Henri Kay Henrion

Frederick Henri Kay Henrion (né Heinrich Fritz Kohn; 1914–1990), was a German-born British graphic designer, exhibition designer and poster artist.

Early life and career Henrion was born Heinrich Frederick Fritz Kohn on April 18, 1914 in Nuremberg, Germany, to Jewish parents. In 1933, Henrion, aged 21, moved to Paris, where he trained in textile design before studying with poster designer Paul Colin. In 1936, he was invited to London at the behest of the British Colonial Office, where he set up his studio and was granted British citizenship in 1946.

World War II After the beginning of the Second World War, Henrion was interned on the Isle of Man as a German alien. Henrion was one of the first graphic designers to form a design studio. As well as creating exhibitions, packaging, and book and magazine design, they worked within the then-emerging concept of corporate identity – with Henrion becoming a pioneer in the field.

His clients included: British European Airways Blue Circle Cement Coopers & Lybrand Giro KLM London Electricity Board The Post Office The National Theatre Tate & Lyle

Exhibition design Alongside his poster, packaging and advertising design work, Henrion was involved in the design of many exhibitions around the world. These included the Publicity Pavilion for the Paris International Fair, and the MARS (Modern Architectural Research Society) exhibition in London. He also worked on projects for the 1938 Glasgow Empire Exhibition, the 1939 New York World's Fair, and the Air France pavilion at the Tel Aviv Levant Fair, 1940. He designed two of the pavilions at the 1951 Festival of Britain: The Country and The Natural Scene.

Affiliations and awards

Henrion was a member of the Artists' International Association, the Society of Industrial Artists and Designers (later the Chartered Society of Designers), and the Council of Industrial Design; in 1952 he became one of the earliest members of Alliance Graphique Internationale, in which designers from all over the world could meet and share ideas.

He was elected a Royal Designer for Industry in 1959. He was appointed MBE in 1951 and elevated to OBE in 1985. His second wife was Marion Wesel Henrion.

Henrion's archive and library Henrion's archive is held at The University of Brighton Design Archives. It covers his entire career and comprises correspondence with clients, original artwork, examples of packaging and graphic design and photography. It also includes Henrion's personal library of books on graphic and industrial design, typography and advertising, which is now fully searchable on the University's Library system.

Photographs of Henrion's work featured at the Britain Can Make It Exhibition (1946) and The Festival of Britain (1951), have been made available on the Visual Arts Data Service (VADS), along with examples of his Wartime posters.

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