What do you think?
Rate this book
Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design
Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design brings together the best of designer Michael Bierut's critical writingserious or humorous, flattering or biting, but always on the mark. Bierut is widely considered the finest observer on design writing today. Covering topics as diverse as Twyla Tharp and ITC Garamond, Bierut's intelligent and accessible texts pull design culture into crisp focus. He touches on classics, like Massimo Vignelli and the cover of The Catcher in the Rye, as well as newcomers, like McSweeney's Quarterly Concern and color-coded terrorism alert levels. Along the way Nabakov's Pale Fire; Eero Saarinen; the paper clip; Celebration, Florida; the planet Saturn; the ClearRx pill bottle; and paper architecture all fall under his pen. His experience as a design practitioner informs his writing and gives it truth. In Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design, designers and nondesigners alike can share and revel in his insights.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published May 31, 2007
173 people are currently reading
3,256 people want to read
About the author
Michael Bierut
31Ìýbooks164ÌýfollowersMichael Bierut studied graphic design at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, graduating summa cum laude in 1980. Prior to joining Pentagram in 1990 as a partner in the firm’s New York office, he worked for ten years at Vignelli Associates, ultimately as vice president of graphic design.
Bierut’s clients at Pentagram have included the Alliance for Downtown New York, Benetton, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, Alfred A. Knopf, the Walt Disney Company, Mohawk Paper Mills, Motorola, MillerCoors, the Toy Industry Association, Princeton University, Yale School of Architecture, New York University, the Fashion Institute of Technology, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Library of Congress, the Museum of Sex, and the New York Jets. His projects have ranged from the design of “I Want to Take You Higher,� an exhibition on the psychedelic era for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, to serving as design consultant to United Airlines.
Bierut’s recent activities have included the development of a new identity and signage for the expanded Morgan Library and Museum; the development of environmental graphics for The New York Times Building; the design of an identity and public promotion for Philip Johnson’s Glass House; the creation of marketing strategies for the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation; the development of a new brand strategy and packaging for luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue; and the redesign of the magazine The Atlantic.
He has won hundreds of design awards and his work is represented in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, all in New York; the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.; the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany; and the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Montreal. He has served as president of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) from 1988 to 1990 and is president emeritus of AIGA National. He currently serves as a director of the Architectural League of New York and of New Yorkers for Parks. In 1989, Bierut was elected to the Alliance Graphique Internationale, in 2003 he was named to the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame, and in 2006 he received the profession’s highest honor, the AIGA Medal, in recognition of his distinguished achievements and contributions to the field. In 2008 he received the Design Mind Award in the National Design Awards presented by the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Bierut is a Senior Critic in Graphic Design at the Yale School of Art. He is co-editor of the anthology series Looking Closer: Critical Writings on Graphic Design, published by Allworth Press, and in 1998 he co-edited and designed the monograph Tibor Kalman: Perverse Optimist. He is a co-founder of the weblog Design Observer and his commentaries about graphic design in everyday life can be heard nationally on the Public Radio International program “Studio 360.� His book Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design was published by Princeton Architectural Press in 2007.
Publications
Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design
By Michael Bierut
Princeton Architectural Press, 2007
Order this book in Europe / North America
‱÷±ð²Ô³Ù²¹²µ°ù²¹³¾.³¦´Ç³¾
Bierut’s clients at Pentagram have included the Alliance for Downtown New York, Benetton, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, Alfred A. Knopf, the Walt Disney Company, Mohawk Paper Mills, Motorola, MillerCoors, the Toy Industry Association, Princeton University, Yale School of Architecture, New York University, the Fashion Institute of Technology, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Library of Congress, the Museum of Sex, and the New York Jets. His projects have ranged from the design of “I Want to Take You Higher,� an exhibition on the psychedelic era for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, to serving as design consultant to United Airlines.
Bierut’s recent activities have included the development of a new identity and signage for the expanded Morgan Library and Museum; the development of environmental graphics for The New York Times Building; the design of an identity and public promotion for Philip Johnson’s Glass House; the creation of marketing strategies for the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation; the development of a new brand strategy and packaging for luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue; and the redesign of the magazine The Atlantic.
He has won hundreds of design awards and his work is represented in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, all in New York; the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.; the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany; and the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Montreal. He has served as president of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) from 1988 to 1990 and is president emeritus of AIGA National. He currently serves as a director of the Architectural League of New York and of New Yorkers for Parks. In 1989, Bierut was elected to the Alliance Graphique Internationale, in 2003 he was named to the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame, and in 2006 he received the profession’s highest honor, the AIGA Medal, in recognition of his distinguished achievements and contributions to the field. In 2008 he received the Design Mind Award in the National Design Awards presented by the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Bierut is a Senior Critic in Graphic Design at the Yale School of Art. He is co-editor of the anthology series Looking Closer: Critical Writings on Graphic Design, published by Allworth Press, and in 1998 he co-edited and designed the monograph Tibor Kalman: Perverse Optimist. He is a co-founder of the weblog Design Observer and his commentaries about graphic design in everyday life can be heard nationally on the Public Radio International program “Studio 360.� His book Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design was published by Princeton Architectural Press in 2007.
Publications
Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design
By Michael Bierut
Princeton Architectural Press, 2007
Order this book in Europe / North America
‱÷±ð²Ô³Ù²¹²µ°ù²¹³¾.³¦´Ç³¾
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
June 2, 2008
I really enjoyed most of these essays which have been compiled from Michael Bierut's blogs on . I love that each is set in a different typeface. i found myself looking to the back of the book each essay to see if i was correctly identifying them. Each one is only a couple pages so if you arent very interested in one of them you can quickly move on to the next. I keep this book on my desk at work for quick amusement and enlightenment. Absolutely a great book for any designer.
May 8, 2008
Michael Bierut is one of the few famous graphic designers who is also a genuinely nice guy. And one of the best critics, I've ever had. I spent the whole time reading this book, smiling and nodding, laughing to myself and thinking, "Yes! Thank you for saying that!" I recommend it to everyone I know who is not a graphic designer so they'll know what all us designers are nodding and laughing about.
Plus, every essay is set in a different typeface.
Plus, every essay is set in a different typeface.
February 11, 2008
Don't let the title fool you. This book could just as easily be called 'Seventy-nine Short Essays on Life'. Michael Bierut is a designer & co-founder of the blog Design Observer, where the majority of these essays were culled. Like that blog, this book touches on just as many non-design aspects of life. That is until the reader realizes how much design we actually do come in contact with on a daily basis. The lead essay, 'Warning: May Contain Non-Design Content' sets you up for what is in store. The following seventy-eight wonderfully written & engaging pieces cover such a dizzying array of topics (simply peruse the table of contents on the cover to wet your appetite), that you might just forget you are reading a book on design.
November 10, 2018
I picked up 79 Short Essays on Design the way I pick up most of my nonfiction: It was on sale, featuring a topic I knew nothing about but could see enjoying learning about, and a little voice in my gut said, "Yes." (Not to mention a quick look-up on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ, something I do for most blind book purchases.) Not bad criteria, really--I've had pretty good success with the method so far--but it explains some of the problems I encountered while reading.
The first problem is a me problem: I am not the intended audience. The intended audience is people who actually know something about design. Professionals, doubtlessly. Students studying design to become a professional. Perhaps learn-on-the-go types without formal training, but who've thrown together some websites. The closest I come to design is trying to pick which free, pre-made Tumblr layout best frames my reblogged content. I reckon, like a lot of people who appreciate art and creativity, I feel like I know good design when I see it, but that doesn't equip me to be able to understand design on any real level. And because I am not the intended audience--a random, lay reader--I think it goes without saying that I would not be able to grasp 79 Short Essays on Design's strengths like someone who does understand design.
Luckily, while I am not the type of reader author Michael Bierut was envisioning, he has a good, casual writing style that smooths over some of the knowledge gap. Also helpful are the short chapters (that my Kindle routinely estimated at 3 minutes in length) and a semi-regular focus on identifiable topics, including the old red cover, Stanley Kubrick, the Target logo, and the foibles of exercise.
