Group Collaborative E-Booklet by creg101

R E T S I E M t u r G e i A lB e a h c Mi

Collaborative Group e

-Booklet

Top Left: Michael Bierut Top Right: Stefan Sagmeister Bottom Right: Barbara Kruger Bottom Left: Saul Bass

CONTENTS p4-5 Michael Bierut by Craig Colgin-Aitken p6-7 Stefan Sagmeister by Lea Dieterle p8-9 Bibliography

t u r e i B l e a h ic

President of Graphic Design for the company. In 1990, Bierut became a partner with Pentagram – a position he still holds to this day – meaning that he has only ever had 2 jobs and has never interviewed for a role. Looking at Bierut’s work, there are some key themes which are visible. Firstly, Bierut has a strong attachment to grids, using them creatively and precisely to not only assist in design, but, oftentimes, create something totally new and unexpected. Bierut also seems to enjoy referencing the past; taking elements from previous versions of logos, or designs and reimagining them into something totally new. One example which covers both of the above points is the re-designed logo for Saks Fifth Avenue. Bierut picked his favourite of their previous logos, refined the design and then used a square grid to cut the logo into 64 segments. When separated and enlarged, each section stands alone as a piece of art. These segments were shuffled around and used to create patterns on shopping bags, store window designs and many more elements of collateral. Another project which brings together the old and new is Bierut’s work with The Cathedral of St John the Divine. The church works with the local community in many ways, including art installations, community outreach, music programs, local education – the list goes on. Bierut persuaded the church to use a blackletter style typeface for their posters, signs and other communications.

Born in 1957, Bierut grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and

was inspired to follow a career in design after his father pointed out a clever typographical element in the Clark forklifts logo – the ‘L’ looks like it’s “lifting” the ‘A’ – Bierut says he was shocked, asking “has this been going on the whole time?” This spark of interest stayed with Bierut, inspiring him to request design books for Christmas and borrowing every volume he could find on the subject, from his local library. He went on to study graphic design at the University of

Through years of experience you develop the facility to care about the design world...and as you’re acquiring that skill, you’re actually making yourself less normal. Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning; one of the few courses available at the time. After completing his degree, Bierut went on to work with Vignelli Associates, lead by husband and wife team Massimo and Lella Vignelli. During his time with Vignelli, Bierut often worked double-shifts, heading back to the office after tucking his wife into bed, to work until the early hours of the morning. Massimo saw great potential in Michael and, due to his work ethic, began frequently letting him work on more and more projects. Bierut eventually became the Vice

They got their old logo back, but this time looking sharp and looking capable of surprising people. Initially the church was concerned that this made them look old-fashioned, however, it is used with a sense of humour in phrases like “refresh thy homepage” and “Thou shalt not poop”, the latter a sign to remind dog owners to pick up after their pets. 4

Overall I would describe Bierut’s work as witty, clever and clean – all of these are qualities I admire and hope to emulate in my ongoing journey in design. It could be argued that we all try too much to look forward, discarding the past and moving forward, however, Bierut’s work speaks to the value of the past. To put this process into Bierut’s own words:

No one wants a new logo. They either want someone else’s logo, or they want their old one back.

Copyright The main themes coming from my research into copyright law are those of confusion and a sense of difficulty when trying to protect original work from being copied by others. In the Creative Works White Paper Using Intellectual Property in the Creative Industries (2013) it is suggested that smaller companies, self-employed or solo designers make up the bulk of creative content being produced, but are less likely to be able to afford appropriate legal representation if faced with a copyright issue. At the same time, the ‘top of the pyramid’ those larger companies or wealthy individuals, have more time, money and resources, to be able to protect themselves against possible infringements. There is also some confusion as to what design should be viewed as, when considering copyright. Is it s product, or a service? As an example, many creatives see their work as a service, but the customer sees the final outcome and considers it a product e.g. if I was working on a magazine layout and photography for a client, I would consider it a service, the client may con-

