are you connected?

That nice chap Craig Oldham emailed me to say that he's just initiated a project to map out a Design Family Tree. Craig explains:

I was preparing for a lecture that I'm giving at Falmouth College of Arts - it's about 12 things that you learn in the first 12 months out of the university nest and one of them, for me personally, is that the UK design industry is relatively small. Everyone seems to know everyone else. Rather like Six Degrees of Separation: you're never too far off someone, who knows someone, who knows, er, let's say Michael Johnson.

I not only found this very intriguing, but really reassuring (as a then student/junior), in the manner that it illustrates the transition of culture from one studio to another.

So, here it is: I'm trying to put together a design family tree.

Quentin Newark and Domenic Lippa lovingly undertook a similar task in 2002 with this:

I'd like to help out myself, but the last design boss I had was FHK Henrion - and that was way back in 1974 (yeah, I know, before you were born). Ever since then I've been unemployable - though not entirely without work, obviously. So the chances of my turning up on Craig's tree are pretty remote. But, hey, you'll remember that Marita went on to work for The Partners for 12 years - so maybe I'll be there in spirit, if not in person.

If you move in the circles that are a bit closer to the centre (that'll be David Pocknell, looking at that tree above), then maybe you can help Craig out - full details are over here.

Comments

[Mike Reed]

Hey, not so fast, David: I was born in 1974. In fact, I was almost at infant school by then.