The chapters vary between personal anecdote, rumination on "current" events, critical analysis, historical perspective, and lecture. The variety (as well as the aforementioned bite-sized essay length) helps keep things moving. And even though I don't speak the language of design, a lot of Bierut's observations can be helpful to any sort of endeavor, especially creative ones. I could see applying various bits of advice to writing or music composition; we think of design as visual (like a magazine layout) or utilitarian (how a product is put together), but really, while we don't say we "design" a novel narrative, there are similar principals at play.
Unfortunately, the biggest flaws are those that can't be chalked up to simply me not having a design background.
Most of the essays in this collection were pulled from Design Observer, a website co-started by Bierut. Thus they take on a blog post tone which, to me, is a much different feel than the word "essay" implies. I don't want to denigrate blogging, which is itself a fine artform, but it does lack the sort of rigor I expect from an essay. The "essays" just sort of peter out at the end of their allotted length and often feel oddly weighted, as if Bierut excitedly wrote a page and a half introduction to an idea then only had a page to ruminate on it. Sometimes the focus is hazy, sometimes it feels like Bierut doesn't really know what he wants to communicate about the subject and simply cycles around an idea for three pages.
Also, it feels like the content wasn't adjusted at all for book compilation. None of the essays are aware of each other, so there is duplicity, even in basic things like what acronyms mean or who various people are. Bierut, who seems to write based off of what is inspiring him at the time, makes regular use of "Recently," or "Several weeks back" or other non-helpful time designations. These are completely unhelpful in a book removed from the original time-stamped context of a website. It becomes even more amusing when looking up an event that prompted a "recently" and seeing it was in 2004. Even when the book was published (2007) I'd hesitate to call that recent.
But in my mind the most egregious error was the failure to add any visuals. It's a book about design and it's very weird to be reading an essay about the design of something specific (Rob Roy Kelly's woodcuts, say) without a visual example for the reader to see. Maybe a lot of them are basic enough Bierut didn't think their audience would need a visual reminder, but I'm confident that the majority of graphic designers won't be familiar with everything Bierut talks about.
I'm neither displeased that I read 70 Short Essays on Design, nor that I bought it. But it feels like a lesser product than it should be.
The first problem is a me problem: I am not the intended audience. The intended audience is people who actually know something about design. Professionals, doubtlessly. Students studying design to become a professional. Perhaps learn-on-the-go types without formal training, but who've thrown together some websites. The closest I come to design is trying to pick which free, pre-made Tumblr layout best frames my reblogged content. I reckon, like a lot of people who appreciate art and creativity, I feel like I know good design when I see it, but that doesn't equip me to be able to understand design on any real level. And because I am not the intended audience--a random, lay reader--I think it goes without saying that I would not be able to grasp 79 Short Essays on Design's strengths like someone who does understand design.
Luckily, while I am not the type of reader author Michael Bierut was envisioning, he has a good, casual writing style that smooths over some of the knowledge gap. Also helpful are the short chapters (that my Kindle routinely estimated at 3 minutes in length) and a semi-regular focus on identifiable topics, including the old red cover, Stanley Kubrick, the Target logo, and the foibles of exercise.
The chapters vary between personal anecdote, rumination on "current" events, critical analysis, historical perspective, and lecture. The variety (as well as the aforementioned bite-sized essay length) helps keep things moving. And even though I don't speak the language of design, a lot of Bierut's observations can be helpful to any sort of endeavor, especially creative ones. I could see applying various bits of advice to writing or music composition; we think of design as visual (like a magazine layout) or utilitarian (how a product is put together), but really, while we don't say we "design" a novel narrative, there are similar principals at play.
Unfortunately, the biggest flaws are those that can't be chalked up to simply me not having a design background.