sider this a product – as it is tangible and has a defined finishing point. Also, some issues can arise when elements of an original design are re-used in a different way – as an example – an illustration created for a website, which is then used on a new website when this is updated, or downloaded and used for online social channels, or printed onto collateral. These issues rarely make up the contract, if there even is one, and as such, are only dealt with when they happen. This lack of clarity and understanding can be confusing and frustrating for both the designer and the customer. Since most designers are not lawyers, it can be tricky to negotiate contracts, feeling like the more experienced clients will know better. Or failing to add in amends to self-generated contracts, because there is no prior knowledge of what is, or isn’t legal. In Copyright and Creativity: An Ongoing Debate in the Creative Industries (2015) Flew suggests there are 4 main copyright issues for the creative industries (I’ll paraphrase) – 1 –

rapid growth of technology enabling low cost reproductions. 2 – The importance of IP rights being tied to income and wealth – especially for self-employed or solo designers. 3 – Worldwide availability of works which are copyrighted. 4 – Growth of copyright law. Society can assume that creative work should be made freely available as a part of ‘ordinary discourse…the creators contribution to conversation’. Designers, rightfully, want to be rewarded for their creativity – arguably only being able to continue creating if this is the case – while recognising that society as a whole, benefits from creative work being made freely available. It seems like the best way to protect yourself is to keep a record of what you’re creating, keep it to yourself if possible, and if not possible, secure an NDA if discussing before you are protected. If someone attempts to use your work without permission, in a way which infringes copyright law, it is possible to ask them to stop, but can be a long, expensive process.

SSTEFAN TEFAN S SAGMEISTER AGMEISTER CD would be irrelevant—and so would its design.” (Heller, 2013).

New York based graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister

was born in 1962 in Bregenz, Austria. Sagmeister first started studying Graphic Design at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna and later received a scholarship to study at the Pratt Institute in New York.

“

Good design is design that either helps people or delights people. At the age of 29, Sagmeister moved to Hong Kong to work in Leo Burnett’s advertising agency, after being criticized for his work he left his job behind shortly after to move back to New York where he worked for Tibor Kalmans company M&Co for a brief period of time as the studio moved its offices to Rome. Left without a job, he founded his own company Sagmeister Inc. in Manhattan.

After Sagmeister returned from his one-year break from commercial work on Bali, he started a collaboration in 2012 with designer Jessica Walsh, making her his business partner and renaming the studio to Sagmeister & Walsh, specializing in brand identities, advertising, packaging design, consulting and many more with clients from a wide range of industries such as MOMA, Levis, Red Bull, Guggenheim and The New York Times.

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There are brands out there in the world that have an incredible influence on the culture. Numerous ones are badly done. In order to “visually convey the pain that accompanies most of the studio’s design projects” (Sagmeister, n.d.), in 1999, Sagmeister got an intern to cut the details for the AIGA speaking event in Detroit into his torso, ready to be photographed afterwards. In 2004 Sagmeister was commissioned by the Neenah Paper company in order to raise money for a charity and got given an apostrophe to work with. By making the apostrophe the trigger of a gun, Sagmeister pointed out that an “apostrophe is in the letter-elimination business” (Sagmeister, n.d.).

In 1994, Sagmeister achieved an international breakthrough for his CD album cover design for H.P. Zinkers Mountain of Madness which gained him several grammy nominations as well as many new clients. As a result, Sagmeister specialized in CD cover design and got signed to design album covers for The Rolling Stones, Lou Reed, David Byrne and Jay-Z. After a trip to Korea in 2003, Sagmeister was introduced to the MP3 player and as a result turned his back to the designing of CD covers as in his opinion “in two years or less the

His book “Things I Have Learned” features a collection of fifteen books in different cover styles, held together by a laser cut slipcase of Sagmeister’s face - by placing a different book at the front, it becomes part of the slipcase design.

Sagmeister’s work stands out by being striking, humorous, controversial and provocative. Sagmeister most famously works by usinghandwritten typography on the human body, which gives his designs a personal, imperfect

and human appeal. His work and attitude towards design seems to be very bold or even brace and is inspiring to step out of the comfort zone.

