Stefan Sagmeister Quotes

I discovered that I never really used Helvetica but I like to look at it. I like the VW beetle, too, although I've never driven one.

To be a good designer, you would need to have deep and far-reaching interests outside of the profession.

Any excuse to get away from the computer screen is welcome.

To touch somebody’s heart with design.

I have done enough bullshit lately, I just have to make time for something better. Something good.

I didnt think that personal style had much value in graphic design.

Having guts always works out for me.

Peter Noever is a pain in the ass and a joy in the heart.

It is very important to embrace failure and to do a lot of stuff — as much stuff as possible — with as little fear as possible. It’s much, much better to wind up with a lot of crap having tried it than to overthink in the beginning and not do it.

You're authentic when you're honest.

If you want to communicate something, youd better make sure that your design piece is well-dressed and that its teeth are fixed. At the same time, I still believe that if it is only stylistically great and it has nothing to say, it still is not going to make a lasting impression on anybody.

I think it's ultimately inhuman to only see things for their functionality. We want things to be more than that. The desire for beauty is something that's in us, and it's not trivial.

Complaining is silly. Either act or forget.

In running, I know that I can train as much as I want and Im never going to break the world record for the five miles. Its partly genetics; Im just not built for it. But if I worked really hard, I might be able to cut my time by half. Could I do the same thing with my mind and my well-being?

So whatever I find true for myself, other people might also relate to.

Everybody thinks they are right

Trying to always be the nice guy, to appear good, can be limiting. Avoiding confrontation has closed up a number of possibilities for me.

At the opening of our exhibition at Deitch Projects in New York we featured a wall of 10,000 bananas. Green bananas created a pattern against a background of yellow bananas spelling out the sentiment: Self-confidence produces fine results. After a number of days the green bananas turned yellow too and the type disappeared. When the yellow background bananas turned brown, the type (and the self-confidence) appeared again, only to go away when all bananas turned brown.

My diary entries allow me to keep track of all the things I would like to change about my life.

I don't think there is a particular responsibility on designers that is not on other professions... I think there's a responsibility for all of us to engage on all levels.

Keeping a diary supports personal development.

Drugs feel great in the beginning and become a drag later on.

You can have an art experience in front of a Rembrandt... or in front of a piece of graphic design.

Work your ass off. Don't be an asshole.

Being in a foreign place, preferably for the first time, having seen many things and collected new impressions, and returning to an empty hotel room with an hour or so to blow. That mix often yields fine results.

My granddad wanted to become a sign painter and designer, but was stopped; my dad would have had a real talent for language, but was stopped. When I expressed a desire to become a graphic designer, I was not stopped.

Everyone who is honest is interesting.

Yes, design can make you happy.

I myself am doing a full year of experiments every seven years, but I'm sure many other divisions are possible, depending on the field, the possibilities, and personal preferences. One hour a day or a day a week.

Hobbies are for people that don't like what they're doing.

The question I wanted to answer was, could I train my mind to be happy the same way one trains ones body?

Whenever I do overcome my inherent fear, it turns out well.

The conventional wisdom in our business is that you have to grow and keep moving to survive. We never grew, always stayed tiny, and it serves us very well over the years, allowing us to pick and choose projects, and keeping our financial independence from our clients. We actually have a rather good track record, because we do select projects carefully. Most of our ideas don't eat dust but glimpse the light of day because we find it much more helpful to spend some serious time and effort before we start working on a project, rather than suffer through it afterwards.