Robert Brownjohn (1925 – 1970) was an American graphic designer known for blending formal graphic design concepts with wit and 1960s pop culture. He is best known for his motion picture title sequences, especially From Russia with Love and Goldfinger.
He was born to British parents in Newark, New Jersey, where his father was a bus driver. In 1937, at age 12, his father died. Despite the comparative disinclination of his family, Brownjohn showed early artistic promise. After attending the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn for a year, he earned a place at the Institute of Design in Chicago, formerly known as the New Bauhaus.
After receiving a nonprofessional B.A. in architecture in May 1948, Brownjohn initially worked as an architectural planner in Chicago before returning to the Institute (which had been absorbed as a unit of the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1949) to assist Chermayeff and teach his own courses in the school's evening division. He also worked as a freelance designer for several magazines, including Esquire and Coronet.
In 1951, Brownjohn returned to New York City in order to further his graphic design career. Continuing to work freelance for the next five years, he completed projects for a wide variety of clients, including Columbia Records. Brownjohn's effusive personality and fondness for jazz music allowed his friendships with Parker and Miles Davis, among others, to blossom as he became a part of the bohemian social scene in the city.
In 1957 Brownjohn formed Brownjohn, Chermayeff & Geismar (BCG) with fellow designers Ivan Chermayeff (a son of Brownjohn's mentor) and Tom Geismar. BCG designed for print initially, producing experiments in typographical design as well as taking on commercial projects. In 1958 BCG won the commission to design the United States' stand at the Brussels World's Fair. BCG also counted the Pepsi-Cola Company amongst its largest clients at this time. In addition to designing the company magazine, it also created the widely hailed Christmas decorations for Pepsi's New York headquarters.
The end of 1959 saw the end of BCG. Brownjohn's drug use had escalated and he moved to London with his family in order, he hoped, to take advantage of the UK's more liberal attitude to drug use. As one of the most fêted and socially connected designers from New York, Brownjohn fitted into the Swinging London scene effortlessly. He initially worked at the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency before leaving the firm to join McCann Erickson in 1962.
Brownjohn's career began to shift to working primarily with moving images. In 1963, the producers of the James Bond films approached Brownjohn after disagreements with film title designer Maurice Binder. Harry Saltzman asked Brownjohn to design the title sequence for the second James Bond film, From Russia with Love.
Robert Brownjohn's work on two James Bond title sequences, From Russia with Love and Goldfinger, is probably his most widely known achievement. In these he used the technique of projecting moving footage onto the bodies of models and filming the results. The combination of this artistic technique with the style and glamour of the 1960s typify Brownjohn's work. The use of wit and risqué humour, for example the deliberate lining up of a projected shot of a golf putt so that the ball appears to roll down gold painted model Margaret Nolan's cleavage, are also classic Brownjohn devices.
In all, Robert Brownjohn designed four title sequences:
• From Russia with Love (1963)
• Goldfinger (1964)
• Where the Spies Are (1965)
• The Night of the Generals (1967)
The most notable work from Brownjohn's post-Bond career is probably the cover for the 1969 Rolling Stones album
Let It Bleed. He also created moving graphics for Midland Bank and Pirelli between 1966 and 1970. His final piece of graphic design was a poster for the New York Peace Campaign in 1969: an ace of spades playing card is laid on a plain white background with the letters "PE" hastily scribbled to the left of it and a question mark to the right.
© 2019. All images are copyrighted © by Robert Brownjohn 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. All images used for illustrative purposes only.
 |
| Mr Robert Brownjohn |
 |
| American Craftsmen Annual Conference, New York, 1950’s |
 |
| Andre Surmain, New York, 1950’s |
 |
| Brownjohn Chermayeff Geismar Christmas Card, New York, 1950’s |
 |
| Buckner Fanning, New York, 1950’s |
 |
| Business Moving Announcement, New York, 1950’s |
 |
| Eidophor Inc. Logo, New York, 1950’s |
 |
| Furniture Show featuring Marcel Breuer Cantilever armchair, New York, 1950 |
 |
| Griller Quartet Poster, New York, 1950’s |
 |
| Museum of Contemporary Crafts – Flyer, New York, 1950’s |
 |
| Nancy Surmain Travel, New York, 1950’s |
 |
| Passing Time Book Cover, New York, 1950’s |
 |
| Schaefer Beer Ad, New York, 1950’s |
 |
| 1950, The Art of Dramatic Writing Book Cover, New York, 1950’s |
 |
| The Optimist Book Cover, New York, 1950’s |
 |
| Company Announcement Booklet, New York, 1950’s |
 |
| 1957, Museum Contemporary Crafts Poster, New York |
 |
| 1957-1960 Pepsi Cola Covers |
 |
| 1957-1960 Pepsi Cola Covers |
 |
| 1957-1960 Pepsi Cola Covers |
 |
| 1958, Brussels World’s Fair – U.S. Pavilion ‘Streetscape’ |
 |
| 1958, Watching Words Move, Original Booklet with paste ups, New York |
 |
| 1958, Watching Words Move, Original Booklet with paste ups, New York |
 |
| 1958, Watching Words Move, Original Booklet with paste ups, New York |
 |
| 1958, Watching Words Move, Original Booklet with paste ups, New York |
 |
| 1958, Watching Words Move, Original Booklet with paste ups, New York |
 |
| 1958, Watching Words Move, Original Booklet with paste ups, New York |
 |
| 1958, Watching Words Move, Original Booklet with paste ups, New York |
 |
| 1958, Watching Words Move, Original Booklet with paste ups, New York |
 |
| 1959, That New York – Experimental Typography Booklet – The Composing Room, New York |
 |
| Nancy Felischman Piano Concert, London, 1960’s |
 |
1960ne Poster, London
|
 |
| 1962, McCann – Erickson Print Ad, London |
 |
| 1963, Life Lons Stockings Poster, London |
 |
| 1963, obsession and fantasy poster |
 |
| 1966, Anglia Television, Christmas Wishes, London |
 |
| 1966, Anglia Television, Print Ad, London |
 |
| 1967, The Tortoise and the Hare Pirelli Film, London |
 |
| 1967, The Tortoise and the Hare Pirelli Film, London |
 |
| 1969-2010, Let It Bleed stamp, London |
 |
| 1969, Let It Bleed – Rolling Stones Album, Back Cover, Original Sculpture |
 |
| 1969, Let It Bleed, Rolling Stones Album, Front Cover |
 |
| 1969, Peace poster |
Very informative and impressive post you have written, this is quite interesting and i have went through it completely, an upgraded information is shared, keep sharing such valuable information. Dyson Tap
ReplyDelete