Category: Essays

Michael Bierut|Essays

My Democracy Was Irretrievably Undermined by Reactionary Idiots and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt

Can a designer t-shirt contest have any effect on the US presidential elections?

Michael Bierut|Essays

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mentor, Or, Why Modernist Designers Are Superior

Does a strict upbringing make you a better designer?

Steven Heller|Essays

Elaine Lustig Cohen, Pioneer

Steven Heller remembers Elaine Lustig Cohen, passionate historian, avid collector, and design practitioner.

Adam Harrison Levy|Essays

The Wood Stacker

All his work, from cutting the wood during the summer, to stacking it in early fall, through to burning it in the winter freed him from a dependency on oil. His heat is local.

Jessica Helfand|Essays

Notes from the Road: Part 2

Over a career that spans more than six decades, David Pease has built a body of work that is anchored by a methodical studio practice.

Jessica Helfand|Essays

Notes from the Road: Part 1

A story of how logic meets chance, how memory engenders narrative, how observation seeds curiosity, cues language, and sparks form.

Michael Bierut|Essays

The Typeface of Truth

What are the implications when Errol Morris declares the typeface most likely to induce credulity is Baskerville?

Steven Heller|Essays

User-Friendly Paul Rand

Paul Rand did not coin the term “user-friendly.” He would have hated its trendy sound.

Kathleen Meaney|Essays

Greening the Grocery Store

It turns out that the recycling symbol at the bottom of my yogurt container had nothing to do with its recyclability. So why was it there? My curiosity led to findings around which I built a design class.

Adrian Shaughnessy|Essays

Credit Check

In the age of collaboration how do we cater to the fundamental desire for recognition?

Steven Heller|Essays

I Still Wish I Were a Beatle

The Beatles have, over the course of my lifetime, become attached to my nerve endings. It’s a curious sensation, but one I’m glad I still have.

Jessica Helfand|Essays

A Good Pan Is Hard To Find

On baking a cheesecake and becoming a better designer: it’s one big balancing act of artistry and skill.