New at Pentagram
New Work: Detroit Institute of Arts
The suite of interactive interpretive installations created by Pentagram for the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Founded in 1885, the Detroit Institute of Arts recently underwent an extensive six year, $158 million renovation that sought, among other things, to rethink the display of the museum’s permanent collection. As part of the renovation, Lisa Strausfeld and her team worked with the museum's education and interpretation department to develop a suite of permanent media-based interactive exhibitions that would help make the collection more accessible through the use of technology.
Michael Bierut Wins National Design Award
Michael Bierut has won the Design Mind Award in this year’s National Design Awards presented by the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
“The Design Mind Award recognizes a visionary who has affected a paradigm shift in design thinking or practice through writing, research and scholarship,” states the NDA release. “Bierut’s ability to articulate and deconstruct the design process has raised the consciousness of an entire field and sparked a national dialogue.” Bierut is a cofounder of Design Observer and his book Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design was published last year by Princeton Architectural Press. (And he deejayed the NDA After-Party in 2006.)
Bierut’s fellow 2008 NDA laureates include Scott Stowell for communications design, Antenna for product design, Tom Kundig for architecture design, Ralph Rucci for fashion design, Rockwell Group for interior design, Olin Partnership for landscape design, Google for corporate achievement and Charles Harrison for lifetime achievement. Bruce Nussbaum and Michael Sorkin were finalists in the Design Mind category. The National Design Awards program “seeks to increase national awareness of design by educating the public and promoting excellence, innovation and lasting achievement.” The award will be presented in a ceremony at the NDA gala on 23 October.
Announcement coverage: The New York Times, Design Observer
New Work: ‘Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy’
Summer equals superheroes, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art has its own summer blockbuster this year in Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy, presented by The Costume Institute. The exhibition explores the symbolic and metaphysical associations between fictional comic book characters and fashion and features popular icons such as Superman, Spider-Man, Hulk, Wonder Woman, Alexander McQueen, John Galliano and Jean-Paul Gaultier. The show will be celebrated tonight at the Institute’s spring gala—co-chaired by George Clooney, of Batman & Robin nippled Batsuit infamy—before opening to the public on Wednesday, 7 May. It remains on view through 1 September.
Abbott Miller’s design for the exhibition catalogue affirms the alliance between fantasy and fashion through the juxtaposition of fashion imagery, comic book details and film and TV stills of superheroes in a comic book frame format. These images have been closely cropped and break the frames to heighten the sense of interconnection. “Comics pioneered the fragmentation of time and space with multiple-frame compositions,” says Miller. “Our design uses this comics strategy to show multiple details and perspectives of a single garment.” The catalogue also features a pressed tin front and back cover that adds a tactile, three-dimensional element to the design, and of course doubles as a kind of armor or chest plate (think Iron Man).
Although nostalgic—the tin cover is reminiscent of a superheroes lunch box—the catalogue avoids a profusion of obvious comic book mimicry. There are no speech bubbles, allowing the images to speak for themselves, and instead of newsprint, the pages have a high-gloss acrylic coating that make the colors pop from the page. In an effort to differentiate the introductory essay by Michael Chabon (Secret Skin: An Essay in Unitard Theory) from the rest of the catalogue, the commentary has been designed as a book within a book and printed with a silver border as opposed to white.
Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy is published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and distributed by Yale University Press.
A look inside the book after the jump.
Continue reading "New Work: ‘Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy’"
This Monday: Abbott Miller at Central Saint Martins
Abbott Miller will present a free lecture on Monday night at Central Saint Martins. He will discuss recent projects as well as give a preview of work in progress, including his exhibition design for the Harley-Davidson Museum, his catalogue design for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s summer exhibition Superheroes: From Fashion to Fantasy and his Brno Echo exhibition for the Brno Biennale. Abbott’s introduction will be provided by Alice Rawsthorn, design critic of the International Herald Tribune and columnist for the New York Times Magazine. Monday, 28 April from 6:30 pm at the Cochrane Theatre, Southampton Row, London. Tickets are free and available from the Cochrane Theatre Box Office.
Font Selection ‘08
Michael Bierut remarks on John McCain’s use of Optima in a group critique for the Times’ Campaign Stops. Of the parsing of campaign logos, Michael says, “In a campaign season that seems to have an endless appetite for minutiae, I’d rather talk about the candidates’ graphic design tastes than, say, their sex lives!”
Michael also recently commented on the branding of Barack Obama in a piece on NPR.
