Artist of the day: Artist of the day, April 28, 2020: Raymond Bellemare, a Québec graphic designer (#980)

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Artist of the day, April 28, 2020: Raymond Bellemare, a Québec graphic designer (#980)

Born in the small town of Nicolet, Quebec, Raymond Bellemare grew up on the family farm. Life in Nicolet revolved around agriculture and Church, with little opportunity to experience art, listen to music, or even read books. Culture was sacrificed in the name of work and religion. Despite this, from a very early age, Raymond had a passion and obvious talent for drawing, and he would sketch at every opportunity. In 1958, at the age of 16, it came as no surprise to anyone when he enrolled to study art & design at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts of Montréal. Initially, the course covered a broad arts-based education, but after 2 years, and with the encouragement of a guiding teacher, Raymond specialized in ‘Publicity’, as graphic design was called at the time.

In 1963, after graduating, Bellemare gained his first creative job at the publishing and printing firm of Thérien & Frères in Montréal. A year later he left to take a position at Studio Guy Lalumière. The firm had just relocated to the Old Montreal district at the bottom of Place Jacques Cartier with ambitious plans of expansion. During this time the firm was busy fulfilling contracts in the build-up to Expo67, so as a junior Raymond was exposed to some of the most exciting work being produced in Quebec at that time, most of it completed by the more senior designers working in the studio.

Coincidentally, and through a family contact, he did manage to secure a small number of freelance design projects for Expo67. He began attracting commissions that he would work on outside of the day job, including posters for numerous clients in the entertainment industry. His contacts within the cultural sector would prove to be a rich source of commissions over the years ahead.

By 1967 Raymond had begun to build his personal reputation, and this led to a new position at Gilles Robert et Associés, combined with some teaching at Cégep du Vieux Montréal. At Gilles Robert Raymond quickly became an indispensable part of the team, and he worked on a wide range of logos, posters, book covers, and communication materials. Within three years he was responsible for much of the firm’s graphic design output, and this gave him the confidence to begin working under his own name.

In 1970, through an introduction by Toronto based designer Allan Fleming, that Raymond first started working with Canada Post, first as part of the prestigious Stamp Advisory Committee, and then over the next 20 years where he designed nearly 100 stamps and supporting materials. Some standout designs include a series of provincial flag stamps in 1979, Canada Day themes in 1981 and 1996, World Communications year design in 1983, and in the same year a wonderful set of color-coded Maple Leaf definitives.

In 1971 Raymond accepted a job at CBC / Radio-Canada, 10 years after being turned down by the same organization straight out of college. His experience of being his own boss, however, proved too much of a lure and this lasted less than a year. “I had quit CBC to start out on my own as a designer. Some of my relatives thought I was crazy to leave the safety of a full-time job, while others encouraged me and told me if I don’t quit now, I never will.”

Raymond’s first long term client was health food company Natur, a relationship that began with an introduction by a printer’s sales rep. What started as a simple label design job soon grew into a more comprehensive redesign, as Raymond persuaded the new owner that a more radical transformation was required, starting with the logo and eventually touching every aspect of the company’s visual language.

It was then in 1973 that Raymond became involved in one of his most significant roles. He became Director of Graphics at COJO (Commité d’Organisation des Jeux Olympiques), joining Georges Huel and Pierre-Yves Pelletier. Bellemare would continue to work as a designer on the Olympics program right through to its completion, but within a year switched to become an external consultant. He worked with Pierre-Yves Pelletier to develop the overarching graphic standards for the games and designed many of the well known thematic posters including the much-discussed ‘jean jacket with badges’ design. Other projects included the Arts and Culture Programme identity, the opening and closing ‘flames’ symbols and the actual Olympic medals

In 1976 he founded Raymond Bellemare Designers Inc, a company he still operates to this day.

Raymond is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts and has been a member of the Society of Graphic Designers of Quebec, the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, and the American Institute of Graphic Arts.

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