ABSTRACT

The sheets of polythene are cleared away from the carpet and wrapped exhibits; the designer is making final adjustments to the lighting, searching for missed patches or scratches to be covered. The production manager is standing, rubbing his hands and rocking back on tired feet and calf muscles, and the project designer—if there is one—is amiably arguing with the contractor's representative over sheaves of notes about extras. The solution to poor communication in the client organization is for the senior client to buy his way out of the problem, provided that there is time. The graphic designer has gone over every panel or label, touching out white specks with black and black with white, meticulously tidying where even the most sharp-eyed visitor will never look. The designer, smartly dressed and inwardly nervous, is outwardly calm and talks with one eye on a colleague and the other on the approach of a VIP or senior client.