The Typographic Circle The Typographic Circle was formed in 1976 to bring together anyone with an interest in type and typography. We are a not-for-profit organisation run entirely by volunteers. We stage a variety of type and typography related events including a series of diverse monthly lectures by well-known industry speakers, and the annual New York Type Directors Club exhibition.
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The Typographic Circle Presents...
ANTHONY BURRILL Anthony Burrill was born in Littleborough, Lancashire. After studying Graphic Design at Leeds Polytechnic he completed an MA in Graphic Design at the Royal College of Art, London. He now lives and works on the Isle of Oxney, Kent. Anthony Burrill’s persuasive, up-beat illustration and design has been commissioned by cultural, social and commercial clients around the world. Burrill works across a range of media, including posters, moving image and threedimensional work. He combines an instinctive handling of colour and composition with a witty approach to words.
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Self-published simple typographic statement poster, printed using traditional woodblock techniques.
The Interview Arguably the driving force behind the current appreciation for typography: you might describe Anthony Burrill as a designer’s designer. The Typographic Circle can also confirm that he can be described as a jolly nice chap – he is very modest, seems quite shy; and is every bit as lovely and positive as optimistic artworks imply. Typographic Circle - What’s the most important thing to know about you? Anthony Burrill - The most important thing to know about me is that I prefer crunchy peanut butter to smooth. When did you decide you wanted to be a graphic designer? I was always interested in visual culture when I was growing up. This was quite a while ago – in the late ’70s, early ’80s – and there wasn’t the amount of stuff that there is now. Music – and record covers – was the thing that got me into it first but I didn’t realise you could have a job doing that. I did a foundation and then did a degree in graphic design. I graduated form the Royal College in ’91. That was before the internet and all that stuff.
off by making little photocopied books and postcards and sending those out, and that developed into making posters and the kind of work that I do now. My first big project was for Hans Brinker Budget Hotel. I got that through my girlfriend. She was working on a campaign with Erik Kessels. He said he needed somebody to do some typography and she said, “I know somebody who could do some type for you”. It shows how important personal connections are? Definitely. That whole thing of putting yourself out there and creating your own networks is important – especially for students. It’s easy to connect now through the internet but you can’t replace actually meeting people. The simplicity of your work is very striking. Is there a reason why you’ve adopted that style? My upbringing was quite simple and my mum was really super tidy all the time. So all the rooms were just really empty. I like to keep things really simple. The less things you have, the less things to go wrong. I think that sums it all up.
Was it tough to break into the industry at that time?
Why do you think typography-led design is such a big trend at the moment?
Yes, really hard, because you didn’t have the networks that are around now. I was shy and I didn’t like ringing people up on the phone, so it was hard for me to get my work out there. I started
Words are very immediate; people respond instantly to a piece of text. Everybody is looking for clues about how to live and how to be happy. I try to send out positive, genuine messages that I’ve
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The Interview learnt from my experiences so far. What makes a good, catchy message, and what makes it a good graphic idea? Adams [of Rye] only have a certain amount of typefaces. I know all the sizes, so I can work out how everything’s going to fit on the page. I jot them down in my sketchbook as you would expect. I tend to have phrases in my head. They have to have some kind of force behind them, and be kind of positive as well. What’s your working relationship with Adams of Rye like? They’re completely fantastic. They’ve got this amazing resource. I think when I first went in they hadn’t made a big poster like that for 10 years. They got the old type out and printed it all off. It’s developed slowly. We’re just like friends now, and they’re really cool. What inspires your slogans? They pop in to my head when I’m not thinking about them I try to remember the good ones. Where did “work hard and be nice to people” come from? I overheard the phrase being spoken by an elderly lady in the queue at the local supermarket it immediately struck me as being profound in its simplicity and truth. I didn’t suspect for a moment that it
would become such an important part of my work. You’re well known for your ‘Think of your own ideas’ slogan, which ironically has been appropriated by other designers across the world. With all the stories in the news at the moment surrounding plagiarism it seems even more poignant. What are your thoughts on these current revelations? Plagiarism is never good, it’s a shame when people take somebody’s work and claim it for themselves. It’s OK to be influenced by great work, I have many influences that I draw upon, but it really isn’t good to steal ideas, you always get found out! Have you ever thought of scanning the woodblock letters into Photoshop and just creating the posters that way? It has to be real. Part of the quality of the posters is that they’re printed. Sometimes they’re a bit manky. We do chuck the really bad ones out! How much do you use computers? I sit behind a computer all day. You kind of try not to make it run the idea. For most projects, the computer helps the communicating and works things out quickly. But the manufacturing and building things out of wood - that’s when I think it gets interesting. Why is your blog in black and white when your work is so colourful? March 2012 - 5
The Interview The blog is more about things I’ve seen, or work in progress. It feels more like a scrap-book or sketch book, so it seemed like a nice approach to make it black and white. Plus it looks really cool! Your work is very optimistic – where does this sense of optimism come from – and how do you maintain it? I was brought up to have a positive outlook; my parents worked very hard and always enjoyed themselves in the world that they had created for themselves. I’m lucky enough to have a lovely wife, beautiful children and have fun for a living, that’s how I maintain my optimism!
