
Michael Bierut, Jessica Helfand|Audio
April 24, 2018
S4E10: Abbott Miller
Abbott Miller is a partner in the design firm Pentagram. He talked about how he approaches research, and the pleasures of projects for companies like Ritz-Carlton and American Express:
Both projects started with this sort of intensive investigation of the culture of the company, which in both cases has an amazing long history with lots of sort of graphic artifacts, representations, signifiers that have evolved over time.
For me, I always go to that material as kind of like my basis. And then you add on the stuff that’s of a more pragmatic nature, like market research and what’s going on with the business, and sort of what the whole focus of the project really is. But for me that, like, peeling back into those layers is really fascinating.
Subscribe to The Design of Business | The Business of Design on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, or your favorite podcast app.
The Design of Business | The Business of Design is recorded at the Yale School of Management.
A big thanks to our sponsor Wix.
Observed
View all
Observed
By Michael Bierut & Jessica Helfand
Related Posts

Civic Life
Ellen McGirt|Audio
Compassionate Design, Career Advice and Leaving 18F with Designer Ethan Marcotte

Design of Business | Business of Design
Ellen McGirt|Audio
Love Letter to a Garden and 20 years of Design Matters with Debbie Millman

Business
Ellen McGirt|Audio
Redesigning the Spice Trade: Talking Turmeric and Tariffs with Diaspora Co.’s Sana Javeri Kadri

Design of Business | Business of Design
Ellen McGirt|Audio
Making Space: Jon M. Chu on Designing Your Own Path
Recent Posts
Food branding without borders: chai, culture, and the politics of packaging Why scaling back on equity is more than risky — it’s economically irresponsible Beauty queenpin: ‘Deli Boys’ makeup head Nesrin Ismail on cosmetics as masks and mirrors Compassionate Design, Career Advice and Leaving 18F with Designer Ethan MarcotteRelated Posts

Civic Life
Ellen McGirt|Audio
Compassionate Design, Career Advice and Leaving 18F with Designer Ethan Marcotte

Design of Business | Business of Design
Ellen McGirt|Audio
Love Letter to a Garden and 20 years of Design Matters with Debbie Millman

Business
Ellen McGirt|Audio
Redesigning the Spice Trade: Talking Turmeric and Tariffs with Diaspora Co.’s Sana Javeri Kadri

Design of Business | Business of Design
Ellen McGirt|Audio