Black Cat Café Poster

NevilleSmithBlackCat.jpg

In a time when everybody has a copy of Photoshop, and desktop publishing is so ubiquitous that to refer to it as anything other than “using Word” seems almost troglodytic, it’s easy to forget the extreme efforts and almost obsessive attention to detail that went into executing even the simplest of pre-computer-assisted graphic designs. If ever there were a poster-child (unintentional pun, I swear) for said devotion to details combined with an expressive yet elegant simplicity, it would be Neville Smith.

Recently awarded a Les Usherwood Lifetime Achievement Award by the Advertising and Design Club of Canada, Smith has created a body of work that would make most accomplished designers insecure (including envy-inducing work with the Government of Canada’s Exhibition Commission for Expo ’67 and Expo ’70). Yet it is Smith’s unassuming Black Cat Café poster that remains synonymous with his fanatical quest for perfection.

An almost textbook exercise in the fundamentals of good graphic design, Smith plays with symmetry, colour, hierarchy and focus so adeptly that it borders on manipulative. Smith went on to win more than 20 international design awards for Black Cat, and any graphic designer trained in Canada over the last 15 years will instantly recognize it as the aspirational exemplar of composition cruelly dangled before them by their first year instructors.


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15 comments — Leave a Comment




  1. admin   November 16th 2007

    NICE POST!
  2. Lesley Smith   December 24th 2007

    I am so proud of him, not because he’s my dad but because he has taught me so much about standing up for what you believe in and putting your heart and soul in to it. He never did anything for money, he always did everything for the love of art and always stayed true to his vision. I know that it’s not the big awards that mean as much to him as a young students approaching him and recognizing his work for the great and unique pieces that they are.
    Lesley
  3. robert hill ,denver colorado   March 26th 2009

    i’d like to know how i can buy this poster,,where and the cost thank -you bob ,denver colorado, usa
  4. robert hill ,denver colorado   March 26th 2009

    Lesley tell me about your dad, his life and the poster ,thanks bob http://www.ilove 38c@yahoo.com
  5. alan wald   January 20th 2010

    I have a mint 23×35 of this poster and am wondering if it is still available — and its monetary value. Can someone tell me?
  6. i hurda   February 18th 2010

    I have a signed and numbered poster. Can anyone tell me the value?
  7. Terry   June 6th 2010

    I have a framed original of this poster…anyone have any idea of it’s value.

    I also have a framed original “Toronto Art Directors – Directions ’83” poster…again anyone have any idea of value?
  8. tm   August 24th 2010

    I have a copy of this poster framed in gold. Am willing to sell or trade item. I am located in Madison Wisconsin.
  9. Tony Moussis   December 30th 2011

    I have signed copy of the Black Cat poster. I pleased to say that it is not for sale.

    my best to Neville, who is now working on the Renaissance Fair movie poster… 2012.

    tony.
  10. Steve Bradbury   February 28th 2012

    I have a mint copy of this poster in a gold brushed frame.
    Would like to sell , wondering value??

    STEVE
  11. Steve Bradbury   February 28th 2012

    I have a mint copy of this poster. It’s in a brushed gold frame.
    I would like to sell and wondering correct value ??

    Steve in Ottawa, ONT.
  12. Tony   March 3rd 2012

    It has been out of print for many years. I would like very much to replace the one I no longer own however. Those of you here interested in selling yours are welcome to contact me.

    Antonio
    Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  13. Steve Bradbury   March 6th 2012

    Antonio, You did not leave contact info. If you would like to contact me.
    You can reach me at 613 513-6939,
    Steve in Ottawa , Ontario Canada. Thanks.
  14. william   August 13th 2014

    I am curious to know the approximate value of a signed, dated 1982, and numbered 47/200, Neville Smith Black Cat Poster. Mint condition, brushed gold frame. Purchased March 22, 1983, from Elgin Art in Ottawa
  15. Richard Eppstadt   March 8th 2018

    Two great influnces in my early design schooling. Neville and Earnst Berancher.

    Neville said he would rather see Swiss than poor design.
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