Previously: Probama, Obama Wins
New Work: ‘My Wall Street Journal’
Wall Street had a new tabloid this week as My Wall Street Journal appeared—and quickly disappeared—from newsstands all over the country. Paula Scher consulted on the design of the new satire from Tony Hendra, the former editor of National Lampoon. Timed to tax day and the new recession, the single-issue parody of the News Corp-owned Journal has incurred the wrath of Rupert Murdoch (or at least his lookalike) and comes complete with a WSJ-style stippled illustration of a topless Ann Coulter (NSFW). Get your copy here.
Michael Bierut and Marian Bantjes Go Rococo
The Seduction symposium poster designed by Michael Bierut and Marian Bantjes for the Yale School of Architecture is currently on view at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum as part of its Rococo: The Continuing Curve 1730–2008 exhibition. The show examines the lasting impact of the Rococo period in design of the last four centuries; the poster, with the sinuous lines of Bantjes’ calligraphy, is one of twelve objects chosen to represent the 2000s. The exhibition remains on view through 6 July 2008.
Paula Scher at Serious Play
Paula Scher will be a featured speaker at Serious Play, this year’s Art Center Design Conference. Taking place in Pasadena, California, 7-9 May, the conference will explore the role of play in business, the arts, science, storytelling and technology. Other presenters include Elizabeth Diller, John Maeda, Bruce McCall and David Macaulay, and Paula will also lead a studio session with Sean Adams. Registration info here.
Introducing the Black Book
Pentagram is pleased to announce the publication of the Black Book, a new 800-page overview of our recent work. The book is a compilation of over 400 projects from the last several years, arranged in alphabetical order, like a dictionary, and printed on Bible paper, like a Bible, complete with tabbed sections and ribbons for bookmarking. It covers pretty much everything we do, from architecture to graphics, buildings to websites, branding to signage, interiors, packaging, exhibitions, interfaces, furniture, products, brochures, magazines, and houses, all in simple picture-and-caption form.
CONTEST UPDATE: The Black Book giveaway contest is now closed. The 50 lucky winners will be contacted by email to confirm their information. We’ve had an overwhelming response—thanks to everyone for entering and for continuing to follow our work!
A look inside the Black Book after the jump.
Lisa Strausfeld at MIND08
Lisa Strausfeld will be a speaker at MIND08, the two-day symposium presented by Seed and the Museum of Modern Art in conjunction with “Design and the Elastic Mind,” the exhibition currently on view at MoMA. Curator Paola Antonelli will host presenters including Greg Lynn, Natalie Jeremijenko, Jessica Banks, Chuck Hoberman and Neri Oxman, among others. Thursday, 3 April and Friday, 4 April at MoMA and Parsons The New School for Design in New York City. Tickets are free, but required for admission—register here.
Previously: Lisa Strausfeld in “Design and the Elastic Mind”
New Work: European Solidarity Center
As part of an international architecture competition sponsored by the city of Gdansk, Poland, Pentagram Architects has proposed a design for a European Solidarity Center (ESC) that would act as an international center of culture, housing a museum, temporary exhibition space and an academic research center. The project seeks to memorialize the organization Solidarity (Solidarno), the first non-communist trade union in a communist country founded in Gdansk in 1980. Solidarity was organized by workers from the Gdansk shipyard, the proposed site for the ESC, and was integral in helping establish the grassroots anti-communist social movement in Poland and subsequently, the rest of Europe.
James Biber’s team design, called the Interrex, celebrates the time between the end of one regime and the beginning of the next, a position Solidarity held in Poland in the late 90s as the government transitioned from communism to democracy. The proposal creates a literal space in the form of a massive covered gathering place below the building.
Abbott Miller Guests on This Week’s ‘Design Matters’
Abbott Miller will be the guest on Debbie Millman’s internet talk radio show Design Matters this Friday, 28 March at 3 pm EST. Tune in here for the live show and (later) the archived podcast.
Head Start
False Start, the new issue of 2wice designed by Abbott Miller, is noted in this week’s Village Voice. False Start presents a single performance by the choreographer Jonah Bokaer, arranged flipbook-like across 45 spreads. Check out an animated preview of the issue here.
Michael Bierut at @issue: Design and Business Conference
Michael Bierut is to speak at the @issue: Business and Design Conference slated for 29 April at the New York Times Building’s TheTimesCenter in New York City. Bierut will appear with New York Times VP David Thurm and Gensler principal Ed Wood to discuss the visual identity of the Times’ new headquarters, for which Pentagram designed the graphics, signage and wayfinding. Other conference speakers include Brian Walker, CEO of Herman Miller; Nancye Green, CEO of Waterworks; Joe Mansueto, CEO and founder of Morningstar; and Gael Towey, Chief Creative Officer of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia; among others. Registration information here.
Together with the Corporate Design Foundation, Kit Hinrichs of Pentagram San Francisco and Hirasuna Editorial founded the journal @issue and continue to design and produce it as well as to organize the annual conference.
