c
 

    
  


In a video interview with The Atlantic× Michael Bierut talks about typography× including Stanley
Kubrick¶s favorite font× the cover design of The Catcher in the Rye× and the link between
phototypesetting and Free Love.

The interview accompanies an article about typography by Virginia Postrel in this month¶s issue.

79 Short Essays× Press× New York× Michael Bierut× Typography

01 / 08 / 2008 | Permalink

  c    

 
Michael Bierut¶s Seventy-Nine Short Essays on Design has been recommended by Very Short
List. ³If your main exposure to the world of graphic design consists of swapping between Arial
and Helvetica in Microsoft Word× then you need to read Michael Bierut× says VSL.

79 Short Essays× Publications× Press× New York× Michael Bierut

09 / 12 / 2007 | Permalink

   !c
"

 
Michael Bierut¶s Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design charts on the Approval Matrix in this
week¶s issue of New York magazine× sharing space²somewhere between ³Highbrow and
³Brilliant ²with David Lynch¶s Inland Empire× a Malcolm Lowry compendium and videos of
artists¶ Moleskine sketchbooks.

79 Short Essays× Publications× Press× New York× Michael Bierut

08 / 20 / 2007 | Permalink

J  #  c  

Friends× family× clients and colleagues gathered in New York¶s Madison Square Park Tuesday
night to celebrate the release of Michael Bierut¶s new book× Seventy-Nine Short Essays on
Design published by Princeton Architectural Press. Appropriate for the sultry summer evening×
guests were served Shackburgers× hot dogs and frozen custard from the park¶s popular Shake
Shack. Congratulations were heard all around for both Bierut¶s accomplishment and Abbott
Miller¶s design in which each of the book¶s 79 essays is formatted in a different font.

Continue reading "Celebrating µSeventy-Nine Short Essays¶"

79 Short Essays× Events× New York× Michael Bierut

06 / 28 / 2007 | Permalink

Î $    

% 
Today marks the publication of Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design× a collection of writings by
Michael Bierut from Princeton Architectural Press.

The 272-page hardcover book brings together twenty years of essays on subjects that range from
New York¶s faulty ³Push for Walk Signal buttons× to the disappearance of the AT&T logo× to
the implications of Vladimir Nabokov¶s Pale Fire for interaction designers. Many of the pieces
first appeared on Design Observer× the popular blog that Michael edits with Jessica Helfand and
Bill Drenttel× including favorites like ³Designing Under the Influence× ³I Hate ITC Garamond×
and ³The Road to Hell: Now Paved with Innovation! Seventy-nine Essays also includes pieces
that appeared elsewhere and pieces that have never been published in other collections× like
³Waiting for Permission× ³How to Become Famous and ³Ten Footnotes on a Manifesto.

Michael¶s writing is marked by its accessibility× its wit and its almost maniacal eclecticism. For
instance× a survey of the entries under the letter ³D in the book¶s index turns up× among others×
Jacques Derrida× Stuart Davis× design by committee× Cameron Diaz× Walt Disney× Dr.
Strangelove× Mort Drucker× Marguerite Duras and W.A. Dwiggins. If you seek a design book
that navigates with aplomb between French semioticians× typographers× movie stars and Mad
magazine cartoonists× Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design is the one for you.
While the book has no pictures× Abbott Miller¶s design provides its own form of visual interest.
Each essay is set in a different typeface× and readers can attempt to make real or imaginary
connections between essay subject and font selection. We can guess why the essay on AT&T is
set in C.H. Griffith¶s Bell Gothic (it was designed in 1938 for the Bell Telephone Directory) or
why the essay about Stanley Kubrick is set in Paul Renner¶s Futura (it was reportedly the
director¶s favorite typeface); the rationale behind other selections may be a bit more obscure× or
even completely nonexistent.

Michael points out that the list cover price of $24.95 works out to less than 32 cents per essay.
³Design books are luxuries× especially for students× he says. ³I hope that this one provides
something for everyone× at a price that anyone can afford.