Your work seems to take typography as a starting point, then build on that. Considering you majored in illustration, how did the lifelong love affair with lettering come about?
I realized I was a bad illustrator. I couldn’t really draw. I became an art director and commissioned illustration and added the typography. (This was at Atlantic and CBS Records). Soon I became less interested in the image and more interested in the type.
The type took over, it became the image.
You’ve worked with lots of big music publishers, such as Atlantic and CBS, designing record covers. How did you go about translating the audible into the visual?
I never really did that. I couldn’t listen to a piece of music and determine what the graphic should be. I talked to the recording artists and found out their impressions of the music. They all had cover approval in their contracts. They were my clients along with the record company execs. This where I learned how to work with clients.
Do you have a favourite piece of work from the record industry years?
I have favourite groups of work. I like a a lot my so-called “retro” work form the period, my Bartok cover and the Best of Jazz poster, etc. I am also fond of the work I did for Bob James and his Tappan Zee label.
I read that you ‘distrust’ Minimalist design – that’s possibly an overstatement, but nonetheless, your work does tend to veer towards Maximalism. Is that a populist statement, or simply an aesthetic preference?
I distrusted the Swiss International style in the 70’s. Now I rather like it. I think my current work runs to extremes, either maximalist of minimalist.
Some of your best-known and most successful works have been for very historic brands such as Tiffany & Co, New York City Ballet and Citibank. How do you go about injecting new life into a brand that prides itself on tradition?
I try to find the core of the brand and express it in a visible and tactile way. Tiffany was easy because they are supposed to look expensive. I made their type smaller on everything, more exclusive, and improved the materials of their packaging. It was a small change that made a huge difference. The citi logo was created when Citicorp merge with travellers. My job was to make a giant behemoth corporation look simple and easily understood.
You’ve now been a partner with Pentagram for over 20 years. How has working with them changed your creative outlook?
I have learned to work on such a broad range of assignments that I think anything is possible. I look at everything through the lens of identity. If I can understand what something is about I can express it to anyone in any form. My partners are all so inspiring and knowledgable that their very presence broadens me.
Design is still very much a male-dominated industry. How do you think the gender imbalance needs to be addressed?
I think more women should work on more visible projects and be recognized for it and more men should partner with and promote terrific women designers. Finally, this year, Pentagram will have 4 women partners. Hooray!
Your series of map paintings saw your crossover into the realm of Fine Art. Was the crossover a difficult one to make, or did it come quite naturally?
It was accidental. I was painting the maps. A friend of mine who is a fine artist saw them and recommended me to his gallery.
Words: Rosa Abbott
