Pentagram, founded in 1972, is one of the best
known and most influential graphic, product, and
architectural design firms in the world. Its partners
are distinguished members of the international design
community, consistently generating award-winning work of
the highest quality. Profile is the first ever book on
Pentagram to include the design firm's newest partners -
Fernando Gutierrez, D J 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 quirks of the different partners, the essays
are generously illustrated with examples of both key
projects and lesser-known works. Profile not only sheds
light on 19 individual talents, but also provides a
comprehensive overview of the legendary firm that has
influenced the course of design for over 30 years.
Included is a foreword on Pentagram's history and
evolution by Rick Poynor, one of today's most respected
design critics and founder of the incisive British
graphic-design magazine Eye. Pentagram began with five
partners; today, there are 19 working in London, New
York, Austin, San Francisco and Berlin. With a list of
clients that reads like a Who's Who of both the
commercial and cultural worlds, the firm has over the
last several years continued to produce influential,
diverse, award-winning work: Justus Oehler's corporate
identity for the Star Alliance, Fernando Gutierrez's
editorial designs for Colors and Matador magazines,
Lorenzo Apicella's mobile tourist pavilion for the Hong
Kong Tourist Authority, Abbott Miller's exhibition
design for Harley Davidson, and Lisa Strausfeld's media
wall project for New York's Penn Station are but a few
examples. Since Pentagram's inception, the firm has
taken care to document its work and evolution -
Pentagram: The Compendium was published by Phaidon in
1993. Profile follows this tradition, showcasing both
recent and classic projects, introducing new partners,
and analysing the company's position in the design world
as it embraces the new millennium. However, Profile is
far more than 'just' the latest Pentagram survey: rather
than painting another group portrait, it takes a new
approach and focuses on the individual partners who
together make up the whole. In 19 individual and
well-illustrated essays by acclaimed writers, critics
and journalists, the different partners are profiled
with incisive wit and insight. What emerges is a sharper
than ever understanding of the unique talents whose
commonalities and idiosyncrasies inflect the character
of Pentagram as a whole.
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