“Sagmeister has so much more fun monkeying around than the rest of us mere mortals — including most graphic designers — do that it makes me sorry I played it safe and never took the artist’s road less traveled. Not only does he, as a matter of course, take on challenges that the average designer would be considered ridiculous or sacrilegious for undertaking — including, but not exclusive to, planting soft sculptures of angry moneys in parks, plazas, squares, and thoroughfares throughout bonny Scotland — but he does so with impunity, in the name of art.” - Steven Heller





Title: Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far
Publisher: Abrams, an imprint of Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
Author: Stefan Sagmeister



To mention Stefan Sagmeister in any context is to breathe awe into design circles and beyond; it is to venerate and celebrate a living legend who has shrouded himself in the glamorous aura of a veritable rock ‘n roll design superstar in which there is no shaking off. Garnering accolades, acclaim, amusement, rage or quite simply attention at every turn, Sagmeister stands alone in our generation in the manner he is admired, copied, condemned, discussed or even mocked as he sets about blazing a trail of beautiful destruction through the planet. Always asking his students at the School of Visual Arts in New York: “Can design touch hearts?”, Sagmeister seems to have answered his own question in the most explosive, subversive yet colorfully inventive way possible — as if we’d have expected anything less.

“Keeping a diary supports personal development.”



Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far started life as a list from Sagmeister’s personal diary during a year-long commercial hiatus. Upon returning to commissioned work and with the support of his clients (it could only happen with Sagmeister), this rapidly took flight and started layering on different dimensions to what had originally been a simple collection of short but resoundingly eternal truisms, all of which were then turned into a series of projects unifying these personal truths with breathtaking design elements. As befitting his visual maestro status, Sagmeister has taken these projects to new creative heights, employing a combination of eclectic visual audacity, painstakingly detailed assembles and exhilarating guerilla tactics, were subsequently displayed in a myriad of public and personal spaces, with its reach venturing far beyond the design world. While any designer worth his salt would probably have seen some of these pieces on display at some point or other, the collection of 15 beautifully-designed “booklets” also contains genuinely amusing, entertaining and occasionally touching personal anecdotes which accompany every explanation of a single project, making it a wonderful object of desire and an even better gift.

“Thinking life will be better in the future is stupid. I have to live now.”



Ranging from the grotesquely overblown and public (enormous, angry blow-up monkeys swanning all over the Scotland landscape), to the highly flamboyant (oversized, dramatic billboards in France), to the highly scandalized and sensational (attempting to pee-write on a public wall), to the deliriously childlike and carefree (a bunch of people go swimming in the Hudson River with words spelled out on their backs), to the seemingly pointless (directly flaming bamboo scaffolding in Singapore), Sagmeister’s projects can be called many things, but never dull. A more private side is shown as well with smaller-scale typographic experiments using an array of intriguing materials such as sausages, cacti, chest hair, bees and even (simulated?) sperm to spell out letters to form words. Visually stunning works from household names such as Marian Bantjes, Anni Kuan and Bela Borsodi are interspersed with those of virtually unknown interns working in Sagmeister’s studio at that time to create a comprehensive, coherent body of masterpieces.

“Over time I get used to everything and start taking it for granted.”



While the booklets may seem like a random collage of images and witticisms, it would be good to start off with the one imprinted with a stark, singular “T” — containing a foreword by Sagmeister himself and essays by Steven Heller, Daniel Nettle and Nancy Spector, and end with the “hypnotic circle” booklet. With the insightful essays providing the authors’ unique perceptions of Sagmeister’s project, one picks up considerable background knowledge into the works before being fully immersed in them — this can hardly be considered a bad thing. And what better way to end the series than with a bang fit for a Hollywood-ish cinematic spectacle? It started off with staking out and ambushing the general New York public to paste little signs on their backs, evading policemen while defacing their vehicles along with shop exteriors, and finally — the stunt to end all stunts — perched atop an Empire State Building ledge with feet dangling precariously in the air (and subsequently mistaken for a jumper), Sagmeister was later on embroiled in a very public showdown with the police. What happens next? A thrilling escape to rival that in Ocean’s Eleven — you couldn’t plan this if you tried.

“It's a sublime mixture of violent and subtle, gross and endearing, direct and pensive… Stefan is a razor-blade wielding, gracefully brutal, always surprising master of communication - the Johnny Depp of the design world." - Paola Antonelli.



When pared down to its essentials, the “advice” given in Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far can hardly be considered new, yet we’d be willing to bet our last dime on the fact that it wouldn’t go down your throat half as swiftly had it been dished out by your grandfather. Consisting of 15 unbound signatures in a laser-cut slipcase, each unique cover is embellished with a lavish swirl of colors designed to “chameleonize” Sagmeister’s imprinted face on the box set, transforming his image from anything between surreal to sweet to downright creepy. Hats off to the maestro, this sure is one heck of a sugar pill.




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