Pentagram (design firm)

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Pentagram
IndustryDesign
Founded1972; 49 years ago (1972) in Notting Hill, London, United Kingdom
FoundersAlan Fletcher, Theo Crosby, Colin Forbes, Kenneth Grange, and Mervyn Kurlansky
ProductsDesign consultancy, graphic design, corporate identity, architecture, interiors and products
Websitepentagram.com
The former Pentagram building in Manhattan, at 204 Fifth Avenue, was designed by C.P.H. Gilbert. On top of the building at the time this image was taken (2010) is a statue by Antony Gormley, part of his Event Horizon installation on buildings around Madison Square

Pentagram is a design firm. It was founded in 1972, by Alan Fletcher, Theo Crosby, Colin Forbes, Kenneth Grange, and Mervyn Kurlansky at Needham Road, Notting Hill, London. The company has offices in London, New York City, San Francisco, Berlin and Austin, Texas.

History[]

Pentagram was founded on the premise of collaborative interdisciplinary designers working together in an independently owned firm of equals. Theo Crosby claimed the structure was suggested to him by his experience of working on the seminal late-1950s 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".[1] The firm currently comprises 24 partner-designers in five 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' organisation (there are no executive officers, CEO, CFO or board, other than the entire group) along with the self-capitalised finances of the business, allows equal participation and control of the group's destiny by the member. 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 resided until 2017. Now in the New York office there are ten partners.[2]

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, Angus Hyland, Justus Oehler (running the Berlin branch), Harry Pearce, Domenic Lippa, Naresh Ramchandani, Marina Willer,[3] Jody Hudson-Powell, Luke Powell and Sascha Lobe, Astrid Stavro, Yuri Suzuki along with industrial designer Jon Marshall now comprise the London office.[4]

Notable alumni of Pentagram include Kit Hinrichs.

Scope and clientele[]

Pentagram does work in graphic design, identity, architecture, interiors and products. They have designed packaging and products for many well known companies. They have also developed or updated identities for Sam Labs,[5] Citibank,[6] United Airlines, Saks Fifth Avenue,[7] the Big Ten Conference,[8] and The Co-operative brand in the UK, winning a silver award from the Design Business Association.[9]

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 programme, The Daily Show's set and on-screen graphics in 2005.[6]

Outside of commercial work, Pentagram also does pro bono work for non-profit organisations. On 12 February 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.[10]

Pentagram supports up-and-coming artists. Angus Hyland was a notable early supporter of illustrator Christine Berrie, and organised a display of her work at the Pentagram main office.[11]

In 2016 Pentagram were commissioned to design the packaging for the Pink Floyd box set, The Early Years 1965–1972. The set was released in November 2016.

In 2019, Pentagram were commissioned to rebrand the entirety of Warner Bros.

Partners[]

References[]

Bibliography[]

  • "Pentagram." The Design Encyclopedia. Ed. Mel Byars. 2nd ed. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 2004. 431.
  • "Pentagram." The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of 20th-Century Design and Designers. Ed. Guy Julier. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1999. 153.
  • Profile: Pentagram Design, by Rick Poynor and Susan Yelavich, Phaidon Press Ltd, 2004. (978-0714843773)

Notes[]

  1. ^ Theo Crosby, "The Painter as Designer", Edward Wright graphic work and painting, Arts Council, 1985, pp.49-50
  2. ^ "Matt Willey leaves The New York Times Magazine and joins Pentagram". www.itsnicethat.com. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
  3. ^ Marina Willer joins Pentagram
  4. ^ "List of current Pentagram partners". www.pentagram.com. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  5. ^ Banks, Tom. "Pentagram brand for SAM "never stands still"". Design Week.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Vanderbilt, Tom. "The Daily Show: Satire Restyled." BusinessWeek. Accessed on September 26, 2006.
  7. ^ Rawsthorn, Alice. "The new corporate logo: Dynamic and changeable are all the rage." International Herald Tribune. Accessed on May 5, 2007.
  8. ^ New Work: Big Ten Conference Logo Archived 2010-12-16 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Design Business Association. "The Co-operative Brand Identity". Archived from the original on 2008-09-08. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
  10. ^ Scott, Sandy."Six Organizations Honored for Outstanding Pro Bono Service." Archived 2008-02-15 at the Wayback Machine USA Freedom Corps. Accessed on February 26.2008.
  11. ^ Stones, John (January 20, 2005). "Out of the ordinary". Design Week.
  12. ^ "Matt Willey leaves The New York Times Magazine and joins Pentagram". It's Nice That. 2019-12-03. Retrieved 2019-12-03.

External links[]

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