As you head in or out of LAX, you can't help but notice the towers of imperceptibly-changing light that surround its entrance--they're even visible from the air. The iconic glass pylons that serve as LA's official welcoming committee were created in 2000 by Selbert Perkins Design and are featured in a new book about Selbert Perkins' work, S.P.A.C.E., which includes many more Los Angeles landmarks. We talked to principal Robin Perkins about the LAX Gateway, designing for LA and the reality of penning a monograph.

Tell us a little bit about your book.
The book, S.P.A.C.E. is Selbert Perkins Design first monograph showing the combined work of both of the offices over the history of the firm. It was a lot of fun. We wanted it to really be image based book, which is why there is very little copy. We tend to communicate with images better than words, so the end result is really more of a picture book!

How would you compare the experience of writing about design versus designing?
See above!! I actually love to write, but I like to keep the message pretty simple and direct. I try not to over analyze things and I’m not the best at spelling, which I don’t like to admit. I think I tend to have a lot of run on sentences and ideas that run together so it takes me a long time to edit things. Design is a faster process for me and is much less agonizing.

What have you learned from the experience?
To make sure you get great photography up front–-right after the project is complete. If you wait then you have to take a lot of photography at the same time and it’s easier to pay as you go instead of paying for it all at one time.

What are you busy with these days? Tell us about your company.
We’re doing a lot of work in the Los Angeles area. We’ve been awarded for the 8th year in a row, the collateral for The Tournament of Roses. We have to compete each year for the work and there is a different president each year who develops a new theme. There is a lot of collateral that needs to get done throughout the year, while we’re working on the current year’s program. There is a lot of overlap, so we have to be very organized! We continue our relationship with the Pacific Design Center. After designing the Chair and Lamp sculptures and interior and exterior wayfinding for the Green and Blue building, we’re now involved with developing design concepts for the approved Red Building.

We’ve been working with the Port of Los Angeles for several years designing wayfinding and gateways for the Port Area, so we continue to design and implement the wayfinding system throughout the Port. We’re working on identity and streetscape improvements for the Pico Union district downtown and a variety of retail projects. We’re also working on a sign system for Santa Monica College. We’re doing some great work in Las Vegas, working on graphics and wayfinding for a new terminal at McCarran Airport. We’ve also been working on streetscape improvements for Fremont Street where we’ve designed some really great gateways and street sculpture. We’re also involved with the City Center Project there. We’ve worked in Asia for many years. Mostly on retail projects. We’ve in the process of completing a great project in Beijing and we’re also working in Japan and India. So we keep busy!

What drew you to environmental design versus some other discipline?
I got a degree in graphic design, but was always interested in building things. The studio was working on sign systems and we were involved with the SEGD (Society of Environmental Graphic Design) and I began studying sculpture for many years in continuing education programs. I fell in love with steel welding and had my own welding studio for many years. At the same time, I would integrate sculpture into the projects we were working on. So it just happened naturally. I never wanted to be confined to one discipline but wanted to integrate all of them.

Whose work inspires you these days?
The work that has always inspired me has always been ancient archaeological sites. Mostly ancient Egypt, but also the Mayan ruins, ruins in Indonesia, ancient Greece, etc. Then the modern masters--everything modernist inspires me. Nature inspires me, Landscape architecture inspires and the work of landscape architects…

One of your most high-profile projects was the Gateway at LAX. What was that like?
It was a wonderful experience. It was amazing to develop those ideas and have them approved and built in a rather short amount of time. The concept was so pure and simple, that it couldn’t be stripped of anything. The column is the most timeless form. A circle (circular columns, a ring of columns) is another timeless form. The ring represented the City of Angels, a halo over our city.and the sun which shines almost every day. The changing light represents the diversity that is Los Angeles. We have a representative from every country in the world in our city! The changing lights also reflect that Los Angeles is the entertainment capital of the world! So there are many layers of meaning behind the design. That is what makes a design timeless.

What’s your future course? Is there another book in the works?
Our future is to do more of the same--in more places in the world. We love to travel and we love to work in different cultures with different groups of people. I’m sure there will be another book in the future--we should probably start on it now!

Has your involvement with AIGA influenced you and your career?
AIGA was instrumental to me when I first graduated. It exposed me to so much amazing work and amazing designers and design firms. It’s an incredibly rich organization in every way. It has inspired me and has opened my eyes to opportunities, friends and information.