locomotive, featuring the 1965 corporate branding by DRU The DRU was formed in 1943 by several individuals, including the architect
Misha Black, graphic designer
Milner Gray, the poet and art critic
Herbert Read, and advertising executive
Marcus Brumwell. From the onset, its purpose was to bring art and industry together in a cohesive design for the benefit of all. An early set of notes proposed a "service equipped to advise on all problems of design", addressing the needs of "the State, Municipal Authorities, Industry or Commerce." They anticipated a post-war demand for technical expertise and a need for "the reconditioning and re-designing public utility services" recommending "contact... with the railway companies, motor coach lines and so on." Herbert Read became the group's first member of staff, Black and Gray were initially committed to wartime roles within the Exhibitions Department for the
Ministry of Information. Under their leadership, DRU made important postwar contributions to the
Britain Can Make It exhibition (1946) and
Festival of Britain (1951). At the invitation of the Council of Industrial Design (afterward
Design Council), DRU designed the Quiz Machines that sought to gauge public taste at BCMI, as well as the highly didactic ‘What
Industrial Design Means’ display (by Black,
Bronek Katz, and R. Vaughan). This marked the beginning of a long association between the two bodies. For the Festival of Britain, they were the architects for the Regatta Restaurant and designed a series of displays for the
Dome of Discovery. While not the primary focus area of the group, it was responsible for the production of several noteworthy buildings, such as the mammal house at
London Zoo and a rooftop extension to the DRU’s own building in Aybrook Street. A mirror image of the double arrow was used on the
port side of BR-owned
Sealink ferry funnels. The new BR corporate identity and double arrow were displayed at the Design Centre in London in early 1965, and the organisation's brand name was shortened to "British Rail". Key DRU commissions included the 1954 Electricity Board Showrooms, by Black, Gibson, and H. Diamond, the
British Overseas Airways Corporation engineering hall at
Heathrow Airport by Black, Kenneth Bayes, and BOAC staff from 1951 to 1955, and a number of interiors for the
P&O Orient Line's new liner
Oriana by Black and Bayes in 1959. Other companies for whom DRU worked included
Ilford,
Courage,
Watney Combe & Reid Dunlop, and
London Transport. The 1968
City of Westminster street name signs by Misha Black (typography and implementation by Christopher Timings and Roger Bridgman) have become an integral part of London's streetscape. Since that time, DRU worked for many high-profile companies, in interior design, graphic design and architecture. Projects of note include: • Architectural design for:
London Underground's
Jubilee Line Extension works,
Docklands Light Railway,
Copenhagen Metro,
Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway,
Nottingham's guided bus system. • Graphic design & wayfinding for:
Network Rail, Lee Valley,
Tarmac,
ABC Television. == Notable partners and associates==