Phillip Boydell

Boydell was born on 21 May 1896 in Tyldesley Lancashire, to Oliver Boydell (a master decorator) and Merinda.[1] He obtained a scholarship at the Manchester School of Art,[2] but his studies were interrupted by conscription in 1914. During his service in the Royal Navy, his vessel the tugboat HMS Blackcock[3] was lost off Murmansk in winter,[4] but Boydell lived to tell the tale,[5] and was able to continue his education at the Royal College of Art.[2]

In 1923 he married sculptor Bertha White.[6]

In 1926 he was offered the position of Art Director at the London Press Exchange,[2] and was on the Board of Directors when he retired in 1961.

Boydell is best known for two posters and a typeface.

• The Squander Bug,[7] a poster encouraging people not to spend money wastefully but invest in savings bonds,[8] was so successful that derivatives were used in several other countries. This he created whilst in bed with influenza[2]

• The Black Widow poster [9][10] for road safety (for which Boydell was art director) which aroused controversy for its (in those days) relatively direct approach.
• The Festival font [11][12] was the official typeface for the 1951 Festival of Britain, and was used in all the communications for the festival.

He died at home in 1984.