Neville Brody, (born 23 April 1957) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

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, ...

typographer Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing ( leading), a ...

and

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the vis ...

. He is known for his work on ''

The Face The face is a part of the body, the front of the head. Face may also refer to: Film * ''The Magician'' (1958 film) or ''The Face'' * ''The Face'' (1996 film), an American television film * ''Face'' (1997 film), a British crime drama by Antonia ...

'' magazine (1981–1986), ''

Arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...

'' magazine (1987–1990), and designing record covers for artists such as Clock DVA, Cabaret Voltaire,

The Bongos The Bongos were a power pop band from Hoboken, New Jersey that emerged from the New York City arts scene, primarily active in the 1980s, led by Richard Barone. With their unique musical style, they were major progenitors of the Hoboken indie-pop ...

, 23 Skidoo and

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depech ...

. He created the company Research Studios in 1994 and is a founding member of Fontworks. His work is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). He was the Dean of the School of Communication at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It ...

, London until September 2018. He is now Professor of Communication.

Early life and education

Brody was born in Southgate, London. He attended

Minchenden Grammar School Minchenden School was a mixed secondary school situated in Southgate, North London, established in 1919 with 90 pupils. It merged with Arnos School in 1984. History The school was established in 1919 in Tottenhall Road as a mixed secondary sc ...

and studied A-Level Art, very much from a fine art viewpoint. In 1975 Brody went on to do a Fine Art foundation course at

Hornsey College 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 ...

. In Autumn 1976, Brody started a three-year BA course in graphics at the

London College of Printing The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation, film, graphic design, photography and sound arts. It has approximately ...

. His work was influenced by the emergence of punk rock in London life. He designed posters for student concerts at the college, most notably for

Pere Ubu Pere Ubu is an American rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. The band had a variety of long-term and recurring band members, with singer David Thomas being the only member staying throughout the band's lifetime. They released their ...

, supported by

The Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...

. His first-year thesis was based around a comparison between

Dadaism Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich), Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 192 ...

and pop art.

1980s: Art Direction

Brody's experimentation with his self-made

sans-serif In typography and lettering, a sans-serif, sans serif, gothic, or simply sans letterform is one that does not have extending features called " serifs" at the end of strokes. Sans-serif typefaces tend to have less stroke width variation than s ...

typography, along with his Pop Art and Dadaism influence, caught the attention of music record companies such as

Fetish Records Fetish Records was a British independent record label. Its artist roster consisted of largely early industrial, experimental, and post-punk groups. It was also a home to the early works of graphic designer Neville Brody, who created artwork for ...

and Stiff records after he left college. His record cover designs largely consist of work with grunge and punk rock bands. The album ''Micro-Phonies'' by Cabaret Voltaire was art directed by Brody in 1984. His infamous typography features on the front and a bandaged figure spouting liquid from the mouth stares blankly at the viewer. Brody was art director for

magazine. He directed the art design of other newspapers and magazines including ''

City Limits City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. Similarly, corporate li ...

'', '' Lei'', ''

Per Lui Per is a Latin preposition which means "through" or "for each", as in per capita. Per or PER may also refer to: Places * IOC country code for Peru * Pér, a village in Hungary * Chapman code for Perthshire, historic county in Scotland Math ...

'', '' Actuel'' and ''Arena'', as well as the redesigns of British newspapers ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' and ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

''. In 1988

Thames & Hudson Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...

published the first of two volumes about his work, which became the world's best selling graphic design book. Combined sales now exceed 120,000. An accompanying exhibition of his work at the

Victoria and 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 ...

attracted over 40,000 visitors before touring Europe and Japan. In 1991, Neville Brody and Jon Wozencroft created the

FUSE Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to protect ...

project.

is an interactive magazine that sets out to challenge our current ideas about typographic and visual language in an age of ever changing communications technology and media. Brody was also partly responsible for instigating the fusion between a magazine, graphics design and typeface design. The magazine ranges in themes from "Codes" and "Runes" to "Religion" and "Pornography." the exploration and freedom that the publishers exhibit is undeniable and exciting. The conventions upturned in FUSE are prescient in their definition of new standards. Each package includes a publication with articles relating to typography and surrounding subjects, as well as new font designs. In 1990 he also founded the

FontFont FontShop International was an international manufacturer of digital typefaces (fonts), based in Berlin. It was one of the largest digital type foundries. The ''FontFont'' library of fonts contains designs by 160 type designers, among them reno ...

typeface library together with

Erik Spiekermann Erik Spiekermann (born 30 May 1947 in Stadthagen, Lower Saxony) is a German typographer, designer and writer. He is an honorary professor at the University of the Arts Bremen and ArtCenter College of Design. Biography Spiekermann studied art h ...

