The Design Entrepreneur: Turning Graphic Design Into Goods That Sell

by Lita Talarico, Steven Heller

Designers are used to working for clients, but there is nothing better than when the client is oneself. Graphic and product designers, who are skilled with the tools and masters aesthetics, are now in the forefront of this growing entrepreneur movement. Whether personal or collective, drive is the common denominator of all entrepreneurial pursuit; of course, then comes the brilliant idea; and finally the fervent wherewithal to make and market the result. The Design Entrepreneur is the first book to survey this new field and showcase the innovators who are creating everything from books to furniture, clothes to magazines, plates to surfboards, and more. Through case studies with designers like Dave Eggers, Maira Kalman, Charles Spencer Anderson, Seymour Chwast, Jet Mous, Nicholas Callaway, Jordi Duró, and over thirty more from the United States and Europe, this book explores the whys, hows, and wherefores of the conception and production processes. The design entrepreneur must take the leap away from the safety of the traditional designer role into the precarious territory where the public decides what works and what doesn’t. This is the book that shows how that is accomplished.

Genres: Design, Art Design, Business, Art, Nonfiction, Reference

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

On Goodreads the subtitle of this book "Turning Graphic Design Into Goods That Sell" is as prominent as the title itself, but this is not so on every platform and I bought this book without realising the emphasis on graphic design. Not really the fault of the book but its cover does promise entrepreneurship in the content which is sadly lacking.
The Book doesn't really explain how any of the projects featured made it into production, nor does it mention whether they made any money (Some of the web based projects appear to have folded already) or how they were funded. Its really just a book of projects which are thematically related in that they happen to be creator-owned graphic design properties.
There were some interesting ideas in here and I was able to put together an extensive brainstorm list of ideas using the book as a starting point, it just would have been nice to learn something more about the relative merits of the approaches in terms of barriers to entry and the challenges faced by the designers turned entrepreneurs.

[Gage · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book full of great interviews / case studies of designers who've made the leap into working more for themselves and marketing their own products or ideas. I do wish, however, that the book had more information about how this is done, why designers are doing this, and maybe some lessons learned or best practices for success. You can find a little of this information within the interviews but the author really leaves it up to you to connect the dots and make your own conclusion. In the end, it's a nice piece of inspiration with some great stories of success and failure, but as someone who is really interested in the topic, I wish the author had dug a little deeper and written more rather than relying on the interviews.

[Farhana Faruq · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of different graphic designers. It has some information about the designers, the projects they work on and a few images or their work. I think the best part of this book was how it was written - interview style. This style made it so relevant questions are answered, not just a whole bunch of essays on that company/individual. I really enjoyed reading it. Some businesses are really interesting and some make you wonder how much precious time is spent designing useless things.

[Ted · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a collection of interviews of various design-related entrepreneurs in 2008. I read this in 2025, which is 17 years after the book was published. Many of these business-endeavors feel very dated few are still around today. In some sense, that should not matter. Fundamental wisdom regarding design/business can or should translate today. But the interviews are extremely short, mostly surface level, and I wasn't able to find much of value here. There is not much writing outside of the interviews. They cashed in on a good topic, but the execution is lazy and superficial.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of profiles of designers who have created self-directed projects, this book is an inspiration to me. This is a perfect compliment to another book I've been reading called Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky (Behance Network). Both explore how designers can and should go beyond client-driven work to find niches and solve problems.

Read Heller's book to be inspired by what designers have done and can do, then read Belsky's to learn what it takes to move your great ideas from concept through to completion.

[Herbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enormous source of inspiration for anyone wanting to strike out on their own. Heller interviews dozens of successful "creatives", for lack of a better word, about their various enterprises and the challenges and rewards contained therein. Highly recommended.

[Mimi Bear · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took too long to read. Lots of repetition. Good resource.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed with this one. The title is misleading. The title made me think that the book would be about HOW to turn graphic design into goods that sell but it was far from that. It was a collection of designers and their work and they answered question about themselves. While some of it was very interesting it also got a bit boring after a while.