The Warmth of His Hands

all photos Stephen R. Brown ©2022.

Note: This interview was originally published on April 1, 2022. The BCA is sad to report that Pat Taylor died on May 17, 2022.

By Forrest Bachner

pat’s career took him from ad agencies and look magazine to starting his own studio and teaching.

Recently, I sat down to talk with Pat Taylor, about both his years in Burleith and his career as a graphic designer. Stephen Brown, our Burleith neighbor and a professional photographer, came with me. We spent an hour or so in a sunny back room, part of an addition from 1977 that Pat, with the help of an architect, designed to enhance maximum air circulation (without air conditioners) and natural light. In the course of the conversation, with Stephen clicking away, I asked Pat if he ever converted to the computer for the creative part of his job, the pen and ink part. His reply? “I prefer the warmth of my hands. And that should be your headline.” Pat, the adman, was right of course.

And that was the way a lot of the talk proceeded: with me in way over my head between Pat and Stephen, two pros from the creative side of advertising.

Now, back to Pat.

since his professional start in 1953, pat has designed logos for clients ranging from “mom & Pop” operations to big corporations.

As a child in Knox, Indiana, Pat discovered his love of drawing while enduring a year of bed rest, the onetime standard of care for rheumatic heart disease. Armed with crayons and comics, Pat formed an early ambition to become a famous cartoonist. That desire stayed with him through artistic stints on high school annuals and newspapers, until the day he spied an ad for a 10-week course on cartooning by the illustrator of Tarzan Comic Books at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. After completing the course, Pat went looking for work, aiming high and contacting Charles Schulz of Peanuts fame. Though Pat spent four wonderful hours with the cartoonist and his family, Schultz was not hiring at the time. (Pat said Schulz was an extremely nice man.)

“the excitement [of logo design] is in the original, creative stage when you have nothing in front of you and by the end of the day you have something.”

Deciding that cartooning was not to be in his future after all, Pat decided to learn all he could about commercial art, later known as graphic design. According to Pat, the field was exploding in the late ‘50s and ‘60s and he “was there” for it all: talent got smarter, new technology came into use, and small design firms took over visually from large corporations. For me, the series Mad Men immediately sprang to mind.

Forrest: How real was the series?
Pat: From the viewpoint of the art department? Most of it.
Forrest: What about all the drinking?
Pat: Real for sure.

I asked Pat how he comes up with ideas. He said he has no clue. Knowing that creating/designing logos is a favorite part of his work, I asked about that. Again, “no clue,” he said, but he did offer that the process from start to finish usually took about two weeks. First, he would prepare about five concepts for the client, and then the idea would get refined from there. I also asked, what makes a good logo? His advice, be very clear on what is being sold and go from there. “Think Apple,” he suggested, referencing the direct link from name to image. Then, use the logo extensively. “People would be amazed,” he said, “how many companies buy logos and never use them.” You can see Pat’s favorite logo from his own creations in this documentary short on YouTube entitled A Designer’s Journey: Pat Taylor.

tools of the trade.

After stints as a graphic designer at several advertising agencies, Pat decided to go out on his own. About the same time, in 1971, he moved to Washington, where in addition to his freelance work from his home office, Pat joined the faculty of the then Corcoran College of Art + Design for eight years.

But what about Burleith? How did he end up here? Plus, trivia alert, what did a house cost in 1971? According to Pat, he landed in Burleith, initially thinking he was in Georgetown. He also said he was in competition with about 40 people for his house, which he ended up buying for $35,900, and that was considered high. After the renovation in 1977, he was offered $98,000.

Finally, what about favorite memories and thoughts looking back? Pat said he feels very satisfied with his career, that he knew the right people to work with, and that he got the right answers for clients. In the YouTube video, he says he enjoyed every single day in his office.

Regarding Burleith, he said he has too many happy memories to begin to describe them. Judging from the many pictures of close neighbors and friends, as well as their drawings and messages dotting his office walls, that’s a statement I can easily believe.

In response to my last question, whether he has any advice for the neighborhood, here’s what he had to say: “Get yourself out there. Get to know people. Start with people on both sides of you; they’re your neighbors.”