Stefan Sagmeister Quotations

I didnt think that personal style had much value in graphic design.

To be stupid and selfish and to have good health are the three requirements for happiness. Though if stupidity is lacking, the others are useless.

Any excuse to get away from the computer screen is welcome.

Downtown Toronto is a very good place to talk about the neutrality of modernist architecture. I'm sure this kind of box-building was interesting in the Twenties, Thirties and Forties, but I think it's absolutely ridiculous to build like this in 2013.

The question I wanted to answer was, could I train my mind to be happy the same way one trains ones body?

Some people said, 'Oh you're going to become a fine artist now and do exhibits and stuff.' But I have no desire to do that. I really like design and I'm going to stay with it.

If you want to communicate something, you'd better make sure that your design piece is well-dressed and that its teeth are fixed. At the same time, I still believe that if it is only stylistically great and it has nothing to say, it still is not going to make a lasting impression on anybody.

I am not a religious person myself, but I did look for nature. I had spent my first sabbatical in New York City. Looked for something different for the second one. Europe and the U.S. didn't really feel enticing because I knew them too well. So Asia it was. The most beautiful landscapes I had seen in Asia were Sri Lanka and Bali.

I originally had opened the studio in New York to combine my two loves, music and design. And we created videos and packaging for many musicians that you know, and for even more that you've never heard of. As I realized, just like with many, many things in my life that I actually love, I adapt to it. And I get, over time, bored by them.

I had discovered that I'm much less special than I thought I am. So whatever I find true for myself, other people might also relate to.

In running, I know that I can train as much as I want and I'm never going to break the world record for the five miles. It's partly genetics; I'm just not built for it. But if I worked really hard, I might be able to cut my time by half. Could I do the same thing with my mind and my well-being?

I run a design studio in New York. Every seven years, I close it for one year to pursue some little experiments, things that are always difficult to accomplish during the regular working year. In that year, we are not available for any of our clients. We are totally closed. And as you can imagine, it is a lovely and very energetic time.

It's much more difficult to make an unbound book than a bound book, because the factories aren't set up to make an unbound book.

You could say that bad typography brought us the Afghanistan war, the Iraq war, the housing crisis and a good number of other things.

I can see my work as a job. I do it for money. I likely already look forward to the weekend on Thursdays. And I probably will need a hobby as a leveling mechanism. In a career, I'm definitely more engaged. But at the same time, there will be periods when I think, 'Is all that really hard work really worth my while?'

People who actually tell stories, meaning people who write novels and make feature films, don't see themselves as storytellers.

I had given a presentation on design and happiness for quite a long while at design conferences. I had found thinking about the topic helpful for my own practice, as it forced me to consider the fundamentals, and the feedback from the audience was always enthusiastic.

There are brands out there in the world that have an incredible influence on the culture. Numerous ones are badly done.

I'm actually quite critical of the storytelling theme. I think all the storytellers are not storytellers.

By far, the most determining factor of any brand is the product or the service the company produces. Branding companies have very rarely any significant influence on that, but it is, of course, in their interest to amplify their importance.

U.K. psychologist Daniel Nettle thinks of happiness as a carrot on a stick, designed by evolution to show the right way, and also designed so that we will never permanently reach it. We likely would just sit around and eat sweet and fatty foods all day, and that is simply not in the interest of evolution.

Complaining is silly. Either act or forget.

It is very important to embrace failure and to do a lot of stuff — as much stuff as possible — with as little fear as possible. It’s much, much better to wind up with a lot of crap having tried it than to overthink in the beginning and not do it.

To be a good designer, you would need to have deep and far-reaching interests outside of the profession.

You can have an art experience in front of a Rembrandt... or in front of a piece of graphic design.

If you want to communicate something, youd better make sure that your design piece is well-dressed and that its teeth are fixed. At the same time, I still believe that if it is only stylistically great and it has nothing to say, it still is not going to make a lasting impression on anybody.

I have done enough bullshit lately, I just have to make time for something better. Something good.

I think it's ultimately inhuman to only see things for their functionality. We want things to be more than that. The desire for beauty is something that's in us, and it's not trivial.

Work your ass off. Don't be an asshole.

Ensure it feels like it's made by humans, for humans.

To touch somebody’s heart with design.

My granddad wanted to become a sign painter and designer, but was stopped; my dad would have had a real talent for language, but was stopped. When I expressed a desire to become a graphic designer, I was not stopped.

Yes, design can make you happy.

I don't think there is a particular responsibility on designers that is not on other professions... I think there's a responsibility for all of us to engage on all levels.

Whenever I do overcome my inherent fear, it turns out well.

You're authentic when you're honest.

Having guts always works out for me.

I discovered that I never really used Helvetica but I like to look at it. I like the VW beetle, too, although I've never driven one.

At the opening of our exhibition at Deitch Projects in New York we featured a wall of 10,000 bananas. Green bananas created a pattern against a background of yellow bananas spelling out the sentiment: Self-confidence produces fine results. After a number of days the green bananas turned yellow too and the type disappeared. When the yellow background bananas turned brown, the type (and the self-confidence) appeared again, only to go away when all bananas turned brown.

So whatever I find true for myself, other people might also relate to.

Hobbies are for people that don't like what they're doing.

Drugs feel great in the beginning and become a drag later on.

Trying to always be the nice guy, to appear good, can be limiting. Avoiding confrontation has closed up a number of possibilities for me.

Peter Noever is a pain in the ass and a joy in the heart.

In running, I know that I can train as much as I want and Im never going to break the world record for the five miles. Its partly genetics; Im just not built for it. But if I worked really hard, I might be able to cut my time by half. Could I do the same thing with my mind and my well-being?

Everyone who is honest is interesting.

Keeping a diary supports personal development.

I myself am doing a full year of experiments every seven years, but I'm sure many other divisions are possible, depending on the field, the possibilities, and personal preferences. One hour a day or a day a week.

My diary entries allow me to keep track of all the things I would like to change about my life.

Being in a foreign place, preferably for the first time, having seen many things and collected new impressions, and returning to an empty hotel room with an hour or so to blow. That mix often yields fine results.

The conventional wisdom in our business is that you have to grow and keep moving to survive. We never grew, always stayed tiny, and it serves us very well over the years, allowing us to pick and choose projects, and keeping our financial independence from our clients. We actually have a rather good track record, because we do select projects carefully. Most of our ideas don't eat dust but glimpse the light of day because we find it much more helpful to spend some serious time and effort before we start working on a project, rather than suffer through it afterwards.

Everybody thinks they are right