One of the most remarkable – and relatively unknown – stories to come out of the early days of computer coding and the subsequent tech revolution was the  “commentary” booklet written by Professor John Lyons to give further instruction on the recently invented UNIX system. The booklet, written for his students at UNSW in 1976, became a genuine phenomenon and influenced many thousands, if not millions, of computing students worldwide.

The design challenge was to avoid making this eight page piece a biography that no one would read. As in many design jobs, there were balances that needed to be struck and in this case it was to highlight not only the remarkable achievement of the UNIX booklet itself – which was the natural hook to catch the reader’s interest – but also to pay respect to the Professor’s full career, professional legacy and family life.