Obituary
Collis Clements 1937 - 2010 Collis Clements, a popular tutor at the Maidstone College of Art and KIAD, has died aged 73. He will be remembered by many ex-students and staff as a laid-back and perpetually-smiling member of the Graphic Design teaching staff. Working at Maidstone from the mid 1960s until the late 1980s, he latterly served as head of the department. Born in Maidstone, Collis attended the local Grammar School before studying Graphic Design at Maidstone College of Art. It was during this time that he met his future wife Pauline. Collis was a keen all-round sportsman in his youth, excelling at swimming and water polo. Following National Service as an Army officer in Cyprus, he returned to civilian life as a graphic designer working for prestigious London-based companies. These included the legendary Black & Gray run by Misha Black and Milner Gray, founding partners of the pioneering Design Research Unit (DRU). Here Collis was involved with a number of nationally important projects, including the design and implementation of the corporate identity for British Rail.
Collis in 1973 at a display of stamps he designed for the Post Office. Left to right: Collis, Don Scarff of the Post Office and Collis’s design partner Ted Hughes, who also taught at Maidstone College of Art
Pauline, his wife of 53 years, sadly died three years ago. He is survived by his sons Stephen and Jeremy, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Collis Clements | Obituary | Creative Update
obituary
A leading freelance practitioner, Collis was a longstanding member of the Society of Typographic Designers and a Fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers. He also formed a Maidstone-based design partnership with the illustrators Graham Clarke and Ted Hughes. Clients included the Post Office, for whom he designed everything from exhibitions to print, but perhaps most widely known were his postage stamps. These included the 1971 Christmas issue, commemorating issues for the wedding of Princess Anne and the Churchill centenary. Most recently he worked from a studio in Headcorn in partnership with fellow designer Andrew Barron.
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