World Famous Comics: Things I have learned in my life so far
Things I have learned in my life so far
By: Stefan Sagmeister Publisher: Abrams Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Abrams Number of Items: 15 Number of Pages: 248 Publication Date: February 01, 2008
Product Description: This book began as a list designer Stefan Sagmeister made in his diary under the title Things I have learned in my life so far, which includes statements such as "Worrying solves nothing" and "Trying to look good limits my life." The list reveals something that is profoundly true: Although human beings have been pursuing happiness for countless generations, it is not so easily achieved. And we need constant reminders to keep us on the right path.
With the support of his clients, Sagmeister transformed these sentences into typographic works, from billboards in France to sign-toting inflatable monkeys on the streets of Scotland. Accompanied by essays from design historian Steven Heller, Guggenheim chief curator Nancy Spector, and UK psychologist Daniel Nettle, as well as Sagmeister's own words, the series is revealed as a complex blend of personal revelation, art, and design--an eclectic mix of visual audacity and sound advice.
This book consists of 15 unbound signatures in a laser-cut slipcase. Shuffling the sequence of the signatures will produce 15 different covers.
Amazon.com Review: Amazon Best of the Month, March 2008: Many consider Stefan Sagmeister to be our most important living designer, but he reaches beyond design circles in sharing 20 Things I have learned in my life so far, including the fact that "keeping a diary supports personal development." Proving his point, this book grew from a list in his diary during a year-long commercial hiatus. He returned to paid work with greater freedom from clients and himself, and created a series of projects spelling out personal truths--"worrying solves nothing," "trying to look good limits my life," and other simple, meaningful statements. Most are public and interactive (words spelled out on the backs of swimmers in the Hudson River, or displayed by enormous blow-up monkeys lounging around Scotland, or flaming in Singaporean bamboo scaffolding), while others are more private experiments with intriguing materials (sausages, cacti, sperm). All are presented--along with personal anecdotes supporting his assertions and notes on the practicalities of creating each project--in an alluringly interactive format: a "box" of 15 booklets with unique covers that can be switched to transform the look of the case from creepy to lovely. --Mari Malcolm
Love this book! This book is very inspiring. It's the first design book I've read in awhile that made me stop and think differently. I liked getting inside Sagmeister's head -- understanding his thought process, reading about how the projects were created, and how they evolved. The way the projects are divided up into smaller books is genius.
Wonderfully entertaining Great Book by Stefan Sagmeister. Very entertaining and shows the perfection of his craft. Well written and illustrations beyond belief. A great showcase of his work. Need more books like this one.
Inspirational! "There is always someone who has done something cooler than what I am doing at the moment." This aphorism won't be found in Stefan Sagmeister's new book since I coined it myself, but it neatly summarizes the wonder and awe I felt when looking through these 15 booklets of words and images.
But surely it is a measure of the intensity and scope of his vision that it can shake one from artistic or moral complacency, and can inspire perhaps a new pathway to different kinds of creative thinking and a more considered involvement and connection with the world.
Sagmeister's "Everybody who is honest is interesting" is my favorite phrase and aptly informs, I believe, the designer's own Weltanschauung - where the best, most communicative art emerges only out of the most careful and honest self-examination. Or, as Socrates would have noted: "The unexamined life is not worth living."
Sagmeister Always Rocks Like his first book, this one is filled with clever design details and insights into his process. Unlike the typical designer, Sagmeister speaks of his process in terms that more are akin to self-improvement and self-analysis and than technique, giving us plebians insight into how the master works. A must for any design oficionado.
A lovely present I'm sorry I've bought it for myself and opened - it would have been a nice present. As much as I like this work, it's nothing more but a good stylish present, it's not enriching in any way.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
