why not associates

Back in the early 1990's when I just started my career in graphic design, one of the design firms that was influential in developing my own style was why not associates from the UK. The firm was started in 1987 by Andy Altmann, David Ellis, and Howard Greenhalgh, all met each other as students and studied at the Royal College of Art. These are pages from their 1997 book.



Book cover (left) and poster for Vote Labour (right). I can't imagine how insane this was to do before photoshop had layers! There was a time when Photoshop only had one layer and you can only undo once. Those were the days.



Taken from sketchbooks while still at the Royal College of Art. You can see the influence of their professor, Dutch designer Gert Dumbar, on their work. The de Stijl movement, which originated from Holland, had a major impact on modern day graphic design.



Intro spread. Walks you through their history. Interesting to see how their design styles evolved as computers became accessible to designers.



Next Directory Seven brochure dividers.



Hull 1992 Arts Festival posters. Still looks fresh today, 15 years later.