Art Deco graphics in Canada
Introduction
By definition, graphics or graphic design differs from painting in that is it an applied art (done for a commercial or editorial purpose) rather than a fine art. Here, we explore several different areas of graphics practice: typography, illustration, print advertising, posters, magazine covers and other graphics formats. (Photography does not have its own section since it was not frequently used in advertisements or magazine covers in this period.)
The evolution of graphics in the Art Deco era in Canada
The role that we would today describe as ‘graphic designer’ went by various names in the 1920s and 1930s: commercial artists (often working in art studios); illustrators (sometimes operating as freelancers); and art directors (typically in advertising agencies or commercial art studios).
Commercial art firms
One of the country’s earliest and most influential commercial art firms in the early decades of the 1900s was Grip Limited of Toronto. Many of its commercial artists – including J.E.H. MacDonald, Franklin Carmichael, Arthur Lismer and Frederick Varley – would go on to become members of the Group of Seven (established in 1920). Other firms included Brigdens (operating in Toronto and Winnipeg), and Toronto’s Rous and Mann Limited, which was a design and printing firm and the first to maintain a full-time, permanent art department, helped to advance the profession of commercial art.
Advertising agencies
By the 1920s, a number of Canadian advertising agencies had been formed in Toronto and Montreal; there were also Canadian offices of major U.S. agencies. Some employed full-time art directors, while others drew upon the design talent at commercial art firms.
At these firms, there was often little distinction between the practice of graphic design, typography and illustration. Commercial artists or art directors would typically come up with the overall visual idea, either hand-letter or select the type face, develop the illustration or arrange for the photography, and then complete the final artwork. Design projects ranged from magazine and newsletter ads to posters, catalogues, packaging and product logos.
For many commercial or ad agency artists, design was a ‘day job’; in the evenings and on weekends, they focused on their own fine art projects. (This pattern typically continued until the artists were able to support themselves solely through the sales of their artwork.)
Editorial graphic design
Along with the major newspaper publishers, the country’s leading magazine publisher Maclean-Hunter (Maclean’s, Chatelaine, Canadian Homes and Gardens, Marketing) had an in-houses design staff that included art directors, illustrators and layout artists. This ensured that each of their publications had a consistent visual identity that appealed to its readers and thus attracted advertisers.
Design training
Design training evolved in the 1910s and 20s from primarily an apprentice system at commercial art firms to more formalized education. Central Technical School (a Toronto high school founded in 1915) gained recognition for its commercial art and graphic training, with some of its students going on to study at the Ontario College of Art (now Ontario College of Art and Design). In French Canada, designers often trained at the École des beaux-arts in Montreal or Quebec City.
While many designers were born and trained in Canada, a number were British and had trained there before emigrating to Canada.