From: Clive Piercy
Subject: Re: Thinking Wrong
Date: February 16, 2006 4:52:24 PM PST

What was difficult?
Not becoming rather angry at this whole project. Trying to take it seriously.
What was easy?
Disregarding the word ovipositor. It has something to do with “disappearing up your own ___hole.”

Clive Piercy shuffles through stacks of books on his desk, looking for his notes. “I got really annoyed with this process,” he says. “I felt like I was one of those chimps having my brain monitored with electrodes.” Although he liked the fact that the exercises were limited to 15 minutes each, he found it hard not to revert to his time-tested, intuitive way of thinking. “I understand Bielenberg’s way of doing things, and there’s something charming about that,” he says, yanking papers from a pile. “But I was against it.”

He was focused on the fact that he had to create a cover that would be chosen from the others in competition, and ultimately, one that would sell. To him, that produced a sense of “phoniness” in the exercises despite their good intentions.

Piercy’s practical side also kicked in to remind him that he needed a concept that could be quickly executed. Being a self-described wordsmith, he tried first to create an all-type solution but realized his distaste for the concept was getting in the way. What he really wanted to do was subvert the entire exercise. He wanted to parody thinking wrong.

Inspired by the iconic Esquire covers of George Lois and the debate about “appropriation” that’s ubiquitous in design—like Paula Scher’s Swatch ads à la Herbert Matter or the Bob Dylan poster designed by Milton Glaser that references Marcel Duchamp’s self-portrait—Piercy took what he thought had to be the “wrongest” and most clichéd image of all: MAD Magazine’s Alfred E. Newman with the face of George W. Bush.

The crumpled piece of paper adds another layer both literally and in meaning; it embodies a “wrong thought,” like an idea that had been rejected but accidentally fell into place on the layout. In an alternate flourish, Piercy rearranged STEP’s letters, perhaps to exact his own sweet revenge upon the entire process.

RIGHT OR WRONG?
“I got the sense that Clive was a little annoyed at the beginning,” says Bielenberg. “There’s a step where you understand, where the light bulb goes on, and you understand the value of generating alternative solutions. If you don’t believe there’s value in that, ultimately, you’re going to be annoyed at the exercises. I think it’s an interesting cover and it could be provocative and sell magazines. I also think that it’s a good example of how hard it is to use thinking wrong as a discipline. It’s much easier to rely on heuristic bias.”