question of style
The ability to work in more than one style evolved over the years. It was driven by the needs of the different clients that came to us. By being involved with both commercial and academic clients, each of whom had their own message and approach, the need to move from one attitude to the other created its own opportunities. With this wide range of requirements came a chance to investigate what, I felt, made each style special. Sorting out the message that’s buried within each style helped me, I believed, to strengthen the logic of the design. The goal was to develop each design in a way that would be true, as strictly as possible, to the meaning and grammar of the style I was using. To get there, we have to see style as a language. Prose or poetry is either good or bad because of how the writer uses it, not because of the language they speak.
The Gothic language is still very much alive on many historic academic campuses. It is important to the institution when it speaks to their mission. It is a language steeped in associations. It can strengthen the university community by its shared associations. Its vocabulary is large and can be quite poetic. It is not neutral about what it may see as proper social values. To work in this style, all aspects of it must be mastered. And if the client requires it, it must be done as honestly as possible.
The Modern language also has its very strong logic and grammar. Pragmatism drives it. If it works efficiently, it is right. To rely on associations is to be dealing in false hopes and sentimental fantasies. It’s these fantasies that backfire and lead to disappointment at best and hypocrisy at worst. The community is held together through open access to commercial opportunities, through the excitement that comes from seeing something new, for the first time. It is not through shared romantic notions.