Pentagram Design – Cowboy Poetry

Pentagram Design‘s Austin-based firm is proud of its roots. So when the organization’s 40th anniversary approached, art director DJ Stout and designer Stu Taylor couldn’t resist calling for an occasion to tip their hats to their rich heritage. Texas style.

Their Pentagram Papers 42: Cowboy Poetry publication — which featured portraits of cowboys and their poetry — was given to some 300 guests at the hoedown celebration, in exchange for donations to benefit a West Texas Wildfire Relief Fund.

Stout writes the following in the introduction:

“Since the late 19th century cowboys have written odes to the land in tall tales, songs, and even their own particular brand of cowboy poetry. At first, the words ‘cowboy’ and ‘poetry’ seem like odd bunkmates, but the combination of heartfelt sentiment and down-home vernacular, full of hokum and at times wincingly corny, can be remarkably moving and meaningful—especially in its spoken form. It is the craft of a culture that has passed its heritage from generation to generation through folksy storytelling and exaggerated yarns. It is the folk art of a vanishing breed. This book features some of the region’s more colorful cowboy poets, photographed by Jay B Sauceda, and their tributes to the wounded land they love.”

Graphis loved the design, awarding it a Silver in our Graphis Design Annual 2014, in addition to their LMU magazine covers entitled ‘Smile’ and ‘Fish,’ which both received a Platinum award.

The largest independent design consultancy in the world, Pentagram Design is run by 19 partners who are leaders in their individual creative fields, including everything from architecture to interiors to posters to websites.

Pentagram Design is a consistent Graphis award winner, and has been awarded a Gold for ‘Top of the Rock’ in Advertising Annual 2013, as well as a Gold for ‘Haiti Poster’ in our Poster Annual 2012.

The Design Annual 2014 competition features the most compelling and influential design of the year. Prizes consist of gold and platinum awards, with winning entries published in the Design Annual 2014. To submit your own work to the Design Annual 2015 competition, click here.

To check out more work by Pentagram, click here.

Design Firm: Pentagram Design
Art Director: DJ Stout
Photographer: Jay B. Sauceda
Designer: Stu Taylor
Category: Editorial
Title: ‘Pentagram Papers 42: Cowboy Poetry,’