Richard Guyatt designer and academic was born in Spain to a Spanish mother and British father. He commenced work as a designer and graphic artist during the 1930s. In 1939, he was recruited by the Ministry of Home Security to design camouflage for important installations. In this unit, Dick Guyatt worked with fellow professionals including Hugh Casson, Robert Goodden, David Pye and Robin Darwin. Their friendships made here brought a coherent element to the new design establishment that was to emerge after the war. In 1948 he became Professor of Graphic Design at the Royal College of Art, the youngest ever, and was Rector of the Royal College of Art from 1978-81.
Guyatt himself coined the phrase “graphic design” and rejuvenated fine art in the mainstream of British culture. He opened new departments for the study of film and television, photography, illustration, typography, printmaking and graphic information, and insisted that all areas of the college should communicate and inform each other.
He worked for the Royal College of Art for 34 years, and also acted as consultant designer to Wedgwood ,(He designed the coronation mug in 1953) W.H.Smith and other British companies. Guyatt created coins for the Royal Mint and designed postage stamps for the Royal Mail. He was made a CBE in 1969.
For the 1951 Festival of Britain, he co-designed the Lion and Unicorn Pavilion.
He continued to work almost to his death; aged 91 he produced, to mark the bicentenary of the battle of Trafalgar, the last of a long series of now highly collectable commemorative mugs for Wedgwood.
