Feature A graphic designer downsizes to spend more time thinking, studying and designing without commercial studio pressures. What could possibly go right? By Simon Esterson. Portrait by Philip Sayer [EXTRACT] For Jim Sutherland, design projects are all about ideas. There is no signature style applied across his work; no obsession with a group of typefaces. Instead, each project has at its core an idea that determines its visual direction. The identity for the Kings Place music centre is based on the sound waves generated by different pieces of music; the stamps celebrating crime writer Agatha Christie are full of clues to be discovered; in his marque for Start-rite the ‘R’ letters sport pairs of shoes …
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Bad timing
Wesley So defeated Magnus Carlsen in two consecutive finals of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, and both times he did it on special dates, first on the world champion’s 30th birthday and now on Valentine’s Day. The ever-humble American grandmaster later apologized for having ruined his opponent’s celebrations.
Wesley So published two new opening DVDs: 1.b3, the so called Nimzo-Larsen-Attack, for White and his black secrets in the modern Italian. Get them in a package and save money!
For Carlsen, it was all about bad timing chess-wise on day 2 of the finals, as he incorrectly sacrificed a piece in game 1 and failed to play correct sacrifices in games 3 and 4. The world champion explained:
“We focused on the literal idea of multiperspective,” he says. “Lots of views from different angles.”
This reflected the organisation’s approach too, as the debates are “not simple but multifaceted and multilayered”, Sutherland adds.
The designer says that the same words kept cropping up throughout the initial discussions: “Thoughtful, beautiful, playful, experimental and transformative”.
The team used typography to embody these concepts. “We initially worked on variations of the name itself,” Sutherland says, before also considering the difference perspectives and angle.
These have been combined into variations of the full name, which also prompted the development of the full headline typeface.
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Van Foreest and Tari score
It will all be decided during the weekend, and it seems all but impossible for Magnus Carlsen to clinch and eighth tournament victory in Wijk aan Zee. The world champion is 1½ points behind sole leader Anish Giri, as he could not defeat him in their direct encounter on Friday.
Scarcely any world champion has managed to captivate chess lovers to the extent Carlsen has. The enormously talented Norwegian hasn t been systematically trained within the structures of a major chess-playing nation such as Russia, the Ukraine or China.
Three players still have very realistic chances of getting the title. Fabiano Caruana, Alireza Firouzja and Jorden van Foreest have collected 7 points so far and will be looking to overcome the local hero in the final stretch of the competition. Out of these three, only Firouzja is yet to face Giri, as he will have the black pieces in their round-12 face-off.