Michael Bierut, Michael Gericke and Paula Scher at the Museum of the City of New York
As part of its Spotlight on Design series, the Museum of the City of New York will host a discussion with Michael Bierut, Michael Gericke and Paula Scher about what it takes to design for institutions and corporations in one of the most visually competitive cities in the world. Museum curator Donald Albrecht moderates. Wednesday, 16 April from 6:30 pm at the Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street. Tickets and information here.
On the Boards: ‘The Atlantic’
Michael Bierut’s upcoming redesign of the Atlantic Monthly is announced in the New York Post.
Probama
Andrew Romano of Newsweek’s Stumper blog interviews Michael Bierut about Barack Obama’s winning campaign graphics. “He’s the first candidate, actually, who’s had a coherent, top-to-bottom, 360-degree system at work,” says Bierut.
Obama Wins
Michael Bierut comments on the campaign logos of the 2008 presidential candidates in “May the Best Logo Win,” a piece by Karrie Jacobs in Salon. “Obama is marketing like Apple, Nike or Starbucks. He’s selling an experience. It’s all done with such skill and finesse that as a professional, I am in absolute awe,” says Bierut.
Lisa Strausfeld in MoMA’s ‘Design and the Elastic Mind’
The Museum of Modern Art’s landmark new exhibition, “Design and the Elastic Mind,” opens this weekend. Curated by Paola Antonelli, the exhibition “highlights current examples of successful design translations of disruptive scientific and technological innovations, and reflects on how the figure of the designer has changed from form giver to fundamental interpreter of an extraordinary dynamic reality.” Two of Lisa Strausfeld’s recent projects are represented: Sugar, the user interface for the One Laptop per Child initiative, chosen to represent large-scale, community-oriented design and demonstrated in the exhibition on two XO laptops, and Lisa’s visualizations for the New York Times Magazine article “Rewiring the Spy,” featured as an example of a critical visualization. Two hundred other objects, installations and concepts are also on display including examples of nanodesign, 3-D printing and organic design.
“Design and the Elastic Mind” opens to the public on Sunday, 24 February and is on view through 12 May 2008.
He Sings, Too
Michael Bierut sings a voicemail message for designer Joshua Levi, who won the privilege with a high bid in the AIGA/NY Holiday Party auction. (Proceeds went to the AIGA/NY Mentoring Program.) A new option in Pentagram’s menu of services? Or a 5-second teaser for 79 Short Songs on Design?
Design Museum's 'Feedback' Lecture Now Available on Podcast
Harry Pearce, John Rushworth and Paula Scher’s “Feedback” lecture held at the London Design Museum last year is now available as a podcast from the museum’s website.
The talk was organized as an accompaniment to the Design Museum’s retrospective “Alan Fletcher 50 Years of Graphic Work (and Play)” and was hosted by the exhibition’s curator Emily King. In the hour-long discussion, Pearce, Rushworth and Scher frequently refer to the ways in which Fletcher influenced their work and careers.
Paula Scher at UDesign
Paula Scher will speak at UDesign, a graphic design conference to be held at Princeton University on 1 March. The student group Princeton University Student Design Agency has organized the conference on the premise that although the university lacks a graphic design major, exposure to the field is no less important.
Pentagram Honored for Leadership in Pro Bono Service
Pentagram’s New York office was honored last night by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation for its work for nonprofit organizations. Paula Scher and Jim Biber were on hand to accept the honor during a ceremony held at the Harvard Club. Pentagram received the first annual “DNA” award for “its exceptional incorporation of pro bono service into its business culture.” Recent Pentagram pro bono projects include work for the Robin Hood Foundation, the Madison Square Park Conservancy, the Public Theater and the One Laptop Per Child initiative.
The award ceremony is part of a two-day Pro Bono Summit that has brought together 150 top corporate, government and nonprofit leaders to launch a multi-year campaign to dramatically increase the amount of skilled volunteering and pro bono service employees give to nonprofits and their communities. The leaders are discussing strategies for making the idea of “pro bono” as common in marketing, finance, technology, HR, logistics and other professions as it is in the legal field.
Speaking about the business advantages of doing pro bono work Scher stated: “A lot of the work we’ve done is outside, public, it’s very visible, and so clients will call us because they’ve seen the design. I can’t tell you how many jobs I’ve gotten through [pro bono work with] the Public Theater. We’re connected to virtually every cultural institution in the city. We are rewarded in recommendations; we’re included in groups where we find out information about things—it’s all very good business.”
Pro bono work has been part of the culture at Pentagram for decades as the partners and their teams donate their talents and time to enhance the design programs of cultural institutions and nonprofit organizations all over the city. “Pentagram Design is setting a powerful example of corporate citizenship that we hope other companies will follow,” said Jean Case, Chair of the Council. “Embracing a pro bono approach is good for employees, the community and the bottom line. America’s businesses have an extraordinary pool of skilled talent, and engaging corporate volunteers on a large scale could make a profound difference in the well-being of our communities and our country.”
The Council’s Pro Bono Award is given annually to six companies who are considered to be setting the standards of excellence in offering pro bono corporate skills to solve social challenges. This year’s other awardees are the Advertising Council; General Electric; Harvard Business School Community Partners; McKinsey & Company; and the Monitor Group.
Giants Win Super Bowl at Arizona Cardinals Stadium
Although our true loyalties lie with their crosstown rivals, Pentagram’s New York office was cheering on the New York Giants in their victory against the New England Patriots in Sunday’s Super Bowl XLII. The game was the first Super Bowl to be played at the NFL’s newest stadium (now named University of Phoenix Stadium), opened in 2006 and for which Michael Gericke designed the environmental graphics and James Biber the interiors program. The structure was named by BusinessWeek magazine to be one of the most innovative sporting structures in the world and will be the home of future Super Bowls. Gericke was in attendance at the game, as was associate Don Bilodeau.
Snapshots from the event and a peek at a permanent tribute by Pentagram after the jump.
Continue reading "Giants Win Super Bowl at Arizona Cardinals Stadium"
New Work: 'Sex in Design/Design in Sex'
Designed for your pleasure: The exhibition Sex in Design/Design in Sex opens tonight at the Museum of Sex with exhibition design by James Biber and graphics by Michael Bierut. The show sets out to examine the subconscious, as well as the intended, sexual imagery in design as it is found in the objects we wear, live with and use for erotic pleasure. Design work such as Karim Rashid’s multipurpose lounger the Kairotic Karimsutra, Shiri Zinn’s quartz crystal dildo Minx and calibrated dilators by Rhett Butler of Kiki de Montparnasse are on view.
The intentionally austere exhibition design of Sex in Design/Design in Sex puts the objects in a context that more closely resembles the Museum of Modern Art’s Architecture and Design galleries than the Museum of Sex’s previous exhibitions. “This is the first truly uninflected look at these beautiful and occasionally quite strange objects,” says Biber. “And they are at their best in the rather deadpan environment we created. They didn’t need any help from us to look sexy.”
New Work: Glass House Projects
Michael Bierut and Yve Ludwig have designed Projects, a brochure for the Philip Johnson Glass House annual fundraising campaign. Featuring lush color photography, the brochure was conceived to be a catalog of the various Glass House projects in need of funds that allows donors to select the project their money goes towards. For example, a donor can choose to support the restoration of the Brick House, the conservation of the site-specific Donald Judd sculpture or the revitalization of David Whitney's Succulent Garden.
The brochure, mailed to several thousand potential donors, was intentionally designed to resemble a mail order catalog in its modest size and light weight and was delivered complete with an order form and a business reply envelope for donations. "The idea was to avoid the usual pompous fundraising publication and instead do something lively, accessible and fun," says Bierut. "The prestige and historic importance of the Glass House is well established; our intention was to let people know that anyone can get involved with its ongoing restoration." Last week the piece was featured on The Moment, the New York Times style blog.
Pentagram previously designed the Glass House identity and Visitors Center.
A look inside Projects after the jump.
Light Show
The screening room in the Montauk Residence designed by James Biber is visited by the Home & Garden section of the New York Times, in a special feature about lighting for dark rooms. “Because the theater is in the basement, it shouldn’t imitate an ordinary, windowed room in the house, and so I looked for inspiration elsewhere,” Biber tells Elaine Louie. “That elsewhere turned out to be Radio City Music Hall, where the lighting is hidden in the arches facing the stage.”
James Biber to Make AIGA/NY Small Talk
James Biber will present “2D/3D,” an AIGA/NY Small Talk taking place on Wednesday 6 February from 6:30-8:00. Biber will discuss the intersection between architecture and graphic design, his life at Pentagram, how he really feels about collaborating with graphic designers and what he considers to be the most influential movie about design ever made—and no, it’s not Helvetica. At the Bumble and bumble auditorium, 415 West 13th Street. Details here. THIS EVENT HAS SOLD OUT.
Design Sponge Visits the Miller-Lupton Residence
Abbott Miller and Ellen Lupton open their Baltimore home to Design Sponge.
Mad. Sq. P.
New York’s first public pay toilet opened today in Madison Square Park. The exterior sports a poster designed by Paula Scher, featuring the identity she developed for the park. The toilet is self-cleaning and costs a quarter to use, and is conveniently located just across the park from Pentagram’s office.
Update: Brand Flakes for Breakfast finds its new favorite place to P.
Michael Bierut Talks Typography with ‘The Atlantic’
In a video interview with The Atlantic, Michael Bierut talks about typography, including Stanley Kubrick’s favorite font, the cover design of The Catcher in the Rye, and the link between phototypesetting and Free Love.
The interview accompanies an article about typography by Virginia Postrel in this month’s issue.
New Work: New York City Ballet
Paula Scher has designed a new identity and promotional campaign for the New York City Ballet, one of the largest and most prominent dance companies in the world. The campaign, developed with Pentagram’s Lisa Kitschenberg and Luis Bravo of the NYCB, launches this week with the opening of the company’s winter season.
Luke Hayman at Magazines Are Dead! Long Live the Magazine!
Luke Hayman will be speaking at the one day conference about magazine design Magazines are Dead! Long Live the Magazine! taking place in London on Friday 25 January. Sponsored by the St Bride Foundation, Hayman will be joined by Jeremy Leslie, editor of the blog magCulture, Wallpaper* editor-in-chief Tony Chambers and Simon Esterson of Blueprint and Eye, amongst others.
Unbeige Visits Arizona Cardinals Stadium
Steve Delahoyde of Unbeige checks out our environmental graphics for Cardinals Stadium during a trip home to Glendale, AZ.
In the Bag
In a front page article about the trend of using shopping bags as portable fashion, the New York Times slips a bag over the head of the “renowned graphic artist” who redesigned the Saks Fifth Avenue packaging. In a comparison with other luxury retailers, Saks comes out on top for giving its formerly “battleship gray bags a sleeker, black-and-white look and more durable feel.” The artist in question, renowned or not, is never identified.
Paula Scher in ‘The Huffington Post’
Paula Scher talks to Susan Sawyers about her map paintings in The Huffington Post. "I didn't stop being a graphic designer to become a painter," Scher tells Sawyers. "One informs the other and I am richer for both."Paula Scher at Glasshouse New York
Tomorrow night Glasshouse New York presents “Does Design Really Matter?,” a panel discussion with Paula Scher, David Rockwell of the Rockwell Group and Carl Johnson of Anomaly, moderated by Linda Tischler of Fast Company. Tuesday, 4 December from 6:30 pm at the Rockwell Group, 5 Union Square West in New York City. Tickets are $75. Registration here.
Hillman Curtis Films Pentagram
Designer and filmmaker Hillman Curtis has directed a short documentary about Pentagram. Shot at each of Pentagram’s five offices, the film features a graphic presentation of the history of the partnership by Paula Scher, alongside interviews with a number of partners.
Click here to view the film at hillmancurtis.com
The film was originally shown at the 2007 D&AD President’s Lecture in London and is Curtis’ second on Pentagram, following one he made in 2005.
Give One XO Laptop, Get One
Through 31 December, One Laptop Per Child is offering a Give One Get One program in the United States and Canada. Donate a XO laptop to a child in a developing country and receive one for the child in your life. Originally a two-week campaign that began in mid-November, the extended Give One Get One offer is the first time the laptop has been made available to the general public.
Lisa Strausfeld and her team have designed a temporary website for the promotion that educates donors about the organization’s mission, while it takes cues from consumer websites through the use of detailed product shots and overviews of the software. The site also provides a walk through of Sugar, the user interface developed by Pentagram with Red Hat and OLPC.
Website design by Lisa Strausfeld, Christian Marc Schmidt and Asad Pervaiz in collaboration with OLPC and Eleven. Identity design by Michael Gericke. Site development by Nurun.
Pentagram New York Hosts WGDFC Northern Regional
On Friday, 16 November Pentagram’s New York office hosted the Northern Regional of the World Graphic Design Foosball Championship. Nineteen teams from studios across the city battled it out before the top two teams were sent on to compete at Karlssonwilker and The Office of Paul Sahre later that night. Sadly Pentagram’s own teams did not advance to the final, but the event did qualify as the studio’s first kegger.
Continue reading "Pentagram New York Hosts WGDFC Northern Regional"
‘Helvetica’ Out Now on DVD
Helvetica, the documentary by Gary Hustwit that includes interviews with Michael Bierut and Paula Scher, amongst others, is released today in a special edition DVD that boasts over 90 minutes of extended interviews with the film’s featured designers. Order from the official Helvetica site and you’ll receive two buttons and save $5 off the list price of $24.99.
