Tom Eckersley (1914 – 1997) was an English poster artist and teacher of design.
Tom Eckersley was born in Lancashire. His artistic training began in 1930 when he enrolled at Salford Art School, where his abilities were soon recognized and he was awarded the Heywood Medal for Best Student. In 1934 Eckersley moved to London with the express purpose of becoming a freelance poster designer.
Eckersley developed a style that emphasized geometric forms, flat graphic designs emphasising shape rather than depth of perspective, and a strong use of contrast by several means, including varying the size of elements, or using stark lines and shadowing with gradients. Eckersley's style was similar in its approach to Modernist graphic designers in France and Germany during the same period. His bold, simple style was well-suited for the workplace safety posters he produced for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents throughout his career.
The start of World War II in 1939 effectively marked the end of Eckersley's partnership with Lombers, as they joined different military services and there was a decline in demand for commercial advertising. This led Eckersley to create posters for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), aimed at workers in factories and industrial settings that often supported the military in someway. Having originally joined the Royal Air Force and being charged with cartographic work, Eckersley was transferred to the Publicity Section of the Air Ministry, this allowed him to work from home and take commercial commissions again, for example from the General Post Office. In 1948 his contribution was recognized with the granting of an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to poster design. During the war the realisation of the posters ability to communicate complex messages was recognized, as propaganda messages were successfully conveyed by posters and mass media was developed.
After the war commissions for government posters reduced and, due to rationing and financial strain, commercial advertising was still restricted. However, Eckersley was able to gain commissions from new sources such as Gillette and old sources such as the General Post Office.
Eckersley taught poster design at the Westminster School of Art from 1937 to 1939. In 1954 Eckersley joined the London College of Printing (LCP, now named London College of Communication) to teach undergraduates. Here he established the first undergraduate courses in graphic design in Britain. He was Head of Graphic Design at the College from 1957 until 1977. Eckersley also continued to complete commissioned work, adding The United Nations Children's Fund, the World Wide Fund for Nature, the National Business Calendar Design Awards and Cooks to his list of clients.
In addition to poster making and book illustration he also produced magazine covers (for example for The Queen) and logos. His designs often employ an abstract like quality and collage to convey their message but whatever the technique Eckersley's designs have one common factor: they bring together text and pictures to relate complex messages in a direct way.
Tom Eckersley retained copies of many of his posters and examples of his original artwork; these form the equivalent of sketches for the working poster maker. Eckersley used these when teaching, as well as a personal reference.
© 2019. All images are copyrighted © by Tom Eckersley or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained.
Tom Eckersley was born in Lancashire. His artistic training began in 1930 when he enrolled at Salford Art School, where his abilities were soon recognized and he was awarded the Heywood Medal for Best Student. In 1934 Eckersley moved to London with the express purpose of becoming a freelance poster designer.
Eckersley developed a style that emphasized geometric forms, flat graphic designs emphasising shape rather than depth of perspective, and a strong use of contrast by several means, including varying the size of elements, or using stark lines and shadowing with gradients. Eckersley's style was similar in its approach to Modernist graphic designers in France and Germany during the same period. His bold, simple style was well-suited for the workplace safety posters he produced for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents throughout his career.
The start of World War II in 1939 effectively marked the end of Eckersley's partnership with Lombers, as they joined different military services and there was a decline in demand for commercial advertising. This led Eckersley to create posters for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), aimed at workers in factories and industrial settings that often supported the military in someway. Having originally joined the Royal Air Force and being charged with cartographic work, Eckersley was transferred to the Publicity Section of the Air Ministry, this allowed him to work from home and take commercial commissions again, for example from the General Post Office. In 1948 his contribution was recognized with the granting of an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to poster design. During the war the realisation of the posters ability to communicate complex messages was recognized, as propaganda messages were successfully conveyed by posters and mass media was developed.
After the war commissions for government posters reduced and, due to rationing and financial strain, commercial advertising was still restricted. However, Eckersley was able to gain commissions from new sources such as Gillette and old sources such as the General Post Office.
