Graphic Design

The masterclass investigates why people feel attracted to beauty, how they deal with it in daily life and what positive effects beauty can have. With the aid of examples from the fields of graphic design, product design, architecture and city planning, Stefan Sagmeister demonstrates that beautiful objects, buildings and strategies are not only more pleasing, but are actually more effective. You will discover that beautiful forms do not lack function, but rather, they are function themselves.

Sagmeister formed the New York-based Sagmeister Inc. in 1993 and has since designed for clients as diverse as the Rolling Stones, HBO and the Guggenheim Museum. Having been nominated eight times he finally won two Grammy Awards – for the Talking Heads and Brian Eno & David Byrne package designs. He also earned practically every important international design award. In 2008, a comprehensive book titled Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far was published by Abrams. Solo shows on his work have been mounted in Paris, Zurich, Vienna, Prague, Cologne, Berlin, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul and Miami. The Happy Show attracted way over half a million visitors worldwide and became the most visited graphic design show in history. Sagmeister teaches in the graduate department of the School of Visual Art in New York and lectures extensively on all continents. A native of Austria, he received his MFA from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna and, as a Fulbright Scholar, a master’s degree from Pratt Institute in New York.