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A review by thewoodenfinch
Sagmeister: Made You Look by Stefan Sagmeister
5.0
Stefan Sagmeister is just brilliant. I could lavish praise upon his work for the entirety of this review, or go ahead and give you a couple of examples of the sort of thing you'll find in this book, which ranges from the many tricks in the physical presentation of the book (all of which will evoke some child like wonder in you), touching journal observations scanned in from his own messy handwriting, hilarious stories (related and otherwise...but always relevant), beautiful work, personal quotes from his many clients, random sections of the text ending in cheesy lines from a porno (just to make sure you're still paying attention), and truly, in the best sense of this cliche, much much more. This thing is a fucking goldmine of inspiration, humor, and genuine heart.
The first example is a journal entry:
This story encapsulates the man, and his approach to design. Hilarious, huge balls, and the ability to transform any shitty situation into something wonderful, sometimes even by accident. I wanted to end with something that resonated with me, another journal entry.
So he's human, too. Good to know.
The first example is a journal entry:
Jan 22, 1991
“Started work this week. Yesterday was company dinner. 220 people, fancy hotel, the grand ballroom. I am placed at the Burnett management table. I hardly know anybody. It's shit boring. Nobody really knows anything to say. White and gold uniformed waiters serve huge steaks with enormous foil-wrapped bake potatoes. Gary, my new boss, leans over and whispers: “I'll pay you $500 of my own money if you take this potato and throw it across the room.” I do.
A poor waiter, laden with silver trays, bowls and plates walks straight into the potato's flight path: He is hit. Smack on the forehead. He goes down. Trays fly.
I AM SO SORRY.
The table snickers. Suddenly there's conversation. Drinking starts. Heavily. Four hours later medics are pushing drunk people out in wheelchairs.”
This story encapsulates the man, and his approach to design. Hilarious, huge balls, and the ability to transform any shitty situation into something wonderful, sometimes even by accident. I wanted to end with something that resonated with me, another journal entry.
“Another thing: I am still afraid of sitting down and working on a concept. I guess its the fear of not being able to come up with anything - fear of failing.”
So he's human, too. Good to know.