how to get attention in a way that creates an idea...

To be honest, after looking at Sagmeisters website (www.sagmeister.com),
I wasn’t hooked. So when it came to researching for this blog instead of looking at it again I picked up his book ‘Made You Look’ and the further into it I went the more I found him to be kinda funny and somewhat similar in his way of thinking as myself. I do like some of his stuff but most of all I’m drawn to his approach to design and the way he explores all possible options when it comes to a design brief for a client.


Something that stood out most to me was the repeated slogan ‘Style = Fart’ (Which in my picture is appropriately printed on a whoopee cushion) which actually became a prominent Sagmeister slogan.
In the beginning stages of his studio he thought it would be helpful, or even necessary, to use a certain style for every single project… And once they used one style, it had to be a completely different style for the next project. Over the years the meaning has changed for Sagmeister and he doesn’t necessarily believe in it anymore as this approach became a little bit boring – a constant jumping from theme to theme and he began to realize that style wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

I can understand that some of Sagmeister’s work has the potential to make viewers feel a bit uneasy, for example chickens with their heads cut off, words carved into his own skin and giant cow tongues but he truly defines how to get attention in a way that creates an idea. A lot of his work is weird, unusual and very ‘outside the box’ but his positive and motivating attitude toward design is what really inspires me.
“I quickly thought about what I actually wanted to do with the studio:
Design good CD Covers, Earn a little money, Do not grow and of course Have Fun!”
He strongly believes design should be fun and even took a year off to re-establish his own personal passion for design:
Sagmeister states “I thought, if I don’t do something about this now, then everything will go because if I have less fun I will do work that is less satisfying...”

I agree that as designers we should all remind ourselves of this from time to time, because design should be based on passion and that the only thing constant in life is change.