How does your creative approach differ when it comes to your motion video work and installations? It’s all quite collaborative. It’s a lot of friends I went to college with, like my friend Malcolm Goldie. When you have exhibitions, it’s kind of good to work with other people so you can get to that next level. There’s only so much you can do in your own head. It’s important to work with people whose work you’re into. Is working with people you admire the secret to a good collaboration? Yeah. Working with people who are bet-
Screenprint Work
Screenprints - A selection of Screenprints produced by Anthony Burrill 6 - March 2012
The Interview ter than you can make a good collaboration, too. You get a bit of a leg up, a little bit of reflective glory! How do you judge someone to be better than you? It’s just people who you think are at a higher level than you. So how do you approach your solo work, such as your exhibitions? I work on lots of things at the same time, three or four projects, and you’re kind of going from project to project. Sometimes things are a lot more conceptual and other times it’s more instant. I suppose it’s a lot like the ‘Oil & Water’ project. The agency in Brussels got in touch with me on the Tuesday afternoon, and they said: “We’re going to Louisiana on the Sunday. Can you design a poster for us to print?” How does it feel to be part of something like that? It was huge, and so was the way that social media kind of launched it. It was a big deal. I think it’s all about simplicity. Oil and water do not mix. It comes out of that whole thing of trying to communicate. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Beyond the aesthetic, tell me about the social message of your work, which is sort of a be-nice-to-people ethic? The work kind of reflects me as a person. It’s the way I live my life. It’s the way I’m happy and comfortable with—
making work that’s produced very simply. I print it all in a local print shop near where I live, and it’s all very simply made. It kind of talks about, I suppose, my life philosophy and a different way of living that’s not about amassing huge amounts of consumer goods. It’s just this different way of doing things, being independent and positive in the way you live. Is this work indicative of all the work you do: the clarity of the message, the simplicity of the design? I think so, yeah. There are a few different strands in my work. I do work with more abstract imagery that’s more visually colorful, but the text stuff is the most direct. It’s about a very simple message, communicated in the simplest way. The phrases are things that I hear in conversation. “I like it. What is it?” That’s something my wife says quite a lot. Things that are quite everyday, really, but when you make them into a poster and the typography’s very strong and bold, it seems to give them an importance. That’s an interesting statement—“I like it. What is it?”—it speaks, perhaps, to precognition: “I have this response to this, but I don’t know what it is yet.” Yeah, yeah. And it’s kind of a positive thing as well. An openness, a “yes” instead of a “no.”
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The Interview Seeing things and being open. How would you describe these lines? They’re not quite fortune cookie, because that’s too negative, but they’re sort of mantras for living. Some of them you could imagine being in a Hallmark greeting card. They almost have a religious feel to them, like the sort of posters you see outside of churches. On another level, they work in an interesting graphic design/ typographic way as well. That’s kind of a secondary thing. It really is more about the messages. How does living and working on the Isle of Oxney affect your work? I live in a small village in a rural area of Kent. The pace of life is relaxed, and this suits me perfectly. I like to have time and space to think. I travel lots with my work, so I get to have my dose of city life, but I’m always happy to return home so I can walk my dog through the fields and feel the nature and peace. Do you think your work would be different if you were still in London? I think I’d still be doing the same thing, but being down here definitely gives you that space and different references. It’s peaceful; you can just think. I’m a really sociable person, but I also like being alone. Does that effect your have a typical working routine? 8 - March 2012
Every day is different. I do a few commercial projects but most of my work now tends to be my own things. I work a lot with my wife and we think of things to do together, new prints. It’s a constant stream of making new things and taking on commissions that I feel will work with the stuff I’m doing. What advice would you give to up-andcoming designers? Make work you believe in. How can young designers best juggle commissioned work and personal projects? One thing really feeds into another. You need to do commercial things to pay the bills. When I left college I did absolutely everything. Anything that came along I did, and I think you just need to throw yourself into it when you start. It’s only now that I’m at the stage where I can pick and choose but that took 20 years – it doesn’t happen overnight. What single item that you’ve produced are you most proud of? It has to be the ‘work hard…’ poster. I’m continually pleased with its popularity, and the way that it has travelled outside the world of ‘graphic design.’ What’s your favourite colour? It’s hard to choose, but I use red a lot in my work, so it would have to be that.