(1940 - )
Alan Kitching was born in Darlington, an area near Newcastle dominated by the railway industry. At 15, encouraged by an art teacher, he discovered his love of printing. From 1955 he was apprenticed to a commercial typesetter in Darlington for six years. In 1963 he worked as a print technician at Watford College of Technology, where he met innovative typographic designers and set up the Type Workshop, teaching experimental techniques. In the early 1970s he started working independently, receiving commissions from museums and publishers. He was a partner of Omnific Design from 1977 to 1988. He produced letterpress designs and taught part-time at the Royal College of Art (RCA), establishing The Typographic Workshop in 1992. Kitching has exhibited his work widely and has held several positions including: Royal Designer for Industry (1994), Honorary Fellow of the RCA and Visiting Professor at the University of Arts London.