Romek Marber Exhibitions

Brighton University Exhibition

This 2014 retrospective exhibition presented Romek Marber’s graphic design work to a wider general public. For someone who influenced British life and culture in the late 20th century such a retrospective was long overdue. Though it focused on his career in graphic design practice, of which little has so far been written, even less has been said about his influence on British design education.

Alongside his graphic design work Romek Marber sustained an optimistic belief in the spirit of creative enterprise. Through this he set an exemplary standard for design education that helped to shape the evolution of British art school traditions. Throughout his professional career, Marber had taken time to support the development of young creative talent. In 1967 he was appointed as Consultant Head of Department of Graphic Design at Hornsey College of Art where he worked to establish one of the UK’s first BA (Hons) degree courses in graphic design and also pioneered programmes in scientific and technical illustration. When he retired in 1989, as Professor Emeritus from Middlesex University (née Hornsey College of Art), Marber left behind him not only a visual legacy but made a major contribution to transforming one of the UK’s most vibrant schools of graphic art and design.

In both spheres of his professional life – in graphic design practice and art and design education – Romek Marber’s work has made a significant contribution to Britain’s place at the heart of a global design community. In 2007 the University of Brighton was proud to bestow an Honorary Doctor of Letters on him in recognition of these achievements. In 2014 we were similarly proud to host a retrospective of his work in the University of Brighton Gallery.

Professor Anne Boddington
Professor of Design Innovation
Creative Intelligence Collective Ltd