Angus Hyland is a British graphic designer and is head of the London branch of Pentagram, and has worked with clients such as the BBC, The British Museum, Penguin and the Tate Modern. He is also creative consultant director of Laurence King Publishing. We spoke to him ahead of his appearance at OFFSET 2015.
You’re head of the London branch of Pentagram, which has five offices worldwide. Are there any instances where a project might be shared between two offices, e.g. both London and New York working together for an international client? and how often would the different offices get together to share work and ideas?
Yes we do collabroate over the pond when needs be – currently there are at least two major projects involving US/UK partners. Transatlantic collaboration happens when the scale of the project requires a multicultural dimension but, more often than not, because the skills or experience needed falls over two offices.
You had your own studio in London for ten years before joining Pentagram. Are there any aspects of working in a smaller environment that you miss?
Low rent for one thing. And I was much more disciplined about tidiness than I am now. We work in such a large space here in Notting Hill – formally a Victorian depot for a large department store – it really is a luxury due, principally, to the fact we’ve been here since it was a poor neighbourhood in the seventies. Monocle magazine once referred to here as one of the worlds’ most ‘charming’ offices. When I first arrived 17 years ago I felt positively agoraphobic.
That was in the ’90s, and we see a lot of ’90s influences coming back into fashion now. Do you think that this is also happening with graphic design and illustration?
Well I was just getting used to the ’80s revival. But I must say, I’m happy with the idea of a ’90s revival only because it suits my, basically, minimalist approach – although I do believe that in it’s current form it’s more human, less doctrinaire and allowing for some muted decoration which was strictly out when it was all John Pawson white interiors back in the day.
As well as designing books, and working as creative director of Laurence King, you have edited a number of books on design and illustration, the most recent being the Purple Book, published in 2013. Have you got any books in the pipeline?
Yes, I have – one of which I’ll be showing at Offset titled The Book of the Dog. It’s part of the talk I’ve loosely themed around ‘Le Style Anglais’. I started to notice a distinctive Englishness in my recent design work – partly due to the type of projects I’ve been commissioned to work on and partly because in this world of increasingly homogenised global culture where ideas quickly cross boarders it’s nice to channel something more locally specific; even if its only in nuance.
You’re married to the illustrator Marion Deuchars – do you ever collaborate?
Marion’s books are all currently published by Laurence King so it’s natural that we collaborate on those – not that she needs much, if any, art direction; more or less I just act as a sounding board in the development process. I usually run by her my own stuff for second opinion – especially when I’ve hit a impasse or lost perspective on a project – she has an objective eye, and is good and honest critic; too honest sometimes.
And finally, what designers inspire you? Perhaps an example of one that had a particular influence at the beginning of your career, and also a contemporary?
All the old guys – they stole all our ideas before we even had them.
Don’t forget you can win tickets to each of the #Absolut DIY workshops curated by OFFSET in collaboration with Absolut Ireland right here. They’re all sold out so this is your chance!
You can also win one of two pairs of tickets to OFFSET festival itself over here.
Words: Lauren Kavanagh
