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Looking Closer #1
Looking Closer: Critical Writings on Graphic Design
Looking Closer is a collection of the best contemporary writing about graphic design, including theoretical, practical, business-oriented, philosophical, and humorous essays. Selected by a prestigious editorial committee composed of Michael Bierut, William Drenttel, Steven Heller,and DK Holland, the essays reflect on inspiration, ethics, "isms," the impact of new technology, and the role of design in the larger culture.
256 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1994
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About the author
Michael Bierut
32 books165 followersMichael Bierut studied graphic design at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, graduating summa cum laude in 1980. Prior to joining Pentagram in 1990 as a partner in the firm’s New York office, he worked for ten years at Vignelli Associates, ultimately as vice president of graphic design.
Bierut’s clients at Pentagram have included the Alliance for Downtown New York, Benetton, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, Alfred A. Knopf, the Walt Disney Company, Mohawk Paper Mills, Motorola, MillerCoors, the Toy Industry Association, Princeton University, Yale School of Architecture, New York University, the Fashion Institute of Technology, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Library of Congress, the Museum of Sex, and the New York Jets. His projects have ranged from the design of “I Want to Take You Higher,” an exhibition on the psychedelic era for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, to serving as design consultant to United Airlines.
Bierut’s recent activities have included the development of a new identity and signage for the expanded Morgan Library and Museum; the development of environmental graphics for The New York Times Building; the design of an identity and public promotion for Philip Johnson’s Glass House; the creation of marketing strategies for the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation; the development of a new brand strategy and packaging for luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue; and the redesign of the magazine The Atlantic.
He has won hundreds of design awards and his work is represented in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, all in New York; the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.; the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany; and the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Montreal. He has served as president of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) from 1988 to 1990 and is president emeritus of AIGA National. He currently serves as a director of the Architectural League of New York and of New Yorkers for Parks. In 1989, Bierut was elected to the Alliance Graphique Internationale, in 2003 he was named to the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame, and in 2006 he received the profession’s highest honor, the AIGA Medal, in recognition of his distinguished achievements and contributions to the field. In 2008 he received the Design Mind Award in the National Design Awards presented by the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Bierut is a Senior Critic in Graphic Design at the Yale School of Art. He is co-editor of the anthology series Looking Closer: Critical Writings on Graphic Design, published by Allworth Press, and in 1998 he co-edited and designed the monograph Tibor Kalman: Perverse Optimist. He is a co-founder of the weblog Design Observer and his commentaries about graphic design in everyday life can be heard nationally on the Public Radio International program “Studio 360.” His book Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design was published by Princeton Architectural Press in 2007.
Publications
Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design
By Michael Bierut
Princeton Architectural Press, 2007
Order this book in Europe / North America
—Pentagram.com
Bierut’s clients at Pentagram have included the Alliance for Downtown New York, Benetton, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, Alfred A. Knopf, the Walt Disney Company, Mohawk Paper Mills, Motorola, MillerCoors, the Toy Industry Association, Princeton University, Yale School of Architecture, New York University, the Fashion Institute of Technology, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Library of Congress, the Museum of Sex, and the New York Jets. His projects have ranged from the design of “I Want to Take You Higher,” an exhibition on the psychedelic era for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, to serving as design consultant to United Airlines.
Bierut’s recent activities have included the development of a new identity and signage for the expanded Morgan Library and Museum; the development of environmental graphics for The New York Times Building; the design of an identity and public promotion for Philip Johnson’s Glass House; the creation of marketing strategies for the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation; the development of a new brand strategy and packaging for luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue; and the redesign of the magazine The Atlantic.
He has won hundreds of design awards and his work is represented in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, all in New York; the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.; the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany; and the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Montreal. He has served as president of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) from 1988 to 1990 and is president emeritus of AIGA National. He currently serves as a director of the Architectural League of New York and of New Yorkers for Parks. In 1989, Bierut was elected to the Alliance Graphique Internationale, in 2003 he was named to the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame, and in 2006 he received the profession’s highest honor, the AIGA Medal, in recognition of his distinguished achievements and contributions to the field. In 2008 he received the Design Mind Award in the National Design Awards presented by the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Bierut is a Senior Critic in Graphic Design at the Yale School of Art. He is co-editor of the anthology series Looking Closer: Critical Writings on Graphic Design, published by Allworth Press, and in 1998 he co-edited and designed the monograph Tibor Kalman: Perverse Optimist. He is a co-founder of the weblog Design Observer and his commentaries about graphic design in everyday life can be heard nationally on the Public Radio International program “Studio 360.” His book Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design was published by Princeton Architectural Press in 2007.
Publications
Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design
By Michael Bierut
Princeton Architectural Press, 2007
Order this book in Europe / North America
—Pentagram.com
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 16, 2017
Decent book with some very nice insights.
It is however very much of it's time (late 80's-early 90's), with terror of desktop publishing and lunatics with Macs ruining the world of design being a constant topic throughout. My main gripe with the book, making the title somewhat ironic, is that someone should have looked closer into the actual print, layout and general presentation. The format is big but flimsy, paper of the worst office cheap-stock and the layout and binding such that it takes some serious manoeuvring to pry open the book and get the words crammed in the fold. Not sure if the original was different and something got lost 'in translation', but it's one of the most poorly designed books I've come across recently. Jaded desktop publisher's prank?
It is however very much of it's time (late 80's-early 90's), with terror of desktop publishing and lunatics with Macs ruining the world of design being a constant topic throughout. My main gripe with the book, making the title somewhat ironic, is that someone should have looked closer into the actual print, layout and general presentation. The format is big but flimsy, paper of the worst office cheap-stock and the layout and binding such that it takes some serious manoeuvring to pry open the book and get the words crammed in the fold. Not sure if the original was different and something got lost 'in translation', but it's one of the most poorly designed books I've come across recently. Jaded desktop publisher's prank?
November 2, 2010
Fantastic collection of essays despite being 20 years old. Interesting to read about the design environment in the pre-internet era. The web was just taking off and design conversation centered around its impending impact. Some very heady, intellectual essays along with some classic ones like Tibor Kalman's rant "Fuck Committees", against the take-over of the design world by corporate culture.
August 10, 2007
there's 2 or 3 pretty awesome essays in here. fucking read them.
December 4, 2021
I'm just glad I finished it, it's worth it if you are studying graphic design or practicing or teaching but its hard to see the end of it. Keep in mind you have to contextualize it in the late 80's, early 90's and a lot of the essays are very USA based. Nonetheless there are some really good gems in there, Paula Cher has some of my favourite essays of the book.
May 21, 2025
An interesting range of different approaches and perspectives on Graphic Design, from philosophy to the theoretical and semantic elements.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews