-gamble which resulted in his co-producing the James Bond film series with Albert R...
asked Brownjohn to design the title sequence for the second James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film, From Russia with Love
From Russia with Love (film)
From Russia with Love is the second in the James Bond spy film series, and the second to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1963, the film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and directed by Terence Young. It is based on the 1957 novel of the...
.
Movie title sequences
Robert Brownjohn's work on two James Bond title sequences, From Russia with LoveFrom Russia with Love (film)
From Russia with Love is the second in the James Bond spy film series, and the second to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1963, the film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and directed by Terence Young. It is based on the 1957 novel of the...
and Goldfinger
Goldfinger (film)
Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
, is probably his most widely known achievement. In these he used the technique of projecting moving footage onto the bodies of models and filming the results. The idea of filming projections is one gleaned from the Bauhaus and was used by László Maholy-Nagy in his early constructivist
Constructivism (art)
Constructivism was an artistic and architectural philosophy that originated in Russia beginning in 1919, which was a rejection of the idea of autonomous art. The movement was in favour of art as a practice for social purposes. Constructivism had a great effect on modern art movements of the 20th...
films of the 1920s. The combination of this artistic technique with the style and glamour of the 1960s typify Brownjohn's work. The use of wit and risqué humour, for example the deliberate lining up of a projected shot of a golf putt so that the ball appears to roll down gold painted model Margaret Nolan
Margaret Nolan
Margaret Nolan, also known as Vicky Kennedy, is a British artist and a former actress and glamour model.-Career:...
's cleavage, are also classic Brownjohn devices.
Goldfingers title design, photographed by David Watkin
David Watkin
David Watkin BSC was a British cinematographer, an innovator who was among the first directors of photography to experiment heavily with the usage of bounce light as a soft light source...
cost £5000. Brownjohn also designed the British posters for the film featuring Sean Connery and Honor Blackman over a gold painted Margaret Nolan. A second poster, featuring the characters in a golden hand, was designed for Ireland. Eventually Saltzman and Brownjohn fell out, and Brownjohn worked on no other Bond films.
In all, Robert Brownjohn designed four title sequences:
- From Russia with LoveFrom Russia with Love (film)From Russia with Love is the second in the James Bond spy film series, and the second to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1963, the film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and directed by Terence Young. It is based on the 1957 novel of the...
(1963) - GoldfingerGoldfinger (film)Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
(1964) - Where the Spies AreWhere the Spies AreWhere the Spies Are is a 1965 MGM British comedy adventure film directed by Val Guest and featuring David Niven as Dr Jason Love, Françoise Dorléac, John Le Mesurier, Cyril Cusack and Richard Marner. It was based on the James Leasor book Passport to Oblivion...
(1965) - The Night of the GeneralsThe Night of the GeneralsThe Night of the Generals is a 1967 suspense thriller film directed by Anatole Litvak. Set during World War II, the story was adapted from the novel of the same name by Hans Hellmut Kirst. It stars Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Tom Courtenay, Donald Pleasence, Joanna Pettet and Philippe Noiret.The...
(1967)
Later career and death
The most notable work from Brownjohn's post-Bond career is probably the cover for the 1969 Rolling Stones album Let It BleedLet It Bleed
Let It Bleed is the eighth British and tenth American album by English rock band The Rolling Stones, released in December 1969 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States...
. He also created moving graphics for Midland Bank
Midland Bank
Midland Bank Plc was one of the Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birmingham, England in August 1836...
and 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,...
between 1966 and 1970. His final piece of graphic design was a poster for the New York Peace Campaign in 1969: an ace of spades playing card is laid on a plain white background with the letters "PE" hastily scribbled to the left of it and a question mark to the right. Brownjohn also had a small role as a fur coat clad heavy in Dick Clements' film Otley.
Robert Brownjohn died from a heart attack in London on August 1, 1970.
Further reading
- King, Emily, Robert Brownjohn: Sex and Typography, Laurence King Publishing, 2005
- Chermayeff, Ivan and Geismar, Tom, watching words move, Chronicle Books, 2006