Ken Garland - Structure and Substance

Curated by Pamela Bowman & Matthew Edgar In association with Unit Editions and Ken Garland

The initial research inquiry asked how a key text within graphic design could be represented in new and emerging contexts. We were mindful of preserving the text for future and more diverse audiences. Garland’s ‘A Word in Your Eye’, originally published by the University of Reading in 1996 is currently out of print. Since 1996 Garland has continued to write and promote discourse about the subject and its place and value in society. Now in his eighties, Garland is still as relevant to the design community today as he was when he published his famous 'First Things First' manifesto in 1964. He has a strong following amongst young designers and frequently lectures to large audiences, captivating them with his highly personal approach. A recent example of this is his talk at TYPO London on 20 October 2012. The method adopted brings the entirety of Ken Garland’s design and writing into one place and enriches these bodies of work with recorded interviews with Ken undertaken during the last two years. The recorded interviews have been undertaken and have produced a rich narrative to support and enhance the critical and contextual writing produced by Ken during his long career. This work was curated into an exhibition attempting to show the design work (working with Unit Editions and their monogram on the design work) alongside the writing. The exhibition provided a platform to examine and reflect on all the work in a single space being a key method rather than outcome. The show became an experiment in combining text and image as well as including some of the interviews and developing a curatorial process to manage such a project. Ken is now 84 and we have almost completed interviews documenting his career in Design and Design Writing.

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