Graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister did not care for engineering in high school. He found designing a poster that would communicate a vibe and draw crowds to an event to be way more compelling. After design school, the Austrian native decided that New York is the city that fits him best. With many awards and a big name in his field, he’s now focusing on art, exhibitions and taking a sabbatical every 7 years. He’s got a brain for planning and long-term data which allows for a very optimistic long view.

What is your earliest memory?

A cow jumping over me in the Montafon, a mountain valley in the West Austrian alps.

How do you feel about democratic design?

Good if it means that we take the audience we design for seriously and we figure out what they need and design accordingly. Bad if it means that we have a large group of people such as a committee involved in the design process.

What’s the best advice that you’ve ever gotten?

"The only difficulty in running a design studio is to figure out how not to grow large. Everything else is easy.” from my mentor Tibor Kalman.

How do you record your ideas?

In large black sketchbooks. I have about 30 of them.

What’s your current favorite tool or material to work with?

Old canvases and a X-acto knife.

What book is on your nightstand?

Steven Pinker: Enlightenment Now.

Why is authenticity in design important?

Because there is so much inauthentic work out there, including the kind of work that claims to be authentic, that we all crave true honesty.

Favorite restaurant in your city?

Right now likely Manhatta, on Liberty Street in New York.

What might we find on your desk right now?

An espresso cup.

Who do you look up to and why?

James Turrell, because he is able to create the most sublime beauty in a field - contemporary art - where beauty is often disparged.

What’s your favorite project that you’ve done and why?

Likely the entire series on “Things I’ve Learned in my Life so far”, as it allowed me to use the language of design for a more personal expression, it created the opportunity to use many different media and strategies for different entities in different countries and still created a unified whole.

What are the last five songs you listened to?

Bungalow, Bilderbuch

Kashmir, Dave Matthews Time Reynolds

Traffic, Thom Yorke

Tesselate, Alt-J

Let Love In, Nick Cave

Thanks to Adobe MAX for hosting us in the Airstream podcast lounge.

Thanks to Rich Stroffolino for editing this episode.
Music in this episode courtesy of El Ten Eleven—hear more on Bandcamp.
Shoutout to Jenny Rask for designing the Clever logo.

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