New Work: ‘The Advocate’
Luke Hayman and his team have redesigned The Advocate, the landmark gay and lesbian biweekly newsmagazine. The redesign coincides with the magazine’s 40th anniversary and the arrival of a new editor in chief, Anne Stockwell. It also reflects the broader changes in the LGBT community that the magazine serves.
‘Paula Scher: Recent Paintings’ Opens This Week
An exhibition of new paintings by Paula Scher opens this Thursday, 8 November at the Maya Stendhal Gallery at 545 West 20th Street in New York City. Featured is work from her ongoing Maps series including the paintings India, Tsunami, Manhattan at Night, NYC Transit, Middle East and Paris. An exhibition catalogue has been published. The show remains on view through 26 January.
A closer look at NYC Transit and images of China and Paris after the jump.
Continue reading "‘Paula Scher: Recent Paintings’ Opens This Week"
Mike Likes SAM
NYC Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg shows off the new Seattle Art Museum identity during a visit to the museum giftshop. (Via Gothamist).
Montauk Residence in ‘Architectural Record’
The Montauk residence designed by James Biber and his team is featured in the October issue of Architectural Record. (Online with slideshow and audio interview with Biber.) Jane Kolleeny writes: “The elusive boundaries between the buildings and outdoor spaces pay tribute to the Case Study House program. Here, the architect considered not only his design’s visual impact, but how it would engage other senses, as well. In particular, he wanted the residential compound to embrace nature by capturing the omnipresent sound of the ocean. As Biber describes it, ‘The house is like a vessel for listening to the sea.’”
The American Smile
Michael Bierut contributes an image to The American Idea, a special section in the 150th anniversary issue of The Atlantic, out now.
New Work: Gallup
Lisa Strausfeld, Christian Marc Schmidt and Takaaki Okada have redesigned the website of Gallup, the organization that studies human nature and behavior. In addition to producing the high-profile Gallup Polls that track public opinion about social issues and cultural trends, the group does consulting for corporations and institutions on issues like employee productivity and constituent feedback.
Pentagram worked in collaboration with Gallup on the conceptual and visual design of the site, as well as the navigation, that highlights Gallup’s two most public divisions, the Poll and its consultancy group. On the homepage, the website redesign restructures the various divisions of Gallup into dual columns. In the left column is the Gallup Poll, and its content related to politics and government; in the right, Gallup Consulting, with divisions related to economics and management.
“The site design reflects the macro- and micro-economic model of the organization,” says Strausfeld. “The world poll focuses on citizen engagement and speaks to public leaders; the consulting side speaks to customer or staff engagement. For both segments, the site emphasizes Gallup as a tool for the greater well being of their constituents.”
The two segments—represented with the colors of green and orange—are carried throughout the site as persistent navigation.
Strausfeld says, “The organization has 70 years of public opinion surveys; the content has always been there, and it is constantly updated. The redesign helps quantify all of that qualitative information.” The new site also makes use of video reports.
The redesign was completed as focus intensifies on the 2008 US presidential election. (Gallup famously has a history of calling election results.)
Strausfeld is a Senior Scientist at the Gallup Organization.
Pentagram Celebrates Julius Shulman and ‘The Russian Garbo’
On Wednesday night Pentagram Architects hosted a party to celebrate famed architectural photographer Julius Shulman’s 97th birthday and the publication of Pentagram Papers 38: The Russian Garbo, which features Shulman’s photographs of the Sten-Frenke House. The Santa Monica residence was designed by Richard Neutra in 1934 for the Ukrainian émigré actress Anna Sten (“The Russian Garbo”) and her husband, Dr. Eugene Frenke, and was restored by James Biber and his team at Pentagram Architects in 2005. Shulman, who photographed Neutra-designed houses for forty years, remarkably did not shoot the Sten-Frenke House until after the restoration was complete.
Continue reading "Pentagram Celebrates Julius Shulman and ‘The Russian Garbo’"
You're Looking a Little Wired
Luke Hayman and digital production artist Darrow have collaborated on an illustration that runs with an essay by Clive Thompson in the October issue of Wired, about the decline of human memory and the growing reliance on cellphones, PDA’s and other devices to hold basic information. To create the image, a Blackberry was photographed and its keys composited with a figure inspired by the sculpture of Jake and Dinos Chapman.
Abbott Miller at RGD DesignThinkers
Abbott Miller will be a keynote speaker at DesignThinkers, the annual conference of the RGD Ontario, 17 to 19 October in Toronto. Other featured speakers include Stefan Sagmeister, James Victore, Karim Rashid, Marc Gobé, Debbie Millman and Hillman Curtis. Registration information here.
Luke Hayman Looks Back
Just in time for his Golden Boa Award, Luke Hayman is interviewed by Mediabistro about his past ten years as a designer.
