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24 EYEEye in Focus:An Interview withJohn Waltersby Steven HellerJuly 18, 2006Founded by editor emeritus Rick Poynor, EYEcame into being at a very critical time ingraphic design history: it was the beginning ofthe digital revolution, which propelled the socalledPostmodern aesthetic andDeconstruction movements. It was a timewhen type and layout experimentation wasfervent, and literary and othercommunications theories raised the“discourse” of graphic design. For the pastseven years, John Walters has been the thirdeditor of EYE (following Max Bruinsma), andfor the past seven years, has assumededitorship following a unique period ofdiscovery and controversy. On the occasion ofthe 60th issue Walters talks about EYE'shistory and what he has done to both preserveits legacy and make it relevant today.Heller: It is a little awkward for me to dothis interview since I've been an EYEcontributor since its launch. But now that EYEhas reached its 60th issue (and now that themagazine also has a new publisher, publishinghouse and art director, Simon Esterson) Ibelieve this is a propitious moment to reflecton the magazine's contributions and lookahead to its future.Walters: Well, graphic design is alwaysinteresting, even between so-calledmovements and revolutions. From my point ofview, EYE is always at the center of a quietstorm of ideas and proposals and extraordinarywork of all kinds. Even when my in-tray isfilled of catalogues and posters with nothingbut bad illustrations, or ungrammatical copyset in 8 point Univers or a “cool new brand”that's neither cool, new nor a brand, there'salways something interesting to focus on,whether it's a music website, or graffiti in SaoPaolo, or Mexican protest posters, or a newway of looking at the sports pages, or (dare Isay it) Nazi type.Heller: Do you maintain a distinct editorialphilosophy?Walters: Yes!Heller: How does it differ from that of yourpredecessors?Walters: My editorial philosophy—and theway it differs from that of the earlier editors—is best expressed by the contents of EYE fromNo. 33 to the latest one [No. 60]. It's like thesong: “It's not what I say, it's what I do.”Heller: Hmmm. Well, that does say a lot,but for the benefit of our readers can youreduce this to a few sentences?Walters: No, but I'll try to explain my“philosophy,” which is that editing EYE is notall that different from editing any goodmagazine or journal. My job is to find storiesthat will interest my readers, and to tell thosestories in words and pictures. The difference isthat most of my readers are graphic designers.I'm aiming to show and tell our readerssomething they don't already know, or to tell afamiliar story in a new way. Harold Evans oncesaid that the news is something that someonedoesn't want you to know.Now EYE is not a news mag; the quarterlyfrequency precludes that. But I do want it toreflect current practice and contemporary,critical thinking about design. And I want toexpress this in language that is accessible tothe average person, and to designers for whomEnglish is their second language, so we do ourbest to avoid jargon and slang. And though wedo include historical pieces and archiveimages, I'm looking for subjects that have acontemporary relevance, that havesignificance for what's happening right now,such as the piece about the pre-history ofmotion graphics in EYE 60, or Social vision,the feature about wartime safety posters inEYE 52.Heller: Rick Poynor makes a distinctionbetween design “journalism” and design“criticism,” between reportage and analysis.How do you see this playing out through inEYE's editorial philosophy, and is it aconscious divide in your editorial program?Walters: I don't think it's a divide so muchas a continuum. All good journalism containsa critical and/or skeptical element. The mostsimple, sympathetic interview requires acritical edge in order to provoke interestingresponses from the interviewee, and to assurethe reader that he’s not just reading a pressrelease. I see a lot of “news writing” in thetrade press that goes along the lines of: “X hasleft Y to pursue a new role at Z.” That's notjournalism; that's a parish newsletter!We need journalists who can look andanalyze, and designers who can write. It's atough one. To go back to your question: goodcriticism requires a sense of journalism so thatwe still learn about the subject even when wedisagree with the analysis. And withoutcriticism, journalism becomes PR. Rick is agood journalist, and