Richard Hollis


Richard Hollis is a British graphic designer. He has taught at various art schools, written books, and worked as a printer, as a magazine editor and as a print-production manager.
Hollis was born in London and studied art and typography at Chelsea School of Art, Wimbledon School of Art and Central School of Art and Crafts in London before moving to Paris in the early 1960s.
Back in the UK he designed the quarterly journal Modern Poetry In Translation, became the art editor of the weekly magazine New Society and later created John Berger’s Ways of Seeing He designed the visual identity and marketing material for the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London. He also co-founded the School of Design at West of England College of Art.
His Graphic Design. A Concise History was published in 2001, and Swiss Graphic Design: The Origins and Growth of an International Style, 1920-1965 in 2006. Hollis's body of work consistently suggests a strong connection between graphic design and the cultural and social conditions that inspire it.
In 2005 he was made one of the two hundred Royal Designers for Industry of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.
Hollis’ About Graphic Design was published in 2012 by Occasional Papers. The book, which was also designed by Hollis, is a comprehensive selection of writings covering over 40 years of reflection on graphic design history, including interviews, essays, letters, articles, lectures and course outlines.
2019 saw the launch of Hollis’ book Henry van de Velde: The Artist as Designer. The first major study of van de Velde’s work in English in 30 years. Supported by the Flemish Government and published by Occasional Papers.