Recollections, reflections and all-round best bits, kindly recounted by some of our Wallpaper* family and friends

JEREMY LANGMEAD Editor-in-chief, 2003–2007

It was an intimidating office to first step into. Here was a perfectly dressed team – not too fashion, not too street – perched in front of perfectly placed Vitsoe shelving systems by Dieter Rams. There were no coats hung on the backs of chairs, no clutter on the simple white desks. The staff embodied the pages of the magazine: stylish, global and a tad aloof.

It was at least a year until it felt normal. The team changed and settled and smiled a little more; packing once a fortnight to visit clients and collaborators, everywhere from Manila to Moscow, felt humdrum; and armchairs made of teddy bears (Campana Brothers) or a lamp poking out of a life-sized horse (Moooi) being carried past my glasswalled office barely earned a second glance. It seemed normal, too, to visit Zaha Hadid and ask her to design an exhibition for us (she agreed) in Giorgio Armani’s show space (he kept peering around the door to watch it being built); to persuade Bombardier to sponsor the building of a full-size Wallpaper* bullet train that somehow resembled Dippy the Diplodocus from the Natural History Museum (W*80, below); and to collaborate with Phaidon to publish over 100 Pantonehued, pocket-sized Wallpaper* City Guides.

By the time I left, I had grown to love the bonkers world of grand design; the fact that, on Friday nights, the core team would swap green tea at their pristine desks for messy pints at the grotty pub behind the offices; and to understand the dedication to the new, beautiful and clever design emanating from across the globe that the magazine’s team was there to find, share and celebrate.

Tyler Brûlé cleverly created a brand strong enough to navigate twists and turns in taste and demand, and survive 25 years that have seen the media landscape change beyond recognition. I feel fortunate to have played a small part in that sometimes minimal, other times colourful, but always eventful journey.