Tribute to Unsung Heroine
Lisa Strausfeld and others paid tribute to Muriel Cooper, an “unsung heroine of on-screen style” in a piece by Alice Rawsthorn in the International Herald Tribune on Sunday. Cooper, who in 1973 co-founded the Visual Language Workshop at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is remembered by Strausfeld, a former student, as “a real mentor” who “elevated the quality of digital and interactive design work, and inspired a whole generation.”
Slovenia: It’s S’lovely!
Condé Nast Traveler asked six designers to each rebrand a country of his or her choice for its September issue, and Paula Scher selected Slovenia for her effort. “I’ve been to Slovenia twice and loved it. But most Americans don’t know what or where it is, which is something I wanted to address” says Scher. By highlighting Slovenia’s proximity to Italy, she made the country appear both physically accessible and “like it has great skiing and great food, which it in fact does.” Although, as she commented in the article, “I don’t think countries should have logos. Logos are for corporations.”
A few taglines after the jump.
Robb Report Visits the Montauk Residence
The Robb Report features the Montauk Residence designed by James Biber and associate Michael Zweck-Bronner in the cover story of the September issue of Vacation Homes, out now. The residence was designed as “a case study house in New York” inspired by a trip Biber took to California to experience the original mid-century icons. The result is “a beautifully detailed, very elegant case study house” overlooking the Atlantic and with all the modern accoutrements.
Luke Hayman Wins Golden Boa
Luke Hayman has been awarded a prestigious, if not unconventional, Golden Boa Award from Mediabistro. He is one of ten honorees chosen to receive the award, one from each of the various media outlets Mediabistro serves. Others include Stephen Colbert for The Colbert Report, Adam Moss of New York Magazine and Craig Newmark of Craigslist. The awards, bronzed feather boas inspired by Mediabistro founder Laurel Touby’s penchant for the adornment, will be presented on 4 October in Manhattan.
Organized to celebrate Mediabistro’s tenth anniversary, the award recognizes individuals who have made significant strides in their media careers since the company’s founding. “So much has changed in the media landscape over the last decade – it’s an entirely new world. I wanted to honor some of the people who have contributed to that,” says Touby.
Marian Bantjes Wanted for Saks ‘Want It!’ Campaign
For Saks Fifth Avenue’s fall campaign, Pentagram asked the designer and typographer Marian Bantjes to create a special promotional treatment of the store’s “Want It!” theme, and to extend that treatment to 19 unlikely illustrations of fashion trends that Saks has identified for fall.
Marian was in town the week before last to help celebrate the campaign’s launch and to check out the campaign’s over-the-top installations at Saks’s flagship store. Her entertainingly exhaustive visual diary appears on her blog.
Pentagram’s art direction of the Want It! campaign extends the work that began with the launch of the new Saks identity at the beginning of this year.
Michael Bierut: The Early Years
Michael Bierut shares his student portfolio on Design Observer.
‘2wice’ Featured in ‘The New York Times’
The latest issue of 2wice designed by Abbott Miller was featured in The New York Times on Saturday. Titled Green World: Merce Cunningham, the issue is devoted to the work of the famed choreographer as it captures, through the stunning photography of Katherine Wolkoff, Cunningham’s troupe as they perform in the gardens of the Italian Renaissance-inspired Vizcaya mansion in Miami.
Street Fashion by Pentagram
New York Fashion Week tent graphics designed by Pentagram.
Wrapping up in New York’s Bryant Park: Pentagram’s graphics for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Using a classic axonometric map of Manhattan, Michael Bierut and Jennifer Kinon created invitations, t-shirts, banners and, of course, graphics for the event’s signature tents.
‘Helvetica’ Opens in New York
Helvetica, the acclaimed documentary by Gary Hustwit about the ubiquitous typeface that features interviews with Michael Bierut and Paula Scher, amongst others, opens today at the IFC Center in New York. The film is also running at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London through 27 September.
Selected reviews after the jump.
‘Seventy-Nine Short Essays’ Very Short-Listed
Michael Bierut’s Seventy-Nine Short Essays on Design has been recommended by Very Short List. “If your main exposure to the world of graphic design consists of swapping between Arial and Helvetica in Microsoft Word, then you need to read Michael Bierut,” says VSL.
Department of Cultural Affairs
Pentagram’s work for New York cultural institutions is the focus of an article in today’s New York Sun. “When an arts institution in New York wants to reinvent or reinforce its image, very often the artistic or marketing director’s first move is to pick up the phone and call a partner at Pentagram,” writes Kate Taylor.
