Pentagram (design studio)
Encyclopedia
Pentagram is a design studio that was founded in 1972 by Alan Fletcher
, Theo Crosby
, Colin Forbes
, Kenneth Grange
and Mervyn Kurlansky in Needham Road, West London
, UK
. They now have offices in London
, New York
, San Francisco, Austin
and Berlin
.
claimed the structure was suggested to him by his experience of working on the seminal late-'50s exhibition This is Tomorrow
: "it was my first experience at a loose, horizontal organisation of equals. We have brought it ... to a kind of practical and efficient reality at Pentagram". The firm currently comprises 16 partner-designers in 4 cities, each managing a team of designers and sharing in common overhead and staff resources. The partners in each office share incomes equally and all the partners own an equal portion of the total firm. This equality, along with the tradition of periodically inviting new members to join, renews the firm while giving even the newest members an equal footing with the partners of long standing. This 'flat' organization (there are no executive officers, CEO, CFO or board, other than the entire group) along with the self-capitalized finances of the business, allows equal participation and control of the group's destiny by the members.
In 1978 Colin Forbes formed the New York office, eventually adding both graphic designers Peter Harrison and Woody Pirtle
as partners. In 1990-91 Michael Bierut
, Paula Scher
, graphic designers and James Biber
an architect, joined the New York office and eventually moved to a building at 204 Fifth Avenue, a building designed by C.P.H. Gilbert
, where the office still resides. Now in the New York office there are seven partners including Bierut, Scher, Michael Gericke, Abbott Miller, Luke Hayman, Lisa Strausfeld
and Eddie Opara.
In London, all the founding partners, along with David Hillman and John McConnell have departed, leaving a second and third generation of partners working in the Needham Road office. John Rushworth, Daniel Weil (an industrial designer), Angus Hyland
, Justus Oehler (running the Berlin branch), Harry Pearce, Domenic Lippa, along with architects Lorenzo Apicella
, Naresh Ramchandani and William Russell now comprise the London office.
In Austin, DJ Stout runs a single partner office.
, identity
, architecture
, interiors
and products. They have designed packaging and products for many well known companies, such as Tesco
, Boots
, 3Com
, Swatch
, Tiffany & Co, Dell
, Netgear
, Nike
and Timex
. They have also developed identities for Citibank
, United Airlines
, and The Co-operative brand
in the UK, winning a silver award from the Design Business Association.
In 2007, they updated the visual identity of Saks Fifth Avenue
.
In addition to graphic design work, the firm has partners working on architectural projects such as the Harley-Davidson Museum
, the Alexander McQueen
shops, Citibank interiors, the Adshel and Clear Channel
buildings in London, a host of private residences including the Phaidon Atlas of Architecture listed Bacon Street Residence, the new London club Matter
, along with a host of interior, retail, restaurant and exhibition projects.
Pentagram was hired to redesign the American cable television program, The Daily Show
s set and on-screen graphics in 2005.
Outside of commercial work, Pentgram also does pro bono
work for non-profit organizations. On February 12, 2008 the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation
awarded Pentagram the "DNA" award for incorporating pro bono
services into business culture. Recently, Pentagram has done work for the One Laptop Per Child.
Pentagram also supports up-and-coming artists. Angus Hyland was a notable early supporter of illustrator Christine Berrie
, and organized a display of her work at the Pentagram main office.
On December 13, 2010, the Big Ten conference unveiled their new logo designed by Pentagram.
Alan Fletcher (graphic designer)
Alan Gerard Fletcher was a British graphic designer. In his obituary, he was described by The Daily Telegraph as "the most highly regarded graphic designer of his generation, and probably one of the most prolific"....
, Theo Crosby
Theo Crosby
Theo Crosby was an architect, editor, writer and sculptor, engaged with major developments in design across four decades. He was also an early vocal critic of modern urbanism. He is best remembered as a founding partner of the international design partnership Pentagram, and as architect for the...
, Colin Forbes
Colin Forbes (graphic designer)
Colin Forbes is a British graphic designer. He is notable as a former head of the graphic design program at London's Central School of Arts and Crafts and as one of the founders of the Pentagram design studio....
