Fonds
Quebec graphic designer Georges Huel (1930-2002) was born in Saskatchewan. Growing up in Montreal, he attended Collège Sainte-Croix and then continued his studies at the École des arts graphiques. With fellow students Albert Dumouchel and Arthur Gladu, he published two issues of Impressions, the school's student-run magazine, which garnered several Canadian and European graphic design awards in 1951. Graduating the same year, he briefly returned to the École des arts graphiques to teach in 1964-1965.
In 1957, Jean Drapeau recruited Huel to work as a graphic artist on his election campaign. This contact would prove decisive in the career of the young designer, who would go on to create numerous projects for the Montreal mayor. From 1960 to 1972, Huel was art director and vice-president of printer Thérien Frères Ltée, a leading player in the world of Quebec publishing and graphic design as the publisher of the magazine L’Artilleur. During his tenure, he acquired extensive experience in printing and typesetting, which had a profound influence on his approach to design.
After earning a diploma in advertising/marketing from the École des hautes études commerciales (HEC) in 1962, Huel went on to create stamps, programs, coins and many other products for the Canadian Universal and International Exhibition, known as Expo 67, like one of the posters designed with Japanese photographer Yoshihiro Tastsuki in 1963..
In 1972, Georges Huel submitted a proposal for the official logo of the Montreal Olympic Games. The organizing committee for the Olympic Games (known by its French acronym, COJO) accepted his design and put him in charge of graphics and design for the event. Assisted by Pierre-Yves Pelletier, a colleague from Thérien Frères Ltée, he supervised the entire visual identity program. This work brought Huel global recognition and led to multiple international awards over the course of the 1970s.
In 1981, the City of Montreal Executive Committee commissioned Georges Huel to create a new logo for the municipality, which Montreal continues to use to this day. Huel designed numerous other visual identities and institutional identity programs over the course of his career, notably for the Vallée du Richelieu golf club (1965), the Canadian Centenary Council (1966), the company J.B. Rolland & Fils Ltée (1967), the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (MSO; 1967), the City of Laval transit commission (1971), Notre-Dame Hospital (1971), the Capitol Centre (1977), Canadian Hockey Industries (1977) and Société Radio-Canada (1988). He also participated in numerous international graphics and design exhibitions, winning many awards for his achievements. Finally, he invented sign mounting systems patented in Canada and the United States. Georges Huel died in Montreal in 2002, at the age of 72.
Source: Société des designers graphiques du Québec (SDGQ) (n.d). "Georges Huel." Accessed at: https://www.sdgq.ca/sdgq-members/georges-2
Scope and Content
This fonds chronicles the career of one of the first Quebeckers to receive international recognition for his graphic design work. It focusses primarily on the professional achievements of Georges Huel and his relationships with various colleagues. The corpus is composed largely of documents produced or received from 1972 to 1976, when Huel was in charge of graphics and design for the Montreal Olympic Games. There are official reports, memos, flyers, copies of Presto, the COJO internal weekly bulletin, and Le Village, the official paper of the Olympic Village, a videocassette about Olympic fashions, invitations, menus, a souvenir sheet of 50 stamps (designed by Wallis and Matanovic), and articles and publications about the event's logo and design elements.
The fonds also contains information about visual identities and institutional identity programs designed by Huel from 1954 to 1989, notably for major events like Expo 67 and Canada's centennial celebrations, or for recognized organizations and companies like the Capitol Centre, the City of Montreal and the CBC. Among the documents are directories, an institutional identity program, graphics manuals specifying the standards to follow, several copies of the magazines Impressions and L’Artilleur, a souvenir MSO program, various publications reporting on Huel's nominations and awards, a certificate of excellence, and notes about sign mounting systems invented by Huel. Personal and professional correspondence, including a greeting card painted and signed by Charles Daudelin (1963), copyright applications and donation agreements complete the archives.
The photographs in the fonds include portraits of Georges Huel (1930-2002) from his youth through his career as a designer. There is also a large colour print of signage at the Botanical Garden, which features Montreal's rosette logo designed by Huel in 1981, and a large negative of the Claude-Robillard Sports Complex for the Olympic Games. The majority of the photographic materials consist, however, of colour slides documenting the large-scale design project undertaken for the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. Grouped in five albums and one series of 6x6 mm slides, they illustrate the development and production of the Games' graphics and design: logos, signage, uniforms and related products.
Finally, the fonds contains an original cartoon by Berthio (Roland Berthiaume), published shortly after Huel's logo for the 1976 Olympic Games was revealed. The drawing may have been presented to the designer as a token of appreciation.
The fonds is divided into the following series:
P790/A Achievements
P790/B Other Activities
P790/C Publications
P790/D Personal Life
P790/E Posters
P790/F Photographs
Classification Scheme
P790/A Achievements
P790/B Other Activities
P790/C Publications
P790/D Personal Life
P790/E Posters
P790/F Photographs
Source of title proper: Title based on the creator of the fonds.
Physical description: The fonds also contains 14 technical drawings, 1 philatelic record and 1 moving image.
Physical condition: Overall, the records are well preserved. However, the plastic spiral binding holding the publication Recueil des symboles de la Société des graphistes du Québec (P790/B1,2) is broken.
Immediate source of acquisition: The fonds was donated to the McCord Stewart Museum by Jacqueline Bourget Huel, widow of Georges Huel, through certified graphic designer Carina Marinelli, the SDGQ member in charge of honorary members and archives.
Arrangement: The fonds was not organized in any specific order when it was acquired. The classification plan created was therefore based on the creator's activities.
Language: The documents are primarily in French and English, though there are several in German and one in Japanese.
Accruals: No accruals are expected.
Related groups of records: The McCord Stewart Museum holds archival collections associated with the history of graphic design in Quebec and how it relates to Montreal's economic and institutional history. In addition to the fonds of Réal Séguin (P791), Rolf Harder (P810), Gilles Robert (P811) and Roger Lafortune (P797), all of whom are honorary members of the SDGQ, the Museum has the John and John Henry Walker Fonds (P729). The McCord Stewart Museum also preserves an extensive collection of archives related to the Olympic Games, like the collection Games of the XXIst Olympiad – Montreal 1976 (C277); Georges Huel was Director-general in charge of graphics and design for this event.
Last update : April 05, 2024
Information about the objects in our collection is updated to reflect new research findings. If you have any information to share regarding this object, please email reference.mccord@mccord-stewart.ca.Information about rights and reproductions is available here.
This project is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Azrieli Foundation and Canadian Heritage.