Response to blog prompt #2 (for week 4)

I watched this artist series film on Hillman Curtis' site because I don't think anyone had reviewed it yet. Stefan Sagmeister's philosophy on design was never overtly stated, but based on his exhibition/book "What I've learned in my life so far," the Hillman-Curtis video and this list of his core beliefs that I found his website, Sagmeister believes in:

1. Helping other people helps me
2. Having guts always works out for me
3. Thinking that life will be better in the future is stupid. I have to live now.
4. Starting a charity is surprisingly easy
5. Being not truthful works against me
6. Everything I do always comes back to me
7. Assuming is stifling
8. Drugs feel great in the beginning and become a drag later on
9. Over time I get used to everything and start taking for granted
10. Money does not make me happy
11. Traveling alone is helpful for a new perspective on life
12. Keeping a diary supports personal development
13. Trying to look good limits my life
14. Material luxuries are best enjoyed in small doses
15. Worrying solves nothing
16. Complaining is silly. Either act or forget.
17. Actually doing the things I set out to do increases my overall level of satisfaction.
18. Everybody thinks they are right.
19. If I want to explore a new direction professionally, it is helpful to try it out for myself first.
20. Low expectations are a good strategy.
21. Everybody who is honest is interesting.

hillmancurtis :: film and video :: Artist Series: Sagmeister 05 :: 347 756 5049

After I watched the video, I sifted through Sagmeister's website and found the following list of the six things he loves about his work:
Thinking about ideas and content freely – with the deadline far away.
Working without interruption on a single project.
Using a wide variety of tools and techniques.
Traveling to new places.
Working on projects that matter to me.
Having things come back from the printer done well.

After watching the Hillman-Curtis video I realized that Sagmeister was the designer in the "Helvetica" documentary who designed the Lou Reed album cover with the text written on Reed's face, and who also had an intern carve a new font into his torso. The work in the Hillman-Curtis video was mostly Sagmeister creating fonts out of manipulating everyday objects into letters, some of which were so camoflauged into their backgrounds that I had to pause the video to read the message. I respect Sagmeister as an artist because it seems that his does some socially responsible design work in addition to work for clients and takes time to artistically experiment for himself away from any work commitments.