Starting off my reading list this week I read a really interesting chat between Rob Duncan and Brett Wickers from Mucho, a global design studio made up of close friends who originally met while working at Pentagram in London. The name “Mucho” means “many” or “more,” which fits their approach to growing naturally by adding people they genuinely want to work with, rather than just expanding for the sake of it.
Rob and Brett both work in the San Francisco office. They said their working relationship is based on shared humour, a love of ideas, and a commitment to thoughtful, well-crafted design. Rob leans a bit more toward witty, concept-driven work, while Brett brings a modernist eye and loves experimenting with technology to create unexpected results.
One thing they both agree on is that good design starts with a strong idea and a solid strategy. Without understanding the brand's purpose and personality, it’s hard to create anything meaningful. Brett especially values work that helps change the way people see something—whether it’s a product, a company, or an entire industry.
Brett’s design journey started with music. He was really inspired by the Joy Division album Unknown Pleasures, which famously had no title or band name on the cover—just a mysterious graphic. That design led him to discover Peter Saville, and he eventually moved to the UK, interned with him, and even became a partner.
He’s worked on some amazing projects, like helping Adobe rethink how they presented their creative tools, rebranding Kenmore, designing a unique typographic identity for the San Francisco Ballet, and creating a whole new brand for the Ability Lab—a hospital that wanted to focus on what patients can do, rather than what they’ve lost. He also created the iconic gun logo for The Sopranos, which he designed after misreading the title and thinking it was a show about opera singers!
Brett said something that really stuck with me: good design is about what you leave out just as much as what you put in. It’s easy to throw in lots of stuff, but knowing what to strip back takes real skill and honesty. He also believes design doesn’t exist in a vacuum—it moves with everything else in culture: fashion, art, architecture, music. Designers need to stay right at the edge of what’s next. He quoted David Bowie, saying there’s no point being more than 15 minutes ahead of your time—because if you’re too far ahead, no one will get it.