Imagination is our third partner – Cooper & Beatty, Allan Fleming, 1958

Notes

This bold ad is a decided departure from the kind of advertising printers had come to expect from typesetting shops. Allan Fleming had joined Cooper & Beatty as Creative Director in 1957. One year later he produced this remarkable ad signally, in effect, that C&B are no longer to be thought of as traditional typesetters. They are graphic designers who primarily use type and letterforms as communication tools. Hidden within the strong shapes are clear references to the changing business. The past is represented by the two rectangles with the semi-circular notches found on all metal foundry types. The stylized light bulb is the future, which at the time was photo typesetting. Fleming places the line ‘Imagination is our third partner’, inside the light bulb, pointing out that it wasn’t only the technology that was changing at C&B. To those who were paying attention, this would have been a groundbreaking ad in 1958. – Rod McDonald

Artifact Text:

Imagination is our third partner

Cooper & Beatty, Limited. 196 Adelaide St. West, Toronto.

type craftsmen

  • Category
    Advertising and Promotion

    Title
    Imagination is our third partner

    Publication:
    Marketing Magazine

    Date
    1958

    Client
    Cooper & Beatty, Limited

    Credits
    Design: Allan R. Fleming (1929–1977)

    Principal Typefaces
    Display: Hand-drawn ampersand; C; B;
    Text: 20th Century (Futura), Times New Roman Italic

    Description
    Full-page, two-colour print ad
    Size: 8.25 × 11 inches

    Region
    Ontario

    Languages
    English

    Number of images
    1

    Holding
    Canadian Typography Archives

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