Blueprint booklet cover – Department of Labour, Ottawa, Carl Dair, 1945

Notes

Carl Dair’s first job as a typographer, was Type Director, Graphics Division, at the newly formed National Film Board (NFB) in Montreal. He was only with the NFB for two years and in his biography, ‘Typecast for Thirty Years’,* he simply mentions that; “In 1945, Donald Buchanan invited me to join the graphics division of the National Film Board.” Throughout the Second World War, and for some time after, the NFB also acted as a public relations agency for the Canadian government, creating film and print material for various government departments such as the Industrial Production Co-operation Board.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s Dair would occasionally earn a little money by painting signs. That experience, along with a life-long interest in calligraphy, helped prepare him for his later role as a graphic designer. Throughout his career Dair would often use his own hand lettering to add a unique, and inexpensive, touch to his work. – Rod McDonald

*Canadian Printer and Publisher, November 1960.

  • Category
    Publications

    Title
    Blueprint | for a skilled job in the construction industry

    Date
    1946

    Client
    Department of Labour, Ottawa

    Credits
    Design: Carl Dair (1912–1967)

    Principal Typefaces
    Display: Hand-lettering and Alternate Gothic No.1 (ATF)

    Description
    Cover, two-colour booklet, 38 pp
    Size: 5.75 × 8.75 inches

    Regions
    Quebec

    Languages
    English

    Number of images
    1

    Holding
    The Carl Dair Papers at the Robertson Davies Library Massey College, University of Toronto

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