Profile: Pentagram Design (Hardcover)

~ Susan Yelavich (Editor), Rick Poynor (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Corporate design may often look as though it were created by a machine, or a committee. But the most memorable and beautiful consumer products, packaging, and environments are the work of individuals with high standards and a unique vision. Profile Pentagram Design focuses on the personalities of the 19 partners who run the world-famous firm based in London, Berlin, New York, San Francisco, and Austin, Texas. Lively essays by 19 writers, including radio host Kurt Andersen, novelist Louis Begley, and author Alain de Botton, humanize the firm's serenely iconic status. Each partner's approach involves a personal blend of intuition and analysis. Kit Hinrichs, who has worked for companies from Crocker Bank to Dryer's Ice Cream, says he creates "time bridges" in his work with treasured objects from his suburban California youth, including Boy Scout merit badges, Popular Mechanics magazines, and an edition of the Bible in which key passages were printed in red type. Daniel Weil says his understated designs for plates, blankets and other cabin accessories for United Airlines were based on a study of purchasing systems and business customer expectations. While Pentagram is known for the elegance and clarity of its work, some of the partners push that classicism into unexpected places. Paula Sher's passion is letterforms. She views typography as a kind of illustration, with huge, bold letters staking out psychic territory on a poster or swarming over a building. Then there's DJ Stout, former art director at Texas Monthly magazine, who put a drawing of Ross Perot as Alfred E. Newman on the cover of the June 1992 issue. As a Pentagram partner, Stout's wit takes more subtle forms, including his canny remake of an early Land's End lighthouse symbol into a timeless emblem—-a stack of three white stripes topped with a triangular beacon. Elegantly designed (by Pentagram), with more than 200 illustrations, this book is a must for anyone interested in the look of contemporary objects, from books to buildings. —-Cathy Curtis

Product Description

Pentagram, founded in 1972, is one of the best known and most influential graphic, product, and architectural design firms in the world, with offices in London, Berlin, New York, San Francisco, and Austin. Its partners are distinguished members of the international design community, consistently generating award-winning work of the highest quality.

Profile is the first Pentagram book to include the design firm’s "new guard," partners Fernando Gutiérrez, DJ Stout, Lisa Strausfeld, and Abbott Miller. The book is a unique collection of essays on Pentagram’s nineteen partners by best-selling authors, revered design critics, editors, and other well-known cultural figures. Eloquent and insightful explorations into the personalities, thought processes, careers, and work of the different partners, the essays are generously illustrated with examples of both key projects and lesser-known works. As a whole, Profile not only sheds light on nineteen individual talents, but also provides a comprehensive overview of the legendary firm that has influenced the course of design for over thirty years.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Phaidon Press (July 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0714843776
• ISBN-13: 978-0714843773
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #760,587 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)