How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer [Paperback]

Debbie Millman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2007

Take a peek inside the heads of some of the world’s greatest living graphic designers. How do they think, how do they connect to others, what special skills do they have? In honest and revealing interviews, nineteen designers, including Stefan Sagmeister, Michael Beirut, David Carson, and Milton Glaser, share their approaches, processes, opinions, and thoughts about their work with noted brand designer Debbie Millman. The internet radio talk host of Design Matters, Millman persuades the greatest graphic designers of our time to speak frankly and openly about their work. How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designers offers a rare opportunity to observe and understand the giants of the industry.

Designers interviewed include:

Milton Glaser
Stefan Sagmeister
David Carson
Paula Scher
Abbott Miler
Lucille Tenazas
Paul Sahre
Emily Oberman and Bonnie Siegler
Chip Kidd
James Victore
Carin Goldberg
Michael Bierut
Seymour Chwast
Jessica Helfand and William Drenttel
Steff Geissbuhler
John Maeda

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Debbie Millman and her interviewees conspire brilliantly to map the best thought and practice in the world of design." -- Grant McCracken, Research Affiliate, Convergence Culture Consortium (C3), MIT

"Offers outsiders a rare glimpse into the minds of designers. Millman gets such interesting interviews out of her subjects." -- Core 77

"A delightful opportunity to eavesdrop on some of the most curious and creative minds of our time." -- Malcolm Gladwell, author, The Tipping Point and Blink

"A journey to discover the motivations, ambitions and frustrations of successful designers working hard in a volatile profession." -- Communication Arts

"Anyone who struggles daily to create great work will be inspired and encouraged by these intimate glimpses into remarkable minds." -- Joyce Rutter Kaye, editor-in-chief, Print magazine

About the Author

Debbie Millman has worked in the design business for more than twenty-five years. She is president of the design division at Sterling Brands. She has been there for nearly fifteen years and in that time she has worked on the redesign of global brands for Pepsi, Procter & Gamble, Colgate, Nestle, and Hasbro. Millman is President of the AIGA, the largest professional association for design in the world. She is a contributing editor at Print Magazine, a design writer at FastCompany.com, and co-founder and chair of the Masters in Branding program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Her books are How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer, The Essential Principles of Graphic Design, Look Both Ways: Illustrated Essays on the Intersection of Life and Design, and Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits. She lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Allworth Press; 1st edition (October 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581154968
• ISBN-13: 978-1581154962
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #78,599 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Debbie Millman has worked in the design business for over 25 years. She is President of the design division at Sterling Brands. She has been there for nearly 15 years and in that time she has worked on the redesign of global brands for Pepsi, Procter & Gamble, Colgate, Nestle and Hasbro.

Debbie is President of the AIGA, the largest professional association for design. She is a contributing editor at Print Magazine, a design writer at FastCompany.com and BrandNew.com, and Chair of the Masters in Branding Program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. In 2005, she began hosting the first weekly radio talk show about design on the Internet. The show is titled "Design Matters with Debbie Millman" and it is now featured on DesignObserver.com.

She is the author of three books, "How To Think Like A Great Graphic Designer" (Allworth Press, 2007), "The Essential Principles of Graphic Design" (Rotovision, 2008) and "Look Both Ways: Illustrated Essays on the Intersection of Life and Design," (HOW Books, 2009).

Her latest book, the long awaited "Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits," will be published by Allworth Press in 2011.

You can see more of Debbie's work at www.debbiemillman.com and www.sterlingbrands.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 37 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Talk about not judging a book by its cover! June 17, 2009

By Graphic Lunatic

Format:Paperback

The title is all wrong! This is NOT a 'how to' book and it does not teach you how to think like a designer. I wish the title were not so deceptive.

Having said that, what it is, is a mesmerising collection of interviews with 20 well-known names in the world of design... Milton Glaser, Peter Saville, Stefan Sagmeister, Michael Bierut, Neville Brody to name a few. It is an absolutely delightful read.

At the end of the day, you may not learn anything from reading this book (what with one designer contradicting the other), but what you do get is realization that there isn't one single formula that makes a designer... they're all so different and unique in their thinking and their methods.

(This book would be a 5-star, but I HAD to deduct a star for the wrong title!)

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It's like being a fly on the wall May 19, 2009

By BRIAN MCDERMOTT

Format:Paperback

This book peers into the world of who's who in the graphic design profession. To a graphic design student, these luminaries are like the mythological Greek gods and goddesses of whom unyielding worshipers pay endless homage to. But you're in for a surprise, because in addition to them sharing their success stories and process, they become mere mortals as they also share their shortcomings, insecurities and vulnerabilities--causing them to appear that much more real, human, and "approachable". We see what makes them tick and what ignites their passion for design. There seems to be a common thread among many of the interviewed designers in the book--that they constantly re-evaluate and question their own work--just as any budding or seasoned designer does.

It's a relatively quick read. You can easily get immersed in the content, as it is very engaging. When reading, each designer's personality leaps off the page. You can get a sense of who the ego-maniacal type-A people are--who seek objective approval or validation of their work--and who the far less self-centered ones are, as they are not interested in "proving" themselves worthy of being called a designer. Some designers appear confident and overzealous, while some seem to be weathered and despondent. Overall, it's a good balance. ( sidebar: Chip Kidd is pure comedy gold!)

After reading this book, I would feel more comfortable initiating a conversation with Paula Scher if I randomly bumped into her in an elevator, or subway platform, rather then get all choked up in awe and fumble my words.

The book appropriately closes with an emotionally charged interview with Massimo Vignelli, which put quite simply is hilarious! Vignelli is funny without trying to be funny. I found myself laughing out loud as I imagined him in his well intentioned, passive, yet comically dismissive Italian accent as he repeatedly proclaims his disdain for vulgarity in design. His playful, yet calculated madness is palpable. Wonderful!

This book won't teach you graphic design, nor does it claim to. It merely offers insight into the world of graphic design's usual suspects, and then some.

Highly recommended for students, professors, designers and design enthusiasts alike.

Bravo Debbie!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best How To... November 9, 2008

By N. Jacinto

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

It's really "The Best How To..." book, because it's not a "The Best How To..." book. Nice to see the "human side" of Design Gurus like Glaser, Bierut, Scher or Vignelli among many others.