1. Taken from a written statement by Lynda Warner to Stephen Goddard in response to questions about her studio environment, December 2007. 2. Brian Sadgrove founded his graphic design practice, Sadgrove Design, in Melbourne in 1968. 3. Taken from a written statement by Lynda Warner, op. cit.
18 OBJECT MAGAZINE STUDIO EDITION
Lynda Warner has a self-espoused ambivalence toward markets, budgets and business. Hers is a passion for the ‘process of design’ that germinated while being a design assistant to Brian Sadgrove,2 whom she greatly admires. It has seen her embark on a pre-eminent string of national commissions from her Tasmanian wilderness over a 25-year solo practice (that began, it should be said, at a time when success for a woman was far less likely). Warner’s sublime understanding of the marriage of two- and three-dimensional design thinking is strongly reflective of the physical environments in which she works. It is expressed, in particular, through the insight she brings to her material and tactile solutions to environmental, packaging and book design.
I find it very hard to be analytical and philosophical about my work practice. No beautiful journal of doodles, just little light bulbs going off in my head when I get an idea. It’s an intuitive response that leads to a process from which I extract intense joy. It is probably why I have greedily maintained a solo practice for all this time. I made a deliberate choice not to “grow” in a world that seems to worship economic ideals. That’s not to say that I don’t value growth at all, but the growth that I do value is one of ideas and the process of realising them.’ 3 STEPHEN GODDARD IS SENIOR CREATIVE ASSOCIATE WITH OBJECT: AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR CRAFT AND DESIGN AND PRINCIPAL OF STEPHEN GODDARD DESIGN, SYDNEY.