Ken Rodmell (b. 1934)

After graduating from the Ontario College of Art (OCAD) in 1957, Ken worked at Cooper & Beatty Ltd., Canada's high-end advertising typographers, where he was privileged to work for and learn from Allan Fleming. Later, Ken moved on to Imperial Oil, where he designed the Imperial Oil Review. Lured away by Gene Aliman to the newly-formed Canadian magazine, Ken met many of Canada's best editors, writers, photographers and artists. Later, author and broadcaster Peter Gzowski persuaded Ken to move to Toronto Life, where he formed his long-term association with Michael de Pencier. Ken designed and/or art directed Toronto Life, Toronto Life Fashion, Canadian Business, Quill & Quire, among many others. As part of his duties at Key Publishers, Ken also created many logos, and wrote and designed hundreds of promotional pieces. Ken played a pivotal role in the development of the editorial design program at OCAD, where he taught graphic design and magazine design for twenty-six years. He has received the Les Usherwood Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Advertising & Design Club of Canada, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Magazine Awards, The Queen's Jubilee medal and has been elected to the Royal Canadian Academy.