Before setting up Ken Garland & Associates in Camden, London, Ken was art editor of Design magazine in 1956. The magazine was published by the Council of Industrial Design, which was set up in 1944 with the prime focus of supporting Britains economic recovery, a year before the end of the Second World War. The council is still in operation today, as the renamed Design Council.
Ken was 27 when he started designing for the magazine and throughout his post, he created numerous cover designs and page layouts. He remained art editor until 1962, the same year he set up Ken Garland & Associates. While Ken was art director, the magazines’ covers featured the work of designers such as Peter Hach, Roy Laughton, Germano Facetti and Hans Schleger (Zero).
The magazines use a range of techniques and mostly use photography as a core element in the design, paired with illustration and an array of bright colours. The combination of these techniques has some fascinating results. In particular, the cover designs for the August 1958 edition, with a cover centred around Gatwick Airport and the issue published in December 1957, all about children and play.