In Our Service

Culturally, we have embraced graphic design and have since surrounded ourselves with it. We employ it to sign and lend significance to everything we have made and everything that is ours. Similarly, we use it to communicate the boundaries of those things we have not made and that which is not ours. It provides our communication framework and acts as the vehicle through which all nonverbal messages are delivered. It has come to define our environment, from the natural to the built, the physical to the virtual, the knowledge to the social – the desktop to the mobile. It empowers us, increases our capacity, creates heightened value, enhances meaning, entertains, adds dimension and transforms the otherwise mundane into the beautiful. It is in our service and it is our responsibility to ensure that it serves us well.

Being Authentic

Authenticity is beautiful. It is also rare. The external influences exerted upon us are many, they are great, and they arrive without cessation. To process and act upon these forces — or refuse them — one must exist in a constant state of self-assessment and maintain a continually evolving foundation of honesty, purity and a fair degree of courage.

It feels easy to flow with the trending current, but to challenge it - is far more difficult. It requires being true of self, true of spirit and true of character to buck convention and confront the status quo. Those that are capable possess integrity, they are values-driven, principled, consistent and above all, they are truthful. They are to others what they are to themselves. They can be no other way.

Integrity in man appears to be an earned state and one that requires constant vigilance, none are automatically awarded its status. It is authenticity manifest. Neither integrity nor authenticity can be bought, or truly sought by those lacking pure intentions.

It is with these thoughts in mind that we move forward together, perpetually questioning our integrity, striving to maintain our authenticity and hoping to act in the manner that is most true and honest to our individual selves. And, this it seems, is the best that we can do.

Berger & Föhr

Photography by Jamie Kripke.

Starting with Identity

We start all of our projects with identity. We believe successful communication hinges on understanding and conveying identity appropriately.

In order for a thing to have significance it must be identifiable. The better the identity of the thing-maker (generator of actions, ideas, products, etc.) - the more refined, considered and memorable - the greater the likelihood that the thing-maker and the things it produces (if viewed favorably and/or found effective) will be remembered, appreciated, sought after and ultimately valued.

Identity design (logotype, symbol, color, supporting typographic specifications, etc.), while being an element of brand (a word we don't love), is just that - one very important part of a much larger communication platform. We're not going to delve into brand and brand development here as we're focused explicitly on identity, its creation and its value; but, for what it's worth – without identity, there can be no brand. Put simply, people connect ideas to identities.

Good identities perform a number of functions, but we're going to focus on just three: identity as a means of cohesion, identity as a vessel, and identity to build trust.

1 – Identity as a means of cohesion

When handled appropriately, identity provides a visual framework, a foundation of sorts upon which to build additional assets and communication collateral (printed ephemera, packaging, websites, digital products, etc.) while sharing strands of, or at a minimum, harking back to the identity's DNA. This function is of vast importance and we highlight it first because it's the basis for creating a memorable connectedness and achieving visual consistency - something we're very focused on.

2 – Identity as a vessel

The second function of identity, and by far the most important is for identity to serve as a vessel – initially an empty one, designed to house a vast collection of thoughts, emotions and associations, hopefully to be filled with deep meaning and positive aspirations over time. Like most newborn things, identities are brought into the world with pure intentions. But, it is only through the actions and ideals of those rearing them that they take on their true meaning. Unlike most newborn things, identities can be designed in such a forward-looking manner as to support the full realization of their potential. This is the role of the professional identity designer and this is what we're seeking to achieve, the creation of a simple, yet highly memorable thing capable of representing concepts far more complex than the sum of its limited parts.

3 – Identity to build trust

The third function a well designed identity can perform is to build trust, and in this case not only trust between a given entity and its audience, but between client and designer. A well-conceived, presented and executed identity can deepen the client/designer relationship, create a new collective sense of thought ownership and optimally lead to the creation of a body of cohesive, distinguished and easy to identify work (collateral, communication assets, etc.). In order for good, potentially successful work to be fully realized, the designer must earn their client's trust. We do this early, and we do it through identity design.

While there are many more elements inherent to the design and implementation of identity, we consider these three points foundational and subsequently vital points of early consideration. Identity design is a nuanced practice. It's far more complex and comprehensive than just designing a pretty symbol or logotype and selecting an on-trend color palette and a nice font. Bringing the aforementioned assets to life by selling them through to the client, implementing them on behalf of the client, and making them work for the client is the hard part. That part takes patience and experience.

