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Interconnected Published in Asia in 2017 by Page One Publishing Pte Ltd 20 Kaki Bukit View, Kaki Bukit Techpark II, Singapore 415956 Tel: (65) 6742-2088 Fax: (65) 6744-2088 enquiries@pageonegroup.com www.pageonegroup.com Sponsored by Temasek Polytechnic Edited and produced by Temasek Polytechnic School of Design – Communication Design TD03 Chief Editor: Ho Ying Hui 1403851G@student.tp.edu.sg www.tp.edu.sg ISBN 978-981-4394-90-1 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. For information, contact Page One Publishing Pte Ltd. Printed and bound in Singapore
Contents
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stefan sagmeister the first step famous works “don’t be a design zombie� achievements acknowledgement references
6 9 10 12 14 16 17
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Stefan Sagmeister was born on August 6, 1962 in Bergenz, Austria. He originally enrolled in a local engineering school, mainly because he wanted to do something different from his brothers who had both studied at business school and entered the fashion retail sector. In engineering school sagmeister stood out as a long-haired revolutionary amonst the clean cut wanna be engineers. During this time he was an inattentive and uninterested student and by the time his third year came around he had already decided it was time to move on and transfer to an art college.
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“The to a I tra happ one
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question I wanted answer was, could ain my mind to be py the same way trains one’s body?”
meister
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During his final examination at the school he realised that he far less talented at drawing than the majority of other applicants so opted to take an abstract approach to the examination subject titled ‘Green in the city’. Although not particularly skilled, the method he chose was very noisy. The incessant tapping of his paint brush had not produced the result he was aiming for but it did go as far as to distract the other applicants to the point of diving them insane. Sagmeister was accepted while dozens of other, possibly more suitable, applicants where turned down.
First step
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Sagmeister began his design career at the age of 15 at “Alphorn”, an Austrain Youth magazine, providing the magazine with illustrations, typesetting and layouts. His work with Alphorn gave way to opportunity to get involved with organizing rock and jazz concerts which included creating posters, with access to professional printers. He studied graphic design at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and later received a Fullbright scholarship to study at the Pratt Institute in New York. In 1991, he moved to Hong Kong to work with Leo Burnett’s Hong Kong Design Group. In 1993, he returned to New York to work with Tibor Kalman’s M&Co design company. His tenure there was short lived, as Kalman soon decided to retire from the design business to edit Colors magazine for the Benetton Group in Treviso, Italy.
Sagmeister is the author of the design monograph “Made You Look” which was published by BoothClibborn editions.
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Stefan Sagmeister proceeded to form the New York based Sagmeister Inc. in 1993 and has since designed branding, graphics, and packaging for clients as diverse as the Rolling Stones, HBO, the Guggenheim Museum and Time Warner. Sagmeister Inc. has employed designers including Martin Woodtli, and Hjalti Karlsson and Jan Wilker, who later formed Karlssonwilker. Sagmeister is a long-standing artistic collaborator with musicians David Byrne and Lou Reed.
“Design that needed guts from the creator and still carries the ghost of these guts in the final execution.�
Works
8 When Sagmeister was invited to design the poster for an AIGA lecture he was giving on the campus at Cranbrook near Detroit, he asked his intern Martin to carve the details on to his torso with an X-acto knife and photographed the result. Now a graphic icon of the 1990s, the 1999 AIGA Detroit poster typifies Sagmeister’s style. Striking to the point of sensationalism and humorous but in such an unsetting way that it’s nearly, but not quite acceptable, his work mixes sexuality with wit and a whiff of the sinister.
Poster for the AIGA’s Fresh Dialogue talks in New York, 1996. Two tongues opposing each other are an obvious symbol for a design lecture called “Fresh Dialogue.” Since all of the people in the studio had short tongues, photographer Tom Schierlitz bought two fresh cow tongues from the nearby meat market and shot them with the 4x5 camera. Somehow they came out phallic.
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Things i have learned in my life so far: The book is based on a list of maxims made by the graphic designer on his “experimental year” in 2000, where he took time out from working on commercial projects. While the maxims read as a mixture of wise pragmatism with philosophical reflection, they quickly became incorporated into projects for clients when Sagmeister’s office reopened, and it is 20 of these projects that form the book.
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Sagmeister is no mere commercial gun for hire. Sure, he’s created eye-catching graphics for clients including the Rolling Stones and Lou Reed, but he pours his heart and soul into every piece of work. His design work is at once timeless and of the moment, and his painstaking attention to the smallest details creates work that offers something new everytime you look at it. While a sense of humor invariably surfaces in his designs, Sagmeister is nonetheless very serious about his work; his intimate approach and sincere thoughtfulness elevate his design. A genuine maverick, Sagmeister achieved notoriety in the 1990s as the designer who self-harmed in the name of craft: He created a poster advertising a speaking engagement by carving the salient details onto his torso.
In general, craft is just a function of knowing your tools really well. Knowing your tools very well, on the one hand can be an advantage. On the other hand, he has also seen people hooked back into their tools that they know so well, and they stay in their small little section (world) and can’t really get out to see the bigger picture. Personally, he is the most comfortable to go in and out.
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“Somebody who is very good in photoshop, is almost universally despised in a grad school. I think a combination of skills matters.�
chievement
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Sagmeister is the winner of the 2005 Grammy Award in the Special Limited Edition / Best Boxed Package for his art direction in “Once in a Lifetime” box. The same year he won the National Design Award for Communications. He won his second Grammy in 2010 for Best Recording Package for designing David Byrne and Brian Eno’s album titled, “Everything That Happens will Happen.” He also received a AIGA Medal in 2013.
• Grammy Award, Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package (2005) • National Design Award for Communications (2005) • Grammy Award, Best Recording Package (2010) • AIGA medal – 2013
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Part of Sagmeister’s achievements is the long list of high-profile clients that he works with. This includes Anni Kuan Design, Aiga Detroit Booth Clibborn Editions, Dai Nippon Printing Company, Capitol Records and The Copy Magazine among others. Ranked among the top designers in the world, Sagmeister is known for some of the most memorable pieces of designs.
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Achnowledgement We would like to acknowledge our gratitude to the artists and designers for their generous contributions of images, ideas and concepts. We are very grateful to many other people whose names do not appear on the credits but who provided assistance and support. Thanks also go to people who have worked hard on the book and put ungrudging efforts into it. Without you all, the creation and on going development of this book would not have been possible and thank you for sharing your innovation and creativity with all our readers.
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References https://thegreatdiscontent.com/interview/stefan-sagmeister http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefan_Sagmeister http://www.sagmeisterwalsh.com/work/ https://ha065.wordpress.com/first-term/wish-you-were-here/ stefan-sagmeister-2/ http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/s/stefan_sagmeister. http://design.designmuseum.org/design/stefan-sagmeister https://thegreatdiscontent.com/assets/interviews/img/134-stefansagmeister/stefan-sagmeister-john-madere-med.jpg http://www.grafitat.com/sagmeister2012/wp-content/ uploads/2012/10/fresh_dialogue.jpg