. Notable fonts include the updated font for the Times newspaper, ''Times Modern'', ''New Deal'' as used in publicity material and titles for the film Public Enemies and ''Industria''. Brody launched Research Studios with Fwa Richards in London in 1994. A sister company, Research Publishing, produces and publishes experimental multi-media works by young artists. The primary focus is on FUSE, the conference and quarterly forum for experimental typography and communications. The publication is approaching its 20th issue over a publishing period of over ten years. Three FUSE conferences have so far been held, in London, San Francisco and Berlin. The conferences bring together speakers from design, architecture, sound, film and interactive design and web. Recent projects include the redesign of the '' BBC'' in September 2011, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'' in November 2006 with the creation of a new font Times Modern. The typeface shares many visual similarities with Mercury designed by

Jonathan Hoefler Jonathan Hoefler (; born August 22, 1970) is an American typeface designer. Hoefler founded the Hoefler Type Foundry in 1989, a type foundry in New York. Early life Jonathan Hoefler was born on August 22, 1970, in New York City to Doreen Be ...

. It is the first new font at the newspaper since it introduced ''

Times New Roman Times New Roman is a serif typeface. It was commissioned by the British newspaper ''The Times'' in 1931 and conceived by Stanley Morison, the artistic adviser to the British branch of the printing equipment company Monotype, in collaboration w ...

'' in 1932. The company also completed a visual identity project for the Paris contemporary art exhibition

Nuit Blanche Nuit Blanche () (White Night) is an annual all-night or night-time arts festival of a city. A Nuit Blanche typically has museums, private and public art galleries, and other cultural institutions open and free of charge, with the centre of the ...

in 2006. Research Studios launched a new look for the

champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...

brand Dom Pérignon in February 2007, having been appointed in 2004 to help the brand with its strategy and repositioning. As of 2017, the Welsh WJEC exam board included Neville Brody as part of their Graphic Design curriculum. In 2021, Brody joined the advisory board of Dogamí, a blockchain-based "Petaverse" game, in which users "adopt" dog-inspired

non-fungible tokens A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique digital identifier that cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided, that is recorded in a blockchain, and that is used to certify authenticity and ownership. The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the b ...

Work

Music

Fetish Records

Art Director (1980) *Your Mum, Album Cover (1981) *

Bush Tetras Bush Tetras are an American post-punk band from New York City, formed in 1979. They are best known for the 1980 song "Too Many Creeps", which exemplified the band's sound of "jagged rhythms, slicing guitars, and sniping vocals".The Bongos The Bongos were a power pop band from Hoboken, New Jersey that emerged from the New York City arts scene, primarily active in the 1980s, led by Richard Barone. With their unique musical style, they were major progenitors of the Hoboken indie-pop ...

, ''Time and the River'', EP Cover (1981) *The Bongos, "Zebra Club", Single Cover (1981) *The Bongos, "In The Congo/Hunting/Mambo Sun", Single Cover (1981) * Clock DVA, " 4 Hours", Single Cover (1981) *Clock DVA, ''

Thirst Thirst is the craving for potable fluids, resulting in the basic instinct of animals to drinking, drink. It is an essential mechanism involved in fluid balance. It arises from a lack of fluids or an increase in the concentration of certain osmol ...

'', Album Cover (1981) * 23 Skidoo, ''The Gospel Comes To New Guinea/Last Words'', Single cover (1981) * 23 Skidoo, ''Seven Songs'', Album Cover (1982) * 23 Skidoo, ''Tearing Up The Plans'', EP cover (1981) *

Throbbing Gristle Throbbing Gristle were an English music and visual arts group formed in 1975 in Kingston upon Hull by Genesis P-Orridge, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Peter Christopherson, and Chris Carter. They are widely regarded as pioneers of industrial music. Evol ...

, '' Five Albums'' Album Cover (1982) *

8 Eyed Spy 8 Eyed Spy was an American no wave band from New York City, consisting of Lydia Lunch (ex- Teenage Jesus and the Jerks and Beirut Slump) and Jim Sclavunos (also ex-Teenage Jesus and Beirut Slump), Michael Paumgardhen, Pat Irwin and George Scott ...

, "

Diddy Wah Diddy "Diddy Wah Diddy" is a song written by Willie Dixon and Ellas McDaniel, known as Bo Diddley, and recorded by the latter in 1956. The song shares only its title with Blind Blake's song "Diddie Wah Diddie" recorded in 1929. Over the years, the Bo D ...

" Single Cover (1982) * Z'EV, "Wipe Out/Element L" Single Cover (1982) *

Stephen Mallinder Stephen William Mallinder (born 1 January 1955) is an English artist and musician who was a founding member of Cabaret Voltaire, and went on to work as Sassi & Loco, the Ku-Ling Bros., Hey, Rube!, Wrangler, and Creep Show. Biography Mallinder ...

, ''Pow Wow'' Album Cover (1982) *Various Artists, ''Last Testament'' Album Cover (1982)

Cabaret Voltaire

*Numerous T-shirt, badge and poster designs. *"''3 Crepuscule Tracks''" 12" Single Cover (1981) *"''Red Mecca''" Album Cover (1981) *"''Crackdown/Just Fascination''" 12" Single Cover (1983) *"''Just Fascination''" 7" Single Cover (1983) *"''James Brown''" 12" Single Cover (1984) *"''Microphonies''" Album Cover (1984) *"''The Covenant, The Sword and the Arm of the Lord''" Album Cover (1985) *"''Code''" Album Cover (1987)

Other

* 23 Skidoo, "''The Culling Is Coming''" Album Cover (1983) * 23 Skidoo, ''Coup'', Single cover (1984) * 23 Skidoo, ''Urban Gamelan'', Album cover (1984) * 23 Skidoo, ''Language'', Single cover (1984) * 23 Skidoo, ''Thoughts Of You'', Single cover (1985) * 23 Skidoo, ''Beyond Time'', Album cover (2013) *

Defunkt Defunkt is an American musical group founded by the trombonist and singer Joseph Bowie in 1978 in New York City. Their music touches on elements of punk rock, funk, and jazz. Career Joseph Bowie is the brother of big band musician Byron Bow ...