“

It is very important to embrace failure and to do a lot of stuff — as much stuff as possible — with as little fear as possible. It’s much, much better to wind up with a lot of crap having tried it than to overthink in the beginning and not do it.

Copyright Copyright law, given by the government, protects the creative work of literacy, music, drama, art, film or sound, architecture. The law protects the rightful copyright holder of the creative work from it being copied or re-used without permission and gives the holder the right to obtain a material benefit from the use of their work by someone else but the holder themselves. Shortly - it is the protection of intellectual property, may it be published or unpublished. In order to obtain copyright the creative work must fulfill some basic requirements. It has to be original and not copied from another work, it should be creative and finally it should be of a physical form. It is important to note that the copyright law does not protect ideas and concepts, nevertheless the expression of those ideas and concepts itself could be protected. Once the copyright protection is obtained it is valid for the author’s life plus 70 more years after death - once expired the work becomes part of the public domain. Unless stated in a contract otherwise, work that is produced during employment

could fall under “work made for hire” meaning that client or employer holds the copyright for the produced work, which prohibits the designer to make use of the work elsewhere. If a creative work was produced by more than one person, all parties involved in the creating process are co-owners of the works copyright.

passing on an image or book and loosing physical possession. There are several exceptions within the copyright law:

- Educational Institutions: private use for study and research purposes Holding the copyright to a creative work entitles - Libraries and Archives: for replacement and the owner to control the reproduction and distri- archival copies, can lend a limited amount of bution of the work as well as the opportunity to copies to news programs transfer the ownership of the copyright in whole - Back-Up copies on computers - Performances and Displays: displays connected or in part to another party. with religious purposes, promoting retail sales, The copyright granted to a holder comes with agricultural or horticultural organizations various regulations. The most notable restric- -Reproduction and distribution copies in special tion on the copyrights holders’ rights is called formats used for blind people the “fair use exception”, which allows the use of a work without asking the copyright holder for If someone uses a work without asking the copypermission first. In case of a fair use exception right holder for permission first and it is not pera court will determine if the use is justified. The mitted through an exception within the copyright „first sale exception“ comes in place when some- law, it falls under copyright infringement which one rightfully purchased a copy of a copyrighted could result in civil remedies and criminal sancwork and distributes his own copy. This means tions. that the copy must be physically distributed - i.e.

Bibliography

for Craig Colgin-Aitken.

Contents page (Craig Colgin-Aitken) Images, clockwise from top left. Bass, S (1959) Anatomy of a Murder (poster). Available from Scene 360: https://scene360.com/design/49712/saul-bass-anatomy-of-a-poster/ [Accessed on 13th March 2019] Bierut, M (1972) Wait until dark (poster). Available from Design Indaba: https://www.designindaba.com/articles/creative-work/look-through-archives-michael-bierut-published-his-book-how [Accessed on 6th March 2019] Kruger, B (1989) Untitled (your body is a battleground). Photographic silkscreen on vinyl. Available from The Broad: https:// www.thebroad.org/art/barbara-kruger/untitled-your-body-battleground [Accessed on 13th March 2019] Sagmeister, S (2014) Image from Aizone campaign. Available from Arctic: http://www.arcticpaper.com/stefansagmeister [Accessed on 13th March 2019] Michael Bierut Spread. Banks, T (2015) Michael Bierut – “I don’t like doing design for designers – I like problem-solving” Article. Available from Design Week: https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/9-15-march-2015/ten-questions-for-michael-bierut/ [Accessed on 6th March 2019] Bierut, M (2007) May I Show You My Portfolio?. Essay. Available from Design Observer: https://designobserver.com/feature/ may-i-show-you-my-portfolio/5807 [Accessed on 6th March 2019] Design Indaba (2016) Michael Bierut on how to think like a designer. Video. Available from YouTube: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=RanfCx18gi4&t=1371s [Accessed on 6th March 2019] Dawood, S (2018) Michael Bierut: “I used to think: ‘No one gives a f*ck about your new logo’”. Article. Available from Design Week: https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/15-21-january-2018/michael-bierut-used-think-no-one-gives-fck-newlogo-now-you-see-it/ [Accessed on 6th March 2019] Images clockwise from top left. Bierut, M (2015) Saks Fifth Avenue Logo Study. Available from It’s Nice That: https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/michael-bierut-book [Accessed on 13th March 2019] Bierut, M (2007) Saks Fifth Avenue Logo Grid. Available from Pentagram: https://www.pentagram.com/work/saks-fifth-avenue/story [Accessed on 6th March 2019] Bierut M (2009) The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine logo and wordmark. Available from If it’s Hip it’s Here: https://ifitshipitshere.blogspot.com/2013/10/pentagrams-custom-signs-make-picking-up.html [Accessed on 13th March 2019] Bierut M (2009) The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine signage. Available from It’s Nice That: https://www.itsnicethat.com/ articles/michael-bierut-book [Accessed 13th March 2019]

