I think that Stefan Sagmeister's aim was to create questions in people’s minds
and make people actually think about his designs and the messages he is trying to convey. A lot of his designs shock and intrigue people as he wants people to think about the message conveyed.
Although his aim was to not have a style, by not having a style, you are unintentionally creating one. He states that his handwork is what they are best known for; this could be creating their own unique style for which they are known for.
Sagmeister likes to work in 'new fresh surroundings’, which would be good for creating diverse, new and different styles and designs. Presenting many different ideas for things such as the writing on the fence, the tree and the field etc. diverse stylels and designs seves a good purpose in a designers work as it would stop them getting board and it would keep their audience interested.
Statements such as ' trying to look good limits my life' presents a shocking and confronting question to the audience. Leaving them to think and question everyday aspects about their everyday lives.

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.

paula - stefan sagmeister

YES, Design can make you happy..... Well we all knew that didnt we, that is why we are here isnt it.

After analysing all the things in his life that made him happy Stefan Sagmeister realised that almost half of them where related to design. Whilst listening to his talk at a design conference about this subject, I realised how funny he was and I liked him instantly. He is quirky and has a European sense of humour and style that is familiar to me because of my husband and his friends and family. I almost felt like I knew him.

I was inspired by him taking a year out of business to regroup and get clear on what he wanted to do. In such a cut throat industry, I felt he was brave to do this but it was obviously necessary for his ongoing happiness.

I was excited by pretty much all Stefans work posted on internet sites etc however after viewing his ' 20 things i have learnt in my life so far ' I was really inspired and wanted to have a go, just for fun.... at creating words from still objects and i realised that design is fun.

We tend to get stressed about our designs but if we can just - Breath, Laugh & Love ideas will come to us.

stefan

"
sagmeister. theres a lot to like about him.




i had written whole lot of stuff and when it came to the crunch, pressed the wrong button and you know what happens then. in short i like stefan sagmeister. i like his work, i like his bending in and out of traditional approaches to graphic design to truly express the meaning of graphic design, communication. i like that people dont like his work, i like his reflections on bad typography leading us to the iraq war and i like that success has kept this guy grounded and he knows that success gives him an opportunity to make a difference in his chosen field.

cathy_Sagmeister Inc.

Sagmeister Inc. New York. When I got to this website I was bolded over...strong, simple design…flashing stripes of yellow, orange and two pinks. Stunning. Big, bold, black, all caps lettering on sort of pop-up 3D looking bars as links. Easy interface to navigate through…industrial style boxy arrows and “back” links. User friendly. The other menus are equally as colour coded…grey stripes with bottle green and the same layout and lettering. And great content. Makes me wanna live, breathe and eat design. It’s gotta be one of the most fun looking websites…maybe it’s the candy box appeal…like pulsating liquorice all-sorts. But the pages of old and new work on uncomplicated and undemanding white backgrounds is respite from the intensity of the menu pages. There’s an honesty that pervades the site. As well as a impressive professionalism and strength. Very cutting edge. Just love it!

Jaymi- Style=Fart?

Style = Fart was Sagmeisters theory a neat little equation that the problem with style is it’s just hot air, meaningless. This theory was included on his designs from promo material, the AIGA conference poster and even carved it into his chest, that’s dedication. Only to abandon his theory later as shown in his interview with Design Boom he explained his reasoning.

He also stated in another interview, “I just found that the utilization of good or appropriate style can be very important in communicating content. So I started to take it more seriously. I still don’t like stylish pieces that have nothing to say (in the same way I don’t appreciate well dressed people with nothing to say).But if dressing well gets you heard, why not do it?”

Communicating a message is the most important aspect of graphic design. But style is as Sagmeister acknowledges actually a necessary tool for communicating that content.

“Style is viewed by many as a shallow obsession with disembodied surfaces. However, our activity as designers are based on style’s function as a cultural communicator.” Anne Burdick, Neomania: Feeding The Monster, Emigre no. 24, 1992

Some of the work Sagmeister is best known for is his style of typography with a hand-made quality as shown by the images in Jess’ post. Another designer is Si Scott who hand draws his typography a completely unique, organic, flowing, ornate style. You can find his work at http://www.siscottstudio.com/.

Michelle: Stefan Sagmeister

As we learnt from an interview with him in the Australian design magazine ‘Typotastic’ Stefan Sagmeister keeps a list in his diary which he adds to once a week.

The list is titled “Thing I have learned in my life so far” and in one of his most recent collections he has started incorperating words and phrases from the list into visual typography pieces.

“Trying to look good limits my life” (2004) Is a part of this on-going typographic project. Where the title of these works, along with there content are among the few things that Sagmeister has leart in his life so far.

Each of Sagmeisters pieces delivers a strong message, and the ‘hand made’ quality of them definitely sets his work apart from the rest.









“Being not truthful works against me” is also a part of this series.
The sentence is woven into a virtual spiders web. This interactive projection and was installed in the Austrian Cultural forum in New Yor 2006. As a veiwer passes the web it apears to tear apart.








Another addition to the collection comes in the form of a one minute film clip.
Sagmeister was invited to singapore to produce the installment and it was shot in an abandoned Dynsaty park in singapore.









A few of the pieces in the collection were designed as commercial products.
One example of this was included in the Austrian magazine Copy.
The words read “starting a charity is suprisingly easy” and they were used as dividing pages, each one at the beginning of a new chapter.






Another example of this is based on the principle “Material luxuries can best be enjoyed in small doses” is included in a series of newsprint catalogues for New York fashion designer Anni Kuan.