, Kenneth Grange
Kenneth Grange
Kenneth Grange, CBE, MCSD, RDI, is a British industrial designer.Grange’s career began as a drafting assistant with the architect Jack Howe in the 1950s...
and Mervyn Kurlansky in Needham Road, West London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. They now have offices in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, San Francisco, Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
History
Pentagram was founded on the premise of collaborative interdisciplinary designers working together in an independently owned firm of equals. Theo CrosbyTheo Crosby
Theo Crosby was an architect, editor, writer and sculptor, engaged with major developments in design across four decades. He was also an early vocal critic of modern urbanism. He is best remembered as a founding partner of the international design partnership Pentagram, and as architect for the...
claimed the structure was suggested to him by his experience of working on the seminal late-'50s exhibition This is Tomorrow
This is Tomorrow
This Is Tomorrow was a seminal art exhibition in August 1956 at the Whitechapel Art Gallery, facilitated by curator Bryan Robertson. The core of the exhibition was the ICA Independent Group.-History:...
: "it was my first experience at a loose, horizontal organisation of equals. We have brought it ... to a kind of practical and efficient reality at Pentagram". The firm currently comprises 16 partner-designers in 4 cities, each managing a team of designers and sharing in common overhead and staff resources. The partners in each office share incomes equally and all the partners own an equal portion of the total firm. This equality, along with the tradition of periodically inviting new members to join, renews the firm while giving even the newest members an equal footing with the partners of long standing. This 'flat' organization (there are no executive officers, CEO, CFO or board, other than the entire group) along with the self-capitalized finances of the business, allows equal participation and control of the group's destiny by the members.
In 1978 Colin Forbes formed the New York office, eventually adding both graphic designers Peter Harrison and Woody Pirtle
Woody Pirtle
Woody Pirtle is an artist commissioned in 2002 by Amnesty International to design a series of posters focusing on twelve of the individual articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Currently, he heads Pirtle Design, a design consultancy based in New York.-Biography:Woody Pirtle...
as partners. In 1990-91 Michael Bierut
Michael Bierut
Michael Bierut is a graphic designer, design critic and educator.Bierut was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He studied graphic design at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning....
, Paula Scher
Paula Scher
Paula Scher, born October 6, 1948, in Washington, DC., is an American graphic designer, illustrator, painter and art educator in design, and the first female principal at Pentagram, which she joined in 1991...
, graphic designers and James Biber
James Biber
James Biber is an architect and partner in the firm Biber Architects, based in New York.- Education :Biber was educated at Cornell University, studying Biology before receiving his profession degree in Architecture in 1976...
an architect, joined the New York office and eventually moved to a building at 204 Fifth Avenue, a building designed by C.P.H. Gilbert
C.P.H. Gilbert
Charles Pierrepont Henry Gilbert , most often referred to as C. P. H. Gilbert, was an American architect of the late-19th and early-20th centuries best known for designing townhouses and mansions....
, where the office still resides. Now in the New York office there are seven partners including Bierut, Scher, Michael Gericke, Abbott Miller, Luke Hayman, Lisa Strausfeld
Lisa Strausfeld
Lisa Strausfeld is an American design professional. She is a leading Information architect.-Early life:Lisa Strausfeld born in central New Jersey, one of a set of twin daughters of an ob-gyn and an urban planner...
and Eddie Opara.
In London, all the founding partners, along with David Hillman and John McConnell have departed, leaving a second and third generation of partners working in the Needham Road office. John Rushworth, Daniel Weil (an industrial designer), Angus Hyland
Angus Hyland
__notoc__Angus Hyland is a British graphic designer.- Biography :Hyland studied information design at the London College of Printing and Graphic Art and Design at the Royal College of Art...
, Justus Oehler (running the Berlin branch), Harry Pearce, Domenic Lippa, along with architects Lorenzo Apicella
Lorenzo Apicella
Lorenzo Apicella is an architect.Apicella studied architecture at the University of Nottingham, Canterbury College of Art and the Royal College of Art in London. On graduating in 1981 he joined Skidmore Owings and Merrill as assistant designer for the 70-story Allied Bank Plaza Building in...
, Naresh Ramchandani and William Russell now comprise the London office.
In Austin, DJ Stout runs a single partner office.
Scope and clientele
Pentagram does work in graphic designGraphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
, identity
Corporate identity
In Corporate Communications, a corporate identity is the "persona" of a corporation which is designed to accord with and facilitate the attainment of business objectives...
, architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, interiors
Interiors
Interiors is a 1978 drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. Featured performers are Kristin Griffith, Mary Beth Hurt, Richard Jordan, Diane Keaton, E. G. Marshall, Geraldine Page, Maureen Stapleton and Sam Waterston....
and products. They have designed packaging and products for many well known companies, such as Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
, Boots
Boots UK
Boots UK Limited , is a leading pharmacy chain in the United Kingdom, with outlets in most high streets throughout the country...
