Fonds
Born in Montreal in 1929, Gilles Robert showed a very early interest in drawing. As a student at the School of Graphic Arts, he discovered the importance of typography and graphic design thanks to his teachers: typographer Arthur Gladu, painter Albert Dumouchel and graphic artist Roger Cabana. He also met poet Roland Giguère, with whom he worked closely on works combining poetry and typography.
After graduating, he worked freelance and designed many posters for the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde. He was also an assistant artistic director at commercial printer Benallack Press, earning several awards for the quality of his work. Following these experiences, he was then named artistic director at La Presse, where he revamped the look of the paper by bringing in a new graphic style guide. His work at La Presse also earned him a number of typography awards from the Society of Typographic Designers of Canada in 1959, 1960, 1961 and 1962.
Recognizing the importance of training the next generation of visual communicators, from 1953 to 1964 he returned to the School of Graphic Arts (which had become the Institute of Graphic Arts) to teach graphic design and its vital role in brand image, visual identification and conveying a message.
From 1966 to 1987, he ran his own agency, Gilles Robert et Associés. He designed superb posters and brochures, notably for Canada Post, the Canadian International Development Agency and the Madeira International Airport in Portugal, along with visual symbols for Place des Arts, the Montreal Urban Community and its police department, the Commission scolaire de Montréal, Complex Desjardins, the city of Laval public transit system and the city of Terrebonne. From 1986 to 1988, he was president and artistic director of public relations agency Image de Marque Conseil, and artistic director of Relations Publiques Nationales, a communications firm known today as National.
Very active in the graphic design milieu, Gilles Robert was involved in several organizations and events, including the Fondation du Musée des arts graphiques de Montréal, the 1991 International Council of Graphic Design Associations (ICOGRADA) conference held in Montreal, the 1989 Graphisme Québec competition, the Design Canada awards in 1982 and 1983, and the Institute of Design Montréal competitions in 2004 and 2005. From 1980 to 1984, he was vice-president and then president of the Société des graphistes du Québec (now known as the SDGQ). When the organization Liaison-Design was formed, he sat on its board of directors and designed its symbol and applications. Since then, this entity has merged with the Institute of Design Montréal (IDM). His incredible talent, extensive professional experience and involvement in the field earned him numerous awards, including ones from the Fifth Annual Exhibition of Advertising and Editorial Art of the Art Directors Club of Montreal in 1956, the Graphica Award in 1967, the Graphic Designers of Canada award in 1968, the Design Canada communications award and "25 years of excellence" award at Via Design in 1985. He was a member of the American Institute of Graphic Arts and the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. In 2005, he was elected an honorary member of the Société des designers graphiques du Québec. Gilles Robert died in Montreal in 2013.
Source: Cloutier, S. and Marinelli, C. (n.d.). "Gilles Robert" in Société des designers graphiques du Québec - Membres.
Scope and Content
This fonds covers the career of Gilles Robert, considered a pioneer of graphic arts in Quebec. It focusses on the period from the early days of his career in the late 1950s, to the first decade of the 2000s. Very active during the 1960s and 1970s, Gilles Robert left his mark by contributing to the aesthetic of the pivotal time of the Quiet Revolution. Sketches and mock-ups of logos chronicle his work for various clients like Place des Arts, whose logo, which he created in 1961, is still used today in a slightly modified version, the Montreal Urban Community, Place Desjardins (Complex Desjardins), the city of Terrebonne and the Quebec Milk Producers' Federation.
The fonds contains sketches, mock-ups, correspondence, notes, stationery, promotional documents, articles written by Robert and annual reports. Thanks to pages that most likely came from his portfolio and a collection of records featuring logos made for various clients, the fonds has the distinction of incorporating a wide range of his creations. In addition, the fonds includes documents promoting his agency, Gilles Robert et Associés.
Several project files provide details on his creative process. One such file, which is very comprehensive, documents the creation of the visual identity for the Montreal Urban Community police department (now the Montreal police department or SPVM).
There are also documents reflecting his later activities at the Relations Publiques Nationales agency and as a legal expert, and a file about his contributions to the book Symbols and Trademarks of Canada with Gérard Bochud (1997). Several items, including a series of certificates of merit, chronicle his relationships with and the recognition he received throughout his career from the Quebec, Canadian and American design industries.
Along with textual archives are several portraits of Gilles Robert and photographs illustrating various moments in his life and career, his Montreal studio at 306 Place d'Youville, his colleagues and employees, the honours he received, his interest in typography and examples of some of his creations.
A set of posters, mock-ups and logos complement the archival documents and photographs. These items depict Gilles Robert’s creations, from his time working as a freelance designer to running his own agency, Gilles Robert et Associés, founded in 1966. His early career is well represented, notably by an impressive series of posters created from 1956 to 1962 for the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde. Also dating from this period are three posters designed for Montreal firm Trans-Canada Display and a proposed visual identity for Hydro-Québec, created perhaps for the 20th anniversary of this Crown corporation. A 1964 poster announcing a special automobile section of La Presse recalls his association with the Montreal daily, where he had worked several years earlier as artistic director. The poster's visual is the same one used on the front cover of the special section published by the newspaper on April 21, 1964.
Robert's later achievements notably include a series of posters designed in the late 1970s for the Québec Ministry of Education to promote the implementation of the International System of Units (metric system). Logos and mock-ups chronicle the visual identities Gilles Robert created for major clients like Place des Arts and the Montreal police department (SPVM) (formerly the Montreal Urban Community police department).
The fonds is divided into the following series:
P811/A Personal Life
P811/B Gilles Robert & Associés
P811/C Graphic Arts Projects
P811/D Legal Expertise
P811/E Other Business Activities
P811/F Professional Activities
P811/G Publications
P811/H Awards and Honours
P811/I Posters
P811/J Photographs
Source of title proper: Title based on the creator of the fonds.
Physical description: The fonds also contains 694 iconographic records, 3 sound documents, 1 moving image document and 1 object.
Given that the creator of the archives worked as a graphic designer, it is impossible to separate iconographic documents from textual records, notably in the project management files for the Gilles Robert et Associés (P811/B) series and the Graphic Arts Projects (P811/C) series. Therefore, it was decided to acknowledge this reality in the physical description. In addition, some iconographic documents like photographs were also counted as such in the physical description.
Physical condition: Overall, the documents are well preserved.
Immediate source of acquisition: The fonds was donated to the McCord Stewart Museum by Gilles Robert's son, Simon B. Robert in 2017. However, the elements that make up the fonds were compiled by the Société des designers graphiques du Québec (SDGQ) and proposed to the Museum by Carina Marinelli, a chartered graphic designer and SDGQ member, who is in charge of the organization's 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 in English and French.
Accruals: No accruals are expected.
Related groups of records: The McCord Stewart Museum preserves collections of documents 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), Roger Lafortune (P797) and Georges Huel (P790), all of whom are honorary members of the Société des designers graphiques du Québec (SDGQ), the Museum holds the John and John Henry Walker Fonds (P729).
Last update: 24th of February 2023
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.