Business

Debbie Millman|Audio

Bad Boys of Design

Designers Michael Ian Kaye, Mark Kingsley, Petter Ringbom, James Victore and Armin Vit.

Michael Bierut|Essays

Designing Under the Influence

The similarity of a young designer's work to that of the artist Barbara Kruger provides the starting point for a discussion of the role of influence in design, and whether it is possible for someone to "own" a specific style.

Debbie Millman|Audio

Cheryl Swanson

Cheryl Swanson, founder of Toniq, applies her background in anthropology and psychology to the visual task of branding.

Momus|Essays

The Strange Commercial

Eventually all advertising will seem strange. Brad Stockshot and Cindy Clipart, modelling chunky knitwear on the beach, will look like absurd freaks. The 2005 Audi A6, as sleek as an arrowhead up on that billboard, will seem as archaic as a crossbow. When the endless repetition of these …

Michael Bierut|Essays

Authenticity: A User's Guide

Graphic designers take pleasure in simulation. This makes defining authenticity a tricky thing.

Michael Bierut|Essays

The Whole Damn Bus is Cheering

The familiar yellow ribbons stuck to cars urging us to "support our troops" have lots of competition and are horribly designed.

William Drenttel|Essays

My Country Is Not A Brand

Branding was originally an approach for creating reputations for commercial products. Over time, it has come to be applied to almost everything, from high school sports to school meal programs; from universities to research centers; from art museums to ballet companies to cultural …

Michael Bierut|Essays

Logogate in Connecticut, or, The Rodneydangerfieldization of Graphic Design: Part II

A new logo for the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism by Cummings & Good provokes a public controversy on the value of design.

Michael Bierut|Essays

The World in Two Footnotes

Writing in Eye Magazine, Nick Bell observes that designers too often act as "agents of neutrality" or "aesthetes of style" and suggests that they focus more on their work's content.

Michael Bierut|Essays

Colorama

Grand Central Terminal's enormous Colorama displays by Kodak documented a suburban fantasy world for millions of commuters.

Jessica Helfand|Essays

Magazine Without a Name, Brand Without a Promise

The New York Times Business Section today reports a new elite magazine aimed at the exclusive holders of the American Express Centurion Card. The magazine itself consists of five articles, four ads, and no name or indeed, nameplate — which is to say no logo — thus achieving …

Michael Bierut|Essays

The Graphic Design Olympics

The event graphics and pictograms created for the Olympics by designers such as Otl Aicher, Lance Wyman and Deborah Sussman are part of a historic tradition that continues to this day.