Communicate: Independent British Graphic Design since the Sixties is the first major exhibition to explore recent developments in British graphic design. Focusing on the smaller independent studios and teams who have produced the most creative, innovative and highly regarded design work over the past four decades, the exhibition presents an authoritative overview of the best design work produced since the early 1960s, tracing how and why UK graphic design has developed in the way it has. It will explore the emergence of independent graphic design within the music, publishing and cultural industries, its role in the shaping of identity and the link between graphic design and the web. In addition, the exhibition will highlight the place of graphic design as a medium of protest in society, as well as the increasingly important area of self-initiated work undertaken by designers.

Concentrating on the most influential work produced in the UK, Communicate will bring together over 100 visual communicators, many with international reputations. Rare and classic early pieces by designers such as John Sewell, Robin Fior, Ken Garland, Robert Brownjohn, Michael English, Martin Sharp, Katy Hepburn and Barney Bubbles will be juxtaposed with work by established and emerging teams that is helping to set new directions for British graphic design today. These designers include Peter Saville, Neville Brody, Why Not Associates, The Designers Republic, Tomato, Fuel, Graphic Thought Facility, Kerr Noble, and Abake.

Communicate will argue that the pioneering work in British graphic design has been made possible by the decision many of these designers have taken to keep their studios small, maintain their independence and pursue their own paths. Find more from Exhibition Introduction.

VENUE INFORMATION:

Beijing
Date: 7 – 22 September
Venue: Millennium Monument

Chongqing
Date: 29 July – 15 August
Venue: Chongqing Three Gorges Museum
Address: 236, Renmin Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing

Shanghai
Date: 2 – 19 June
Venue: Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall
Address: 100 People Avenue, Shanghai

Guangzhou
Date: 29 April – 15 May
Time: 09:00 – 17:00
Venue: Guangzhou Museum of Art
Address: No. 13 Luhu Road, Guangzhou

For more information on Communicate in Barbican Gallery, London, please check: www.barbican.org.uk