Designers come in all shapes and sizes and apply their talents to an enormous range of things, from books to refrigerators to clothes to stage scenery. Can such a motley crew be grouped together under one head; and do their diverse passions have common roots? Becoming a Designer traces the early development of talent in a range of designers to explore the possibility that a unique combination of personality characteristics along with a visualising sensitivity makes design success predictable from an early age.

F.H.K Henrion was one of a distinguished group of graphic designers - refugees from Europe just prior to World War-II, who brought cutting-edge continental design to the rather parochial English scene. He quickly made his mark as a poster designer for the Ministry of Information, and, parallel to this, began to build up a career in exhibition design, culminating in two highly original pavilions for the Festival of Britain. However, Henrion is best remembered for his evangelical work in corporate identity design whereby he raised the status of the graphic designer to boardroom significance. He established the authority of the profession as total re-branders of organizations, from logo, through retail outlets and vehicles, to stationery and labels. "The Design Series" is the winner of the Brand/Series Identity Category at the British Book Design and Production Awards 2009, judges said: 'A series of books about design, they had to be good and these are. The branding is consistent, there is a good use of typography and the covers are superb'.

A survey by Nicklaus Pevsner in the 1930s estimated that some 80-90% of manufactured goods in England were shoddy and poorly designed. When it came to furniture only a handful of manufacturers would have escaped such condemnation. Prime among these was Heals of Tottenham Court Road - manufacturer, retailer, and, with its top floor Mansard Gallery, the Mecca for Home Counties cognoscenti of 'modernism'. Most furniture manufacturers advertised their wares in the press but Heal's was a rare exception in the industry in its use of posters. Heal's posters not only relay the saga of a pioneering enterprise but provide a shorthand history of what was happening in the design and retailing of furniture and furnishings in Britain in the 20th century.

From the latter part of the 19th century there was a fever of experiment resulting in the development of what were to become brand-named beauty products. Some manufacturers were generally interested in producing 'healthy' products that could beautify without harming; others were chancers climbing on the band wagon. Most beauty product manufacturers started with one or two specialised products - for the hair or nails or skin - but eventually all involved in the beauty industry seemed to be selling everything - from lipsticks to false eye lashes; minnows in the industry were swallowed up by whales. Advertising for beauty products moved with social trends - from flapper girl to Carnaby Street Twiggy lookalikes. Gullible consumers were offered solutions to achieving their dreams - to look forever young, to attract attention, to land Mr. or Mrs. Right. Sellers of Dreams charts the advertiser's skills in promising dreams would come true.