Below is this week’s list of materials.
The opening of Michael Bierut’s book introduces graphic design as a practical, human, and often messy discipline. Rather than presenting design as a purely aesthetic pursuit, he frames it as a tool that solves real problems, responds to real people, and shapes the world around us. These early pages set the stage for understanding design through lived experience rather than abstract theory.
Bierut emphasises that design begins with identifying and understanding a problem. A designer’s primary role is not to make things look attractive but to figure out what a client or audience genuinely needs. He shows that designers work best when they treat clients as collaborators, even when those clients struggle to express what they want. He also highlights how the environment in which a design will appear influences every decision, and how constraints such as budgets and formats can lead to more imaginative outcomes. Finally, he stresses that design always communicates emotion, shaping how people feel, interpret, and react.
The introduction aims to show how design functions in the real world, where ideas must adapt to client expectations, contexts, and limitations. It also seeks to explain how designers translate vague or confusing problems into clear, purposeful outcomes. Bierut positions the book as a guide to understanding design as an everyday craft that can also achieve meaningful impact, encouraging designers to work closely with others rather than in isolation.
Bierut uses personal stories, reflections, and case studies from his career to explain the designer’s process. Instead of relying on academic theory, he builds understanding through real examples, showing how projects develop through trial, error, conversation, and refinement. His informal, narrative approach makes design feel grounded, approachable, and relatable.
These opening pages give the reader a clear picture of how designers actually work. They show the realities of interpreting briefs, navigating client expectations, defending ideas, and revising work until it finds its place in the world. Through these insights, design emerges as a flexible and responsive practice that succeeds not through perfection but through willingness to adapt and collaborate.
The first section establishes that graphic design is a communicative craft shaped by people, problems, and context. Bierut presents designers as translators who listen carefully, interpret needs, and create solutions that improve clarity, experience, or emotion. By the end of the introduction, the reader understands that design is far more than decoration; it is a powerful tool for everyday problem-solving and, occasionally, for creating meaningful change.
In this talk, Geoffrey Lillemon, Creative Director of Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam’s “Department of New Realities,” explores how his team uses emerging technologies to rethink what reality can be. Through VR, AR, and immersive digital work, he argues that reality is flexible and can be reshaped through creative intervention. His presentation positions technology not as a cold or distant tool, but as a medium for building emotionally rich, imaginative worlds that blend art, design, and human experience.