Michael Peters (designer)

Michael Peters OBE

Michael Peters OBE (born in Luton, UK) is internationally famous as a designer. He has been on the forefront of design industry for more than 35 years. His work has revolutionised the relationship between design and business and his influence on consumers has been enormous. Over the course of his career, Peters has created some of the most successful design companies in the world including Michael Peters and Partners, Michael Peters Group PLC, and Identica.

Education

After completing Luton Grammar School, Peters went on to study at the London School of Printing and Graphic Arts (now London College of Communication). Design greats such as Tom Eckersley and Harry C. Beck, the creator of the London Underground plan, were just two of his teachers. After graduating he won a scholarship to Yale University’s School of Art and Architecture in New Haven, Connecticut. Here he studied under major design figures such as Paul Rand, Josef Albers, Norman Ives, Herbert Matter and Alexej Brodovitch and he acknowledges these teachers and the Bauhaus School as huge influences on his career. He graduated in 1963 with his Masters Degree (MFA Yale). ^[1]

Career

Early years

After graduating from Yale, Michael worked for CBS Television in New York under the Lou Dorfsman and Teddy Andresakes. He worked on campaigns in advertising and design at this major US corporation. In 1965 Michael moved back to London and set up Cato Peters O’Brien. Within six months of starting the new business, Peters was approached to work at Collett Dickenson Pearce, the most innovative advertising agency in London at that time. It was at CDP that Michael earned his first Designer and Art Direction Silver Award, the beginning of numerous design accolades. In 1968 Peters formed a partnership with Lou Klein and created a design company called Klein Peters.The company was a great success, specialising mostly in packaging and point-of-sale material, for which they won further design awards.

Michael Peters and Partners

In 1970, Michael set up his own design company, Michael Peters and Partners. From small beginnings Michael built the business into a company with a turnover of over £50 million in 1983.^[2]

He did some packaging design in the marketing of consumer products. A highlight among some D&AD awards of his career, he was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for his services to design and marketing; he helped found the Design Business Association and has had prominent roles in many international design organisations. He was also one of the founders of the School of Communication Art. He also famously became identity consultant to the Conservative Party, working closely with Margaret Thatcher to design the Conservative Party identity, a mark which perfectly captured the spirit of the times.

The list of clients that Michael Peters and Partners worked with is impressive and includes BBC, Virgin, Martell, British Airways, Penhaligon, Abbey Life, Bird's Eye and the Conservative Party.

As Michael Peters and Partners continued to grow it was renamed Michael Peters Group (prior to becoming a publicly quoted company in 1983). MPG opened offices in New York, Toronto, Los Angeles, Madrid, Milan, Düsseldorf, Helsinki, and Tokyo. Along the way they acquired a number of businesses and in 1989 they bought Duffy Design Group, now Duffy & Partners, consolidating the company's success.

During this time the client list continued to expand. MPG redesigned the identities and packaging design for major businesses such as, Shell International, Sweet Factory, Brocks Fireworks, Unilever, Phillips (Holland), Hamleys, Johnson and Johnson, Procter & Gamble, BP, Seagram, and many, many others.

Michael Peters and Partners developed some of the Uk's most outstanding design talent including, Howard Milton and Jay Smith, Glenn Tutsell, Madeleine Bennett.

In 1990, Michael Peters Group was acquired by The Princedale Group. In 1992 Michael set up his new business Identica.

^[3]

Identica

From 1992 Identica became one of the leading branding and design agencies in Europe. In his new business, Peters forged ahead linking more closely design and commerce, their ideology becoming an integral part of his client's vision. Early on Identica won prestigious contracts for Universal Studios, Diageo (Johnnie Walker, Captain Morgan, etc.) and worked on numerous international brands. Peters recruited extraordinary talent to help him achieve the vision in creating contemporary brands and redesigning older traditional brands to keep them relevant to modern consumers.^[4]

Michael Peters designs for supermarket packaging, airline identities, retailers, banks, and charities, have influenced us all for the last three decades. Seminal work in recent years includes new identities and packaging design for One 2 One, Aeroflot, Tesco, Icesave, and the new Wembley Stadium, with outstanding work also for Vodafone, NatWest, Ocean Spray, Planters, Reebok, Pernod Ricard, and Russian Standard.^[1]

In 2004 Michael Peters sold Identica to Cossette Communications Group- one of Canada's largest advertising and communication firms.

He remains a key player in the design business as a brand consultant and continues to promote the power of design worldwide. YES Logo, a retrospective book charting Michael Peters' career and his contributions to the design world will be published by Black Dog Publishing in October 2008. ^[4]

Awards and recognitions

Michael Peters has won countless design awards over the course of his career. His first D&AD Yellow Pencil was won in the 60s early in his profession. His roster of clients include work for Bird’s Eye, Winsor and Newton Ink, Penhaligon, Lacroix Soups, Fine Fare, and Cordon Bleu to name only a small example of his esteemed clientele. Peters was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in June 1990 and was also nominated for the Prince Phillip Designer’s Prize in 2002.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} British Design Innovation
2. ^ Talking Business with Peters of the Michael Peters Group; Design Held Vital To Sales Abroad - New York Times
3. ^ <MichaelPeters>
4. ^ ^{a b} Michael Peters, Identica, HiBrand 2007

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE3D61331F934A25752C0A96F948260

External links

• http://www.artgraphics.ru/hibrand/05_eng.html
• http://www.dba.org.uk/MichaelPeters.htm
• http://vads.ahds.ac.uk/diad/article.php?title=297&year=1973&article=d.297.36
• http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE3D61331F934A25752C0A96F948260
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/midweek_20081029.shtml Radio chatshow with Micheal from 10:00 mins in.

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