Collaborative Practitioner Analysis Luke Robinson & Katy Clark
Mich
Stefan Sa
Bib
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Contents:
heal Bierut.........................4-5
agmeister.........................6-7
bliography.........................8-9
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4 ichael Bierut is one of the leading American graphic designers, design critic and educator. Upon graduation in 1980, he went on to work for Vignelli Associates and in the span of a decade he became its Vice President. He also served as a senior critic at the Yale School of Art. He had close association with the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) and Pentagram, as well. In 1990, Bierut became a partner with the New York office of Pentagram. There he served clients such as MasterCard, Yale, MIT Lab, DC, Verizon, Microsoft Windows, The New York Times and many more. Pentagram is the worlds largest independent design consultancy. The firm is owned and run by 21 partners, a group of friends who are all leaders in their individual fields. They have studios in London, New York, San Francisco, Berlin and Austin. They design everything from architecture, interiors, products, identities, publications, posters, books, exhibitions, websites, and digital installations. Michael Bierut has a unique creative process and believes that finding the right client is just as important, he thinks that finding a client that understands the design process is key to whether the job is done right or wrong. When designing he wants to find a combination of surprise and inevitability (His work the New York Times building is a prime example of this), he says that designers have a unique ability to problem solve that are both novel and seemingly obvious, seeking elegant solutions is the constant pursuit for Bierut and his team at Pentagram. Michael believes that it is not only important to know of the world of design but to have a life
outside the virtual world, He believes a perspective beyond design is vital, having a curiosity about the world allows a designer to more easily understand the wider context in which a certain problem exists. Pursuing hobbies and interests in the real world in essential to being a great designer. The little details in which designers stress so much about, he rarely discusses with clients, typefaces, aesthetics, people shouldn’t care. It should work underneath, like magic. For those who do not self-describe as “creative” the technical aspects aren’t important. For Bierut, good design should be effortless. Leaving out the technical jargon and focusing on simple, elegant solutions that allows for those less active in design to engage more easily, this theme of simplicity and elegant solutions are directly inspirational to me and something I strive to achieve when I design anything. Michael’s work is defined by his use of typography, clear and concise identity strategies and simplicity. As a student I look at new inspiration daily and can find it hard sometimes to genuinely like a practitioner I am researching, Michael is the opposite and kind of a god send, his work approach is something to admire and his love for simplicity resonates with me inspiring me to take my work further.
“Simplicity, wit, and good typography.” -Michael Bierut 5
Luke Robinson
tefan Sagmeister is co-partner of the New York multidisciplinary design agency Sagmeister & Walsh, delivering creative solutions such as branding, commercials and website design across all platforms for a wide range of notable clients, including the Museum of Modern Art, Adobe, The New York Times and Aishti Department Stores to name a few. Born and educated in Austria, Sagmeister moved to New York in 1987, before opening his first solo agency Sagmeister Inc. in 1993, with aspirations of combining his passion for design and music, to product album artwork. By the mid 90s, Sagmeister had already made a name for himself as a cutting edge designer thanks to works such as the 1995 Apostrophe poster collaboration with Matthias Ernestberger, in which he incorporates the punctuation mark with an image of a gun to signify its “function of character eliminator” (flatmade.com). One of Sagmeister’s most notable works is his poster for the 1999 American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) speaking event in Detroit, seen right. What made this stand out from the crowd was his undeniable dedication to the cause, as despite having the technology available in design software such as Adobe Photoshop to create a similar effect, Sagmeister opted to have his design of all the salient details
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7 cut into his skin by his intern, then photographed to form the poster. He has explained his rationale as trying to “visualize the pain that seems to accompany most of our design projects” (Sagmeister, n.d.). In more conventional briefs, such as the agency’s branding and stationery work for the Aishti Department Stores, Sagmeister still injected his sense of fun and creativity into the project. On this occasion, as seen in the lower image, low poly digital illustrations of a male and female face were positioned on the inside of luxury packaging, and the characters ‘kiss’ as the bag closes. As a design student, I find this attention to detail and concept of placing equal importance on the inner elements of packaging design as the outer, combined with a desire to delight people, inspiring. Sagmeister is known for pushing boundaries with his playful and intelligent mix of humour and controversy in his designs. This is one of the aspects of his work that I admire most; in a world and industry where we rely so heavily on technology, Sagmeister still believes heavily in the benefits of the human approach, regularly using his own handwriting as a substitute for traditional typefaces.
“Good design is design that either helps people or delights people” - Sagmeister Sagmeister’s designs are bold, creative and provocative. His creativity inspires me to think laterally and experiment with creating unique and interesting typography.
Bibliography:
Pentagram.com. (2017). [online] Available at: http://www.pentagram.com/#/projects/89741?our_works=none,1491,r [Accessed 14 Mar. 2017].
Pentagram.com. (2017). [online] Available at: http://www.pentagram.com/#/projects/118579 [Accessed 14 Mar. 2017
S-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com. (2017). Cite a Website - Cite This For Me. [online] Available at: https://s-media-c pinimg.com/originals/18/95/1a/18951a5c12fe1766134c1a5b0084373e.jpg [Accessed 14 Mar. 2017].
A-Z Quotes. (2017). Michael Bierut Quote. [online] Available at: http://www.azquotes.com/quote/1199085 [Accessed
Pentagram (n.d.) Photograph of Michael Bierut. [Online image] Available at http://www.pentagram.com/#/partners/10 March 2017]
Unknown (n.d.) Photograph of Stefan Sagmeister. [Online image] Available at: http://designapplause.com/ev arkitektura-assembly/ [Accessed 13 March 2017]
Cooperhewitt.org (2017) Poster for AIGA Program, Detroit, 1999. [Online image] Available at: http://collection.coop [Accessed 13 March 2017]
Dexigner.com. (2016) Sagmeister & Walsh Logo. [Online image] Available at: https://www.dexigner.com/directory March 2017]
Underconsideration.com (2012) Mohawk logo pattern. Available at: http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew connects_the_dots.php [Accessed 13 March 2017] Roberts, C. (2015). Graphic Design Visionaries. London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd Crow, D. (2010) Visible Signs: An Introduction to Semiotics in the Visual Arts. London: Thames & Hudson Heller, S. & Vienne, V. (2012). 100 Ideas That Changed Graphic Design. London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd McAlhone, B et.al ( 2015). A Smile In The Mind. London: Phaidon Press Ltd Sagmeister & Walsh (2017) Available at: www.sagmeisterwalsh.com [Accessed 27 Feb 17] Designishistory.com (n.d.) Sagmeister. Available at: www.designishistory.com/2000/sagmeister/ [Accessed 27 Feb 17] TED.com (n.d.) Stefan Sagmeister: Graphic Designer. Available at: www.ted.com/speakers/stefan_sagmeister [Accessed 27 Feb 17] Sagmeister, S & Ernestberger, M. (2005) Apostrophe. [Online image] Available at http://www.flatmade. com/product/sagmeister-apostrophe [Accessed 13 March 2017]
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