, 3Com
3Com
3Com was a pioneering digital electronics manufacturer best known for its computer network infrastructure products. The company was co-founded in 1979 by Robert Metcalfe, Howard Charney, Bruce Borden, and Greg Shaw...
, Swatch
Swatch
Swatch is a brand name for a line of wrist watches from the Swatch Group, a Swiss conglomerate with vertical control of the production of Swiss watches and related products...
, Tiffany & Co, Dell
Dell
Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
, Netgear
Netgear
Netgear is a U.S. manufacturer of computer networking equipment and other computer hardware....
, Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
and Timex
Timex Group
Timex Group B.V., or Timex Group, is a Dutch holding company headquartered in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands, and the corporate parent of several watchmaking companies around the globe including Timex Group USA, Inc., TMX Philippines, Inc., and Timex Group India Ltd...
. They have also developed identities for Citibank
Citibank
Citibank, a major international bank, is the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York...
, United Airlines
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
, and The Co-operative brand
The Co-operative brand
The Co-operative is a common branding used by a variety of co-operatives based in the United Kingdom.Many in the UK mistakenly consider the Co-op to be a single national business, however each Co-operative is actually a franchise selling branded goods produced by the Co-operative Group The...
in the UK, winning a silver award from the Design Business Association.
In 2007, they updated the visual identity of Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue is a luxury American specialty store owned and operated by Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises , a subsidiary of Saks Incorporated. It competes in the high-end specialty store market in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, i.e. 'the 3 B's' Bergdorf, Barneys, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor...
.
In addition to graphic design work, the firm has partners working on architectural projects such as the Harley-Davidson Museum
Harley-Davidson Museum
The Harley-Davidson Museum is a North American museum near downtown, Milwaukee, Wisconsin celebrating the more than 100 year history of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The three building complex on along the Menomonee River bank contains more than 450 Harley-Davidson motorcycles and hundreds of...
, the Alexander McQueen
Alexander McQueen
Lee Alexander McQueen, CBE was a British fashion designer and couturier best known for his in-depth knowledge of bespoke British tailoring, his tendency to juxtapose strength with fragility in his collections, as well as the emotional power and raw energy of his provocative fashion shows...
shops, Citibank interiors, the Adshel and Clear Channel
Clear channel
A clear-channel station is an AM band Radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. Usually known as class A stations since 1982, they are occasionally still referred to by their former...
buildings in London, a host of private residences including the Phaidon Atlas of Architecture listed Bacon Street Residence, the new London club Matter
Matter
Matter is a general term for the substance of which all physical objects consist. Typically, matter includes atoms and other particles which have mass. A common way of defining matter is as anything that has mass and occupies volume...
, along with a host of interior, retail, restaurant and exhibition projects.
Pentagram was hired to redesign the American cable television program, The Daily Show
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
s set and on-screen graphics in 2005.
Outside of commercial work, Pentgram also does pro bono
Pro bono
Pro bono publico is a Latin phrase generally used to describe professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at a reduced fee as a public service. It is common in the legal profession and is increasingly seen in marketing, technology, and strategy consulting firms...
work for non-profit organizations. On February 12, 2008 the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation
President's Council on Service and Civic Participation
The President's Council on Service and Civic Participation was created by President George W. Bush in January 2003 by executive order. Its mission is to encourage volunteerism and to recognize the contributions Americans make through service and civic participation.In January 2002, President...
awarded Pentagram the "DNA" award for incorporating pro bono
Pro bono
Pro bono publico is a Latin phrase generally used to describe professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at a reduced fee as a public service. It is common in the legal profession and is increasingly seen in marketing, technology, and strategy consulting firms...
services into business culture. Recently, Pentagram has done work for the One Laptop Per Child.
Pentagram also supports up-and-coming artists. Angus Hyland was a notable early supporter of illustrator Christine Berrie
Christine Berrie
Christine Berrie is a Scottish illustrator and artist based in Glasgow. She is known for her industrial-themed illustrations, including such objects as wall plates, gas meters, dials, buttons and switches, control boxes, electrical objects, machinery, and appliances.Berrie, who has been active...
, and organized a display of her work at the Pentagram main office.
On December 13, 2010, the Big Ten conference unveiled their new logo designed by Pentagram.