Prof. Phil Cleaver is Professor in the Creative Industries in the School of Art and Design at Middlesex University, London.
The multi-award winner has been described as one of England's most eminent graphic designers. One of Phil's most notable achievements includes winning a Yellow Pencil, the design equivalent of an Oscar.
Protégé of Anthony Froshaug. Phil honed his design and typographic skills under Alan Fletcher at Pentagram in 1977, Wim Crouwel at TD in Holland, and Michael Wolff at Wolff Olins. He was creative director of Allied International Designers during the mid 1980's.
He previously established a specialist branding design consultancy Cleaver Landor, and later set up et al design consultants, where he's worked on a varied range of organisations from large corporate clients like Royal Mail and Eversheds, to organisations like The Type Museum and Ingleby Gallery.
Phil has designed and implemented corporate identities for global clients, including Visa, BNI Bank, Bank Bali, and Bank Duta of Indonesia, Ionian bank of Greece and Alstrom Corporation.
Since setting up et al design consultants, in 1992 Phil has been the creative driving force behind a wide range of large brand/corporate identities, pan-european packaging and a impressive number of award winning book designs.
His early typographical work is archived in St Bride's printing library and his book design is in the permanent collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum's National Art Library.
He is also a fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers, a founding trustee of the Monotype Type Museum, a board member of the International Type Academy, a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and artistic director to the Type Archive.
Designer & Editorial Board member of the antiquarian book magazine 'The Book Collector' He was asked to be the first 'Worldwide Creative Director' for all WPP design groups.
He is Typographical Advisor to the Arcadian Library and the Prince of Antioc. In addition, Phil runs the Typographic Research Unit. He is also a member of the Double Crown Club and sometimes resides at his London Gentlemen's Club, The Savile.
1979 First lecture was for the Gerrit Rietveld Academy
Since then I have given lectures in most Art Schools over the years
1996 National Housing conference
1997 Lecture with Alan Fletcher and Brian Grimwood for Scandinavian ad-agency group
1999 Lecture for D&AD programme for course leaders and tutors
2000 Lectures for design groups and art schools in Malaysia and Australia
2001 Retail week conference
2004 Amdis conference
2004 Typographic Jedi, Middlesex University
2005 Lectures in Shanghai in China, 2 Universities and to a group of local creative
Continuing to lecture in Art Schools, Ravensbourne, Bristol etc
2011 Lecture on Book Design for the V&A to MA students
2012 Lecture on Book Design for the V&A to MA students
2012 Invited to lecture on design for the public sector: Wapengekletter, in Holland
2013 Lecture tour in Vietnam and Shanghai and Hong Kong
Producing research into using the past to inform and improve the quality of typesetting and typography in the 21st Century.
Has restored the typeface 'Bembo', the first roman typeface in the Western World and conceived in 1495, to set to the same matrix system as monotype hot metal but running from a Mac computer. Continues his research at The Type Archive; now focusing on Stephen Blake fonts.
Written a 224 page book that bridges the student's knowledge from leaving University to the first year in a professional workplace. Called 'What they didn't teach you in design school: what you actually need to know to make a success in the industry'.
Contributed three double-page spreads to The Briem Report: Letterforms 2012.
Is in the process of finishing a book called 'Eric Gill and soda water', which was correspondence with Rene Haugue, who ran the Gill and Haugue Press and was Eric Gill's son-in-law.
Cleaver, Phil (2022) Love of typography & letterforms & poetry. Impress Publishing, Oxford. ISBN 978-1912930-75-3
Cleaver, Phil and Bailey-Tait, Scarlet and Bradshaw, Adrian (2022) Book-Object-Art Winterbouren House and Garden. [Exhibition Catalogue] (Accepted/In press)
Cleaver, Phil (2020) Taming the dragon: Rebranding Cardiff City Council. Zhuangshi - Chinese Journal of Design , 2020 (5). 058-065. ISSN 0412-3662 (Published online first)
Cleaver, Phil (2019) Book-Object-Art. [Exhibition Catalogue]
Cleaver, Phil and von Holstein, Jan Staël (2019) Jan Staël von Holstein's Book – An original copy. Impress, London, UK.
Education
CETLD, Hereford College of Art & Design, IAPS, Moorehouse Black, Nelson Thornes, Oxford Business College, Sherborne School, St Clare's School, UCAS, University of Brighton, University of London, University of Plymouth
Housing
Acis Group, Anglia Housing, Catalyst Housing Group, FCH, MHS, National Housing Federation, Newlon Housing Association, Parkside Group, Sadeh Lok, Sanctuary Housing, Saxon Weald, Swale Housing, Thames Valley Housing
Arts & Media
AIR, Basilica Letterpress, CIA, Coningsby Gallery, Cricket Fine Art, David Mach, Danan Gallery, David Yarrow Photography, Dorcas Couteurier, Double Crown Club, Finch & Co, First Writes, Fosse Gallery, Gutenberg Museum, Hidden Art, Ingleby Gallery, Jewish Museum London, John Stone Photographer, Life Art Foundation, Mazorca Projects, National Portrait Gallery, Papillon Shop, Peter Blake, Portland Gallery, Purdy Hicks, Serpentine Gallery, Shanghai University, Spada PR, Swann Gallery, Three Choirs Festival, Tessa Traeger, Worcester Cathedral
Books
Arcadian Library, Arcadian Lifestyle, Bahrain Aerospace, Bernard Quaritch, Book Collector, Booth-Clibbon Editions, British Library, Butler-Tanner and Dennis, Canongate, Hodder & Stoughton, Ilex Press, Impress, Julian Calder Publishing, Merrell Publishers, Merrion Press, Omnibus Press, Phaidon, Princeton Architectual Press, Qatar Foundation, Quercus Publishing, Roxborough Club, Sally Clark, Thames and Hudson, TRU, Victoria & Albert Museum
Public Sector
ALG, Blythwood House, Cardiff City Council, CIDA, Derby City Council, Housing Corporation, London Borough Grants, London Funders Group, NHS, Oxford County Council, Stockwell Community Centre
Law & Finance
Bank Duta, BNI Bank Indonesia, Clarks, Commercial Bank of Kuwait, Divorce Mediation Group, Eversheds, Fios, Goddard Knight, Gomez Acebo & Pombo, Heritable Bank, Hitchens Investment, Ionian Bank, IO Investors, International Equity Information, Lawrence Graham, Mosaic Finance, Nicholson Graham & Jones, ParabolaParagon, Prusik Financial Management, Strategic Financial Advisors, UniBank, Visa, Withers
Branding
Addiambers, Architectural Heritage, Burtons, Cassell Publishing, Compass Group, Cornerstone Communication, Dorothy Perkins, Douwe Egberts, Eagle, E Kono, Financial Selection Services, First Great Western, Front Line Shipping, Koxka, Landor, Listbook, Loyalty Management Group, Metra Industrial Group, Metropolitan Coffee Company, Nectar, No-Drip Umbrellas, Not Just Donuts, Pearson International Media, Reality, Red Ribbon International, RGM Indonesia, SA Brain & Co, Serco, Spa Ely, Starcount, Survival International, Type Museum, United Transport, Universal Medicine, Upper Crust, Westcote Inn, Your Ely
Property
Argent Group, Buro Four, Centrovincial, Connell Wilson, CSD Advisory Group, Countryside Properties, Crown Estate, Erith Group, ILVA, Kentish Property Group, Lassman, Pineapple Properties, TLC, Twenties Cross, Walfords
