Life Style

by Bruce Mau (Contributor)

Life Style is the first book to document Bruce Mau's creative process and his studio practice, Bruce Mau Design (BMD). Since founding his Toronto-based studio in 1985, Mau has become one of the world's most sought-after designers. He became an international figure following the publication of the groundbreaking and award-winning volume S,M,L,XL , which he designed and co-authored with Dutch architect and recent winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, Rem Koolhaas. Written by Mau and conceived and designed by BMD, Life Style is a collection of playful and critical statements about the visual and cultural trends that influence today's image-driven environment. The book showcases the methodology, philosophy, world view and projects of BMD. With over 1,000 images and available in a variety of luminous satin covers, each reader can choose his/her colour to match his/her life style.

Genres: Design, Art, Architecture, Reference

624 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Mau was born in Sudbury, Ontario. He studied at the Ontario College of Art & Design in Toronto, but left prior to graduation in order to join the Fifty Fingers design group in 1980. He stayed there for two years, before crossing the ocean for a brief sojourn at Pentagram in the UK. Returning to Toronto a year later, he became part of the founding triumvirate of Public Good Design and Communications. Soon after, the opportunity to design Zone 1/2 presented itself and he left to establish his own studio, Bruce Mau Design. From 1991-93, he also served as creative director of I.D. magazine.

In addition, Bruce is an honorary fellow of the Ontario College of Art & Design and a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. He was awarded the Chrysler Award for Design Innovation in 1998, and the Toronto Arts Award for Architecture and Design in 1999. In 2001 he received an Honorary Doctor of Letters from the Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council.

In 2006, he participated in the Stock Exchange of Visions. As of 2007, Mau was in residence at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, in the Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Design Objects Department.

[from wikipedia]

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll admit, I mostly bought this from the library book sale because of the glittery cover. That being said, it had it's moments. I liked the section about how The Story of O was formatted to look like a bible if opened by a random person. I've never read it, but in the example photo, Sir Stephen sounded like Moses reciting commandments or something.

[Kevin Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book as a burgeoning young designer at my first professional job. Amazingly, I had so much free time that I was able to be paid to read design books. It was definitely over my head when I read it back in 2005 or so. Picking it up 14-15 years later has proven to be a pretty great experience, especially with what Bruce was trying to communicate about the incoming (at the time) internet boom. It's very prescient and provides a glimpse into how some predictions and perspectives have unfolded over the past two decades. There's some especially interesting passages on the importance of fonts and typography that have made me finally understand certain aspects of graphic design that i've always pondered. Definitely worth the revisit even if I only meandered thru it over a period of 2 years.

[Philippe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Working as a management consultant I'm often turned off by the staleness of much of the current management literature. The design community is a much more sensitive antenna as to what is happening in the world today.
Bruce Mau's Life Style is an imaginative survey of how the world is being transformed under the inexorable impetus of global capitalism. It is not a dispassionate account: basically Mau is trying to show us how he is dealing with a very fundamental existential dilemma. Because, as a successful designer, Mau is part of the system - developing and spreading the lingua franca of a global economy. At the same time he is rebelling against the pervasive homogenisation of our image culture: "We should not forget that the com after the dot is short for commercial. Must we define every gesture and possibility within this envelope? Is it not our role to imagine new futures more rich and complex and wild in their style than any single framework can accomodate?"
Yhe book is a captivating mix of artwork and short insightful essays. Sanford Kwinter's introductory three-page essay alone is worth the price of the book. I gather this book will be very influential in the years to come.

[Lyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read and re-read this book. It is a must-read for any designer trying to understand what design brings to culture and what culture brings to design.
Lyn FH

[Ian]

worth reading. some projects are quite inspiring and others not so, but it paints an interesting picture of a designers process. even if it's a self portrait.

[Alireza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very similer to S,M,L,XL by rem koolhass but in graphic design.
(Mau is graphic designer of s,m,l,xl!)

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really appreciate his broad take on design and his manifesto.