Wrapup

To kick off my first weekly wrapup, what better way to do it, than with a lecture by Michael Bierut. This past Thursday (5/21) AIGA Philly put together an amazing lecture from the Pentagram partner. A great recap of the event can be seen at Felt & Wire. There were, however, some great moments that I believe were missed—some because I find great satisfaction from small moments, and others because they held personal value.

Every designer dreams to work or be as successful as Pentagram. Their client list is enviable and the work is absolutely beautiful. I believe it was in Michael's Q&A that he mentioned the most inspiring thing to any novice or seasoned designer. Pentagram is something to aspire to for designers, but to clients, it is simply another proposal to consider. The Pentagram partner commented on the fact that behind the great projects, clients are all the same–you will experience great ones that cause the projects to flow smoothly and ones that will make you want to rethink your career. This statement may have resonated with me because it was so obvious after he said it, but I believe it was in his delivery and his demeanor the entire evening that made it believable. For being a partner at one of most well known design firms in history, he was very personable, open to conversation, and even signed my Black Book.

The most inspiring part of the lecture was not anything Michael said, but his openness and humbleness–he presented one of his greatest projects being The Library Initiative. He mentioned in his presentation that on opening night at one of the libraries, someone asked him "So, what was your involvement with all of this?" I am sure there was a part of everyone listening to Michael's lecture that night that was saying about the people in the L!BRARY "come on, it's Michael Bierut!" This, I thought, was a great example of the microcosm that many of us designers work in–where achieving recognition within our field trumps the value of our work to our clients. The success of a design is the way it resonates with a client, not within the design world. This became ultimately clear in his conclusion to the project.

In wrapping up Michael's explanation of the L!BRARY project, he told a story of a librarian that, at the end of every day, the last light she turns off is the one that lights the kids faces (see below). What a profound thing to have a design you did effect the daily life of an individual in such a touching way. For a project that Michael explained had a rough start, it continues to inspire designers and, most importantly, the people and children that use them.

***

Design Inspirations

Being that I am gearing up to plan my wedding I have been scouring the internet for everything from venues, food, and of course invitation designs. I came across a great site that has so many unique projects from save the date to invitations. Check out the Mint Design Blog

***

Quote of the Week

"The most important things in life are not things"
Taken from anonymous child interview from Michael Bierut's L!BRARY project