In order to navigate the narrow streets and alleys of London, taxi drivers must undergo two years of rigorous training. It is called The Knowledge. The Knowledge is an idea collective, a conversation, a visual treat. Click on each title to download a pdf. If you’d like us to mail you a printed broadsheet, please email us.
AIGA Get Out The Vote Poster
Every election year, AIGA taps designers to make posters to encourage people to vote. For some reason Michael had remembered hearing the statistic that 66 million people had voted for American Idol—more than in any presidential election. When we started looking for an image to accompany it, we came across this classic shot of Simon Cowell. Then of course it took about two days to track down the source so we could buy it from, who else, but Getty Images.
Urban Forest Project Poster
The pretense of bottled water and the ridiculous waste it generates is one of our biggest pet peeves here at Ph.D. In 2006, AIGA tapped us to contribute a banner for an exhibition called the Urban Forest Project that would hang in Times Square. This was our way to get the word out to thousands of New Yorkers. The banners were recycled into Jack Spade messenger bags, which Michael uses to carry around his own, reusable water bottle.
The Knowledge 4: In Praise of Personalities
In the world of business, graphic design has a lovely and important role to play: to breathe life and character into products and services and the organizations that create them. To plumb their soul. To give them personality.
The Knowledge 3: Above and Below
Energie has launched. The Eames Primer is in bookstores. And yet again we realize how much of our work has at least something to do with furniture and lighting.
The Knowledge 2: Brand(ish)ing
Not since the days of real Marlboro Men chasing herds of cattle with hot pokers has the word "branding" been so widely used in everyday parlance. It seems wherever one turns today, there are companies slaving feverishly to "build a brand" or to impel consumer somehow to "invest in the brand."
The Knowledge 1: Driven By Design
75 suburbs in search of a city. A retirement village for the young. Paradise with a lobotomy. Los Angeles has been called many things, from the sublime to the ridiculous.
Terms and conditions
One of our most prized publications here in the office is this tiny guide that describes the thinking behind what we do here at Ph.D. We affectionately called it the "dictionary" while we were putting it together, and it contains everything you need to know about Ph.D, from A to Z. We give it to new clients so they can get to know us, old friends who we don't want to forget us, and we've even gone back to it for reference ourselves.
