The Inspiration Behind our Work
Most people have never heard of Milton Glaser yet would immediately recognise one of the most famous pieces from this extraordinary graphic designer’s body of work; the I ♥ NY logo. Milton believed art, which he considered to be “work” falls into 4 broad categories:
great work – that which is done with care and extraordinary talent. It’s the stuff that moves us and that we look back on with the greatest sense of pride and accomplishment. It stretches us, sometimes it even scares us, but we do it anyway, because it matters.
good work – that which deserves special attention but is not breathtaking. The work we do, and do well, because our expertise allows us to. We know it’s important but we also know it’s within our current capabilities.
work – that which is honest and appropriate but without special distinction. The things we do because we can and our norms dictate we must. Our ‘meat and potatoes”; filling, but not always fulfilling.
bad work – that which remains. The meaningless. The wasteful. The unproductive, even destructive. The stuff we do, but we either don’t understand why or don’t really believe in.
Milton’s aim was always to have his designers be clear about what, for them constitutes great work and then have them spend as much of their time as possible doing it.
We think Milton was on to something that matters, so now we're all about helping others do great work - work that sets their heart on fire.