I thoroughly enjoyed Michael Bierut’s compilation of essays on design and found each to be intriguing in different ways. The ones that left the most impact on me were the NYC subway design history and the piece on how to be famous as a graphic designer. As a NYC transplant that spent a few years living in Manhattan I can appreciate the large design skill and simplicity that went into making one of the best public transportation systems in the world understandable. Within a month of moving to the city and after a few wrong way commutes into Brooklyn I grew to master the system and felt like a proud “local” about being to help the regular onslaught of tourists find their way in my new home. I couldn’t imagine how the city would have grown in to its current size and grandeur if millions flocked to its shores every year without a car and could not interpret or utilize its subway system due to sheer lack of understanding on how to read its design representation in print. I still hold on to the very first map I ever picked up on my very first day in NYC and consider it a treasured piece of my history. A design piece that welcomed me into life in the Big Apple.
The other piece I found thought provoking was the one providing insight into how to make oneself memorable within the design community. It sparked my interest as a video producer because its long been engrained in my psyche to always feel an urge to take out a video camera and capture life as it’s unfolding in just about any situation that arises curiosity. Yet as I move into the design industry it’s never occurred to me that rather than buying works of art such as a well designed take on the NYC skyline for my bedroom or office I should be utilizing those opportunities to design for myself, to design for friends, to design anytime the urge erupts in order to constantly be perfecting one’s art. This was a nice article to help get one’s focus back in line about what’s important in the art world.