Phill Grimshaw (1 February 1950 – 27 July 1998) was an English

typeface designer Type design is the art and process of designing typefaces. This involves drawing each letterform using a consistent style. The basic concepts and design variables are described below. A typeface differs from other modes of graphic production su ...

and

calligrapher Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

who designed dozens of fonts for

Letraset Letraset was a company known mainly for manufacturing sheets of typefaces and other artwork elements using the dry transfer method. Letraset has been acquired by the Colart group and become part of its subsidiary Winsor & Newton. Corporate histor ...

and the

International Typeface Corporation The International Typeface Corporation (ITC) was a type manufacturer founded in New York in 1970 by Aaron Burns, Herb Lubalin and Edward Rondthaler. The company was one of the world's first type foundries to have no history in the production of me ...

(ITC) in the 1980s and 1990s.

Biography

Grimshaw was born on 1 February 1950 in

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

. He studied art at

Bolton College Bolton College (previously known as Bolton Community College) is a further education college located in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. The college is primarily based in Bolton, but operates a number of Community Learning Centres in the su ...

, where he was taught by the typographer Tony Forster, with whom he would later become close friends. Forster encouraged Grimshaw to apply to London's

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 offe ...

(RCA). Grimshaw completed a master's degree between 1972 and 1975 at the RCA, where he met

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists o ...

and John Gorham. He returned to

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

after graduating from the RCA and opened a commercial lettering studio focusing on both

typography 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), and ...

and

calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

. His calligraphic work was popular in the advertising industry; he produced work for the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

Gale's Gale's is a UK brand of honey, currently owned by Premier Foods. The former company had been established in 1919, remaining independent until it was acquired by Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery in 1986. History The company was established in ...

, Littlewoods,

Scottish & Newcastle Scottish & Newcastle plc was a brewing company headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, which expanded from its home base to become an international business with beer volumes growing almost tenfold. The company was listed on the London Stock Exc ...

, and

BBC North BBC North (Group) is an operational business division of the BBC. It is also a brand that has been used by the BBC to mean: *The large ''BBC North'' region, centred on Manchester, that was active from the late 1920s until 1968 and was based u ...

. Grimshaw's professional partnership with

Colin Brignall Colin Brignall (born 1942) is an English type designer and photographer. In addition to designing typefaces himself, he has worked as a type director and typographic consultant to Letraset and the International Typeface Corporation (ITC), selecting ...

began in the 1980s, when Brignall was the type director for

, which produced sheets of typefaces for

dry transfer Dry transfers (also called rub-ons or rubdowns) are decals that can be applied without the use of water or other solvent. The decal itself is on a backing material such as paper or plastic sheeting much like a transparency. The dry transfer is ...

. Grimshaw designed multiple typefaces for Letraset between 1986 and 1995, including Oberon (1986) and Hazel (1992). He continued collaborating with Brignall at the

(ITC), beginning with ITC Braganza (1996), which won a

Type Directors Club The Type Directors Club (TDC) is an international organization devoted to typography and type design, founded in 1946 in New York City. TDC believes that type drives culture, and that culture drives type—and is dedicated to cataloging, showcas ...

Award. Other fonts he created for ITC include Obelisk (1996), Klepto (1996), Kendo (1997), and Noovo (1997). In total, he designed 44 complete typefaces for Letraset and ITC. Brignall called Grimshaw "one of the best display typeface designers of recent times". Grimshaw died on 27 July 1998, aged 48, after a prolonged illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grimshaw, Phill 1950 births 1998 deaths English typographers and type designers English calligraphers Alumni of the Royal College of Art People from Bolton