Michael Bierut: Should we be sceptical of brands?

One More Question

Highlights from the conversation

• My lack of conviction about branding may be [because] everything is being presented as a brand nowadays
• Branding was this shorthand for authority
• Designers are taught form follows function. What really makes design contribute to culture are those 'other things' that come into play
• Brands provide visual and experiential cues that help us work through a complicated environment
• My [interest] in the subject matter has a direct relationship to how good the work for it is
• Everything is being presented as a brand nowadays

More about Michael Bierut

Michael Bierut has worked as a graphic designer for over five decades. His first job after graduating from the University of Cincinnati was for Massimo Vignelli where he worked for 10 years. He then became a partner in the New York office of Pentagram, where he’s worked for 32 years and counting. Along the way, he was elected to the Alliance Graphique Internationale (1989), to the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame (2003), and was awarded the profession’s highest honor, the AIGA Medal (2006). In 2008, he was named winner in the Design Mind category of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards. He’s been a senior critic in graphic design at the Yale School of Art and a lecturer at the Yale School of Management.

Michael writes frequently about design, is the co-editor of the five-volume series Looking Closer: Critical Writings on Graphic Design, and co-founder of Design Observer, a blog of design and cultural criticism which now features podcasts on design, popular culture, and business. His books include 79 Short Essays on Design (2007), How to use graphic design to sell things, explain things, make things look better, make people laugh, make people cry and (every once in a while) change the world (2015) and Now You See It and Other Essays on Design (2018). He is still married to the first girl he ever kissed and has three children and two grandchildren.

Find Michael here: LinkedIn | Instagram

Show Notes

People:

• John Berg
• Massimo Vignelli

Companies and organisations:

• Columbia Records
• New York Public Library
• Brooklyn Academy of Music

Miscellaneous:

• Letraset

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One More Question is a podcast by Nicework, a purpose-driven company helping people who want to make a dent in the world by building brands people give a shit about.

One of the things we do best is ask our clients the right questions. This podcast came about because we want to share some of the best answers we have heard over the last 13 years. We talk to significant creators, experts and communicators we encounter and share useful insights, inspiration, and facts that make us stop and take note as we go about our work.

Hosted by our founder Ross Drakes.

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