Most of the essays in this collection were pulled from Design Observer, a website co-started by Bierut. Thus they take on a blog post tone which, to me, is a much different feel than the word "essay" implies. I don't want to denigrate blogging, which is itself a fine artform, but it does lack the sort of rigor I expect from an essay. The "essays" just sort of peter out at the end of their allotted length and often feel oddly weighted, as if Bierut excitedly wrote a page and a half introduction to an idea then only had a page to ruminate on it. Sometimes the focus is hazy, sometimes it feels like Bierut doesn't really know what he wants to communicate about the subject and simply cycles around an idea for three pages.
Also, it feels like the content wasn't adjusted at all for book compilation. None of the essays are aware of each other, so there is duplicity, even in basic things like what acronyms mean or who various people are. Bierut, who seems to write based off of what is inspiring him at the time, makes regular use of "Recently," or "Several weeks back" or other non-helpful time designations. These are completely unhelpful in a book removed from the original time-stamped context of a website. It becomes even more amusing when looking up an event that prompted a "recently" and seeing it was in 2004. Even when the book was published (2007) I'd hesitate to call that recent.
But in my mind the most egregious error was the failure to add any visuals. It's a book about design and it's very weird to be reading an essay about the design of something specific (Rob Roy Kelly's woodcuts, say) without a visual example for the reader to see. Maybe a lot of them are basic enough Bierut didn't think their audience would need a visual reminder, but I'm confident that the majority of graphic designers won't be familiar with everything Bierut talks about.
I'm neither displeased that I read 70 Short Essays on Design, nor that I bought it. But it feels like a lesser product than it should be.
March 13, 2019
Well, I thought I'd read a couple of these, just to get a handle on his thinking. It's a collection of blog posts and articles written over several years for widely different purposes, so as you'd expect, it's a little uneven.
But I found each one interesting enough to get me to turn to the next one, and sure enough, I read all 79 of them.
If you, like me, plan to dip a toe in to see if it's for you? Start with the entry titled "Wilson Pickett, Design Theorist, 1942-2006." Bierut takes Pickett's maxim, "You harmonize, then you customize," and relates that to the design process. Very interesting.
But I found each one interesting enough to get me to turn to the next one, and sure enough, I read all 79 of them.
If you, like me, plan to dip a toe in to see if it's for you? Start with the entry titled "Wilson Pickett, Design Theorist, 1942-2006." Bierut takes Pickett's maxim, "You harmonize, then you customize," and relates that to the design process. Very interesting.
June 3, 2015
Not all articles were relevant to me but it was still a good and interesting read!
April 5, 2019
A book about graphic design with no graphics? Weird flex, but ok.
Although not expressly stated in the books introduction, it becomes clear throughout the text that Bierut considers writing an essential part of being a designer. He takes time to reflect on the practice of 'bullshitting' clients or choosing the write words to get them to believe in your work. He's intrigued by the question of whether graphic designers would be 'paragraph' or 'spreadsheet' people and settles comfortably on the former. In another essay, he defends and relishes Philip Nobel's decision to not include images in his book about the design competition for the new WTC building. It's a wonderful experience to have his ideas embodied in the book he designed.
I love the appendix that gives a quick synopsis of every essay. I'm also a big fan of setting each essay to its own typeface. This not only lends a subtle feel to each essay, but also acts as a great reference for anyone who needs to quickly shop for typefaces for their own designs.
Bierut obviously wants the person who buys this book to love it and never give it up. I think he's achieved that.
MUST READ
I would consider these essays essential to the foundation of any designer. They help answer the kind of moral, professional, ideological, and practical dilemmas that aren't usually addressed during a designer's technical training.
4, 10, 13, 40, 48, 54, 58, 60, 63, 74, 76
GOOD
Wonderful, but not mandatory. I found the writing here to be inspiring.
1, 2, 8, 20, 24, 25, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 36, 38, 49, 51, 55, 56, 59, 62, 65, 73, 75, 77, 78
FINE
These essays appealed to me for reasons other than the core idea of being a designer. Many of them were Bierut's take on a particular artist or event that I felt was sometimes a little too loosely connected back to design.
