On the surface, literally, nothing much in common between more-is-more Grayson Perry who covers his objects in images and text documenting a very personal world-view, and John Pawson who pares to the minimum to achieve an anonymous combination of function and beauty. United by respect for craft, ancient and contemporary, both deal in clarity: Pawson makes useful things and complex buildings legible in their appearance of simplicity, and Perry uses language, humour and history to look behind the hype of media-saturated life. If design is problem-solving, not an exercise in ego, these two are examples of practical and emotional application.
John Pawson When Objects Work
Grayson Perry The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman British Museum
