Stuart Ash Featured in Design Canada Documentary

Gottschalk+Ash and its co-founder Stuart Ash was recognized in an important initiative that tell the story of Canadian graphic design. 

Design Canada is a documentary film that follows the transformation of Canada from its colonial ties to a vibrant and multicultural country, through the lens of graphic design. 

The creator of this documentary, Greg Durrell, says Stuart’s work and the work of G+A "can still be felt at nearly every major intersection in any part of this country". He also highlights that "Stuart Ash was a central figure helping modernize the design profession in Canada". Screenings of Design Canada will continue across Canada, and further information can be found here.

Canada Modern Showcases Stuart Ash's Work

Creative director Blair Thomson has created Canada Modern, a physical and digital archive of modernist Canadian graphic design, ensuring that it is appropriately recorded and available for future designers and design enthusiasts. One of the first contributions to the new site was that of Stuart Ash’s library of work.

Thomson says that G+A’s “commitment to quality and their refusal to compromise are the qualities that inspired him to create this archive in the first place”. He is thankful to both Stuart and Entro, who have been generous with their time, advice and access to our archives.

Advertising and Design Club of Canada Lifetime Achievement Award

In November, the Advertising and Design Club of Canada (ADCC) awarded Gottschalk+Ash co-founder Stuart Ash with an award for lifetime achievement. The award memorializes Les Usherwood, an exemplary hand-lettering artist who co-founded Typesettra Ltd in 1968, and created 211 new fonts over the course of his career including Denby and Caxton. Les was known for his “talent, professionalism and generosity as a colleague and friend”, and was seen as a model to many. Each year his award is presented to someone who has similarly contributed to the quality and community of Canadian creative.

For more information, read more here.

Cultivating a Design Legacy: The First 50 Years

‘Cultivating a Design Legacy: The First 50 Years’ is a wonderful exploration of the celebrated works of Entro Communications and Gottschalk+Ash Toronto told within the wider context of International and Canadian design history.

The book opens with the founding partners of Entro and G+A, reviewing the history of each firm from their own personal perspectives. The next section, “Circles of Influence”, offers perspectives on design history acknowledging such important influencers as El Lissitzky, Anton Stankowski, Mies van der Rohe, Paul Rand and Walter Gropius.

Narrowing the focus to Canadian graphic design, the subsequent section provides readers with an understanding of how the International style of design made its way into Canadian design thinking and techniques from the 1960’s through to present works. Significant design pioneers in this section include: Stuart Ash, Fritz Gottschalk, Peter Steiner, Hélène L’Heureux, Carl Dair, Allan Fleming, Ernst Roch, Rolf Harder, Massimo Vignelli and Paul Arthur.

Framing the combined project history through six key decades, prominent art historian, Brian Donnelly illustrates the relevance of Entro and G+A’s work over the past 50 years of evolving design influence:

• 1960s: European Minimalism in the Age of Aquarius

• 1970s: The Rewards of Cool Restraint

• 1980s: The Play of Postmodern

• 1990s: The Beauty of Craft, Computerized

• 2000s: A New Millennium Demands New Methods

• 2010+: A Renewed Vision

The story closes with ‘Thoughts on Design’ from current associates and alumni of both Gottschalk+Ash and Entro Communications, telling the stories of their experience working at each firm, and looking back at particular projects that have shaped their careers.

Order a copy here.