Montauk Residence Wins American Architecture Award
The Montauk Residence, designed by James Biber and his team, has won an American Architecture Award for distinguished buildings. Sponsored by the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design, the award is co-presented annually by The European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design and Urban Studies and Abitare magazine to 35 new buildings either located in the United States or built abroad by American architects. The award serves to identify “the new cutting-edge design direction, urban philosophy, design approach, style and intellectual substance in American architecture today.”
Images of the award-winning projects can be found at the Chicago Athenaeum website.
Paula Scher on ‘Brand America’
In a video interview with Monocle, Paula Scher talks to editor-in-chief Tyler Brûlé about the brand identity of the United States. “We were in a face off with the Soviet Union in the Cold War, and we didn’t change our rhetoric once we didn’t have a big global power confronting us, so we talk to everybody like we’re talking to big global superpowers all the time and we really have to tone down the volume,” says Scher. In the wide-ranging discussion, she touches on the graphic beauty of the Stars and Stripes, the enduring image of the Statue of Liberty (“The nice lady holding up the torch—what could be more welcoming and comforting?”), the future of the media, and why she’d love to redesign the experience of air travel.
The interview complements an essay by Scher that appears in the magazine’s current issue.
One Laptop Per Child Wins INDEX: Award
INDEX, a non-profit organization based in Copenhagen whose mission is to support design that substantially improves human life, has presented One Laptop Per Child with a prestigious INDEX: Award. Every two years, one award is given in each of five categories: Body, Home, Work, Play and Community. OLPC won in the Community category, as the jury surmised: “Without a computer-literate population, developing countries will continue to struggle to compete in a rapidly evolving, global information economy.” Pentagram developed the laptop’s interface and designed the organization’s identity and website.
Paula Scher Designs Templates for Download from HP
Today Hewlett-Packard launches a new website featuring Paula Scher, Jake Burton and Gwen Stefani as part of its $300 million Print 2.0 campaign designed to inspire and empower customers with free customizable, printable content. For her part, Scher designed five business templates, including letterhead, envelopes, business cards and notecards, that provide users with a complete graphics package. Named Bold, Modern, Edgy, Elegant and Friendly, the templates were designed to appeal to a diverse array of businesses and personality types. Two templates, Friendly and Modern, are available for download today, with the others being added over the next few weeks.
The site also features an interview with Scher in which she speaks about how to build a successful brand identity. “The characteristic that matters for every good brand is that you look like you made your decisions based on who you are for specific reasons, not that they were accidental,” she says. “A small business should ask itself who its customer is, who are they talking to. They should think about how to present themselves and what their tone of voice should be.” Shot in Pentagram’s New York office, the interview is accompanied by commentary about some of her most celebrated designs.
“No template is a substitute for hiring a professional designer,” warns Scher, and indeed at Scher’s suggestion the HP site includes a prominent link to the AIGA designer directory. “But at the very least, I hope we can stop a few innocent people out there from using Comic Sans.”
Rounding out the site’s content, Jake Burton offers advice on how to produce a successful marketing campaign and the importance of a strong visual brand, while Gwen Stefani offers customizable Harajuku-inspired paper dolls, party invites and CD covers.
Views of the templates in action after the jump.
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Home ‘Invasion’
Abbott Miller and Ellen Lupton’s Baltimore home was used as a setting for The Invasion, the new, not entirely successful remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The Miller-Lupton home doubled as the residence of the protagonist, Dr. Carol Bennell, played by Nicole Kidman. Ellen Lupton wrote about the experience of having a Hollywood set decorator overtake her home on her blog, Design Your Life.
Room snatching after the jump.
Paula Scher Creates Pincushion Eames Chair for Charity Auction
Paula Scher has reinterpreted an Eames molded plywood chair as part of a Herman Miller-sponsored charity auction to raise money for the Peace House Foundation. Each of the eleven participating designers and design firms were given an Eames’ classic “potato chip chair” to modify. Paula’s contribution was inspired by a typeface she designed called Pincushion. “We wanted to think of the object as something soft that could be punctured, in this case, with large hatpins, giving it the feeling of a pincushion” she said. “In our expression, the chair becomes a purely visual, rather than a utilitarian object.” Other participants include Ayse Birsel, David Rockwell, Todd Oldham and Maharam. The chairs will be auctioned off at the Herman Miller National Design Center in New York on 22 August.
The Peace House Foundation is a U.S. based non-profit that is committed to educating children affected by the AIDS pandemic in East Africa.
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Michael Bierut’s Book Is ‘New York’ Approved
Michael Bierut’s Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design charts on the Approval Matrix in this week’s issue of New York magazine, sharing space—somewhere between “Highbrow” and “Brilliant”—with David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a Malcolm Lowry compendium and videos of artists’ Moleskine sketchbooks.
New Work: 166 Perry Street
