How I acquired right here: Fraser Muggeridge
Graphic designer Fraser Muggeridge tells CR why he's not afraid of being a shaky guy and how he moved from a logo-loving teen to a campaign against "Café Normal" design
Fraser Muggeridge is known for his skillful use of color and writing – especially for his elegantly undone letters that gently bend the conventions of typography. His practice, Fraser Muggeridge Studio, has been working with a focus on art and culture for 20 years. Muggeridge has worked on several projects with Jeremy Deller, including the recently released "Thank God for Immigrants" poster.
Here he talks to CR about his journey from a teenage obsessed with logo to a successful studio owner. discusses his "knowingly wrong" approach to writing; and share his thoughts on how and why design should become less harmless.
A youthful fascination with letters I've always been very interested in lettering. When I was young, my mother – like all parents when they try to interest you – asked me whether I wanted to play the guitar or learn the trumpet. I asked for calligraphy lessons. So the local graphic designer in town gave me something. I wasn't very good at it, but it got me talking and thinking about letter forms.
Pay attention to the Blue Peter credits I used to copy sports logos and always see the word “graphic designer” at the end of television programs. I've always dreamed of that. Maybe I didn't really know what it meant at the time, but at the end of Blue Peter I was looking for the graphic designer. That's how I got interested. I wasn't very good at art, but I was pretty good at technical drawing and that led me to graphic design.
Above: Permanent memorial at Farringdon Station for Edward Johnston; Above: Personal project with A4 prints that show the “everyday life of a graphic design studio”