Bibliography

for Lea Dieterle.

Azzarello, N. (2016). interview with jessica walsh, partner at sagmeister & walsh. [online] designboom | architecture & design magazine. Available at: https://www.designboom.com/design/interview-jessica-walsh-sagmeister-walsh-graphic-design-01-07-2015/ [Accessed 11 Mar. 2019]. Behance.net. (n.d.). Behance. [online] Available at: https://www.behance.net/sagmeisterwalsh/ [Accessed 11 Mar. 2019]. Boesinger, L. (n.d.). Stefan Sagmeister | Portraits | Menschen | Leo Boesinger Fotograf. [online] Boesinger.ch. Available at: https:// boesinger.ch/menschen/portraits/stefan-sagmeister [Accessed 10 Mar. 2019]. Cartwright, J. (2016). What Every Designer Needs to Know About Copyright Law. [online] Eye on Design. Available at: https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/what-young-designers-need-to-know-about-copyright-law/ [Accessed 11 Mar. 2019]. copyrightalliance. (n.d.). COPYRIGHT BASICS. [online] Available at: https://copyrightalliance.org/education/copyright-law-explained/ copyright-basics/ [Accessed 12 Mar. 2019]. Design Lecture Series. (n.d.). Stefan Sagmeister - Design Lecture Series. [online] Available at: http://designlectur.es/events/stefan-sagmeister/ [Accessed 12 Mar. 2019]. Famous Graphic Designers. (n.d.). Stefan Sagmeister | Biography, Designs and Facts. [online] Available at: https://www.famousgraphicdesigners.org/stefan-sagmeister [Accessed 11 Mar. 2019]. Flew, T. (2015). Copyright and Creativity: An Ongoing Debate in the Creative Industries. [online] Core.ac.uk. Available at: https://core. ac.uk/download/pdf/33501741.pdf [Accessed 11 Mar. 2019]. Heller, S. (2013). Stefan Sagmeister. [online] AIGA | the professional association for design. Available at: https://www.aiga.org/medalist-stefan-sagmeister [Accessed 10 Mar. 2019]. Sagmeister, S (2014) Image from Aizone campaign. Available from Arctic: http://www.arcticpaper.com/stefansagmeister [Accessed on 13th March 2019] Sagmeisterwalsh.com. (n.d.). [online] Available at: https://sagmeisterwalsh.com [Accessed 10 Mar. 2019]. The Museum of Contemporary Art. (n.d.). Stefan Sagmeister: The Happy Show. [online] Available at: https://www.moca.org/exhibition/ stefan-sagmeister-the-happy-show [Accessed 10 Mar. 2019]. The Museum of Modern Art. (n.d.). Stefan Sagmeister. AIGA Detroit. 1999 | MoMA. [online] Available at: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/102915 [Accessed 11 Mar. 2019]. The Museum of Modern Art. (n.d.). Stefan Sagmeister. Punctuation. 2004 | MoMA. [online] Available at: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/102922 [Accessed 11 Mar. 2019]. Vastani, S. (2015). #DesignerSpotlight Stefan Sagmeister: Break Boundaries | Think Design. [online] Think Design | Spinning Design Ideas. Available at: https://blog.logodesignguru.com/designer-spotlight-stefan-sagmeistar/ [Accessed 11 Mar. 2019].