Johnnie Walker Striding Man

Johnnie Walker is undeniably one of the most recognisable icons the world over, so I was hugely honoured to work on the redesign of Johnnie Walkers’ iconic Striding Man back in 2014 with a brilliant creative team at Bloom London. They were looking for a crafted contemporary design with timeless visual appeal that would reflect the quality and heritage of the brand, a design that would last beyond our lifetime.

The Striding Man has always been a symbol of progress, forward momentum, leading not following. He needed a bold confidence both in his stride and in his quirky personality. It was a wonderful brief to work on.

The character was originally drawn in 1908 by Tom Browne a cartoonist for Punch magazine. At a lunch meeting he turned over a Menu card and drew the dapper man striding forward with confidence. From then on he appeared on advertising, and on the bottles since the 1950’s, facing left until the 1990s when he was flipped right to face the new millenium.

After Tom Browne, other Artists to draw the Striding Man Icon have been Clive Upton and John Geary. So i’m one of the lucky few to have drawn the iconic Striding Man and It feels a great honour to have briefly walked alongside the legend.

© Gary Redford