One of my favorite books I read over the summer was 79 Short Essays on Design by Michael Bierut. The book is exactly as advertised, and available now at the LRC in the new book section.You might recognize Bierut from his part in the Helvetica documentary. He's the guy who says, "Drink Coke, period." However, you may not know this (yet), but he's also a partner at Pentagram, a major design firm, as well as a founding member of Design Observer, a fantastic blog featuring essays and ideas on design. In fact, 79 Short Essays is a collection of his writings posted on Design Observer over the years.
The essays cover a wide array of topics and ideas, from Massimo Vignelli's New York Subway Map to why he hates the ITC Garamond font. Each one is pretty short too, so their quick and easy to read. And for a type nerd like myself, I enjoy that each essay is set in a different typeface, sometimes for specific, content-related reasons.
So if you get a chance, hurry over to the LRC and check it out. (Yes, literally and figuratively.) And in the meantime, hear a word from Michael, himself.
