Soulellis Studio

From the book's Postscript 2005:

"In 1996-97, Birkhäuser Publishers undertook a risky experiment when publishing a new edition of Polychromie architecturale. From the beginning it was clear that the reproduction of colors in art book printing would not suffice. At the time, a partner was found in the Alsatian company of Adrien and Robert Marx; not only were they manufacturing monochrome wallpapers using glue printing in accurate colors but they were also able to assemble the "claviers de couleurs" by hand using the original technique. The three-volume publication found a large circle of interested readers worldwide, and -- most gratifying of all -- left several traces in contemporary architecture."
...
"Soon after the publication of Polychromie architecturale, the paint chemist Katrin Trautwein became enthusiastic about the possibility of Le Corbusier's color rows, and she began to work with the natural and synthetic mineral pigments that had originally been used. She succeeded in establishing, with the agreement of the Fondation Le Corbusier, production of colors that has meanwhile proven its worth not only for exhibitions and restorations -- especially for the work of Le Corbusier himself -- but also for contemporary architecture and furniture designs. It therefore made sense to use this approach for the second edition of Polychromie architecturale and thus reconstruct Le Corbusier's color definition, which was based directly on traditional mineral pigments that were the commercial standard in his day. The luminosity and stability of the shades under changing light conditions inherent in this method cannot be surpassed."

I found the 3-volume set at the Urban Center Books sale (40% off the entire store until they close on January 23). It's an extraordinary thing. These are painted papers, based on two collections of Salubra wallpapers produced with Le Corbusier in 1931 and 1959. I made a quick attempt to translate the "Salubra II" 1959 palette onto the screen, more for a first impression than anything else (above). Somehow I'll find a way to use these colors. I'll try to get the 1931 colors up too. This deserves attention and some way to make the remarkable color combos more relevant for designers today.

Just came from a brilliant short talk by Pentagram partner Michael Bierut at the SwissMiss Creative Mornings. His slides were great and so very tweetable (on purpose?) — short summary statements in giant type that filled the screen.

The topic was clients.

I was going to tweet during the talk. But because the bits really add up to a good story and a very specific philosophy about the client/designer relationship, I think it's worth presenting them all together. So here they are. It's some of the best designer advice I've ever heard and I want to share it, but I'm also putting the quotes right here on Soulellis.com so I can come back and read them over and over again. Every day.

Michael Bierut talks about clients.

• Clients can be the best part of the design process.


• Clients are the difference between art and design.


• My clients are the same as yours.


• The right client can change anything.


• The best clients love design, or don't give a damn about it. (i.e., they have confidence)


• The worst clients are somewhere in between. (i.e., they have fear)


• Never talk about "educating the client."


• What makes a great client? Brains, passion, trust and courage.


• "You'll never go wrong when you work with someone smarter than you." (Tibor Kalman)


• Warning: Your great client may not be my great client.


• Great clients lead to more great clients (and more great work).


• Bad clients lead to more bad clients (and more bad work).


• Bad clients take up more of your time than they should.


• Meanwhile, we take great clients for granted.


• The trick is to reverse this.


• What do I owe a great client? Loyalty, honesty, dedication and tenacity.


• Once you find a great client, never let them go.


• If you can find five great clients, you're set for life.


• "You'd better find somebody to love." (Jefferson Airplane)


• Good luck.

Why not — let's call them Bierut-isms.

I can honestly say that I also share Mr. Bierut's love of the designer/client relationship (point #1) and that I've learned many of these lessons the hard (and enjoyable) way during the last 15 years. It's immensely satisfying to hear it reinforced in such a clear way by someone you have respect for and someone who's been at it for awhile.

Mr. Bierut ended his talk by saying that he was very lucky — he could name not just five but ten great clients in his career so far ("These people are why you've heard of me..."). Moving and inspiring to hear work so closely associated with the designer dedicated to the people who made it possible. He mentioned Fern Mallis (7th on Sixth), the architect Robert Stern, Terron Schaefer (Saks), Laura Shore (Mohawk Paper), Chee Pearlman (I.D. Mag), David Thurm (New York Times), Christy MaClear (Philip Johnson Glass House) and others. Proof that design is best when it's a collaborative effort.

Some quick Google research reveals that the bag probably hails from Torrington, CT where F. L. Wadhams & Sons produced coal at the turn of the last century, so it hasn't traveled too far in the last 100 years. Amazing that it hasn't been destroyed or even used.

I thought I could date the bag with the 4-digit phone number but this only tells me that it's probably pre-1920 (when 2- or 3-letter city exchanges started to come into use) but that's about it.

The bag itself is branded — "Bull Dog Sacks" by Miller, Tompkins & Co., Rutherford, NJ in the small circle at top.

I'm sure someone who really knows their type history could pin-point the date more accurately. Anyone?

As promised, we gave away a few copies of this self-published book of our work on Twitter and I'll be mailing those out this week. Thanks to everyone who responded — wonderful to know there's some interest in what we do here on 17th Street.

I wish I could give away more but these fun books, designed by Erik and myself, are expensive! They're printed on-demand by Lulu.com and we pay for that luxury (320 pages, one at a time, when you want it, no more / no less). I looked into an actual print run of 1,000 copies and while the price per book would have been more reasonable the investment was not. If you absolutely must have one send me a note and we'll work something out.

But why not just download it? It's free!

Sometimes the quickest projects — the ones that take hours, not months — turn out the best. Of course the trick is figuring out how to make even the months-long projects look simple, but that's another discussion.

I absolutely love these two cards. If you got our book then you got one of our "TWENTY TEN" cards. Continuing our tradition of visiting the letterpress shop once a year, this was designed and hand-crafted by Erik. And for the first time, we actually set the design in metal type (printed on 110lb. Crane's Lettra).

Matt Carbone is a super-talented architectural photographer and it was great working with him on a simple business card. We were able to keep this one pure and the result is hot.

Spring in Ithaca: Lise Anne Couture, Shayne O'Neil, Laurie Hawkinson, Toshiko Mori, Petra Blaisse, Rem Koolhaas.

This is our tenth poster for Cornell University AAP (College of Architecture, Art and Planning). We began with this one in Spring 2006 — pure typographic play. Two deans later we're still exploring a single theme that's been at the core of every one of the ten: mapping. Creating a system within the boundaries of a single printed sheet and letting the information play itself out according to the set of rules (color, grid, typography, order).

Maybe it's time for a little book or website? The next post will highlight all ten as a set.