Phillip Boydell (1896 - 1984) was a British designer and illustrator.

Life and work

Boydell was born on 21 May 1896 in Tyldesley Lancashire, to Oliver Boydell (a master decorator) and Merinda. He obtained a scholarship at the

Manchester School of Art Manchester School of Art in Manchester, England, was established in 1838 as the Manchester School of Design. It is the second oldest art school in the United Kingdom after the Royal College of Art which was founded the year before. It is now par ...

, but his studies were interrupted by conscription in 1914. During his service in the Royal Navy, his vessel the tugboat

HMS Blackcock HMS ''Blackcock'' was a tugboat which was operated by the Royal Navy during World War I. While on a mission it ran aground near Tsypnavolok, Russia, on 18 January 1918. It had to be abandoned and it was later thought to have been crushed by ice. ...

was lost off Murmansk in winter, but Boydell lived to tell the tale, and was able to continue his education at the Royal College of Art. In 1923 he married sculptor Bertha White. In 1926 he was offered the position of Art Director at the

London Press Exchange The London Press Exchange was founded in 1892 by Frederick Higginbottom and Reginald J.Sykes, becoming a significant Government advertising agency during World War II. It merged with the Leo Burnett agency in 1969. The agency also produced prom ...

, and was on the Board of Directors when he retired in 1961. Boydell is best known for two posters and a typeface. * The Squander Bug, a poster encouraging people not to spend money wastefully but invest in savings bonds, was so successful that derivatives were used in several other countries. This he created whilst in bed with influenza. * The Black Widow poster for road safety (for which Boydell was art director) which aroused controversy for its (in those days) relatively direct approach. * The Festival font 'Festival' at Linotype website
/ref> was the official typeface for the 1951

Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" during which people: ...

, and was used in all the communications for the festival. He died at home in 1984.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boydell, Phillip 1896 births 1984 deaths English graphic designers