A Graphic Designer’s Search For Clues

Some designers demand a blank canvas. But Michael Bierut begins every project with a quest for minute bits of evidence: a forgotten typeface, a discarded sketch, an offhand remark. Any of these can serve as the seed of a design idea. Learn why finding the right starting point is as important as crossing the finish line.

Michael Bierut has been a partner in the New York office of Pentagram for 27 years, where his clients have included MIT Media Lab, Saks Fifth Avenue, the New York Jets, and Hillary Clinton. He is a teacher of art and business at Yale University, a founder of the website Design Observer, and the author of three books, most recently Now You See It and Other Essays on Design.

Global Design Forum
Part of London Design Festival at the V&A