Identity design requires a diverse set of skills, including distillation, intuition, an aptitude for seeing into the future and more often than not, a plethora of communication tools more commonly associated with a psychologist than a designer. When an entity's objectives, ambitions and ethos have all been appropriately considered one is poised to create a strong and productive (distinctive, practical, simple, on message and highly memorable) identity. When an identity is conceived under these conditions, trust is earned, a vessel with virtually unlimited potential is created and the groundwork for cohesion is laid.

We start with identity to convey our communication potential to our clients - ultimately to apply that same potential on their behalf, to their audience, in support of their goals.

Less is less. In 100 words.

Less is not more. Less is less. Less is the objective. Refinement is the product of informed, reductionist contemplation. When superfluous triviality is removed, a thing's essence is what remains.

Our studio adheres to a lossy approach. We strive to achieve an appropriate lessness per each project's criteria. As graphic designers our goal is always the same – clear and concise communication in an asthetically pleasing setting.

We believe this approach to be effective as it yields a product in stark contrast with man's innate compulsion for more. It results in content which is easy to digest, remember and make meaningful.

As part of a recent publishing opportunity we were asked to provide our thoughts in 100 words or less on the concept of less is more as it applies to our work.

Nobody Covets a Fake

The preservation of old things that have been made well (buildings, artworks, objects, ephemera, etc.) is vastly important, culturally and historically. These old things provide much needed context to the world around us. They tell stories of our past and inform us of our progress. We can all agree that experiencing original thought, materiality and construction has an inescapable and often awe-inspiring honesty about it.

Conversely, encountering faux versions of previously created or existing things, particularly materials (i.e., plastic made to look like wood), in new things is not desirable. Nobody covets a fake. This is very much the case in the design of products both physical and digital, user interface (UI) driven products in particular.

In order to create new things of new value, we must move forward in step with our technology, informed by the past, but not reliant upon it. Nostalgia has its place, but it is not in the artificial representation of natural materials and physical things (i.e., cotton, leather, steel, or wood) within a UI, or any product for that matter. The material characteristics of a product's medium should be appreciated for their natural attributes. Similarly, we should not limit our potential in the area of UI design by responding to constraints of the physical world – nonexistent in the digital.

Culturally, we ought to cherish the old, and when found to be of value, embrace the new. We should not rely on the past as a crutch to ease our transition into the future through its capacity to evoke feelings of familiarity. The evocation of such feelings is not necessary when a product, or any thing for that matter is thoroughly considered and suitably designed. The continued search for familiarity does a disservice to our collective intelligence. We must take leaps forward and embrace uncertainty in order to progress.

With these thoughts in mind we vehemently denounce the practice of skeumorphism as a tool, tactic, or style. The working definition of skeumorphism being, the inclusion of design elements into a new product that imitate design elements that were functionally necessary in the original product, but which have become ornamental in the new design. In other words, an unncessary fake.

The rise of skeumorphism in recent years is likely due to a number of conditions. When considering physical product design; consumer demand, resource scarcity and economic uncertainty have led to breakthroughs in the manufacturing of synthetics resulting in a consumptive culture where material mimicry (i.e. faux woods, metals, and natural fabrics masking products historically derived from these physical materials) is widely accepted. The sheer volume of products in the marketplace designed to look and feel like something they are not is a consequence of these factors. The prominence of skeumorphism in the physical product realm has since spilled into the digital.

In the case of UI design, significant advances in hardware, specifically increases in bandwidth speed, screen resolution and graphic processing capabilities have led to near equivalent progress in design software, easing the realistic replication of physical things. Given the popularity and acceptance of faux materials in consumer products it is easy to see how some would apply the same approach to UI design. We find this thinking particularly tiresome and inappropriate given the medium of the screen and its lack of physical, material constraints.

Tangentially, Apple's recent product design team shake-up, Microsoft's foray into what some in the graphic design field, for better or worse, are now referring to as "flat design" (nostalgia-free, modernist inspired, grid based design lacking superfluous detail and focused on task suitability - commonly considered good design by those in the know), and the arrival of what we consider to be technology and experience driven user interface design, all point towards the demise of the skeumorphic UI.

When considering that user interface design has a rather short history relative to physical product design, loosely dating back to the late 70s / early 80s, it is only rather recently that skeumorphism has gained traction and attention as a fashion or style. We believe it to be just that, a passing fad exploited by those lacking both taste and vision, to be fondly remembered by some, less so by others, and in all likelihood to be resurrected by future generations.

