Issue 81

Opinion

Editorial, John L. Walters
Designers and clients special issue.
The list goes on
Rick Poynor
Umberto Eco’s book The Infinity of Lists is erudite, informative and beautifully crafted: a contemporary Wunderkammer. Critique by Rick Poynor

Features

Reputations: John McConnell
John L. Walters
‘By wanting to be intelligent, it usually gets simpler and simpler. The creative process is paring back all the time. If you can’t defend it, get rid of it.That’s what turns me on. How simple can you make it? Usually, “creativity” means showing off to your peer group, and creativity without intelligence is as dumb as it comes.’
The far side
Chris Maillard
Clients can seem stubborn, ignorant, wilful and slow, yet some build a relationship of strong mutual respect with design practices.
Case studies
Chris Maillard
Case studies from Chris Maillard’s article ‘The far side’
What the client needs
Alexander Ecob, Eye critics
US designer George Tscherny talks about his 56 years working with the School of Visual Arts.
In the neighbourhood
John Ridpath
John Ridpath profiles three design practices who work with local clients: Maddison Graphic; Mark Gowing Design; and Bigger Than Giants
Trust in Modernism
Jim Northover
The John Lewis Partnership’s co-operative ethos has informed 50 years of corporate identity.
Symbols and survival
In their forthcoming book, the partners tell some of the stories behind their work for clients such as Chase Manhattan, Mobil, Pan Am, Time Warner and the Smithsonian
The shape of a pocket
Rick Poynor
In 1960s France, Henry Cohen’s inventive photographic covers made Gallimard’s Idées series required reading.
Bare bones of the revolution
Karla Hammer
Richard Pare’s photographs of Russian architecture strike up a dialogue with a time of energy and optimism.
Teaching in the spaces between code and design
Jürg Lehni
Jürg Lehni on the lessons of his Applied Scriptographer Research, carried out with Jonathan Puckey at ECAL