Hasta La Ideas

Why Not Associates‘ work has always been firmly rooted in the physical – whether it’s casting concrete or photocopying type. For a show at Tokyo’s Ginza Graphic Gallery the studio has rummaged through its archive to present artefacts and artwork next to finished projects from the past 25 years

The show, titled We Never Had a Plan So Nothing Could Go Wrong, brings togther work dating all the way back to the Why Nots student days at the RCA (including David Ellis’s Thatcher poster, top, and sketchbook, above), through to contemporary projects such as the Comedy Carpet.

Artefacts created during the design process (such as the leftover concrete letters from the Comedy Carpet, below) or objects used in making the work are presented next to the final pieces.

An accompanying book of the same title takes the same approach, with items from the archive presented alongside the works they inspired or formed part of. The book is part of the ggg series of monographs which has featured the work of over 100 world-renowned designers.

Here’s the exhibition poster designed by Why Not Associates with calligraphy by Katsumi Asaba

Full details on the show here

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