Interviews, Essays, Etc.

Interviews

• Like a Starburst: Interview with Todd Oldham
  Todd Oldham

  Wendy Goodman
  June 26, 2012

  Indefatigable designer, writer, and reader Todd Oldham talks to design editor Wendy Goodman of New York magazine in an interview for Designers & Books—about what (and how) he reads and writes. Authors Dorothy Parker and Amy and David Sedaris, artists Cindy Sherman and Tim Hawkinson, film director Sidney Lumet, and designers Roberto Burle Marx, Tony Duquette, Charley Harper, and Alexander Girard are all part of the mix.

• An Intellectual Affiliation—Interview with Mohsen Mostafavi
  Nicolai Ouroussoff

  Mohsen Mostafavi
  March 27, 2012

  During the academic year celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Dean Mohsen Mostafavi met with critic and author Nicolai Ouroussoff to talk about the books on Dean Mostafavi’s Designers & Books list—books that have particular resonance for him not only because of their intellectual content but also through their very personal connection to him.

• Embracing Opposites
  Jeffrey Bilhuber
  February 21, 2012

  Interior designer Jeffrey Bilhuber sits down with Designers & Books for a conversation that ranges from an unusual fiction choice on the book list he sent us to why he is getting his preschool son a subscription to National Geographic magazine to what his own library looks like and the thinking behind his latest book, The Way Home.

• Turning Off Reality and Letting Yourself Imagine—Interview with Jeanne Gang
  Paul Goldberger

  Jeanne Gang
  December 6, 2011

  Architect Jeanne Gang talks to architecture critic Paul Goldberger about books and authors from Benjamin Franklin to Eileen Gray as well as how her idea of “turning off reality and letting yourself imagine” applies both to the design development process of a building and the interior monologue that goes on when you are reading a book.

• Much More Than the Sum of Their Parts
  Bob Gill
  November 22, 2011

  Graphic designer Bob Gill talks to Designers & Books about his favorite books, the fact that he is not an avid reader, and comments about the many books he’s written, including his latest—Bob Gill, so far.

• Ellen Lupton Interview: Fleeting Notions into Concrete Things
  Ellen Lupton
  October 25, 2011

  Graphic designer, curator, author, and commentator Ellen Lupton weighs in on reading and writing for practicing designers and design students.

• Just Sit Under a Tree and Read
  Maira Kalman
  October 11, 2011

  Graphic designer, author, and illustrator Maira Kalman talks about the books she reads and writes—and what her answer for everything is.

• Right from the Beginning—and Still True Today
  Wim Crouwel
  August 16, 2011

  Dutch typographer and graphic designer Wim Crouwel talks to Designers & Books about his library, his bookcases, and books whose design he admires.

• Designers as Poets First
  Alberto Alessi
  July 12, 2011

  Alberto Alessi, head of the eponymous company recognized for bringing high design to housewares, talks about the poetry of design in a special interview with Designers & Books.

• Pictures Are More Direct
  Chip Kidd
  June 28, 2011

  Book cover designer and novelist Chip Kidd talks about his second novel, comic strips, advertising, and more in an interview with Véronique Vienne for Designers & Books.

• Of Covers and Bindings, Pictures and Texts
  Rick Poynor
  May 10, 2011

  Rick Poynor talks about everything you need as a thinking, principled, committed designer—and also about books and graphic design in general.

• The Needs of Work and Pleasure
  Angus Hyland
  May 10, 2011

  Angus Hyland answers questions about books—those on his Designers & Books list, those he’s written, and those he’s about to read.

• Anything About Madness
  Jessica Helfand
  April 5, 2011

  Jessica Helfand is a graphic designer, educator, writer, and an avid reader. In this interview with Designers & Books she talks about books as constant companions in her life—and why the titles on the book list she submitted are not about design.