"...There are, however, some designers and even clients who insist that the public deserve and will respond to much higher standards in graphics. They are convinced, as Charlie Chaplin was convinced, that the best way to entertain the public is to first entertain oneself."
It’s always so inspiring to listen to Michael Bierut. This time he talks about five things, ‘five secrets’ he’s learned while working, and he shares them while explaining five relevant projects.
If you’re lazy or just here for a quick reminder, here are the five: • Listen first, then design
• Don’t avoid the obvious
• The problem contains the solution
• Indulge your obsessions
• Love is the answer
Catching some office gossips like San Francisco designers being the best among international design offices like Pentagram and MetaDesign, I was curious to see who exactly was or were partner-in-charge at Pentagram San Francisco. In comes Robert Brunner (the other Pentagram partners are Kit Hinrichs, designer and Lorenzo Apicella, architect).
Reading about Mr. Brunner on wikipedia, I was startled to find out that he leads a team at Ammunition LLC, just after reading that he had joined Pentagram in 1996. Browsing the Ammunition website, I found out he is no longer with Pentagram, since he left with his team to form his own company in july 2007 (press release). In 2008 he was joined by two other top professionals, Creative Director Brett Wickens and Band Strategist Matt Rolandson, both former leaders from MetaDesign San Francisco.
The interesting thing is that Mr. Brunner was previously the Director of Industrial Design at Apple, between 1987-1996, and was the one that hired and later proposed Jonathan Ive as director after his departure (you can watch the youtube interview).
Ammunition specializes in product design, identity design and interaction design, and you can easily see from their portfolio their work is of highest quality. And of course, they have a smart, classy logo.