that's part of the reasonwhy he's such a great critic.Heller: Unlike most of the other designmagazines in the United States and U.K. inthe early ‘90s, EYE attempted to lead a new“discourse,” not simply report on styles andtrends, even to the point of antagonizing someof its readers. Where do you think thisdiscourse has gone throughout your tenure? Doyou believe designers are still interested inmanifestos and saber charges, or has thatactivist streak worn itself out?Walters: When I talk to readers about EYEand the reasons they value it, they often usethe term “timeless” which is interesting whenyou consider how transient graphic design canbe. But when you look at back issues, it'soften the adverts that look really dated, whilethe articles don't.I like the polemical articles, but they're onlyone part of what the magazine has done overthe years. If you get too caught up in thesquabbles and rivalries of particular scenesand moments, you can lose sight of what wereally like in graphic design and visual culture,and I think we are defined more by what welike than what we criticize. Nobody likescriticism, though none of us is above it.Sometimes what passes for “debate” is littlemore than a slanging match—people who feelhurt hitting back at their critics."Good criticism requires a sense ofjournalism so that we still learn about thesubject even when we disagree with theanalysis. And without criticism, journalismbecomes PR."Heller: Which raises the question of whereEYE fits into the propagation of visual culture,vis a vis graphic design. Is graphic design anexpansive enough field to truly influence theculture apart from typefaces? And how hasEYE addressed this under your tenure?Walters: Graphic design is a hugelyinfluential and significant part ofcontemporary life, but this is not alwaysunderstood within the culture at large. Look atthe patchy way graphics are covered on TV andin newspapers. The web is actually muchbetter, so I see some of design's renewedenergy coming from the pleasure that ordinarypeople take in images and typefaces—onblogs, photo-sharing sites, even MySpace. Forbetter or worse, the web is creating a wholenew kind of visual literacy.How can EYE (and I) address this? Ouraudience hardly needs convincing about theimportance of design and designers. One thingI've been keen to do in recent years has beento look at visual culture outside design, and toexamine some of the issues behind design:ethics, social concerns, readability, sexism,racism, education and so on. I'm not makingany great claim for originality in doing this. Allthe editors I admire keep their magazinesfresh by looking outside—and deeper inside—their core subject.Also, our readers expect the magazine to beeclectic, to surprise, to go beyond what's inthe other design titles, to change from issue toissue. To fulfil readers' expectations, I have tochallenge them, too (while staying within awell established editorial structure)."I see a lot of “news writing” in the tradepress that goes along the lines of: “X has left Yto pursue a new role at Z.” That's notjournalism; that's a parish newsletter!"Heller: None of the EYE editors have beendesigners. You, in fact, come from a musicbackground, co-founded UNKNOWN PUBLIC,formerly a magazine in a box, now a CD-book,and write about music for The Guardian. Howhas this influenced how you view graphicdesign? And by extension do you edit EYEsolely as a graphic design magazine?Walters: EYE is first and foremost amagazine for graphic designers. I never forgetthis, and my readers don't let me forget iteither. The great thing about designers,
EYE25however, is that they have a very broad rangeof interests and reference points, bothprofessionally and personally, that go waybeyond the notional borders of design:vernacular restaurant signs, RichardHamilton, graphic scores for music, Manga,EYE charts, Crumb's life drawing ... sex,drugs, rock 'n' roll, the universe andeverything.As far as editing a magazine goes, it's notall that different from being a record producer,a bandleader or an arranger—things I used todo before becoming a journalist.Heller: During your tenure, what has excitedyou the most as an editor? What issue orarticle do you feel has made the mostimpression or started the most controversy?Walters: That's a really difficult question:they're all great! And the latest is always thegreatest (to quote Kali Nikitas). By the time itgoes to press, you've become committed toeven the most problematic article. The“special issues” (like 38, 