As a species, we are unique. We employ our capacity for rational, forward-looking thought to create technology to solve our most current, pressing problems, improve preexisting solutions, and enhance our ability and capacity to adapt to and help control our ever-changing environment. When it comes to the screen, something we are certain to be spending a lot more time interacting with, why would we rely on the past when we can invent the future?

Principles, Opportunities, Filters & Being Political

Being principled creates opportunity. Similarly, it can limit it. Distinct, defined ideas are attractive. They lead to the creation of refined, considered things, in all practices, particularly in the field of graphic design. They convey integrity and communicate character. Style, both personal and professional, or the lack thereof is always a function of principle - to some degree or another. Simultaneously, principles tend to serve as filters. For those of us with established values, their presence or absence is the factor underlying the majority of our decision-making and of determining our associations.

So, it is with great importance that we execute our principles politically. It is also our belief that we exercise these principles publicly to communicate our values and to attempt to inform and influence those possessing less established value systems - however polarizing that may be. The more publicly we share our principles the more opportunity we create and likewise, the more filters we implement. The empowerment resulting from such actions is twofold, we further define who we are, what we want and what we stand for and we increase the likelihood of attracting others of similar thought, seeking similar opportunity while mitigating the probability of attracting ideas and individuals of less desirable ambition and/or character.

While, our politics are most frequently and perhaps importantly manifest through our daily actions, purchasing decisions, business affiliations, and the like, they are arguably exercised to their greatest extent when we vote for our elected officials. How we vote is a matter of principle and in the upcoming 2012 US presidential election, while there are similarities between the two candidates beliefs, the distinctions between the majority of their values and subsequent principles are quite clear.

Regarding the economy –
We believe you either wish to repeal the tax cuts implemented by George Bush on households earning more than $250,000, or you wish to make them permanent. We wish to repeal them.

Regarding education –
We believe you are either for investing in quality teachers, reducing class sizes, and promoting student loan reform – capping student loan repayments at 10% of income, or you are not. We are for it.

Regarding healthcare –
We believe you are either for striving to provide affordable healthcare for all US citizens while supporting patient protections including allowing coverage for those with pre-existing conditions, or you are against it. We are for it.

Regarding Iraq –
We believe you are either for pulling out of the war in Iraq, a war entered on false premises and refocusing the resources dedicated there, or you are against it. We are for it.

Regarding global warming and the environment –
We believe you are either for a mandatory cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon dioxide emissions or you are against it. In order to be for it you must first believe that global warming is actually occurring. We are for it.

Regarding innovation and clean energy production –
We believe you are either for investing in domestic clean energy sources, specifically wind and solar alongside natural gas and clean coal and creating new jobs in a new energy sector, or you are against it. We are for it.

Regarding gay rights –
We believe you are either for gay marriage, or you are against it. We are for it.

Regarding abortion –
We believe you are either for a woman's right to choose to have an abortion regardless of the circumstances of her pregnancy, or you are against it. We understand that a woman's healthcare decisions are personal, and believe that they are best made with her doctor. You are either in favor of these beliefs, or you are not. We are.

Regarding seniors and Medicare –
We believe you are either for extending the life of Medicare as we currently know it and offering free preventative care for seniors, or you wish to end it and turn it into a voucher program. We wish to extend it and to promote the future health and financial security of our seniors.

Regarding immigration –
We believe you are either for assisting undocumented families that have established themselves in the US and allowing them to remain together in our country while they begin the legal immigration process, or you are not. We are for it.

Regarding the federal deficit –
We believe you either support a balanced plan of spending cuts and revenue increases that could reduce the deficit by more than $4 trillion over the next decade, or you support $5 trillion in tax cuts weighted toward the wealthy in the absence of additive revenue generation. We believe in and support the former.

In summary, we believe you are either for propelling our nation forward, building on the successful principles and policies of the past 4 years, or you are against it and you wish to lead our nation backwards, returning to the failed policies of President George Bush. If you are as US citizen and you are for the above principle-driven policies then you have already cast your ballot for Barack Obama as we have, or you will be doing so on November 6, 2012.

While we are well aware that taking such a public position on such divisive issues will introduce new barriers to perceived opportunity, we believe the values and principles such a position communicates, and the subsequent filters such a position establishes, will further promote the creation of the caliber of opportunities we seek for ourselves and others of like mind.

Principles in politics, much like principles in graphic design communicate our beliefs and our quality of thought. They establish much needed points of differentiation in a crowded, dynamic world, perpetually seeking forward-looking vision, stability, opportunity and equality.

