Jonathan Barnbrook

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Jonathan Barnbrook is a British graphic designer and typographer. Born in Luton^[1] in 1966, Barnbrook trained at Central St Martin's and at the Royal College of Art (both in London)^[2].

1 Work
2 Social Conscience
3 Big in Japan
4 Contemporary Culture
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Work

Barnbrook is arguably most-recognised for his work on the cover artwork of David Bowie's 2002 album Heathen which featured the debut for his 'Priori' typeface^[3]. This is particularly appropriate as Barnbrook cites record cover artwork as an early design influence, and possibly the interest that drew him to graphic design^[4]. Other well known fonts designed by Barnbrook (and released through 'VirusFonts' ^[5]) include Bastard, Exocet, False Idol, Infidel, Moron, Newspeak, Olympukes, Sarcastic, Shock & Awe, and Tourette^[6]. Many have emotive and controversial titles reflecting the style and themes of Barnbrook's work.

From 1997-2003 Barnbrook collaborated with 'Young British Artist' Damien Hirst, most notably on the design, layout and typography of his book I Want To Spend the Rest of My Life Everywhere, with Everyone, One to One, Always, Forever, Now^[7] and on artwork associated with his restaurant Pharmacy.

[edit] Social Conscience

Designers, stay away from corporations that want you to lie for them; on billboard, Las Vegas. (c) Jonathan Barnbrook, 1991

A major recurring theme of Barnbrook's graphic design is political work and work with a social conscience. He describes as a major influence to his work 'an inner anger which is a response to all the unfairness that is in this world'^[8]. He has stated his ambition to use 'design as a weapon for social change'^[9]

As such he was a signatory to the First Things First 2000 manifesto, in which graphic designers, conscious of the power that the message that they craft can have in the mass-media influenced world, pledged to put their skills to worthwhile use' and address the 'unprecedented environmental, social and cultural crises' that they saw in the world. This former sentiment is expressed in part by his 2001 artwork Designers, stay away from corporations that want you to lie for them, a quote from Tibor Kalman, which took the form of a large-format advertising billboard and was first displayed in Las Vegas during a convention for members of AIGA^[10], the American 'Professional Association for Design'.

Barnbrook has also contributed work to, and art-directed two editions of Adbusters^[11], a graphically-designed magazine devoted to numerous political and social causes, and run by an organisation aiming to 'advance the new social activist movement of the information age'^[12].

[edit] Big in Japan

Jonathan Barnbrook is one of Britain's most well known designers in Japan, having completed the logo and corporate identity for Roppongi Hills, ^[13], the largest post war development in Tokyo. Additionally completing the corporate identity for Mori Arts Center ^[14] and Mori Art Museum.^[15] He has also completed work for Shiseido ^[16]

[edit] Contemporary Culture

Barnbrook has become more well known recently through an exhibition of his work entitled 'Friendly Fire' at the Design Museum in London, which ran between June and October 2007. The exhibition included work in response to the first and second Iraq conflicts, the First Things First Manifesto, examples of Barnbrook's typography and film work. A 320pp hardback collection of his work - 'The Barnbrook Bible' - was also published in 2007^[17].