, "''The Razor's Edge''" 12" Single Cover (1982) *

, "'' Just Can't Get Enough''" Single Cover (1982) *

Level 42 Level 42 is an English jazz-funk band formed on the Isle of Wight in 1979. They had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s. Their highest-charting single in the UK was " Lessons in Love", which reached number three on th ...

, "''

Standing in the Light ''Standing in the Light'' is the fourth studio album released by English jazz-funk band Level 42. The album, released in 1983, generated the group's first top 10 in the UK Albums Chart, peaking at No. 9. The album was well received by critics a ...

''" Album Cover (1983) *Level 42, "''

Micro-Kid "Micro-kid" is a single released in October, 1983 by the British musical group Level 42 from their fourth studio album '' Standing in the Light''. The song is on the Polydor Record label POSP 643. It ran for 5 weeks on the UK single charts ...

''" Single Cover (1983) * Elephant Talk, Album Cover (1983) *

Kurtis Blow Kurtis Walker (born August 9, 1959), professionally known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record/film producer, b-boy, DJ, public speaker and minister. He is the first commercially successful rapper ...

, "''Party Time''" 12" single Cover, Club Records (1985) * Jamie J. Morgan, ''

Shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small pellet-like spherical sub- pr ...

'' Album cover *Raybeats, "Holiday Inn Spain/Cocktails" 7" single cover on Don't Fall Off The Mountain label (1981) *Zuice, "''Everyone A Winner''" Album Cover (1986) *Zuice, "''I'm Burning''" Album Cover (1987) *Zuice, "''Bless Your Lucky Stars ''" Album Cover (1987) *Zuice, "''shought owt to all the run it straight crew an all mah dirty-30 ninjas out der tongan crip souljah 4 life''" Album Cover (1987)

Magazine work

*1981–1986 Art director for ''

'' magazine *1987–1990 Art director for ''

'' magazine.

Misc

*1990 – Opened FontWorks and became the director of

FontShop International FontShop International was an international manufacturer of digital typefaces (fonts), based in Berlin. It was one of the largest digital type foundries. The ''FontFont'' library of fonts contains designs by 160 type designers, among them renowne ...

*1994 Founds Research Studios
Postage stamps by Neville Brody
*2010

(GVL) to establish consistency across BBC websites - starting wit
Doctor Who
an
BBC News
*2010 Collaborates with

Masha Ma Masha Ma is a Chinese fashion designer. Her collections have been featured in leading publications such as ''Vogue'', ''Elle'', '' Harper's Bazaar'', ''Pop'', French ''Playboy'', ''Cosmopolitan'' and '' L'Officiel''. Career Masha Ma received h ...

in an art-fashion crossover installation at the

Get It Louder Get It Louder is a Chinese contemporary art festival that began in 2005 and features exhibitions focusing primarily on young Chinese talent within the spheres of art, architecture, design, literature, film and music. Ou Ning helped launch the pr ...

art bienalle in Beijing.Art Daily - Get It Louder: China's Most Influential and Watched Exhibition of Emerging, Young Talent
/ref>

Accomplishments

*Design for Tribeca Issey Miyake in New York with

Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry, , FAIA (; ; born ) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions. His works are considered ...

*Major contributor to FUSE, an influential publication on experimental typography *London's Victoria & Albert Museum hosted an exhibition of Brody's work *D&AD President's Award 2011

Fonts by Brody

Brody has designed 21 font families, including:www.myfonts.com
/ref> * Arcadia * FF Autotrace * FF Blur * FF Dirty 1 * FF Dirty 2 * FF Dirty 3 * FF Dirty 4 * FF Dirty 6 * FF Dirty 6.9 * FF Dirty 7 * FF Dirty 7.2 * FF Dirty 7.9 * FF Dome * FF Gothic * FF Harlem * Industria * Insignia * FF Meta Subnormal * FF Pop * FF Tokyo * FF Typeface 4 * FF Typeface 6 & 7 * FF Tyson * FF World

References

*''The Graphic Language Of Neville Brody'', Jon Wozencroft (1988) *''The Graphic Language of Neville Brody 2'', Jon Wozencroft (1994)

External links

*
Apple Profile of Neville BrodyBiography at Research StudiosBiography and list of his typefaces at FontFontNeville Brody at TYPO Berlin 96 conference: »Where's the beef?« as video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brody, Neville 1957 births English graphic designers Alumni of Middlesex University Living people People from Southgate, London English art directors Academics of the Royal College of Art Alumni of the London College of Communication Royal Designers for Industry