“We find beauty in things done well.” was one of the many insightful comments Stefan Sagmeister brought to his follow-up Q&A at Brewery Stage after his keynote “Why Beauty Matters” at D&AD Festival 2017. His renewed in interest in the Beauty of Design came from a recent sabbatical (he takes one year off every 7 years):

When I started my latest sabbatical in Mexico City and looked for a main subject to work on. It immediately became clear to me that it will need to be ‘Beauty’. It will force me to be in close relationship with many people. The following months have been among the happiest of my life.

Beauty of Design

About Stefan Sagmeister

While a sense of humor invariably surfaces in his designs, Stefan Sagmeister is nonetheless very serious about his work; his intimate approach and sincere thoughtfulness elevate his design. A genuine maverick, Sagmeister achieved notoriety in the 1990s as the designer who self-harmed in the name of craft: He created a poster advertising a speaking engagement by carving the salient details onto his torso.

Stefan Sagmeister cofounded Sagmeister&Walsh and has designed for clients as diverse as the Rolling Stones, HBO, and the Guggenheim Museum. He’s a two time Grammies winner, then earned practically every important international design award.

He spoke 5 times at the official TED, making him one of the three most frequently invited TED speakers. His book sell in the hundreds of thousands and his exhibitions have been mounted in museums around the world. His exhibit ’The Happy Show‘ attracted way over almost half of a million visitors worldwide and became the most visited graphic design show in history. A native of Austria, he received his MFA from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. He is as a Fulbright Scholar, a master’s degree from Pratt Institute in New York.