Of all the subjects to take on in my first issue as editor of STEP inside design, our 2007 Field Guide to Emerging Designers is especially humbling. This thought came to mind as I was looking over some files from early in my own career, namely the late 1970s. At that time I was a member of the Society of Typographic Arts in Chicago, and in my files I found several show catalogs by the STA. Notable among the familiar names in these catalogs was a young Rick Valicenti, who was president of the STA at the time.

So while it seems there was already one lasting star in the firmament, it would have been impossible for me in the late ’70s to predict which of the other young designers on the show circuit would rise, which would fall from the skies and which would still be shining nearly 30 years on.

Now, it is well known that you cannot expect a cat to predict the phases of the moon … cats are notoriously impervious to astronomy. You could say a cat is not situated for the task. In a similar way, I am not situated to predict which of today’s young designers will be tomorrow’s stars. Fortunately, there are far better sources for this task.

In this issue we are again fortunate to have the aid of Alice Twemlow, who guest-edited the section on Emerging Design Talent on pages 64–105. Assisted by Isaac Gertman, Alice has assembled an exciting group of young designers who have expanded traditional notions of design practice by creating business ventures, products and experimental alternative practices. The evolving work of these design entrepreneurs is predictably stimulating and challenging.

For more, see Alice’s introduction to the Field Guide on page 64. (And check out her useful new book, What Is Graphic Design For? published by Rotovision.)

Recently I heard the great Lorin Maazel remark that the art of conducting is to make the conductor disappear … but not too soon. I would not compare editing to conducting a symphony; editing is more like plumbing, only not as noble. The only true point of comparison is to say that one should move quickly to the background and let the real stars shine. Nevertheless, while I briefly have the floor, I would like to point out some additional content in this issue that we are particularly proud of.

On page 34 Sean Adams of AdamsMorioka interviews Jamie Koval, a principal of VSA Partners, on how the Chicago-based studio has achieved such remarkable success. Kristin Ellison on page 40 explores Bill Grant’s latest venture, which involves radically reimagining the entire category of wallcoverings. Ellison then follows with an equally revealing look at the enduring appeal of Hatch Show Print on page 48.

Finally, we are pleased to continue our series of articles on diversity in design with Terry Lee Stone’s profile of Carlos Pérez and his groundbreaking Miami studio Elastic People, a firm that’s making its mark with powerful, empathetic messages targeting the fastgrowing Hispanic segment of the population. It’s on page 56.

Demographics, technologies, styles and faces can be diffcult to keep track of, let alone prognosticate on. We are fortunate here that STEP has a strong community of talented and alert commentators on the state of design. My thanks to this issue’s contributors for their insights and support.