40, 45, 53, 54 andso on) are hard work, but really satisfying topull together around a central concept, and Iknow that some pieces strike a nerve, like“First Things First 2000” (33), or the “BrandMadness” pieces in 53, or Judith Williamson's“Retro-sexism” (48) or “Mexico '68” (56).Time pressures mean that I don't write asmuch as I'd like, but I've enjoyed interviewingdesigners such as Terry Jones and GerardUnger, and profiling Steve Byram, forinstance.Perhaps I should stress that I don't edit EYEto indulge my personal tastes and obsessions.I got several of my personal favorites out of theway early on, with Phil Baines's great pieceabout the UK road signs (34), Peter Blake(35), B. S. Johnson (36), GTF (39) and NevilleGarrick (41). I often edit from a position ofinnocence—there's a subject of which I'mskeptical or ignorant and I want the writer toargue their case in our pages and convince meand Simon (our new art director), andtherefore our readers, that this subject matteris worth caring about, is worth the space.Heller: Who is your audience? Or statedanother way, who do you want to reach withEYE?Walters: Graphic designers. People who likegraphic design. Ideally a broader, visuallyliterate readership that realizes the huge valueand creativity of design—particularly whencompared with other areas of endeavor. Butdesigners keep the magazine alive—in everysense. I'm happy about that, because I'vealways liked designers as co-workers,collaborators and friends.Heller: What do designers offer you thatother professionals do not—and I'm nottalking about layout services?Walters: I've worked on mags for otherprofessionals, and they all have their merits,but I admire the can-do approach of designers,the way they pull everything together, the waythey combine specific creative talents withmore general life skills, the way they integratetheory and practice on a daily basis.In "LA art school," the profile of AlexMcDowell in EYE 60 , Malcolm Garrett notesthat with digital technology, the design studiois now at the very heart of the film-makingprocess. This is true in many other areas ofendeavor. Designers have to take on manyroles, which means that they have to know alot, and do a lot, and they have to collaboratein a meaningful and generous way with allkinds of other people. And it doesn't meanthey have to change their job description. Theycan do all manner of things while remaining,at heart, a graphic designer.Heller: Since we've ascertained youraudience, do you feel you are making contact?Walters: The feedback—through emails,phone calls, random encounters, sales andsubs—is good. And I have a lot of confidencein my writers. Whether it's asking AliceTwemlow to write 6,000-plus words aboutdecoration (EYE 58) or Peter Blegvad to writea few hundred words about the Nobel Fieldinstallation (EYE 60), I know they're going todeliver.Heller: You are basically a one-editor andone-art director show, so what goes on in yourhead when planning your issues?Walters: I could write a 2,000-word essayabout that. There's only one thing moreexciting than planning an issue, and that'scompleting an issue. And I have to balancethat with the day-to-day duties of being theeditor, which means going to circulationmeetings, opening the mail, correspondence,phone calls, website meetings, mailing outcopies of the magazine to contributors whodidn't get the one the mailing house wassupposed to send out four weeks ago, and soon and so on. There are days when it seemslike everybody wants a piece of me, so mybrain can get pretty fried holding on to thedetail of what will make the next issue work.So what's going on in my head is prettycomplex, but the end product is edited,distilled from a large number of ideas andwords and images. In the future, perhapswe'll organize a "brain-cam" so that reallyobsessive readers can see how the new issueis shaping up.As for being a one-ed/one AD show, thatmeans that Simon Esterson and I can makebig decisions pretty quickly when it comes tomolding each issue into its final shape. Thereare times when it would be good to delegate alittle more, but a two-person team can be verystreamlined and effective. To grab a recordbusiness analogy, it's a bit like when anarranger and an engineer work together as aproduction team—you can play to each other'sstrengths.But we're at the sharp end of a prettyimpressive “virtual team” of writers,academics, and the all the designers whocontribute images. Nick Bell, who designedthe magazine from issues 27 to 57, is still onboard