Here’s to the Crazy Ones
• Happy Mac by Susan Kare
I was very saddened by the passing of Steve Jobs today. But I’m not here to mourn. It made me realize how my personal life is enriched and my professional life as a designer is made possible through his and Apple’s contributions, for which I’m greatful.
Even though this is from a commercial about Mac users, I think it’s most true about SJ himself: “Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
What a Designer Should Be Concerned About
• Saul Bass in an interview, 1986
You can watch an excerpt on YouTube where SB talks about making a commitment to quality.
About That Vignelli Canon
![[…] And that is why I love Design.](http://www.bluesmuse.de/user/files/2011/and-that-is-why-i-love-design.png)
• Last sentence from “The Vignelli Canon”
“The Vignelli Canon” is a highly recommended collection of guidelines “set by ourselves for ourselves,” as Massimo Vignelli, one of design’s great village elders, puts it in the introduction.
Throughout his career, MV applied and perfected his views on what makes good design. He distilled his approach into principles which produce what he would consider good results.
Michael Bierut, who has worked at Vignelli Associates for 10 years before becoming a partner at Pentagram, wrote an article on how these strict guidelines and rules made him a better designer.
MV’s Canon is an elegant text which is a pleasure to read. So go ahead, download “The Vignelli Canon” (PDF), follow the footsteps of a great designer and discover how he gets to that fulfilling coda.
I Caught You a Delicious Bass
• Saul Bass’s “signature”
What else is there to say, I love doing research.
The Difference Between an Artist and a Designer
• A thought
It’s hard to imagine that someone who is not a fan of Damien Hirst would buy his diamond skull for 50 million pounds.
Someone who is not a fan of a certain designer probably won’t inquire about a job. But a fan could turn into a critic and vice versa throughout every single project. There is no failsafe for that. It’s the natural designer/client dynamic.
So maybe it should say: “is getting paid by his or her fans (and critics).” But that would invite the term “commercial artist” to this argument. And we like to keep it simple around here.
On Mondrian’s and van Doesburg’s Friendship
• From an article by Simon Mawer
It’s a bit scary but also quite hilarious how deeply they were involved with their work back in the days.
“To Pull a Stürzebecher”
• Humble proposal for dictionary entry
I’m sure, this has happened to all designers: You are browsing through a pile at a flea market and suddenly realise you’re holding a book designed by Müller-Brockmann. (This has happened to me before and hopefully will happen again.) You anxiously take out your wallet, count the bills just to notice it’s very cheap. So you buy it, no questions asked. Maybe you even go on and show this new addition to your collection to some friends.
How do you describe what just happened if any combination of “bargain,” “serendipity” and “design history” won’t do the job?
Please allow me an interlude.
Jörg Stürzebecher, a former professor and friend of mine, almost magically attracts these discoveries. Equipped with a stunning knowledge of 20th century art and design, he is able to spot objects of historic value almost everywhere—and he is eager to preserve them in his archive.
I always held his ability in high regard. I was even a tiny bit jealous until it started happening to me. My friends were afraid: “Simon, you’re gonna end up like Jörg Stürzebecher with no space left in your office.” And indeed i was! (To some extent, at least.)
So why not give this phenomenon its own proper term since it has already worked for one of TV’s favorites: “To pull a Homer.”
Let me suggest an addition to a designer’s vocabulary:
“To pull a Stürzebecher” or “einen Stürzebecher landen”—as you would say in his native tongue. Please feel free to use this term whenever you find something of historic value for a very low price or even for free.
Now, imagine Kramer storming through the door, holding a Crouwel poster: “Look, Jerry, I pulled a Stürzebecher!”
KD-Lounge Depot
• KD-Lounge logo designed by Bensch Lüdiger
Since 2006, there has been an ongoing lecture series KD-Lounge at the communication design department of the HTWG Konstanz. Design professionals are invited to share their work, knowledge and thoughts with the students. The lectures are organised by students and have gained an amicable following.
Now, we are compiling an archive with the talks, starting with this semester and hopefully adding previous ones sometime soon.
It’s my pleasure to introduce to you: the KD-Lounge Depot.
