When the Graphic Design course at the Royal College of Art opened in 1948, it signalled the beginning of a new era in the education of designers. Out went the old ideas of the ‘Commercial Artist’ and the ‘Poster Artist’, to be replaced by a new concept – the professional graphic designer.

Guyatt’s efforts ensured that graphic design became firmly established at the RCA under what he called a ‘banner of professionalism’. In 1963, to mark the transformation, Guyatt curated an exhibition “GraphicsRCA. Fifteen years’ work of the School of Graphic Design”. The show included work by David Gentleman; Alan Fletcher; Len Deighton; the set for the BBC’s ‘Quatermass and the Pit’ by Cliff Hatts; and a still from Ridley Scott’s student film ‘Boy and Bicycle’.

Now, slightly over 50 years later, the RCA is replicating Guyatt’s bold gesture and presenting a new exhibition of graphic design: ‘GraphicsRCA: Fifty Years’. The show celebrates a half-century of creative excellence. Many of the leading graphic design practitioners of the modern era are represented. The exhibition highlights the many ways that RCA graduates and tutors have stood at the forefront of graphic design practice.