Interviews, Essays, Etc.
In the first in a series of Author Q&As, Designers & Books asks graphic designers Ivan Chermayeff, Tom Geismar, and Sagi Haviv to talk about their new book, Identify (Print Publishing, October 2011), named a Notable Book of 2011 by Designers & Books.
Designers & Books: What were the circumstances that led you to write Identify?
Sagi Haviv: There is not much written about identity design from the standpoint of the practitioners. We thought that it would be interesting but also useful to describe our experiences and methodology.
D&B: Did you have a specific audience in mind as you were writing the book?
Ivan Chermayeff: Young designers everywhere and any others particularly interested in graphic design.
SH: Also, any brand manager who is put in charge of initiating and overseeing a rebranding effort can use Identify as a reference tool and a window into the world of identity design.
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Identify (Print Publishing, 2011) |
D&B: From your introduction, we conclude that your approach to your work basically involves these five steps: 1) Defining the problem; 2) Working out the strategy; 3) Sketching by hand; 4) Translating to digital artwork; 5) Judging concepts by: appropriateness, simplicity, and memorability? Is that accurate?
IC: Yes—but “judging” sometimes includes originality or having a new idea.
SH: Reducing it down like that may make it seem formulaic, but in real life it’s a very fluid process, and the different steps often overlap and come in a different order.
D&B: While certainly smart, the above process seems straightforward and perhaps even a bit ordinary. How do you explain the extraordinary results you get from such a seemingly ordinary process?
Tom Geismar: The process is straightforward, and certainly not unique to us. But we take all parts of it seriously and don’t stop working on any given project until we’re satisfied that we’ve done the best we can do.
D&B: Given your international success how would you describe the experience of your process in non-U. S. cultures, particularly non-Western cultures?
TG: We are doing more and more work for non-U. S. based entities, thanks to the internet. But almost all who seek us out do so because they want something that works internationally, not just locally.
D&B: Your book profiles almost 100 trademark case studies. Can you single out a couple for us—perhaps one that ended up being surprisingly challenging to your process—and another that ended up being particularly rewarding or satisfying?
SH: Chase bank in 1960, because it was the first abstract symbol for a bank in the U. S., and as the book explains, it was a hard sell and a massive effort to get it adopted. Conservation International in 2009 because it was probably the simplest mark we’ve ever created, and it replaced a highly illustrative mark—that made it another hard sell.
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Pages from Identify showing the evolution of the Chase Manhattan Bank logo. |
D&B: What would you say is the most important message of your book?
SH: Since the company started in 1957, there have been substantial changes in the visual culture, the media landscape, and the tools available for designers. And yet the firm’s methodology and approach to logo design have not changed. What worked on newspaper ads and billboards around the time that Tom and Ivan founded the firm works even better today in digital applications such as mobile apps and online.
D&B: What was it like working on the design of the book? Did you know all along how you wanted to organize it and what you wanted it to look like? Did you use your five-step process?
IC: It evolved. The tough part is so much is left out and had to be. Decisions, decisions!
D&B: How did the idea for the cover art come about?
SH: The cover has the appearance of an explosion—like a paint gun that went off. We wanted to create tension between the content of the book and the cover. In contrast with the rational analysis inside, the splat plays up the intuitive aspect of the process and creates a visual metaphor for immediate impact.
D&B: Are you working on a new book?
IC: Yes. It's a book on playing with type and the meaning of words in formation.
Announcements
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy by John Lobell
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy
By John Lobell
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: June 2020
Noted Louis I.Kahn expert John Lobell explores how Kahn’s focus on structure, respect for materials, clarity of program, and reverence for details come together to manifest an overall philosophy.
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn by Harriet Pattison
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn
By Harriet Pattison
Publisher: Yale University Press
Forthcoming: October 2020
An intimate glimpse into the professional and romantic relationship between Harriet Pattison and the renowned architect Louis Kahn. Harriet Pattison, FASLA, is a distinguished landscape architect. She was Louis Kahn’s romantic partner from 1959 to 1974, and his collaborator on the landscapes of the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, and the F.D.R. Memorial/Four Freedoms Park, New York. She is the mother of their son, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn.
Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes
Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes
By Per Olaf Fjeld and Emily Randall Fjeld
Publisher: University of Arkansas Press
Published: October 4, 2019
A new and personal reading of the architecture, teachings, and legacy of Louis I. Kahn from Per Olaf Fjeld’s perspective as a former student. The book explores Kahn’s life and work, offering a unique take on one of the twentieth century’s most important architects. Kahn’s Nordic and European ties are emphasized in this study that also covers his early childhood in Estonia, his travels, and his relationships with other architects, including the Norwegian architect Arne Korsmo.
Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context by David Raizman
Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context
By David Raizman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Published: December 2020
An innovative approach to graphic design that uses a series of key artifacts from the history of print culture in light of their specific historical contexts. It encourages the reader to look carefully and critically at print advertising, illustration, posters, magazine art direction, and typography, often addressing issues of class, race, and gender.
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian by Rick Poynor
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian
By Rick Poynor
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: September 2020
A comprehensive overview of the work and legacy of David King (1943–2016), whose fascinating career bridged journalism, graphic design, photography, and collecting. King launched his career at Britain’s Sunday Times Magazine in the 1960s, starting as a designer and later branching out into image-led journalism, blending political activism with his design work.
Teaching Graphic Design History by Steven Heller
Teaching Graphic Design History
By Steven Heller
Publisher: Allworth Press
Published: June 2019
An examination of the concerted efforts, happy accidents, and key influences of the practice throughout the years, Teaching Graphic Design History is an illuminating resource for students, practitioners, and future teachers of the subject.
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