Another Journey

The book that is yet to be

Once more I am keeping vigil thorugh the early hours. Although I am many miles away I am conscious that later today Peter's archive starts its journey from Kent to Beirut and that in some strange way he will be travelling with it.

How could he not be?  Life for him was an ongoing journey - the imagery runs throughout his work. He collected ideas, information and inspiration from around the world, even sending himself a postcard from China with his thoughts and observations.

Early journey - 10 years old.

The fascination with travel and transport started early and stayed with him. The little blue truck with the sign "Rea's Contractors" in his early painting is almost empty.  He spent his life making sure his truck would stay full and he trundled the tools of his trade - books, pens, computers and large quantities of paper - from place to place.  He kept every sketch, tracing, rough, proof and spare copy.  He brought back his teaching plans, magazines, examples of his students' work and many hundreds of photo transparencies.

In his final doodle he described himself as the journey man on the road, an apt pun as he was not ony an international traveller, but a journey man artist - available for hire by the day.  While at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1960 with "The Circus"a show he devised and wrote with Mary, he managed to pick up some additional work for Edinburgh Gateway Theatre designing their posters and programmes.

Alongside his design work ran his career as a teacher and   writer.  There are articles in books, journals, reviews in newspapers, papers for universities.  He coined the phrase Advanced Typographical Design and used typography as a medium for stunning artwork.

In the twelve years of Windows on Design and the Profile Intermedia conferences he relentlessly argued the case and place for graphic design in the new digital world, conscious that with the advent of desktop publishing and computer technology, the skills of the typographer could become redundant. He did not have the answers but he brought together a dazzling array of exciting and influential designers to inspire the next generation



In the Pickford's container with his life's work will go a box of Letraset, his set square and rulers, a small cardboard box of cars, trucks and trains, a series of typewriters, the ARD sound system that he designed, a music system and some of his favourite jazz LPs.
But the VW Campervan is staying with me, right here on my mantlepiece.
And his Amerikarma book is still on the list of things to do...