Stefan Sagmeister Quotes & Sayings

#1. Complaining is silly. Either act or forget.

#2. I'm actually quite critical of the storytelling theme. I think all the storytellers are not storytellers.

#3. I had discovered that I'm much less special than I thought I am. So whatever I find true for myself, other people might also relate to.

Stefan Sagmeister

#4. It is very important to embrace failure and to do a lot of stuff - as much stuff as possible - with as little fear as possible. It's much, much better to wind up with a lot of crap having tried it than to overthink in the beginning and not do it.

Stefan Sagmeister

#5. Whenever I do overcome my inherent fear, it turns out well.

Stefan Sagmeister

#6. I had given a presentation on design and happiness for quite a long while at design conferences. I had found thinking about the topic helpful for my own practice, as it forced me to consider the fundamentals, and the feedback from the audience was always enthusiastic.

Stefan Sagmeister

#7. You can have an art experience in front of a Rembrandt ... or in front of a piece of graphic design.

Stefan Sagmeister

#8. If you want to communicate something, you'd better make sure that your design piece is well-dressed and that its teeth are fixed. At the same time, I still believe that if it is only stylistically great and it has nothing to say, it still is not going to make a lasting impression on anybody.

Stefan Sagmeister

#9. Work your ass off. Don't be an asshole.

Stefan Sagmeister

#10. Being in a foreign place, preferably for the first time, having seen many things and collected new impressions, and returning to an empty hotel room with an hour or so to blow. That mix often yields fine results.

Stefan Sagmeister

#11. To touch somebody's heart with design.

Stefan Sagmeister

#12. Trying to always be the nice guy, to appear good, can be limiting. Avoiding confrontation has closed up a number of possibilities for me.

Stefan Sagmeister

#13. Ensure it feels like it's made by humans, for humans.

Stefan Sagmeister

#14. My granddad wanted to become a sign painter and designer, but was stopped; my dad would have had a real talent for language, but was stopped. When I expressed a desire to become a graphic designer, I was not stopped.

Stefan Sagmeister

#15. I think it's ultimately inhuman to only see things for their functionality. We want things to be more than that. The desire for beauty is something that's in us, and it's not trivial.

Stefan Sagmeister

#16. You're authentic when you're honest.

Stefan Sagmeister

#17. Peter Noever is a pain in the ass and a joy in the heart.

Stefan Sagmeister

#18. Any excuse to get away from the computer screen is welcome.

Stefan Sagmeister

#19. I myself am doing a full year of experiments every seven years, but I'm sure many other divisions are possible, depending on the field, the possibilities, and personal preferences. One hour a day or a day a week.

Stefan Sagmeister

#20. I don't think there is a particular responsibility on designers that is not on other professions ... I think there's a responsibility for all of us to engage on all levels.

Stefan Sagmeister

#21. I didn't think that personal style had much value in graphic design.

Stefan Sagmeister

#22. By far, the most determining factor of any brand is the product or the service the company produces. Branding companies have very rarely any significant influence on that, but it is, of course, in their interest to amplify their importance.

Stefan Sagmeister

#23. In running, I know that I can train as much as I want and I'm never going to break the world record for the five miles. It's partly genetics; I'm just not built for it. But if I worked really hard, I might be able to cut my time by half. Could I do the same thing with my mind and my well-being?

Stefan Sagmeister

#24. Downtown Toronto is a very good place to talk about the neutrality of modernist architecture. I'm sure this kind of box-building was interesting in the Twenties, Thirties and Forties, but I think it's absolutely ridiculous to build like this in 2013.

Stefan Sagmeister

#25. People who actually tell stories, meaning people who write novels and make feature films, don't see themselves as storytellers.

Stefan Sagmeister

#26. Having guts always works out for me.

Stefan Sagmeister

#27. I have done enough bullshit lately, I just have to make time for something better. Something good.

Stefan Sagmeister

#28. Everybody thinks they are right

Stefan Sagmeister

#29. Everyone who is honest is interesting.

Stefan Sagmeister

#30. Drugs feel great in the beginning and become a drag later on.

Stefan Sagmeister

#31. There are brands out there in the world that have an incredible influence on the culture. Numerous ones are badly done.

Stefan Sagmeister

#32. To be a good designer, you would need to have deep and far-reaching interests outside of the profession.

Stefan Sagmeister

#33. It's much more difficult to make an unbound book than a bound book, because the factories aren't set up to make an unbound book.

Stefan Sagmeister

#34. Some people said, 'Oh you're going to become a fine artist now and do exhibits and stuff.' But I have no desire to do that. I really like design and I'm going to stay with it.

Stefan Sagmeister