Conundrums by Harry Pearce

Though a festive, post-prandial institution, the riddle in a Christmas cracker rarely musters more than smile these days. Devotees can now carry the fun beyond the pudding and stilton though thanks to Harry Pearce’s book, Conundrums.
Coming from Pearce, a Pentagram partner and member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale, the Conundrums are a far more sophisticated affair than anything you’d find in a cracker. The book contains 171 visual wordplays, each confined to their own box, using just two colours and one font (AG Old Face). Some are quite obvious – ‘close shave’ – others are more obscure – ‘God moves in mysterious ways’ kept us guessing for a long time. As a collection they’re charming, amusing and addictive in equal parts.
Pearce is a devoted conundrum-collector, citing a childhood immersed in the ‘nonsense that made sense’ by the likes of Spike Milligan, Edward Lear, Peter Cook and Monty Python, as the seed. “These little games seem to have a life of their own,” says Pearce, “I started them years ago, a love affair between typography and phrase, and they’ve been one step ahead of me ever since…So I have to keep following in their footsteps but always sticking to the rules: one box, two colours and a single typeface. Sometimes the more cornered you are, the more fun you have.”
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Design beyond humans: a new exhibition argues that the world doesn’t revolve around us
‘More Than Human’ at London's Design Museum (until 5 October 2025) asks what happens when design focuses on the perspectives and needs of other species, from bees to seaweed
-
Tuneshine is a new way of bringing back the lost art of the album cover
The compact Tuneshine screen uses LED tech to illuminate the artwork of whatever you’re currently streaming
-
Inside the new theatre at Jacob’s Pillow and its ‘magic box’, part of a pioneering complex designed for dance
Jacob’s Pillow welcomes the reborn Doris Duke Theatre by Mecanoo, a new space that has just opened in the beloved Berkshires cultural hub for the summer season