Stefan Sagmeister on Beauty as Function

About this episode

It’s hard to say what iconic graphic designer and typographer, Stefan Sagmeister, is most known for. His multi-decade career was first formed as the New York-based Sagmeister INC. in 1993 and went on to become Sagmeister & Walsh in 2012. Some of his best-known work includes iconic album covers and posters for artists like The Rolling Stones, the Talking Heads, and more--some of which went on to receive Grammies, cementing him as an epochal visual artist of our time. His intimate self-portrait captured in “The Happy Film” turns himself into a deeply self-reflective design project, exploring questions like--can I redesign my personality to become a better person? Or, perhaps for his advocacy on the power of time off and the year-long sabbatical he takes every seven years. A practice he ultimately credits for breathing new life and perspective into his work. But what does this approach to design have to do with cities? Well, everything. He joined Martin Barry in a conversation discussing his Austrian roots, his influences from different cities, and happiness as related to the importance of beauty as a utility for any properly functioning building, space, or city. Design and the C