Men of Letters – Cooper & Beatty, 1969

Jim Donoahue was one of the first designers to realize that typographers were interested in all letterforms – not just type. The popularity of this poster proved him right. He also knew that they did not have to use their logo, choosing instead to use the old letters to make C&B.

Notes

Long-time Cooper & Beatty designer Jim Donoahue created a large number of posters for the company that showcased letterforms from a variety of sources. This poster was the first in what became loosely known as the ‘collection series’.

All were much sought after and for many years it would have been almost impossible to visit a design studio in Toronto without seeing at least one of these posters displayed prominently. In real life the magnificent old sign letters used on this poster adorned one of the walls in the office of Cooper & Beatty President, Jim McLean.

Artifact Text

From Cooper & Beatty, Limited, men of letters, at 401 Wellington West, Toronto, Canada

Items in this Series

Title: Curabitur blandit tempus porttitor

Media format description

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Artifact Data

Date

1969

Title

Men of Letters

Description

Four-colour poster

14.75 × 24 inches

Publication

Publisher

Client

Cooper & Beatty, Limited

Credits

Agency:

Studio:

Creative_Director:

Art_Director:

Design: Jim Donoahue

Typography:

Hand_Lettering:

Calligraphy:

Illustration:

Art:

Author:

Writing:

Printing:

Principal Typefaces

Display: various three-dimensional sign letters

Text: Helvetica

Find more:

Helvetica

Region

Ontario

Language

English

Holding

Copyright Status

Artifact copyright

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Notes copyright

which allows for non-commercial use with attribute.