Richard Hollis Archive

This material is held atUniversity of Brighton Design Archives

Reference
- GB 1837 HOL
Dates of Creation
- 1958-2010
Name of Creator
- Richard Hollis (b.1934)
Language of Material
- English
Physical Description
- 13 boxes; 3m (approx.)

Scope and Content

The core of the material is as selected for an exhibition 'Richard Hollis', curated by Emily King and held first at the Gallery Libby Sellers, London, from 23 March-28 April 2012. It then toured through 2013 to the Centre Pompidou, Paris; ECAL, Lausanne; and Artists Space New York. A small amount of further material has been added to this.

Administrative / Biographical History

Richard Hollis is a graphic designer, writer and teacher.

He studied at Chelsea, Wimbledon and Central Schools during the 1950s. In the early 1960s, while establishing his design practice, he taught at London College of Printing and the Chelsea School of Art. With Norman Potter, he founded a new School of Design at the West of England College of Art in Bristol, where he taught from 1964-1966. He also taught at the Central School of Art until 1978, working alongside Anthony Froshaug.

Hollis"s clients have included the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), "New Society" magazine, and a large body of work for the Whitechapel Art Gallery (1970-2 and 1978-1985), reflecting his cultural and political affinities, and his interest in what he calls the "social process" of the relationship between designer and client. He has designed many books, including John Berger"s "Ways of Seeing" (1972), which broke new ground in its integration of image and text.

Hollis has described himself as "naturally pedagogic", with an interest in explaining the systems of graphic design. his writings include "Graphic Design: A Concise History (1994) and "Swiss Graphic Design" (2006).

Hollis was elected a Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) in 2005. He lives and works in London.