Peter Seitz: Designing a Life

by Minneapolis College of Art & Design

Peter Seitz (1931-Present) is a legendary graphic designer, author, teacher and business owner who served as the first Design Director at The Walker Art Center (Minneapolis, MN) and established the graphic design curriculum at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Peter Designing A Life is a chronicle of his life and work. Seitz began his design studies at the Ulm School of Design in Germany, studying with celebrated graphic designers Tomás Moldonado, Max Bill, and Otl Aicher. He received a Master s of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design and Photography from Yale University in 1961, studying with Paul Rand, Bradbury Thompson and Herbert Matter. Upon moving to Minneapolis in 1964, Seitz became the first Director of Design at the Walker Art Center, where he created pioneering exhibitions as well as the groundbreaking journal Design Quarterly. Seitz went on to organize the Minnesota Chapter of AIGA, Siggraph, and the country's first interdisciplinary design firm, InterDesign. From business, Seitz moved into education, serving as Chair of Design at Minneapolis College of Art and Design from 1971 until 1998. Seitz followed the road less traveled in all aspects of his career, starting things rather than joining them. At each step, Seitz created communities. Whether conceptualizing the audiences of his Walker years, the innovative businesses of his years as a designer, or the networking potential of digital technology, Seitz understood community as a necessary ingredient to creative lives. Peter Designing A Life rests on Seitz's belief that discourse is the heart of creativity and that community is the heart of discourse. -Vince Leo

183 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Christof · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book provides valuable insights in the importance of interdisciplinary thinking, design as a tool to solve problems of the society, etc. on the one hand. On the other hand it features a great selection of Peter Seitz's design work besides information about his career.
It was really interesting to read how the design community of the twin cities was (is) influenced and shaped by Peter Seitz in a long lasting way...
I strongly recommend this book to all design and liberal arts students!

[Karlisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good fast read and nicely designed book. I found this book interesting because being a student and part of the design department he founded I never knew or even heard of Peter Seitz. Reading his thoughts on design and communication through design I found very inspiring.

What I really liked about this book is the great visual chronological timeline of his work.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

So visually rich, I could scream.