Industrial Democracy at Work – booklet, National Film Board, Carl Dair, 1946

This is one of Carl Dair’s most politically charged designs – well aligned with the postwar mission of the National Film Board (NFB), which, at the time, actively promoted industrial co-operation, democratic reform, and social rebuilding across Canada.

Nothing about the layout is static or reassuring. The sharp diagonals suggest motion and conflict, evoking the aerial dynamism of wartime dogfights. Arrows appear to descend like bombs. Yet here, the sense of urgency is redirected – away from conflict and toward reconstruction. Dair applies the same visual intensity that only a few years earlier had been used to win the war, now to winning the peace.

Throughout his life, Dair remained politically engaged. He was at one point branded a communist – a serious accusation in Cold War North America. But with hindsight, we see not a communist, but a principled designer who believed deeply in fairness, equity, and the power of visual communication to serve the public good. – Rod McDonald