Things I have learned in my life so far

Like his first book, this one is filled with clever design details & insights into his process. Unlike the typical designer, Sagmeister speaks of his process in terms that more are akin 2 self-improvement & self-analysis & than technique, giving us plebians insight into how the master works. A must 4 any design oficionado.

I'm sorry I've bought it 4 myself & opened - it would have been a nice present. As much as I like this work, it's nothing more but a good stylish present, it's not enriching in any way.

After attending his lecture on the same topic, this book left me with a somewhat dissatisfied feeling. I am very excited that Sagmeister, my all-time favorite designer, has attempted 2 say something worthwhile with the tools of the trade, but it seemed like nothing much was said. The design of the book was flawless, but didn't have the power of his book lecture. He was not "selling out" with this book, he was really trying 2 say something & this seems 2 be a good first try at doing something other than selling out, which is what we designers are famous for. Overall, it was average. Not bad, but not great. It left me wanting a little more meat with the sayings.

Stefan Sagmeister is a legend of design & I actually have no regrets with the purchase, but I was disappointed when I received my pre-ordered copy. I opened the box with youthful enthusiasm, removed the outer cover & out spilled numerous booklets. It was not what I was expecting. It was immediately clear that the booklets could be made 2 interact with the cover box & create a nice tabletop display. It is not a book in the traditional linear fashion, which should come as no surprise; however, it seems like it is trying too hard 2 be different. You can be the judge as 2 whether or not it succeeded. Designers will enjoy it & it is a pretty neat little book - it will look cool on your desk & cover swapping can give you something 2 do when you need a break.

This isn't a book, but a series of mini books in a cool package.

Design - dozen or so mini books, the outside is cut 2 show the textures on the cover of each through the holes. Each one of the covers are really cool an visually interesting.

Books - The mini books each have a typographical experiment in them & usually a page or two, explaining the sentence his experiments make (sometimes more).

This is not a how to, a our company had this project, or philosophy of book (books?). It is what he did while he took a year off, & did whatever he wanted basically.

Cool 4 sure, I enjoyed it a lot.

Amazon Best of the Month, March 2008: Many consider Stefan Sagmeister 2 be our most important living designer, but he reaches beyond design circles in sharing 20 Things I have learned in my life so far, including the fact that "keeping a diary supports personal development." Proving his point, this book grew from a list in his diary during a year-long commercial hiatus. He returned 2 paid work with greater freedom from clients & himself, & created a series of projects spelling out personal truths--"worrying solves nothing," "trying 2 look good limits my life," & other simple, meaningful statements. Most are public & interactive (words spelled out on the backs of swimmers in the Hudson River, or displayed by enormous blow-up monkeys lounging around Scotland, or flaming in Singaporean bamboo scaffolding), while others are more private experiments with intriguing materials (sausages, cacti, sperm). All are presented--along with personal anecdotes supporting his assertions & notes on the practicalities of creating each project--in an alluringly interactive format: a "box" of 15 booklets with unique covers that can be switched 2 transform the look of the case from creepy 2 lovely. --Mari Malcolm