Eckersley taught poster design at the Westminster School of Art from 1937 to 1939. In 1954 Eckersley joined the London College of Printing (LCP, now named London College of Communication) to teach undergraduates. Here he established the first undergraduate courses in graphic design in Britain. He was Head of Graphic Design at the College from 1957 until 1977. Eckersley also continued to complete commissioned work, adding The United Nations Children's Fund, the World Wide Fund for Nature, the National Business Calendar Design Awards and Cooks to his list of clients.
In addition to poster making and book illustration he also produced magazine covers (for example for The Queen) and logos. His designs often employ an abstract like quality and collage to convey their message but whatever the technique Eckersley's designs have one common factor: they bring together text and pictures to relate complex messages in a direct way.
Tom Eckersley retained copies of many of his posters and examples of his original artwork; these form the equivalent of sketches for the working poster maker. Eckersley used these when teaching, as well as a personal reference.
© 2019. All images are copyrighted © by Tom Eckersley or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained.
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| 1936, Scientists Prefer Shell Poster |
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| 1940, London Chapel of Private Press Printers poster |
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| 1943-55, Post Office Savings Bank |
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| 1947, Asking for Trouble |
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| 1947, Enos poster |
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| 1947, Handtraps |
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| 1947, Prevent Loose Heads |
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| 1947, Take the Right Steps |
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| 1948, Get First Aid at Once |
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| 1952, General Post Office promotional poster |
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| 1959-65, holiday haunts poster |
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| 1960, Gillette |
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| 1960, Gillette |
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| 1960, Gillette |
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| 1960, National Bus Company poster |
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| 1960. Grafiska Institutets exhibition poster |
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| 1962, Letterpress and Foundry menu |
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| 1963, Keep Britain Tidy Campaign poster |
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| 1966, MTE |
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| 1968, London Transport poster |
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| 1969, Cut travelling time – Victoria line poster |
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| 1969-79, National Savings Bank |
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| 1970, Mallard invite and menu |
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| 1970, Series 7 brushes |
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| 1974, Open week poster |
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| 1975, British Leprosy Relief Association poster |
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| 1975, ilea (Inner London Education Authority) poster |
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| 1975, ilea (Inner London Education Authority) poster |
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| 1975, ilea (Inner London Education Authority) poster |
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| 1975-76, Annual Dinner poster |
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| 1976, ilea (Inner London Education Authority) poster |
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| 1977, City and Guilds Centenary poster |
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| 1977, Museum of London poster |
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| 1977, UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) appeal poster |
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| 1980 Charlie Chaplin poster |
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| 1980, Annual dinner and social evening, poster |
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| 1980, London Transport poster |
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| 1980, Yale Center for British Art exhibition poster |
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| 1980-89, Annual dinner and social evening, poster |
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| 1980-89, The Art of Persuasion exhibition poster |
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| 1981, Equus poster |
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| 1981, Imperial War Museum poster |
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| 1981, WWF (Worldwide Wildlife Fund) poster |
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| 1982-90, WWF (Worldwide Wildlife Fund) poster |
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| 1983, ilea (Inner London Education Authority) poster |
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| 1983, Newcastle Upon Tyne Polytechnic exhibition poster |
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| 1984, Imperial War Museum poster |
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| 1984, London Transport Museum exhibition poster |
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| 1984, Maidstone College of Art exhibition poster |
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| 1984, Wildscreen 1984 |
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| 1985, 100 Years Of Printing Education poster |
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| 1986, WWF (Worldwide Wildlife Fund) poster |
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| 1987, International Planned Parenthood Foundation Habitat poster |
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| 1987, International Tourist Year poster |
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| 1988, Apparitions exhibition poster |
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| 1990, Health and safety poster |
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| 1990, WWF (Worldwide Wildlife Fund) poster |
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| 1993, Deutsches Plakat Museum exhibition poster |
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