January 28th, 2010
Inspiration
Brian Sadgrove—

Following on from Tuesday’s Australian Icons article, I’m going to start taking a deeper look into the work of a number of Australia’s best and brightest designers from the last 100 years. If you enjoyed the icons article, head on over to Linefeed, where Michael Bojkowski is going to be expanding the post into a series, featuring his own notes on the selections. Given Bojkowski’s design insight and straight-up editorial style, it’s sure to be a great read.

Kicking off this Inspiration series is Design Insitute of Australia Hall of Fame inductee Brian Sadgrove.

I’m hesitant to draw comparisons to Sadgrove’s work, as it feels like I’m diminishing such a distinguished and accomplished career, but looking over his designs the name Paul Rand immediately springs to mind. Sadgrove’s identities share many similarities with Rand’s, notably the characteristic use of bold colours and humour. There’s also the simple, expressive line work and masterful use of typography. But what strikes me the most about Sadgrove’s body of work is just how resistant it is to the ravages of ever-changing design and cultural trends. While there are those that have been refreshed or relegated to the history books (Jaqueline E, Ansett), the majority of his work posses a timeless quality. There’s a sense of permanence to designs such as the beloved Channel 9 “dots” logo. As the network refreshes its visual identity each year, the logo remains as the nucleus of it all – a constant fixture, decade after decade.

In an age where logo revisions (and complete reboots) are an increasingly common occurrence, it’s worth examining Sadgrove’s work and considering what it is about the designs that makes them so enduring. Is it the form or the concept? The application or the interpretation? Are we as designers successfully interpreting the brief and building identities that are meant to last, or are they tied to trends and indulgences, soon to be outdated? Has the inherent value in a logo changed? Do we as consumers now expect them to be ephemeral? And of course, how do you strike a balance between communication and aethetics? How much is enough, or too little.

Looking at Sadgroves work, I think one of the keys is refinement, expressing a single idea in a simple a form as possible. If you can eliminate all the visual noise from an idea and come out with an object that has personality and style, I would say you’re well on your way.

Sadgrove is a graduate of the Melbourne Insititute of Technology, and after a succession of jobs as a graphic designer and art director, Sangrove went freelance in 1968, opening the doors to Brian Sadgrove Pty Ltd in Melbourne. After establishing a client base which included the National Gallery of Victoria, Sadgrove was able to employ some staff, the first of which was future Australian design luminary Ken Cato. Armed with a foolproof design philosophy “If you can’t add or take away anything to improve it, it’s ready”, Sadgrove soon began to shrug off the Bauhaus and Swiss styles that influenced his early work, opting for more expressive, playful and abstract pictograms, punctuated with eloquent typography.

As Sadgrove’s style evolved, the big name clients started rolling through the door. Channel 9, AFC, Bank of Victoria and the Australian Police to name but a few. Sadgrove hit an already enviable career highlight in 1995 when he was comissioned to design the Australian $50 note.

While Australia continues to produce some of the world’s best graphic design, few can match the degree of craftsmanship and personality that Sadgrove has infused into so many indelible Australian icons.

Sadgrove Design
AGDA Salute
Sadgrove on Recollection