The Process of Design
A Brief History Stefan Sagmeister was born in Austria, and from the early age of nineteen he aspired to be a Graphic Designer. He moved to Vienna in the hopes of going to the University of
t used to “Over time I ge d start taking everything an it for granted.”
Applied Arts, however, his application was rejected. Instead, he enrolled in a private art school, which only Stefan Sagmeister directing one of his projects.
Sagmeister as the word “it.”
The process of making these images requires a lot of planning and
accepted him on his second attempt
research. Sagmeister first sketches out his idea of how to illustrate the
because of his sister’s boyfriend’s
words, and then begins to think more concretely on how to accomplish
recommendation.
his idea. He then has to find a way to bring his ideas to life with the help of the other people at his studio. He often tries to find unique locations
Once he was enrolled in the
for the photos to be shot in, to add to the ideas that he is communicating.
school, Sagmeister was introduced
Sagmeister recently released a book that is a compilation of all of the
to the Schauspielhaus theatre group. He then began designing
projects that he worked
posters for them. Many of the poster
on for his list of the
designs parodied those that were traditionally used by incorporating roughly printed text, like that on punk album covers. In 1987, Sagmeister’s luck turned around when he received a Fullbright scholarship to study at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.
enough “I have done just ly, I bullshit late e time have to mak better. g for somethin d.” goo Something
things that he learned in which he goes into further detail how each concept was created. Sagmeister gathering letters to complete a phrase.
Early Career Sketches for the “Having guts always works out for me” series.
In the diary that Sagmeister keeps he often makes lists, such as things that make him happy, things to do before he dies, and most well known, his list of things that he has learned in his life so far. From the list of things that he has learned, Sagmeister created several different projects. He chose several of the phrases and used them as magazine dividers, and he
His Start In Graphic De sign
Things He’s Learned
Sagmeister’s first major job was for a company in Hong Kong. He had a terrible time though, so just two years after accepting the job he left Hong Kong for New York, where he worked with Tibor Kalman. However, Kalman decided to close his studio just a few months later. After Kalman left, Sagmeister started his own design studio in New York. It was his desire to design CD covers. His CD designs garnered a large amount of attention and soon his style became very sought after.
also designed billboards and installation pieces. For the phrases, he used different images that spelled out the words in the phrase, such as the image on the top of the next page. Each image is unique and gives a playfulness to the truths he has learned.
“Keeping a diary supports personal development.”
Album cover design for the Rolling Stones’ Bridges of Babylon
His Process
d
Things I’ve Learne
One major part of
d limits my life
Trying to look goo
the diaries that he keeps.
Everybody thinks
He has kept a diary since
down his thoughts on his current projects, and to Sketching out concepts for photographs
look back on his previous projects to learn from his mistakes.
he is right.
Starting a charity
he was fourteen. He uses his diary to write
Thinking life will be
Sagmeister often makes lists in his diaries, one of which was a list of things he learned in his life. This list went on to inspire many of his future projects.
y.
is surprisingly eas
better in the future
is stupid. I have to
live now.
hing.
Worrying solves not
ke me happy.
Money does not ma
ple helps me.
Helping other peo
d to everything and
Over time I get use Actually doing the
things set out to do
nted.
start taking it for gra
ction.
increases my satisfa spective on life.
pful for a new per
hel Traveling alone is Everybody who is
. honest is interesting elopment. ports personal dev
Keeping a diary sup Drugs feel good in
Carefully arranging the cactus for the “Trying to look good limits my life” photos.
me.
ays comes back to Everything I do alw
Sagmeister’s process is
the beginning and
r on. become a drag late
et. . Either act or forg Complaining is silly y. are a good strateg Low expectations all doses. best enjoyed in sm Material luxeries are
Sagmeister is very hands-on with projects
. Assuming is stifling l always works for
Being not truthfu
Having guts always
against me.
works out for me.
that he designs. He does not simply come up with the concept and send it off to be fabricated. He follows through with every step of the project, and several times he has been in his own designs. Part of the series of things that he’s learned
The most well-known example of this is the AIGA poster that he designed, in which, the information was carved into his body.
“Having guts always works out for me.”