7, 11, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 33, 34, 42, 44, 45, 50, 57, 61, 64, 67, 68, 71, 79
NOT HELPFUL
Bierut is an excellent writer and although these essays may have covered interesting ideas or personal experiences, I wasn't able to walk away from them with anything.
3, 5, 6, 9, 17, 26, 29, 35, 37, 39, 41, 43, 46, 47, 52, 53, 66, 69, 70, 72
Although not expressly stated in the books introduction, it becomes clear throughout the text that Bierut considers writing an essential part of being a designer. He takes time to reflect on the practice of 'bullshitting' clients or choosing the write words to get them to believe in your work. He's intrigued by the question of whether graphic designers would be 'paragraph' or 'spreadsheet' people and settles comfortably on the former. In another essay, he defends and relishes Philip Nobel's decision to not include images in his book about the design competition for the new WTC building. It's a wonderful experience to have his ideas embodied in the book he designed.
I love the appendix that gives a quick synopsis of every essay. I'm also a big fan of setting each essay to its own typeface. This not only lends a subtle feel to each essay, but also acts as a great reference for anyone who needs to quickly shop for typefaces for their own designs.
Bierut obviously wants the person who buys this book to love it and never give it up. I think he's achieved that.
MUST READ
I would consider these essays essential to the foundation of any designer. They help answer the kind of moral, professional, ideological, and practical dilemmas that aren't usually addressed during a designer's technical training.
4, 10, 13, 40, 48, 54, 58, 60, 63, 74, 76
GOOD
Wonderful, but not mandatory. I found the writing here to be inspiring.
1, 2, 8, 20, 24, 25, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 36, 38, 49, 51, 55, 56, 59, 62, 65, 73, 75, 77, 78
FINE
These essays appealed to me for reasons other than the core idea of being a designer. Many of them were Bierut's take on a particular artist or event that I felt was sometimes a little too loosely connected back to design.
7, 11, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 33, 34, 42, 44, 45, 50, 57, 61, 64, 67, 68, 71, 79
NOT HELPFUL
Bierut is an excellent writer and although these essays may have covered interesting ideas or personal experiences, I wasn't able to walk away from them with anything.
3, 5, 6, 9, 17, 26, 29, 35, 37, 39, 41, 43, 46, 47, 52, 53, 66, 69, 70, 72
September 1, 2020
At first I was a little intimidated by this book, but it turned out to be a really accessible and engaging window into many different aspects of the design world: history, ethics, aesthetics, and anecdotes from the author’s own career. It’s down-to-earth and concise. It gave me a new perspective on my own experiences with clients, and contained a lot of ideas that are relevant to life outside of design, too.
December 13, 2022
This one is hard to review because I took so long to read it that I don't have a firm memory of the whole thing, but broadly, my impression was positive. Certainly, I thought a good third of the essays didn't have to be there. I also thought some of the essays weren't edited particularly well. Nevertheless, I found Bierut to be witty, relatable, experienced, thoughtful, and passionate; and in general, I had a very pleasant experience reading this book in companionship with his wonderful mind.
December 18, 2017
Clever, witty, and certainly well-informed, Bierut takes the reader on a romp through the "behind the curtain" of graphic design life, interspersed throughout with his own musings and accounts. As a graphic designer, it was fun to read a work written by someone so talented and renowned (who writes just as adeptly as he designs). Really lively prose.
March 12, 2024
All-time favorite design book. I give it to people looking to break into the industry. These stories just don't grow stale. Bierut is hilarious and comfortable making fun of his own kind–something that the design industry is just not good at.
October 5, 2019
Fairly interesting, mostly pretentious.
December 20, 2019
old white guy doesn’t comprehend his own privilege and rambles about random things. waste of time.
March 24, 2024
an interesting compilation with a lot of good thoughts - suffers from a total lack of images and i often find myself agreeing more with the people he's mocking than hunself.
April 24, 2025
Bland, somewhat pretentious rambling. Not worth the read.
