Morin, Jean, 1938- : Jean Morin was born in Quebec City on March 2, 1938. He studied advertising art at the École des beaux-arts de Québec from 1956 to 1960. He was one of the first French-Canadians of his generation to study in the graphic design field that was just beginning to flourish in the early 1960s. He then audited classes at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Zurich, Switzerland during the winter semester of 1960-1961. He received general training there in design basics, such as form, colour, typography and letter design. He also did an apprenticeship in the workshop of Fritz Seigner where, as an assistant, he worked on his first projects. He was able to visit several Swiss workshops at a time when graphic design was flourishing in Europe.
Jean Morin's first job on returning to Canada in 1961-1962 was with the Canadian Government Exhibition Commission. Somewhat interested in exhibition design, he then accepted a job with Ernst Roch, Graphic Designer where he assisted Ernst Roch as a graphic designer.
From 1963 to 1966, Jean Morin was involved in major corporate visual identity projects with James Valkus Inc.(1963-1965) and Gagnon, Valkus Inc.(1965-1967). Among other projects, he was involved in the projects for Canadian National, including the application of the visual identity program and the design of the signage standards manual, a first of its kind in Canada. He was also part of the design and implementation of the visual identity program for Hydro Quebec. Jean Morin worked with James Valkus, Charles Gagnon, Bob DeVito and James McElheron on the design of the corporate symbol. It was he who came up with the final graphic form, its design and structure.
From 1967 to 1968, Jean Morin was director of design at Girard Bruce & Ass., where he worked with others on the design and application of the visual identity program for the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montréal, the design of the logo for the Institute of Canadian Bankers, and the design of the visual identity program for Voyageur Bus Lines.
In 1968, Jean Morin opened his own consulting firm. He proceeded to work on numerous projects under various corporate identities: Jean Morin & Associés (1968-1969); Jean Morin GDC, Designer graphique (1970-1972); Dallaire Morin DeVito Inc.(1972-1974); Jean Morin et Associés (1974-1975); Jean Morin Designer Ltée (1975-1998); Morin Lessard McInnis (1982-1984) and Axion Inc. (1984-1998). Some of the projects he headed included the design and development of the new corporate visual identity for Bell Canada (logo; visual identification of the vehicle fleet, buildings, stationery, forms, cheques, telephone bills, etc.; preparation of the standards manual). In 1973, Bell Canada was looking for a new corporate visual image and a competition was held between three Montréal firms, including Dallaire Morin DeVito, and three Toronto firms. The Toronto proposal was accepted but then rejected by the President, Jean De Grandpré. The project was set aside for a few years and then, in 1976, the company decided to move ahead with Jean Morin's proposal by starting with the visual identification of the small van. Bell Canada received the 1981 Design Canada Award of Excellence for this visual identity program done by Jean Morin in collaboration with Michel Dallaire and Jacques Daoust. Just before, in 1980, Jean Morin Designers Ltée won the Société des Graphistes du Québec Excellence Prize for the 1979 Bell Canada Annual Report. The Bell visual identification was replaced in about 1996 and the firm did not collaborate to that new project.
In 1975-1976, Jean Morin joined, with Pierre Lessard and Jacques Daoust, the Consortium Design Inc., association created only for the signage and identification of all sites for the Montréal Olympic Games in Quebec and in Ontario, and for the publication of the signage manual. His firm also designed volume 1 of the publication Montréal, ville olympique (1974-1975), as well as the design of the tickets for the Olympic competitions in 1976.
In 1982, in co-operation with industrial designer Pierre Lessard and marketing consultant Ian McInnis, Jean Morin formed Morin Lessard McInnis, which in 1984 became Axion Inc. The objective was to create, with Axion San Francisco and Axion Fiszman Brussels, an international firm specializing in visual identification and packaging. Although the firm Jean Morin Designers Ltd. continued to operate until 1998, most projects initiated with that company were continued with Axion Inc. In 1997, Jean Morin retired from Axion; its activity declined and eventually ceased around 1998. With Axion, Jean Morin carried out and co-operated on a number of projects, including: Petro-Canada; Desjardins, Services automatisés (the first automated service outlet signage and identification system); the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; Hydro-Québec; Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM); and Tremblant.
Another of Jean Morin's interests was postage stamp design, which fascinated him as much as did visual identification projects. From 1973 to 1994, at the request of the Canada Post Corporation, he created 70 postage stamps. With the talented young graphic artists and technicians in his office (Tom Yakobina, Wanda Lewicka and Luc Parent), he designed and directed the creation of postage stamps such as those commemorating the Centennial of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (1973), the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (1980), Canada Day (1982), a heritage series (1983, 1985 and 1987), Norman Bethune in Canada and in China (1990) and Governor General Jeanne Sauvé (1994), as well as a postage stamp booklet (1983) and a prestigious brochure (1990). During these projects, Jean Morin achieved a number of firsts: the promotional postage stamp booklet on the history of Canada's postal system (1990); use of a bleed background colour with no white border for the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts postage stamp (1985); and, for the Governor General Jeanne Sauvé postage stamp (1994), quadruple representation of the subject on the same stamp and, on the 20-stamp sheet, the addition of strips symbolizing four stages in Jeanne Sauvé's career. Jean Morin was also interested in various formats for postage stamps. He co-operated with China on the postage stamps commemorating Norman Bethune in Canada and in China (1990). These stamps were issued simultaneously in Canada and in China and were the largest issue of a Canadian-designed postage stamp, China issuing 15 million. For the postage stamp booklet on the history of Canada's postal system (1990), Jean Morin won awards of excellence at the American Institute of Graphic Arts communication graphics exhibition in New York in 1990-1991; at the Art Directors Club of Toronto Awards Show in 1990, and from Graphisme Québec in 1991.
Throughout his career, Jean Morin gave seminars at teachers' colleges, design and communication schools and taught courses at the École des beaux-arts de Montréal and the Université du Québec à Montréal. He also regularly adjudicates major contests and competitions. His work has been published in most major publications on graphic design in Canada and abroad. He was among Canada's first graphic designer and the first Francophone to be accepted as a member of the Alliance graphique internationale, which is composed of the world's best graphic artists (1974). He has been a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts since 1981 and is a member of the American Institute of Graphic Arts and the Société des graphistes du Québec. He holds numerous awards for excellence, including ones from Industrial Graphics International in Los Angeles and the American Institute of Graphic Art in New York (1976). He is an honorary member of the Société des designers graphiques du Québec (2006).
