Neville Brody is one of the most celebrated graphic designers of his generation – a leading typographer and internationally recognised art director and brand strategist.
The founder of design agency Brody Associates, Neville established his reputation as creative director of the 1980’s Face magazine, subsequently working with record labels, magazines and a range of international clients including Apple, BBC online, The Times, Channel 4 and the England football team. His hugely influential work has been the subject of numerous exhibitions and publications, most notably the two-volume monograph The Graphic Language of Neville Brody, which was accompanied by an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Brody became Dean of the School of Communication and head of the Visual Communication Programme at the Royal College of Art in January 2011. In 2018 he became Professor of Communication.
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Practice
Neville studied at Hornsey College of Art and London College of Printing, first establishing his name in record cover design. He worked with Rocking Russian, Stiff Records, Fetish Records and Cabaret Voltaire, defining the visual language of independent punk music and culture. Brody expanded into the world of magazines as art director of The Face and subsequently Arena. Since its founding in 1994, Research Studios has expanded internationally, working in Paris, Berlin, Tokyo, Barcelona and New York. The studio’s branding, packaging, redesign and visual identity work has focused on a variety of clients, from Sony PlayStation to Bentley, and Kenzo to Nike.
Initiated as Neville Brody Studio, Research Studios was relaunched in 1994 and has since expanded to offices in Barcelona, Berlin, New York and Paris. The studio’s range of clients have included Apple, Asics, the Barbican (London), the BBC, Bentley, Bonfire Snowboarding (USA), Chloé, D&AD (London), Deutsche Bank, Dom Pérignon, Guardian News and Media, Institute of Contemporary Arts (London), Issey Miyake, Kenzo, Martell, Microsoft, MTV (Europe), Nike, Parco (Japan), Philips, Salomon, Sony PlayStation, The Times (London), Wallpaper* and YSL. Research Studio’s work includes brand strategy, packaging, visual identity, advertising and art direction for their international collection of corporate and not-for-profit clients.
He was a founding partner of digital type library FontShop, for which he has designed many typefaces including Industria and Blur – the latter of which was recently admitted to the Museum of Modern Art’s architecture and design collection. He has also developed experimental languages for FUSE, a communication and typography publication that inspired a conference and quarterly forum, as well as an exhibition at Ginza Graphic Gallery in Japan and FUSE 1-20 (edited by Neville Brody and Jon Wozencroft, 2012).
Brody’s recent personal projects include Vortext, a work installed for Converse’s Off Canvas Project at Beijing’s first design week; an exhibition and associated catalogue at Ginza Graphic Gallery in Japan; Freedom Space (an interactive installation at the Super Contemporary show at the Design Museum, London); and ‘Unentitled’ – a Blank Canvas project benefiting Amnesty International and The Big Issue Foundation.
Awards
Neville Brody has received numerous awards and honours, including the D&AD President’s Award (2011) and a Prince Philip Designers Prize (2010).
