as part of the design process. Ultimately, this means that my interests and sensibilities infiltrate the studio and the projects we take on. Aromatherapy!
Fresh Dialogue Poster
Designer: Stephen Doyle
Client: AIGA
2009
Teaching Grit
Designer: Stephen Doyle
Client: The New York Times Magazine
Art Director: Arem DuPlessis
Photographer: Stephen Wilkes
2011
You do your own art – 3-D objects, – often using books. How did this come about?
The sculptures that I make from books spang from a satire that I was making about the subject of “hypertexts.” I was trying to illustrate the ridiculous notion that one message might lead to another (via hyperlink) regardless of sequence. However, this exploration of setting text lines free of the pages that held them jumped up and bit me with the bug to set lots of ideas free from their books and to explore sentence structure in a whole new light.
Is there a problem or not in retaining boundaries between Stephen Doyle designer and Stephen Doyle citizen?
As a designer, it's very hard to separate work from life, travel from research, real from Memorex. It's actually the blurring of the borders that keeps things interesting for me. When something as private as a sculpture can invade my professional work, it is thrilling. It's the curiosities and passions that fuel a creative life, so why wouldn't one try to allow those to flourish in one's design practice? When a paint color that my wife and I mix at home becomes a part of a color palette that others can buy, it is gratifying. My wife and I have turned our home life inside out so that others can share our taste and style and ideas, so public and private, art and design are all woven together. One rule, however, has proved helpful: Never talk about work.. in the bedroom.
What is your creative management style around the studio?
My motto is never to ask if it's okay to do something. So, in the studio, the designers are encouraged to do everything they want to do. There is nothing off-limits, and there is no creative ceiling for creating work or experimenting. Not all experiments see the light of day. They have to work, hold up, and communicate. We do not have any special regard for reason, if abandoning it can lead to a solution that has lift. For us, levitation is the better part of design valor.
When hiring, and I presume you do the hiring, what do you look for?
When we look for a designer, we consider the usual qualifications: smart portfolio and good footwear. In a small studio environment, a personality match is really critical. We like designers who read the paper and whose work is an invitation to get closer. We are not wowed by style but by thoughtfulness with an occasional spark of brilliance. We try to keep our team diverse, having some members who lean toward science, and some who lean toward art. I look over shoulders a lot, and shape a direction in tandem with a designer. I help them craft the details and sharpen their intuition.
Here Is New York Hypertext
Designer: Stephen Doyle
Personal work
2012
Do you see the studio as expanding or remaining constant?
It is delightful to have a small studio – we are 10, and we have been about this size for over 25 years. It is a scale that allows designers to be thoroughly involved in their projects and the execution of them, but it allows for a diverse range of clients and wide exposure to the designing arts. Too, it allows our relationship with our clients to be intimate and earnest.
Stefan Sagmeister
On Being Self-Motivated
Much has been written over the years about Stefan Sagmeister, the Austrian-born, New York–based graphic designer and international speaker. His promotional antics have earned him lots of attention, too. He worked for Tibor Kalman at M&Co., a conceptual studio, and then moved into advertising in Hong Kong, and currently, after having a small solo studio, he has a partnership with a former employee, Jessica Walsh, “because she was uncommonly talented.” He is known for unconventional work that balances function and aesthetics – and for taking a sabbatical every seven years, leaving work to his colleagues so that he can pursue new ideas.
SVA Poster
Art Director: Stefan Sagmeister, Jessica Walsh
Designer: Stefan Sagmeister, Jessica Walsh, Santiago Carrasquilla
Photographer: Henry Leutwyler
Creative Retoucher: Erik Johansson
You began seven-year cycles interrupted by year-long sabbaticals. Aside from being a civilized way to do business, what has been your goal?
As with many big decisions in my life, there were several reasons: One was to fight routine and boredom, but there was a second one, more complex. I had the insight that I could come up with different kinds of projects when given a different time frame to spend on them. I also expected it would be joyful. What I did not expect was that these sabbaticals would change the trajectory of the studio, and I did not dare to imagine that they would be financially successful. But they were.
You've done some juicy promotions through the years, including baring yourself for the world to see. What motivates this? What do you hope the result to be?
I had opened the studio with a card showing me naked. That card turned out to be highly functional. Not only did our then only client love it (he had put it up in his office with a note saying, “the only risk is to avoid risk”) but it also attracted more clients who were likely of a more adventurous nature. The card that announced the partnership between Jessica Walsh and me was intended as a little joke on that opening card and turned out to have worked just as well: Everybody anywhere seems to know about that partnership (and that card).
As studios go, yours is very modest. In fact, you don't have a conference room for clients. What is your rationale?
I always wanted to keep our overhead small so we could luxuriate in the luxury of choosing our jobs on merit. This satisfied us more than luxurious offices.
The Happy Show
Creative Direction: Stefan Sagmeister
Art Direction & Design: Jessica Walsh
Design: Verena Michelitsch, Jordan Amer, Simon Egli,
