The Design Entrepreneur: Turning Graphic Design Into Goods That Sell

241 Pages·2011·49.397 MB·English

by  Steven Heller, Lita Talarico

TTHHEE
DDEESSIIGGNN
ENTREPRENEUR
TURNING GRAPHIC DESIGN
INTO GOODS THAT SELL
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CONTENTS
06. INTRODUCTION:
THE “I CAN DO IT ALL” GENERATION
2
32.
FROM IDEA
TO PRODUCT
1
12.
38.
3
CONCEIVING
CATALOGING IDEAS:
IDEAS
VIABLE PRODUCTS
PRODUCED BY
17. From Thesis to Marketplace/ DESIGNERS
Case Studies:
18. Tarek Atrissi—Arabic Font
19. Peter Buchanan-Smith—Speck 42. Charles Spencer Anderson—Pop ink
20. Luisa Gloria Mota Velasco—San Honesto 46. Marshall Arisman—Cobalt Blue
21. Jungmin Kim—Wrapture 50. Nancy Bacich—Eve Kitten
22. Sierra Krause—Vega 54. Yves Behar—Fuseproject
23. Rick Landers—Wink 58. Joshua Berger—Plazm
24. Andy Outis—Aply 62. Peter Bilak—Typotheque
25. Jennifer Panepinto—Mesü 64. Constantin Boym—Disaster Souvenirs
26. Kavita Ramchandran—Maya 68. Stefan Bucher—Daily Monster
27. Amanda Spielman—Bookfool 72. Deborah Buck—Buck House
28. Sunniva Djupedal de Villiers—Sunniva 76. Paul Budnitz—Kidrobot
29. Jesse Willmon—Commix 80. Nicholas Callaway—Callaway Entertainment
30. Celia Sin-Tien Cheng—Craving 84. Tina Chang & Esther Mun—StartHereNY
31. Jeffrey Everett—El Jefe Design 86. Seymour Chwast—The Nose
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88. Jim Coudal—CoudalPartners.com 214. Tjeerd Veenhoven—The Padded Wall
92. Daniel Young—Paradoxy Products 218. James Victore—Victore Plates
94. William Drenttel & Jessica Helfand— 222. Laura Victore—Fortune Cookie Purse and Boo
Winterhouse Products Raley Lady Buds
98. Jordi Duró—Scope Magazine 224. Armin Vit & Bryony Gomez-Palacio—
102. Elliott Earls—Apollo Project UnderConsideration LLC
106. Dave Eggers—McSweeney’s 228. Angela Voulangas & Douglas Clouse—
114. Barbara Ensor—Little School of Moving Pictures typeHigh greeting cards
116. Shepard Fairey—Studio One 230. Matthew Waldman—Nooka
120. Louise Fili—Designer’s Guide to Italy
124. Karin Hibma—Walking Man
128. Nat Hunter—Airside Products
130. Jeffery K. Johnson—Spunk
132. Maira Kalman—M&Co
136. Richard Kegler—P22 Type Foundry 4
140. Warren Lehrer—EarSay
232.
144. Cheryl Lewin—Bow Wow Bandanas
146. Tod Lippy—Esopus Magazine ONLINE
152. Ellen Lupton—D.I.Y. Design It Yourself
RESOURCES
156. Ross MacDonald—Brightwork Press
160. Jeffrey Metzner—Stick: Great Moments
In Art, History, Film and More 233. Design Blogs
162. Dragan Mileusnic & Zeljko Serdarevic— 234. Reference
Potscriptum Publishing 2 34. Customized Online Products
166. Jet Mous—Mous Ceramics 2 34. Materials
170. Dan Nadel—PictureBox 2 35. Packaging
174. Gary Panter—The Man Cat Toy 2 35. Self-Publishing
178. Sam Potts—Super Hero Products 2 35. Bookbinding
182. Doug Powell—Type1Tools 2 35. Interior & Furniture Design
186. Robynne Raye—Novelty Products for Blue Q 2 36. Online Printing Companies
188. Hans Dieter Reichert—Baseline Magazine 236. Retail
192. Piet Schreuders—De Wolkenkrabber, 236. Legal Resources
De Poezenkrant, FURORE
196. Carlos Segura—T26 Type Foundry
200. Mike Mills—Human Products
237. INDEX
204. Julian Montague—Stray Shopping Cart Project
206. Christoph Niemann—100% Evil
210. John Bigelow Taylor & Dianne Dubler— 240. ACKKNOWLEDGMENTS
Kubaba Books
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INTRODUCTION
}
THE “I CAN DO IT ALL”
GENERATION
It is not a new idea, though it is a revolutionary one. Modern
design entrepreneurship has been around at least since
the late nineteenth century when William Morris’ Arts
and Crafts workshops, manned by ardent artisans and
designers, hand produced everything from typefaces to
books to furniture destined for sale in a marketplace of
special devotees. The movement migrated to Aurora, New
York, where the Morris disciples, Elbert Hubbard and
his Roycrofters adherents sold a wide range of products
through catalogs and stores. The tradition evolved with
the Weiner Werkstätte, Deutsche Werbund, and Bauhaus,
to name a few progressive design movements and schools,
where gesamtkunstwerk (the total work of art) was the
mantra for those adept at creating a variety of forms with
different media for mainstream markets.
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8 The Design Entrepreneur
“...designers have traditionally been brought in at the
end, rather than the beginning, of a product (certainly
after the fundamental decisions are made) and hired
to package, rather than conceive.”
Even the nascent Soviet Union had its equation: d (drive) + b (brilliant) = c (critical
revolutionary Productivists who produced mass). In terms of physics, two forces—will
designed objects for sale to the masses, and intelligence—must be fused in order
albeit for the benefi t of the Bolshevik to generate enough energy to take the
transformation. In line with the mandates of entrepreneurial plunge and it’s not always
capitalism in the United States, Contempora, easy. Many designers have good, even great
a design collective that included the ideas, but odds are most of these will simply
contributions of poster and type designer remain notions rather than become concrete
Lucian Bernhard, graphic artist Rockwell products. One reason is the apparent in-
Kent, and furniture designer Paul T. Frankl, ability to move from notion to concept or