as our "special consultant," and EYEfounder Rick Poynor writes eight “Critique”columns a year—plus other reviews andfeatures. Then there's my regular sub-editorDeborah Burnstone, plus several otherfreelancers contributing editorial expertise,picture research, etc., and designers JayPrynne and Kuchar Swara, who work atSimon's studio. And of course the greatAnthony Oliver, who has been EYE'sphotographer since issue one, volume one.Heller: EYE is a well-produced quarterlymagazine. In the UK you run up againstCreative Review and Grafik. In the UnitedStates, your competition is PRINT,Communication Arts, and STEP Magazine.How do you feel you compare to these popularjournals?Walters: Difficult to say. You could say thatthere's competition from IDEA, GRAPHIS,Baseline, IdN, I.D. Magazine, HOW and DOTDOT DOT too. They all have their merits. Butwhat we do is quite different to all thosemagazines; I don't see a direct competitor.However we are competing with all thosemagazines for subscriptions and sales andadvertising and website hits—maybe forhearts and minds, too. My advice to anyonereading this is to get the others occasionallybut take out a subscription to EYE.Heller: I know your answer to this, but I'llask anyway. With so many publicationsincreasingly turning to the web, and withdesign blogs cropping up, why do you believe amagazine is not an anachronism?Walters: Didn't people talk like that aboutCD-ROMs? There are those who thought TVwould make print redundant, too. The web isalready making a certain kind of journalismanachronistic, but that's the way technologyworks. Drum machines didn't so much putdrummers out of work, as redefine the role ofthe drummer. Desktop publishing changedthings profoundly, but magazines are stillhere, and my belief is that a magazine likeEYE, with its high production and designvalues, is a strong argument for print. I knowfrom many direct and reported conversationsthat people love the feel of EYE, the smell ofthe ink and paper, the tactile pleasure ofopening a new “box-fresh” copy. I have tomake sure that the editorial content lives up tothat!Heller: Last year EYE was bought byHaymarket publications. How has and will thischange the tenor of the magazine?Walters: Haymarket is bigger and moreambitious than Quantum, EYE's previousowner, and it wants titles that are both leadersin their fields and of the highest quality. EYEis small compared to some of its other titles,but we fit well within its portfolio: we are nowpart of a new division called Haymarket BrandMedia. (At Quantum, we were part of thecompany's Hospitality division, alongsidetitles such as Hotel & Restaurant, Pub Foodand The Publican!)Since Haymarket bought EYE (in May 2005)we've been able to introduce a discountscheme for students. There are plans afoot fora mini-conference / debate, a photographysupplement and other “brand extensions.” Ourcirculation is rising in a pleasing manner. Afew people rang me when EYE was firstacquired last year, asking: “Are they going tochange the content?” In fact the newpublishers let me get on with it, with noeditorial interference at all—they're workinghard on the non-editorial aspects: advertisingrevenue, sales, distribution, making thewebsite more effective, and increasingcirculation, all of which are so necessary forthe long-term health and security of the title.© Steven Heller & John L. WaltersAbout the Author: Steven Heller, co-chair of MFA DesignerAs Author at School of Visual Arts, is the author of Merzto Emigre and Beyond: Avant Garde Magazine Designof the Twentieth Century (Phaidon Press), The Educationof a Comics Artist co-edited with Michael Dooley(Allworth Press), The Education of a Graphic Designer,Second Edition and The Education of an Art Director(with Veronique Vienne) (Allworth Press).
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Page 9 and 10: EDUCATION7Shaping Perceptions -Oppo
Page 11 and 12: REGIONALNEWS9Students who successfu
Page 13 and 14: PAST PRESISDENTS11takes us into a s
Page 15 and 16: FRANK RYAN13through the foundation
Page 17 and 18: EVENTS15father of thematic exhibiti
Page 19 and 20: RICHARDSEYMOUR17do’. To demonstra
Page 21 and 22: EVENTS19Is Rome burning? Are design
Page 23 and 24: EVENTS21Report on Intellectual Prop
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Page 29 and 30: CANDY27Oliver Jeffers and many many
Page 31 and 32: DESIGNWEEK29The Morrison for Koewei
Page 33 and 34: Hook and I;an exhibition by IDI mem

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