A lovely exhibition well worth a visit this summer is Ladybird by Design at the House of Illustration. I'm always banging on about how great this gallery is, and as expected this exhibition was again beautifully curated and made for an interesting viewing.
The gallery is filled with original illustrations for classic Ladybird titles, by some truly talented illustrators of the time. There are many original works, as well as correspondence and photographs so often seen at the HOI exhibitions, I love seeing the working process and getting an understanding of the context of the work. As always there's a compelling documentary in a little nook within the gallery, complete with some original classic books for leafing through. I really enjoy the tactile element touches in these exhibitions.
Its a real feast of beautiful paintings, reflecting british life of the times, and to work on these titles for Ladybird was a big commission for any illustrator at the time. Technical drawing and illustration meet graphic design in a really satisfying way in many of these pages. I was fascinated to see that the standard 56 page book was printed on a single piece of paper, which enabled them to be priced attractively, and therefore be accessible to a wide audience. There's a proof sheet like this displayed in the gallery, it would make a great poster in its own right!
House of Illustration are holding a really interesting public programme of events to accompany this exhibition, there's still time to catch the September ones. Check their website here for more information, and head down there before it closes next month!
House of Illustration - 2 Granary Square, Kings Cross. N1C 4BH
Tues - Sun 10am - 6pm
Until 27th Sept 2015
Adult ticket £7
www.houseofillustration.org.uk
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