Issue 100

Opinion

Introduction Eye 100
John L. Walters
For this issue, eleven prominent designers have generously given up time to talk about graphic design…

Features

Fraser Muggeridge: The improviser
Interview by John L. Walters
‘The role of printed matter has shifted from what it communicates literally to what it communicates subconsciously.’
Jack Davison: Play of light
Kathy Ryan
Each of Jack Davison’s portraits is a spontaneous dance with his subject, says New York Times Magazine photo director Kathy Ryan
Studio Blup: Remixing the here and now
Derek Yates
Dines’s Studio Blup represents a radical challenge to the monoculture that still dominates current design
Liza Enebeis: Curious creative director
Interview by John L. Walters
‘Since the outbreak of Covid-19, the world feels more united. This may be a trigger in the future for how we can be more unified and achieve results as a world collective.’
Malika Favre: Gridlocked
John L. Walters
A love of mathematics and geometry underpins the immaculate illustrations of Malika Favre
Space Type Generator
John-Patrick Hartnett
Kiel Mutschelknaus’s constantly evolving Space Type Generator has the power to hypnotise
Michael Bierut: The designer’s designer
Interview by John L. Walters
‘Online, everything arrives with equal weight … everything can have a logo, everything can have an identity, everyone can do it in an untutored way.’ [EXTRACT]
Minjoo Ham: Ode to darkness
Ferdinand P. Ulrich
Minjoo Ham’s charming heavyweight Hangul typeface, inspired by Korean movie posters, is now available in a Latin version
Moross: The hands-on boss
Interview by John L. Walters
‘We work in the entertainment world where there are always a lot of time pressures. It’s a priority to manage stress and make sure people are fulfilled.’
‘As, not for’: The critique goes on
Silas Munro
‘As, Not For: Dethroning Our Absolutes’ is an itinerant exhibition of work by black designers whose legacy has been neglected for too long
Richard Turley: Mag-man ad-man
Interview by John L. Walters
‘There is rarely any doubt in advertising or branding. The default setting is “amazing”. Whereas in editorial, the core tenet is doubt.’ [EXTRACT]
Spassky Fischer: Concrete moves
John-Patrick Hartnett
The work of this prolific young French studio is founded on practicality and systems, while transcending such prosaic methods
Jessica Walsh: The influencer
Interview by John L. Walters
‘We can’t be like artists, who can stick to one style and never adapt what they do based on what’s going on in the world. This doesn’t bother me, it excites me.’ [EXTRACT]
Dafi Kühne: By his own hand
Jan Middendorp
Swiss designer Dafi Kühne works wholly in traditional letterpress techniques with entirely contemporary results
Sophie Thomas: Campaigner
Interview by John L. Walters
‘You need a creative or design-oriented brain to figure out what the system is and how to shift it. Designers are good at this.’ [EXTRACT]
Chloe Scheffe: Rethinking editorial design
John-Patrick Hartnett
Brooklyn-based Chloe Scheffe designs books by groundbreaking thinkers and tackles magazines with a similarly radical approach
Françoise Mouly: The illustrator’s art editor
Steven Heller
‘The covers are meant to capture the moment, but we want them to make sense next week, next decade, in a hundred years!’
eL Seed: City-wide calligraffiti
Jan Middendorp
This mega-mural by street artist eL Seed spans the walls of 50 buildings in a Christian Coptic community in Cairo
Bobby C. Martin Jr: Design Champion
Interview by John L. Walters
‘We’ve come so far we’re not stopping now. Design has infused every part of our lives because of designers pushing to have a seat at the table.’
Letterform Archive: Objects of Inspiration
Steven Heller
Letterform Archive is feeding the post-digital generation’s passion for physical artefacts
Evi O. Studio: Feast between the lines
A. R. Maxfield
This Sydney-based studio brings high-energy illustration and lettering to editorial design for food [EXTRACT]
Elaine Ramos: The book designer
Sarah Snaith
‘We overdose on communication, but “beautiful” design circulates only between the culturally literate.’
Extinction Rebellion: Truth works
John L. Walters
Extinction Rebellion has grabbed the world’s attention with its imaginative, disciplined and urgent approach to graphic activism
Milton Glaser: Design eminence
Steven Heller
‘Buttons, flyers, posters, postcards, T-shirts and books. How primitive are the means we have to dissent. And yet I believe these modest tools can help change history.’
Eye’s early years
Rick Poynor
Founding editor Rick Poynor recalls the aims and ideas behind the launch of an independent design magazine