Design Is... Essay

Four Great Designers

In the past few weeks, we have had the opportunity to learn about and study the works and lives of four of the greatest designers in the world. Marion Bantjes, Bruce Mau, Stefan Bucher and Stefan Sagmeister are all leading designers in the industry, as their works inspire many to achieve great success. In studying the group of designers, I came to realize that the four of them are more similar than they may first appear. Here is what I found to be the major similarities:

1. RISK- each designer took scary crazy risks to be wherever they are today, and to prove themselves in the industry. You must know the rules to break them, and these are four people forming new rules, all in the process of breaking them.
2. DRIVE- each designer works endlessly and as a driving force to complete their personal goals, to be role models for the industry, and most importantly to deliver to both the client, and to themselves
3. PROCESS- all the designers had a creative process for creating and completing their work, and all processes varied, but the most important aspect was that every process was based around the artist staying true to themselves and their creative drive.

The designers continue to prove to the world their greatness, and the worlds leaders in any industry all fit the same mold: taking risks, working hard, and staying true to themselves and their dreams.

Letter To Stefan Bucher

Dear Stefan,

In watching your “Makers and Thinkers” talk online from the AIGA Conference in October 2009, I came to appreciate 334 Design, your personal work, and most importantly the way in which you share your experiences in a humorous and casually comfortable way.

I, as a design student, have always declared one thing about my future career as a designer. I would never be a freelance designer. This is not because I find sitting at home in pajamas, working at my own pace and getting the job done in my personal environment unappealing. I have always has an undying appreciation and respect for a freelancer in any industry, who has the drive and discipline to get the job done on time and properly. When listening to you discuss your unique design process and how you spend so much time both staring at walls and in your subconscious, I began to realize that a final design is as important, if not less important than the process in which it was created.

Graphic Design is one of those funny industries where I find myself searching for words when asked, “so what exactly is it that a graphic designer does? Design graphics?” I found so much of the answer in your talk, where your genuine ideas pour out of your mind, and onto paper. The fruit of Graphic Design may have a common ground, but the vehicle in which I choose to get there is as unique as my own mind. This, to me, is true design.

Thank you, for sharing with the world, your experiences, your incredible works, and most importantly your love for design and the industry. Your drive and success encourages me to reach great heights in my own future career. 

Melissa Gareri