Robert Brownjohn: Sex and Typography [Hardcover]

Emily King (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 22, 2005

The design profession doesn't produce many larger-than-life figures. Robert BrownjohnBJ, to just about everyone who knew him, and everyone didwas one. His gifts were immense, as were his appetites. Enfant terrible and visionary, he was both. Mick and the Stones wanted to hang with him. Of course it couldn't last. Robert Brownjohn was simply too big for this world. He died in 1970 at the age of 45, a victim of his own excesses. Today, he is best remembered for his sexy James Bond credit sequences. But Brownjohn's legacy is far more significant, and his story has all the drama and pathos of a Hollywood blockbuster. Now, for the first time, this extraordinary life and career is remembered in print, with all its richness and complexity.

Robert Brownjohn: Sex and Typography tracks the story of this legend from his early years as the prized student of Laszlo Moholy-Nagy to his days as a visionary star in the New York design world of the sixties and his later years as an icon in the film and advertising world of swinging London. Robert Brownjohn illustrates the dynamic work Brownjohn produced on his own and as a cofounder of the firms Brownjohn, Chermayeff, and Geismar in New York, and Cammell, Hudson, and Brownjohn in London, including campaigns for such giants as Pirelli, IBM, and Midland Bank. Robert Brownjohn is both an inspirational monograph of creative genius and a window into the life of a Falstaffian figure who just happened to be one of the formative designers of the twentieth century.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...his masterful ability to make graphics, well, graphic is all the more reason to celebrate his passion today. -- The Fader, Oct/Nov '05

About the Author

Victoria Hammond has worked as an art historian and art museum director and has curated several acclaimed nationally touring exhibitions. She has written extensively on art and historical architecture and is the award-winning author of many art catalogs an

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press; 1ST edition (September 22, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568985509
• ISBN-13: 978-1568985503
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #586,672 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An inspiration for then and now, February 2, 2006

By 

M. SQUIRE (Sweden) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Robert Brownjohn: Sex and Typography (Hardcover)

A freind of mine bought me this book for a gift and I did not put it down from the time I received it to the time I finished. Robert Brownjohn was a shortlived genius in the world of graphics and film. For any young designer it is an inspiration, for any experienced designer it is a reminder of how things used to work before clients became politically paranoid and obsessed with being different from the competition. It is a reminder to us all that design is what it is and can be anything you want it to be as long as the will is there. It leaves you with a sense of confidence to make you want to do better work and treat not only projects but also situations in life with kid gloves and just enjoy it. It is amazing what can happen if one does.

It begins with a detailed history of his life from interviews taken from the likes of Alan Fletcher, Bob Gill and Ken Garland and many more influential names in the 60 and 70s. It then covers a few of his most famous and not so famous projects. Each as exciting as the other and approached in the same spontanious mannor that is Robert Brownjohn.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Memorial, and a Rare Look at Designs, March 22, 2006

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Robert Brownjohn: Sex and Typography (Hardcover)

Some people, and they can be in any profession, shine so brightly that they obscure almost everyone around. Perhaps after shining so brightly it comes as little surprise that they often leave us early. Robert Brownjohn, Bj created designs for products, for posters, and most famously the titles for the James Bond movie 'Goldfinger' that were projected onto the body of a female model.

This book is done in an interesting manner, I'd say a unique manner because I've never seen it done this way before, but there've been a lot of books I've not seen before.

Originated by Bj's daughter Eliza, this book consists of quotations, paragraphs really, from thirty five people who knew him, worked with him or was otherwise connected with his life. These paragraphs are arranged in a more or less chronological order and intermix stories of his personal life with his education and work.

Bj designs, as shown in the book, are still as fresh and original as when they were created. He died of a heart attack at the age of 45.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great BOOK!!, July 3, 2010

By 

Michelle Novato (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Robert Brownjohn: Sex and Typography (Hardcover)

Robert Brownjohn is one of the masters of typography. So I definitely recommend this book for any graphic designer. Happy Reading