among others, produced unique textiles, from concept to product because designers
home accessories, and objets d’art sold have a perceived lack of expertise. That is
in stores and galleries. During the early nothing to be ashamed of given that they
twentieth century, various other graphic, are good at solving problems that involve
product, furniture, and fashion designers making aesthetic decisions, but invariably
commingled their talents and crossed their rely on others to do the “heavy lifting” of
disciplines to produce wares unbound by manufacturing and investing. Moreover,
client interference but receptive to free designers have traditionally been brought
market needs. Although the term we use in at the end, rather than the beginning, of
now was not necessarily applied, these a product (certainly after the fundamental
design entrepreneurs—what might well be decisions are made) and hired to package,
defi ned as risk-taking, business-minded rather than conceive.
visionaries—dreamt up concepts that As the design disciplines become more
largely fulfi lled their own creative and interrelated, a rising tide of “I can do it
profi t-driven needs. all,” or a sense of overarching confi dence,
has washed over the new generation of
DRIVE MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE designers—at least judging from the in-
Whether personal or collective, drive is the creased number of design entrepreneurs.
common denominator of all entrepreneurial They are no longer reticent about jumping—
pursuit; of course, then comes the brilliant sometimes head fi rst —into other (albeit
idea; and fi nally, the fervent wherewithal to usually related) fi elds if their business idea
make and market the result. It is a simple demands it. Design students, for example,
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Introduction: The “I Can Do It All Generation” 9
Two forces—will and intelligence—must be fused in order
to generate enough energy to take the entrepreneurial plunge
and it’s not always easy.
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10 The Design Entrepreneur
are not only prepared to make a well- developing even the good idea—which
rounded portfolio showing evidence of is not to say all good ideas start out that
requisite skill sets, they are encouraged to way—is a fairly diffi cult evolutionary process
produce ideas that have entrepreneurial during which time the entrepreneur must
resonance. Why should invention be limited determine in what form to best launch a
to the old when, in fact, the young may product (and promote it, too). The happy
have a clearer idea of what is necessary to surprise is that a vast majority of our MFA
fulfi ll their generation’s needs. So design students have the chops to succeed (see some
students—not only in the product area, but projects in Chapter 1, page 15). And this
all realms—are told to make the widget that supported our belief that the entrepreneurial
will turn the world on its ear. pursuit, something of a cousin to the highly
popular D.I.Y. (do-it-yourself) practice of
THE VIABLE IDEA late, is on the upswing.
How does one know whether an
entrepreneurial idea is viable? Obviously, BECOMING A DESIGN ENTREPRENEUR
not every concept is as good as one thinks it This book is a fervent testament to the
is (and some are even better). But not every proposition that a greater number of
idea has to be a cure for the common cold designers—decidedly aided by computers
either. Some successful business concepts are and other accessible technologies and
viable novelties—games, for example—while materials—are more actively seeking full-
others are more lasting, like a furniture or and part-time roles as entrepreneurs than
fashion line. Some notions are meant to be ever before. To underscore this claim, we’ve
independently sold in the market without assembled two groups within which are
the benefi t of a middleman or investor; various subsets.
others are in need of greater support and The fi rst group is our own MFA
fi nancial backing. There are many ways to graduates, including many who have
be a design entrepreneur and many different progressed further with their entrepreneurial
kinds of products that fall under the rubric. thesis projects. Some are in the marketplace
In 1998, we launched the MFA Designer now, while others are in the pipeline. Our
as Author program at the School of Visual greatest accomplishment, Deborah Adler’s
Arts in New York (which is alternatively prescription drug labeling and packaging
referred to as the Designer as Entrepreneur) system for Target stores, began as a thesis
—the fi rst design entrepreneur program topic and evolved into a full-fledged
on a Masters Degree level. The big idea rollout in 2005 and 2006. What made
behind this is relatively straightforward: this entrepreneurial was that it was self-
Designers have skills and talents that enable generated, rather than a commission from
them to conceive products, identify the Target. Adler saw a need and decided to fi ll
audience, and engage in the prototyping and it. Only after an alternative was found did
fabrication. While this concept is simple, the she look for its corporate home.
act of fulfi llment is more diffi cult. Actually The second group consists of design
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