My Current Figure of Inspiration

For me, Stefan Sagmeister is an excellent example of what it means to be typographer. Not only do Sagmeister’s ideas and designs captivate me and inspire me, but I also agree with his design philosophy. One of his quotes that stuck in my mind is “Thinking life will be better in the future is stupid. I have to live now”. More specifically though, why do I like his work? I am glad you asked! After observing (and slightly obsessing over) a great deal of Sagmeister’s work, I admire the way that he manages to bring his work into real life. Sagmeister forces his messages to pass the boundaries of paper and into our world, literally and physically. By doing this, what is communicated seems stronger, more relatable, more effective and ultimately more interesting. Don’t all typographers or designers do this? I would have to argue, “No”. While researching through many in the industry Sagmeister is the only one I have found so far who has managed to impose such a guttural reaction out of me, that makes me say “Wow!” with his unforgettable work.

From having a poster’s information carved into his own body, to using countless natural elements and environments to create a message, Sagmeister pushes the boundaries and breaks down the walls of “in the box” design. Even his website is completely unique: the entire layout is a live video feed from his office, and you can watch the staff as they go throughout their day or click on different elements in the office to see the various pages on the website. Another thing that I appreciate about his design esthetic is that none of his work ever looks “the same”. He uses elements that are unusual and not always considered “type”. For example, Sagmeister used 1000’s of bananas at different levels of ripeness placed precisely to convey a message that would appear as the bananas ripened. Incredible! One other example that I would like to highlight is when he used what looks like millions of coins to create a message sprawling across a city street, which says in beautiful ornamental detail “Obsessions make my life worse and my work better” (see attached). Sagmeister’s style and ideas definitely resonate with me as a designer and I am looking forward to exploring more of his work. Below are some photos of his work, and you can view a couple of videos by clicking here. Enjoy!

(Below: A poster Sagmeister created by having words carved into his own body with a scalpel.)