What makes great design?

I first met Professor Phil Meggs in February of 1999.

At approximately 2 a.m. on February 23 I awoke to a great epiphany. I had to go back to school for graphic design. There was no other option. The next day I made a few calls... was I actively using email at the time? An appointment was made to meet with a professor at VCU to look at my portfolio.

I nervously made it to the 5th floor of the Pollack building. I hadn't been inside since I graduated with my crafts degree in 1996. The urine smell was gone and the graffiti murals had been painted over along with the elevators.

The door was open and a middle aged gentleman sat at a desk ruffling through papers. His dark hair was graying and he looked up and smiled.

We sat for a time leafing through my oversized drawings. He made a note of my labeling of each section and the t-shirt he pulled from one folder. He delighted in the photographs of the furniture I had created for my previous degree. That relaxed me a bit which I think he sensed. Closing the large case, he asked, "well, what do you want to do?"

On my first day I was almost late. The university had managed to deposit my financial aid reimbursement into the wrong account. I spent the morning feverishly running between banks and credit unions and financial aid offices trying to track it down. This wasn't how I imaged my return to college.

I walked into the classroom, tables arranged in a rectangle. Unfamiliar faces looked up. I took my seat to the left and began fidgeting, The Professor Meggs entered, looked about the room, smiled and said, "Well, hello. How is everyone doing today?" You could hear the smile in his voice. A genuine sincerity wrapped up in southern charm. It was the kind that if you were paying attention, it warmed your stomach like a bowl of good soup on a winter afternoon.

He sat down and began to call role. He pasted my name and came to the last,"Grey Wolf?" He flashed a big smile and chuckled with mischievous delight."Uh, yeah, it's Greg," said the long-haired pony tale guy sitting next to me. There were 15 of us in the class and Professor Meggs began the discussion on the evolution of type.

Later that afternoon I headed to my next class. It was in a huge auditorium. My voyeuristic side insisted I take my seat towards the back. Stepping out onto the stage was Professor Meggs. After running through the usual details on the first day of class, he pulled up a slide. "Look at that 'e.' Isn't is beautiful? Notice how it hugs the letter next to it. The gentle curve, the eye..." I sat there, listening to this guy and all I could think was, "what a weirdo. He seemed so unassuming and normal before." Little did I know. The semester brought a new world to my eyes. An enthusiasm that was infections and consuming. Phil was the kind of instructor that made you want to go the extra mile, do extra work.

We had an assignment where he gave us print outs of grids and we had to place square cuts out of various lines of type onto the grid. We had to do three of them. One with two cut outs, one with five and one with seven. They had to be filled with the type and be visually balanced and interesting. I did one through ten. He walked around the room inspecting everyone's progress. He stopped and looked down at my array of grids. "Hum. You should be a designer." I looked up and smiled. "Thank you."

I will never forget that moment.

What makes great design? An amazing and inspiring professor who continues to inspire even years after his death.

Professor Meggs, thank you.