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MICHAEL BIERUT
EP.55
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Michael Bierut
Should we be sceptical of brands?
In Episode #55, Ross is joined by Michael Bierut, Partner at Pentagram, author, and a senior critic at the Yale School of Art.
Michael Bierut has worked as a graphic designer for over five decades. His first job after graduating from the University of Cincinnati was for Massimo Vignelli where he worked for 10 years. He then became a partner in the New York office of Pentagram, where he’s worked for 32 years and counting.
Ross and Michael discuss why he’s become sceptical of brands and, conversely, how they can be valuable in our everyday lives.
Highlights
My lack of conviction about branding may be [because] everything is being presented as a brand nowadays
Branding was this shorthand for authority
Designers are taught form follows function. What really makes design contribute to culture are those 'other things' that come into play
Brands provide visual and experiential cues that help us work through a complicated environment
My [interest] in the subject matter has a direct relationship to how good the work for it is
Everything is being presented as a brand nowadays
More about Michael Bierut
Michael Bierut has worked as a graphic designer for over five decades. His first job after graduating from the University of Cincinnati was for Massimo Vignelli where he worked for 10 years. He then became a partner in the New York office of Pentagram, where he’s worked for 32 years and counting. Along the way, he was elected to the Alliance Graphique Internationale (1989), to the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame (2003), and was awarded the profession’s highest honor, the AIGA Medal (2006). In 2008, he was named winner in the Design Mind category of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards. He’s been a senior critic in graphic design at the Yale School of Art and a lecturer at the Yale School of Management.
Michael writes frequently about design, is the co-editor of the five-volume series Looking Closer: Critical Writings on Graphic Design, and co-founder of Design Observer, a blog of design and cultural criticism which now features podcasts on design, popular culture, and business. His books include 79 Short Essays on Design (2007), How to use graphic design to sell things, explain things, make things look better, make people laugh, make people cry and (every once in a while) change the world (2015) and Now You See It and Other Essays on Design (2018). He is still married to the first girl he ever kissed and has three children and two grandchildren.
Show notes
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Season 03 of One More Question focuses on brands and, more importantly, brands that make an impact in people's lives.
This podcast came about because we want to share some of the best answers we have heard over the last 14 years. We talk to significant creators, experts and communicators we encounter and share useful insights, inspiration, and facts that make us stop and take note as we go about our work.
Hosted by our founder Ross Drakes.
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