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Pentagram: learn to read a design portfolio beyond the logo
Use a design studio’s work to sharpen your own project brief and recognise the difference between style and purpose.
Pentagram
Pentagram is a design practice whose published work spans a range of creative disciplines. Its portfolio can be useful to someone researching identity, editorial or other design projects. Rather than collecting attractive images, treat each case study as a chance to ask how design responds to a particular communication problem.
Study the problem behind a visual identity
Choose a portfolio project and write down what the client needed before considering colours or typography. Look for how the same idea behaves on a small screen, printed material and signage where shown. Then make a separate brief for your own reading group: audience, message, situations of use and constraints. Do not copy the project’s visual assets. The useful transfer is a way of framing a design problem, not a ready-made identity for another organisation.
Borrow questions, not another client’s design
A public portfolio demonstrates selected work; it does not establish a quote, availability or suitability for your budget. Contact the studio through its official channels if you want to discuss a real commission. Do not reproduce its artwork as your branding. You can learn from a design decision while creating a distinct solution for a different audience and purpose.
Official source: Pentagram.
Pause and try it
A brand looks consistent across a poster and a small mobile screen. Which decisions might create that consistency?
Reveal a possible approach
Look for recurring type choices, colour relationships, spacing and information hierarchy. Consistency can come from a small set of rules rather than repeating the same image everywhere.
Public sources checked: