AMANDA TULLY GREAT DESIGNERS & GRID PROJECT
In 1957, Michael Bierut was born to a suburban family in Cleveland, Ohio. Michael was an artistic child who enjoyed drawing. Even more so, he enjoyed the relationships that could be built from art. He spent many hours staring at works in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Being inspired by artists such as Josef Albers and Franz Kline. As he got older he would find himself intrigued by the art on movie posters, records, and books. This intrigue inevitably lead him to a book called ‘Aim for a Job in Graphic Design/Art’ by S. Neil Fujita in his high school library. The book sparked a passion within in, and from there on he was dead set on being a graphic designer. Over 40 years later and Beruit is now considered an innovator to the profession. Known for his grid work He has worked for companies such as The Walt Disney Company, Yale school of Architecture, Princeton University, Saks Fifth Avenue, Motorola, and many more. In this past election, in fact, Bierut lead a 12 person design team in creating Hilary Clinton’s iconic logo. He spent 10 years working at Vignelli Associates before starting work at Pentagram in 1990 which is where he remains. Today he is considered one of the most recognizable faces in graphic design. Bierut creates design that audiences want to read. His goal is create an easy flow between client and
designer because, at the end of the day, the client needs to love the work. Bierut often achieves this by presenting the world with clear, concise, and simple designs that rely heavily on good typography and grid systems. He wants his work to be readable and accessible to all people. He has been able to achieve this, most notably, in his creation of maps he did for WALKNYC. These maps are big posters throughout the city that help walkers find their way around. This project required readability for all different types of people, and as usual, Bierut rose to the occasion.
His use of these bold typography and grid systems make his work easy on the eye. They are often bold while keeping a certain softness about them. It hits the viewer, but doesn’t overwhelm them. Some other characteristics Bierut is known for is his love of through-lines. He’s been quoted as saying that through-lines cause a rhythm that he finds incredibly satisfying. Contrary to popular belief on what is “eye catching” Bierut doesn’t rely on bright colors to win over his audience. In fact, he much prefers the use black and white to overt color.
Bierut successes are endless and continue to grow. At 60 years old Bierut remains at the forefront of the graphic design scene. He is a Senior Critic in Graphic Design at for the Yale School of Art. He co-founded the weblog Design Observer. He is co-editor of the series Looking Closer: Critical Writings of Graphic Design. He works on the “Studio 360� national radio program. In 2006, Bierut received the most prestigious award in the profession AIGA Medal. In 2007 he released a collection of essays on design which was published by Princeton Architectural Press. In 2015, his book How To was published by Harper Design. Yet, after all this success Bierut continues to amaze the graphic design community with his distinctive style.
It’s A Cliche But Typefaces Are
Really Just Ingrediants
- Michael BIERUT
It’s A Cliche But Typefaces Are
Really Just Ingrediants
- Michael BIERUT
have
MEANING has
SPIRIT Paula Scher 2017
have
MEANING has
SPIRIT Paula Scher 2017
?
The
CREATIVE PROCESS can be reduced to the art of
SELECTION Karl Gerstner
?
The
CREATIVE PROCESS can be reduced to the art of
SELECTION Karl Gerstner
DESIGN IS EVERYTHING.
EVERY
THING! Paul Rand
DESIGN IS EVERYTHING.
EVERY
THING! Paul Rand