October 4, 2011
The majority of what's collected in this book are reviews, but they sometimes read like essays. Because of this, Bierut's writing refers to controversies and hot topics at the time and they occasionally show their flaws in the light of the passing years. Some are remembrances of influential designers, artists, photographers, and creative persons who have recently passed away and played some role in shaping Bierut's life. But the best work comes in the form of the more recognizable essays, that is, the writings that transcend time while capturing it. A shining example of Bierut's congruent power of writing as a designer can be seen in "On (Design) Bullshit." Bierut recounts one of the major confrontations between architect Richard Meier and artist Robert Irwin in the 1997 documentary, "Concert of Wills," which chronicles the construction of the Getty Center in Los Angeles. He finishes the piece with an example from his years working as a designer with Massimo Vignelli. What is evident in reading these 79 articles is that designers are influenced by any and everything, even falling off a treadmill at the gym.
Given that this is a book on design written by a notable designer (Bierut is a partner in renowned international design agency Pentagram), the content and how it is packaged are presented in a clever manner: each article is presented in a different typeface, most of which is connected to or referenced in the article. (See "I Hate ITC Garamond.")
Given that this is a book on design written by a notable designer (Bierut is a partner in renowned international design agency Pentagram), the content and how it is packaged are presented in a clever manner: each article is presented in a different typeface, most of which is connected to or referenced in the article. (See "I Hate ITC Garamond.")
January 4, 2015
Though most of the articles hover between snobby graphic designer insider banter and thoughts on kerning, grids, Massimo Vignelli's preferences for writing implements, gossip between different graphic design camps and movements, there are about five articles that save this book:
a) the essay on bullshit wherein Beirut admits openly that a lot of work that involve creativity and aesthetics involve a creative leap (all of which are counter to whatever rationale aka bullshit you'll have to come up with to justify your decisions
b) the coverage of the early days of Tibor Kalman where he argues that graphic designers (or all applied artists)'s main purpose should be to create trouble and I quote," Were not here to help clients eradicate everything of visual interest from the face of the earth. We're here to make them think about what's dangerous and unpredictable. We're here to inject art into commerce. We're here to be bad�
c) some handwringy article about an a designer's dealing with concepts of "authenticity" -- its awkward and unresolved but I share the same feelings
d) a mention of Hitchcokian McGuffins!
e) a great article on Josef and Anni Albers retrospective wherein Beirut argues art can be cold and design can be so celebratory of life (who would have thought!)
a) the essay on bullshit wherein Beirut admits openly that a lot of work that involve creativity and aesthetics involve a creative leap (all of which are counter to whatever rationale aka bullshit you'll have to come up with to justify your decisions
b) the coverage of the early days of Tibor Kalman where he argues that graphic designers (or all applied artists)'s main purpose should be to create trouble and I quote," Were not here to help clients eradicate everything of visual interest from the face of the earth. We're here to make them think about what's dangerous and unpredictable. We're here to inject art into commerce. We're here to be bad�
c) some handwringy article about an a designer's dealing with concepts of "authenticity" -- its awkward and unresolved but I share the same feelings
d) a mention of Hitchcokian McGuffins!
e) a great article on Josef and Anni Albers retrospective wherein Beirut argues art can be cold and design can be so celebratory of life (who would have thought!)
March 1, 2016
To read this book while being a designer is to be faced with two realities: the first is that familiarity you have with some of the stories and, on the other hand, to be confronted with the million of other things you have left to learn. I love Michael Bierut's work as a designer, and, turns out, he can be a good writer too: simple, to the point and with a bit of humour that always makes a good impression when you talk about design.
For me, as a designer who is writing a master's project on design, this was usefull, practical and funny.
But I do have a point to make, designways. This book was the hardest to read. I usually read on public transportation on my way to or out of work, which can be hard because of curves, bumps in the road, shadows or traffic. This 79 short essays are set in 79 different typefaces. Although it is theoretically well thought, this makes reading hard. I actually had a couple of headaches due to the constant variation of typefaces in addition to be reading in a moving vehicle. Turns out, reading a three page essay set in futura light italic is not very easy.
