Abram Games and the power of the poster

Early life

Abram Games (1914-96) was born in the East End of London on the eve of the First World War (1914-18). He was the son of Jewish refugees, who had emigrated to Britain from different regions of the Russian Empire at the turn of the century.

His father, Joseph, worked as a photographer and introduced Abram to creative design processes at an early age. Joseph's use of the airbrush to retouch his photographs sowed the seeds for Abram's later mastery of this tool. Throughout his career, Abram continued to use the original airbrush handed down to him by his father.

Pre-war career

Largely self-taught, Abram had established himself as a designer and poster artist by the end of the 1930s. He was awarded commissions by organisations such as London Transport, Shell, the Co-operative Building Society and the General Post Office, all in a freelance capacity.

Abram had also become a staunch socialist. His work during this period included posters aimed at helping refugees from the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). These were produced free of charge for the National Joint Committee for Spanish Relief. He would later insist that he preferred 'working for causes and ideas rather than for selling goods'.

War

Games was conscripted into The Royal Warwickshire Regiment in June 1940, nine months after the outbreak of the Second World War (1939-45). He transferred to the War Office Public Relations Directorate in 1941 to design posters for the Army.

Inspired by his Jewish heritage and a love of his country, and informed by his socialist ideals and his first-hand experiences as a soldier, Abram used his art to make an important contribution to the war effort.

Posters

Posters had been an essential means of inspiring patriotism and recruiting men and women in the First World War. Games's wartime work continued to serve this purpose, but was also used to instil desirable habits and behaviour in soldiers and civilians alike. 

Among other things, his posters encouraged people to avoid waste, give blood, buy war bonds, handle weapons and ammunition properly, avoid gossip and maintain fighting fitness.

As 'Official War Poster Artist', Games created over 100 designs. Always keen to derive maximum meaning from minimum means, his use of clever symbolic devices and simplified forms resulted in some of the most arresting and powerful posters of the era.

Post-war career

Games continued to produce posters for the Army and for Jewish relief agencies after the war. He was demobilised in 1946 and resumed his freelance career, designing film posters, book covers, postage stamps and corporate advertising.

His post-war clients included major brands like London Transport, 'The Financial Times', British European Airways and Guinness. But it was the emblem he designed for the Festival of Britain that sealed his reputation as one of the 20th century's most iconic designers.