Service Booklet - Qantas Empire Airways (1949)
Year: 1949
Format: Booklet
Illustrator: Douglas Annand
Client: Qantas Empire Airways
Details: This service booklet was published by Qantas Empire Airways. It is undated but the artwork appears in a 1949 edition of Modern Publicity. The booklet provides information, advice and reassurance to passengers. The illustrations feature a smart-suited koala passenger, with artwork by Australian graphic designer and artist Douglas Annand (1903-1976).
Douglas Annand was born in Toowoomba. He grew up in Brisbane and attended night classes at Brisbane Central Technical College.
After moving to Sydney in 1930, he became successful as a freelance designer creating corporate images for well-known Australian companies. In 1932 he had won a poster design competition to celebrate the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. He gained an international recognition for his work on the Australian pavilion at the 1937 Paris Exposition and the 1939 New York World’s Fair.
During WWII, he worked as a camouflage officer for the Royal Australian Air Force, where he produced a large body of work documenting aerial surveillance.
After the war, Annand continued to work as a freelance designer, expanding his skills to include textile designs, sculptures, mixed media designs, and architectural and glass structures. He began working with P&O in 1948, designing everything from menus to murals for the Orcades and the Oronsay liners. He also created interiors for the Australian National University.
Valuable archives of his work are held by The Powerhouse Museum and the National Gallery of Australia.