Nobrium marketing brochure

Brochure for the anti-anxiety drug Nobrium produced by the Swiss drug company Roche. The art direction is by Mervyn Kurlansky in 1971 as part of the Crosby/Fletcher/Forbes studio (in 1972 it became Pentagram). The artwork is done by Wolf Spoerl, and design by Madeleine Bennett. The central role on the cover and for headlines is given over to L&C Hairline Gothic. The text is set in the Light weight of Akzidenz Grotesk. The extruded effect on the cover title links nicely with the three-dimensional diagrams throughout the book.

You can see the whole brochure on Petangram’s page dedicated to this book.

Simon Esterson, the art director of Eye Magazine, had this to say about the book:

From today’s perspective, it can be criticized for elements of both design and intent. Like much drug marketing at the time, there is a strong element of seduction in the way the information is presented. The diagrams’ simplified, graphic nature is unlikely to impress the rigorous followers of Edward Tufte. And expensive drug marketing to Britain’s National Health Service doctors was heavily criticized later in the 1970s. Despite these reservations, the Nobrium book remains a bold product of its time.

Read the rest of the piece about the brochure: Head Trip