Rick Poynor Lecture at Sheffield Hallam University

"I'll be your mirror: A critical look at the design monograph"
Rick Poynor


Rick Poynor is a design historian and and founder of Eye Magazine and I had the privelage to see him speak at Sheffield Hallam University.

Here are some of the things that he had to say when critically analysing editorials and spreads created by other designers.

He says he sees a monograph as a 'problematic editorial idea' and that monographs are arising many questions and asks the question 'Are monographs a good vehicle for critical analysis? And continues, on a whole, no as it depends on the editorial thinking and design thinking.

His talk was divided into chapters for analysis, and here are few of the notes I made:
1) The Art monograph as a model.
The first few spreads that we saw it was clearly visible that they were more presented for function rather than design. It was clear we were seeing a presentation of the progression of dynamic design on a page.


Bill Viola Exhibition Catalogue for the Whitney Museum of American Art. Front cover. Des. Rebeca Mendez

2) The monograph of self interpretation.
The design of a book is a self regarding project to undertake - like a mirror. David Carson is a classic example of self interpretation, using type as a material to play with. It may look aesthetically pleasing but does not show subject and purpose of a magazine.
Poynor says that he thinks Sagmeister are current stars of today and that Die Gestaltung Verlag like to take chances on young designers producing monographs.

3) The monograph as self documentation.
Document work has great thoroughness and clarity, or should have this anyway. Paula Scher is not an experimentalist and produced 'Make it Bigger', which is a great example of self documentation. You start to feel what the work is like. Clear and intelligent.

Paula Scher "Make it Bigger".Princeton Architectural Press.

4) The monograph as independent study.
Some spreads can look old fashioned and plain. Poynor suggests the use of smaller books, as they're less expensive but still get the point across. They are small impressionistic overviews and are working commercially.

5)The future of the design monograph?
Poynor says the time that is put in to create a monograph is no worth the money that is given for it. If it is not a success then publishers lose money. He expresses how he thinks Irma Boom is a strong and determined designer. Abstract details do her immersive quality, and is a justification in an Art book.
Otto Trueman, Spread of pages. Des. Irma Boom.

In a monograph it is important to strike the balance between editorial purpose and design as an expression. Wim Crouwel designer gives an example of a good monograph, with two big images and then a smaller one to reinforce the point.

What have I learnt from this lecture?

That it is very important to get it right when it comes to designing monographs. When creating editorials and the subject and text should be clear, then it should not be messed with too much. By Poynor showing examples of successful monographs in his eyes as well as the not so successful ones, it has given me a better idea of what to do next time I design an editorial or spread.