Royaldesigners

Derek Birdsall studied at Wakefield College of Art. He later won a scholarship to the Central School of Arts and Craft, London. Between 1955 and 1957 he completed his National Service in an army printing unit. He was posted to Cyprus during the Suez Crisis. On returning to the UK, he began at the printers Balding and Mansell. In 1960 he co-founded BDMW Associates. Commissions included the second Pirelli calendar, book jackets for Penguin, and magazines including Town, Nova and the Independent’s colour magazine. In 2000 he redesigned the Book of Common Prayer. Derek’s passion lies in the details, the typeface and with books themselves; the feel of the paper; the quality of the binding, the cut of the font, and the perfect balance of image to space. These are the things that elevate Derek’s work to the ranks of typography. In 2005 he was awarded the Prince Philip Designers Prize.