Herb Lubalin

Right now, I have what every designer wants and few have the good fortune to achieve. I’m my own client. Nobody tells me what to do.

Photo: © Herb Lubalin Study Center

Being Two

In an effort to improve our practice, we spend a fair amount of time considering our ambitions, the work we seek to engage in and the greater concept behind our studio. We believe the manner in which we have chosen to organize says a great deal about who we are.

There are many possible studio configurations or organizational structures to entertain along the path of the creative professional. These range from independent freelancer to member of a full blown super agency, with numerous permutations in between. After experimenting with a variety of different structures (ranging from 1 to no more than 10) in past entities, we have settled in and chosen to be two.

This is by design, not coincidence, or an inability to obtain clientele. Operating a two-man studio comes with a great many benefits spanning the potential for unencumbered learning and personal growth, to creating an environment of complete trust, where camaraderie and nimbleness are of the utmost importance and selection of clientele, deep understanding of process and quality of output – requisite.

Being a team of two in the absence of bureaucracy supports the creation of good work. Accountability runs high and ownership is ever-present. However, it also comes with what could be seen as limitations. Things like writing proposals, drafting agreements, maintaining client communication and expectations, interfacing with bookkeeping, accounting, legal and of course, producing the work – falls squarely on our shoulders.

It is here, in the details, embracing what is commonly considered the lesser minutiae of running a studio, that we have come to find solace. By doing more than just the creative work - the studio is wholly ours. While the managerial tasks of running any business take time and require process, they can be made an asset of the business and serve to help define a larger philosophy. Through employing the same process-driven approach to studio management that we apply to creative production, we are able to steer the studio into the future, as an ongoing, mutable, open-ended project – capable of charging straight ahead or meandering on a whim.

Designing for Art

While closely related, design and art are different disciplines. Being a designer does not make one an artist. Being an artist does not necessarily make one a designer.

Design is objective. Art is subjective. From a functional standpoint, the two serve rather distinct purposes (excluding the exception of design as art - a related but tangential topic to be discussed another time). They do not always mix, yet they can be brought together as one. Design has clear, measurable goals – art need not.

We are fortunate to frequently receive the opportunity to design for art on behalf of museums, galleries, artists and the like. Each experience comes with its own unique challenges; as in all of our design projects, the goal is to communicate value and differentiation while creating and managing expectation. As straight forward as that may seem, it can be difficult when working with art. We believe it is best achieved by balancing consistency (composition and content) and repetition with originality (art).

When designing for art, the objective (design) ought to envelope the subjective (art), while allowing the sanctity of the art to remain intact and open to original interpretation. This thinking is analogous to the concept of the museum – a clean, white-walled, rectilinear space created to house works produced by a variety of artists – works of odd shapes and sizes, colors and dimensions, media and form. In this sense, the museum is an objective container designed to hold subjective things.

It is the nature of this objective/subjective dichotomy that poses the main challenge when designing for art. This challenge arises predominantly from the notion of identity. Entities that exist to promote, display and communicate the value of art have identities designed to do so. These identities (logos and supporting brand content) are distinctly separate and independent of the works and the identities of those who make them. In many ways the logo is the antithesis of art.

Design for art must strike a delicate balance, whereby the artist is asked to relinquish a degree of purity from the work. This is to empower the work to perform in a manner more objective than most likely intended (i.e. cropped and printed to bleed on a 9"x6" announcement with a logo placed atop it and supporting copy and perhaps imagery on the reverse side), namely, to intrigue people to come see and perhaps purchase the work at a given entity on a specific date and time. Ultimately, the artwork becomes an asset of the entity representing it and likewise the entity an asset of the artist and the work. This sort of brand collaboration (arts entity x artist x designer) requires hard-earned trust, that when achieved, yields great value and serves to further propagate the idea of art.

Art makes for beautiful, engaging subject matter - subsequently, designing for art often results in equally beautiful and engaging collateral. This is one of the primary reasons we strive to design for art. In addition to producing beautiful content, we believe it is important to advocate for art, particularly from the field of design. When merged appropriately, the two disciplines lend credibility to one another, while supporting the greater notion of professional creativity.

We understand and appreciate art's cultural value and consider the artist a person of great importance. This enables us to bring an informed and discerning approach to the handling of artwork in the space of design. To design for art, concessions must be made - predominantly to the art. To make concessions, in the name of art, one must know something about art, its creators, their ideas, their processes, how it is promoted, by whom it is represented and how it is consumed.

In order to successfully design for art, one must first love art.