Theory + Criticism
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Jessica Helfand|The Self-Reliance Project
On Learning
What resonates most unequivocally here is Emerson ’s plea for individuality—that iron string—the sovereignty of selfhood.
Alan Rapp|Essays
Personal Space
Robert Sommer’s Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design was published in fifty years ago, and its compact title concept — an invisible but perceptible security zone surrounding an individual — caught on.
Brian LaRossa|Opinions
Questioning Graphic Design’s Ethicality
If designers take care during client selection, can they evade the type of intense ethical quagmire that’s only resolvable through radical action? Are particular modes of working within the field of design more conducive to …
Steven Heller|Opinions
Should Designers Be Design Critics? Why Not?
Criticism is not always an attack on someone or something; it is also analysis that includes history, context, and other relevant factors that result in a specific work.
Michael Bierut|Essays
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mentor, Or, Why Modernist Designers Are Superior
Does a strict upbringing make you a better designer?
Jessica Helfand|Essays
The Karaoke Effect
The illusory bubble populated by thousands of fame-seekers who fervently believe in their own righteous, if highly fictional talent.
Observed
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Observed
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