Sir John Sorrell (born 28 February 1945) is a British designer and an advocate and campaigner for creative education and for the creative industries.

Early life

Sorrell was born in London in 1945 during an air raid in the Second World War. He attended Saturday morning art classes at

Hornsey School of Art Hornsey College of Art (a.k.a. Hornsey School of Art) was a college in Crouch End in the London Borough of Haringey, England. The HCA was "an iconic British art institution, renowned for its experimental and progressive approach to art and design ...

when he was 14. He then studied art and design there full-time between the ages of 16 and 19. His experience of Saturday morning art classes inspired his later foundation of the National Art & Design Saturday Club.

Career

John Sorrell set up his first business, Goodwin Sorrell, in 1964 with Chuck Goodwin. He co-founded the design and identity business Newell and Sorrell in 1976 with his wife, Frances Newell. The couple became one of Europe's biggest and most successful identity consultancies, with clients including British Airways, the Body Shop and the Royal Mail. The business won numerous awards for creativity and effectiveness. In 1997, Newell and Sorrell merged with Interbrand to form Interbrand Newell & Sorrell. John and Frances left Interbrand Newell & Sorrell in 2000.

The Sorrell Foundation

John and Frances Sorrell co-founded the Sorrell Foundation in 1999 with the aim of inspiring creativity in young people and improving lives with good design. The Sorrell Foundation has worked with more than 100,000 young people across the UK on a range of programmes, including Joinedupdesignforschools, the Young Design Programme
myplace
an
Design out Crime
In 2009, John and Frances set up th
National Saturday Club
network. John is co-chair of the Sorrell Foundation.

National Saturday Club

Sorrell is co-founder and trustee of the National Saturday Club, a new charity formed in 2016 to take over the development of the Saturday Clubs from the Sorrell Foundation. The Saturday Club network offers young people aged 13–16 the opportunity to study on Saturdays for free. Currently there are around 50 Clubs around the UK: Art & Design, Science & Engineering, Fashion & Business, and Writing & Talking.

London Design Festival and London Design Biennale

Sorrell is chairman of

London Design Festival London Design Festival is a citywide design event that takes place over nine days every September across London. It was conceived by Sir John Sorrell and Ben Evans CBE in 2003 and celebrated its 20th edition in September 2022. In an article by ...

, which he co-founded in 2003, and co-produces with

Ben Evans Benjamin Ross Evans (born 31 July 1975) is a former international Wales rugby union player. A prop, he has played for Ospreys, Cardiff Blues and Calvisano. He has played for Jersey and Moseley RFC. After spending time playing amateur rugby for ...

. London Design Festival celebrates and promotes London's and the UK's creativity. The Festival brings over 400 events to an international audience each September and has become the standard bearer for over 100 design festivals set up in cities around the world since its inception. He is president of London Design Biennale, which he co-founded in 2016, and co-produces with

. This biannual exhibition, staged at

Somerset House Somerset House is a large Neoclassical complex situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadrangle was built on the site of a Tudor palace ("O ...

, invites participating countries and cities to exhibit original design installations in response to a theme. Installations are curated by the leading museums and design organisations in the world.

Other roles

Sorrell has been a trustee of the

Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

since 2011, and Chairman of

University of the Arts London University of the Arts London is a collegiate university in London, England, specialising in arts, design, fashion and the performing arts. It is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea Coll ...

since 2013. University of the Arts London is Europe's largest specialist arts and design university. A UK Business Ambassador since 2009, Sorrell has been appointed by successive Prime Ministers to champion the UK's Creative Industries sector overseas. He founded the

Creative Industries Federation The Creative Industries Federation (2014-2021) was a national organisation for all the UK's creative industries, cultural education and arts. It advocated for the sector, aiming to ensure that the creative industries were central to political, eco ...

in 2014 - the independent voice for the UK's creative industries. The Creative Industries Federation unites the UK's diverse arts and creative industries to secure the policies and funding needed to further Britain's global success as a cultural powerhouse. In April 2017, he stepped down as chair of the Creative Industries Federation. Sorrell chaired the UK

Design Council The Design Council, formerly the Council of Industrial Design, is a United Kingdom charity incorporated by Royal Charter. Its stated mission is "to champion great design that improves lives and makes things better". It was instrumental in the prom ...

from 1994 to 2000 after carrying out a major review, which created a blueprint for the transformation and future strategy for the organisation. He was Chair of CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment) from 2004 to 2009, a Vice-President of the

Chartered Society of Designers The Chartered Society of Designers (CSD) is a professional body for designers. It is the only Royal Chartered body of experienced designers. Its membership is multi-disciplinary – representing designers in all design, disciplines including I ...

from 1989 to 1992, and Chairman of the Design Business Association from 1990 to 1992.

Honours and awards

Sorrell was awarded a

Knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

in the 2008 New Year Honours List 'for services to the Creative Industries'. He was appointed

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1996, and was awarded the Royal Society of Arts Bicentenary Medal in 1998. He holds eight

Honorary Doctorates An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

, was elected an Honorary Fellow of the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

in 2002 and an Honorary Fellow of the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior ...

in 2009.

Publications

Sorrell has published four books: ''Creative Island'' (Laurence King Publishing, 2002) and ''Creative Island II'' (Laurence King Publishing, 2009) feature inspired design from Great Britain. He co-authored ''Joinedupdesignforschools'' (Merrell, 2005) with his wife, Frances Sorrell. He co-authored 'Virtuous Circle' with

Darren Henley Darren Richard Henley , born February 1973, is the Chief Executive of Arts Council England and an author of books about the arts. He is a member of the UK government's Creative Industries Council. Education He is a graduate of the University of ...

and Paul Roberts (Elliott & Thompson, 2014).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sorrell, John British designers People associated with the University of the Arts London Living people 1945 births Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering