David King (graphic designer)

David King (30 April 1943 – 11 May 2016) was a British graphic designer, design historian, and writer, who assembled one of the largest collections of Soviet graphics and photographs.^[1] From this collection, he created a series of books covering the history of the Russian Revolution and its associated art and propaganda. In addition to Soviet-era photographs, posters, and other materials, his collection included items related to the Spanish Civil War, Maoist China, the Weimar Republic, and American labour organizations.^[2] King, a "leftist with Trotskyist leanings",^[3] in particular collected photographs and ephemera related to Leon Trotsky, who was extensively doctored out of revolutionary photographs and records under Josef Stalin's regime.^[4]

King worked at The Sunday Times Magazine as a designer and art editor. His design work also extended to album covers for artists like Jimi Hendrix; book covers radical and progressive publishers, including Allison and Busby and Earthscan Publications; and graphics for political causes he supported, such as the Anti-Apartheid Movement.^[5] He is the creator of the Anti-Nazi League's red-and-yellow logo. King described his work as an attempt "to create a visual style for the left."^[3]