16th
March
2004
George Kennan and the Cold War Between Form and Content
“The graphic designerís role is largely one of giving form to content. Often ñ perhaps even nearly always ñ this process is a cosmetic exercise. Only rarely does the form of a message become a signal of meaning in and of itself. Last week, at Princeton Universityís Firestone Library, I saw an example of the power that form can give content: George F. Kennanís legendary ‘Telegraphic Message from Moscow of February 22, 1946,’ or, as it is better known to students of twentieth century foreign policy, ‘The Long Telegram.’”