For me, as a designer who is writing a master's project on design, this was usefull, practical and funny.
But I do have a point to make, designways. This book was the hardest to read. I usually read on public transportation on my way to or out of work, which can be hard because of curves, bumps in the road, shadows or traffic. This 79 short essays are set in 79 different typefaces. Although it is theoretically well thought, this makes reading hard. I actually had a couple of headaches due to the constant variation of typefaces in addition to be reading in a moving vehicle. Turns out, reading a three page essay set in futura light italic is not very easy.
January 14, 2015
Yes, short essays indeed. Short essays that don't really say much of anything. To me, his book is a waste of time. I was forcing myself to read it hoping it would get better, but couldn't really bring myself to finish it. The fact that it wasn't design heavy wasn't the issue, he warns you he's going to veer off into different topics, hoping to open your eyes to more than design, but that can't really be done in an average of 2 pages with type that constantly changes without the perspective constantly changing. Design doesn't have to be obvious, especially when we're trying to read. The looking closer series are better. Maybe I will pick this up when I want to give it another chance, or when I have nothing better to read.
September 18, 2012
Before: I've wanted to read this since it came out, but it's not available at our library and I kept putting off purchasing it. This week the e-book was marked down to just a few dollars so I finally have it in my hands! I hope the layout doesn't suffer from the e-book format, but the content should be great regardless.
After: The design didn't suffer at all. From what I could tell by looking up the paper version online, the two are very similar. There aren't any images in the book, and it was fun to test my memory of typefaces or iconic images as I was reading. I really enjoyed the essays and learned a bit along the way. The last one had me laughing out loud in a waiting room.
After: The design didn't suffer at all. From what I could tell by looking up the paper version online, the two are very similar. There aren't any images in the book, and it was fun to test my memory of typefaces or iconic images as I was reading. I really enjoyed the essays and learned a bit along the way. The last one had me laughing out loud in a waiting room.
October 25, 2007
Good clean fun. Beirut may be a little eager to fall in line with the establishment, but that's kind of refreshing in an industry glutted with self-congratulatory nonconformists and wannabe revolutionaries. He's a talented writer, and has a nice way of drawing substantial connections or narrative arcs in two- and three-page pieces. Also, the gimmick of the book--79 typefaces for 79 articles--works surprisingly well.
October 5, 2010
Most of the essays were worth putting up with some of the lesser ones. After all, this is a compilation of blog postings (mostly) so some of the chapters are very, very short and come off as "throw-away." The book is invaluable as a collection of type specimens; each of the 79 chapters is set in a different typeface, so you can see how each face performs and behaves within the layout design of the book. Pretty cool.
February 15, 2013
Michael Bierut's collection of essays provided an interesting peek into the mind of one of the most renowned graphic designers, but I often found the writing pedantic and slightly mediocre. It did, however, affirm my hope that design involves a lively intellectual and historically-based discourse. For the breadth of subjects broached, it was still a worthwhile read!
November 19, 2016
The essays were interesting (if ad-hoc -- there was no sense of organisation or theme, instead it just felt like reading a blog with a selection of random but interesting posts) but the kindle version had no images and when reading an essay about a particular design or designer or building... you really do want to see it!
March 24, 2013
Very, very short pieces written for a graphic design audience. Wide ranging (Wilson Pickett?) & interesting, but too short. most essays left me wanting either more info or more than a surface treatment.
February 11, 2008
One of the most insightful and accessible books on design you can find. Bierut has a knack for storytelling and weaving graphic design into everyday life. Required reading for all graphic designers.
March 4, 2008
A fairly humorous look at the design profession and its clichés.
June 27, 2011
some are better than others. easy to skip over those that aren't as good.
May 28, 2008
Fun, insightful essay collection about designers, design trends, and the role of design in our everyday lives.
May 24, 2008
Michael Bierut is the David Sedaris of graphic design (almost). This book is an entertaining tour of contemporary design thinking. No pictures, just fast, funny commentary.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.