Old school amnesia is a regular occurrence

Mr Jackson’s rather sweeping statement about the pig vacuum cleaner: “I’ve got no gripe against stylists, just don’t call them designers” (DW 23 August), was ironically followed by a photograph of the new DCA-designed British Telecom phone box, which is what, if not a styling exercise?

To insinuate the graduate’s work was simply a styling exercise, and people who style are not designers, seems to me a naively misplaced jealousy of the freedom of mind given to design students – a freedom most designers in professional practices would enjoy more of on top of the scraps of conceptual development. This old school amnesia seems to be an all too regular occurrence.

Would Mr Jackson be prepared to say the same about DCA, the first consultancy in the UK to be awarded BS5750?

Yes, we all know form follows function, but be aware, Mr Jackson, that in good design the two go hand in hand.

Dominic Plumb

Level Six Design

Stevenage SG1 4QR

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