Design Observer was founded in 2003 by Michael Bierut, Jessica Helfand, and William Drenttel. A selection of their writing is below.
Michael Bierut | 03.28.17
I’m With Her
 The logo we designed for Hillary Clinton wasn’t clever or artful. I didn’t care about that. I wanted something that you didn’t need a software tutorial to create, something as simple as a peace sign or a smiley face. I wanted a logo that a five-year-old could make with construction paper and kindergarten scissors.
Jessica Helfand | 03.14.17
Design Competition as Bake-Off
 The idea of book design rendered as a global free-for-all likens the act of cover design to a giant bake-off. But books are not brownies, and design, like literature, is not a sweet shop.
Jessica Helfand | 07.21.16
Logocentrism
 For Paul Rand, a modern mark was a simple mark, and the secret to making things last lay in keeping them simple.
Jessica Helfand | 06.07.16
The Karaoke Effect
 The illusory bubble populated by thousands of fame-seekers who fervently believe in their own righteous, if highly fictional talent.
Michael Bierut | 10.13.16
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mentor, Or, Why Modernist Designers Are Superior
 Does a strict upbringing make you a better designer?
Michael Bierut | 01.14.13
Graphic Design Criticism as a Spectator Sport
 Michael Bierut on logo redesign outrages, what they mean, and why we should demand more.




News

December 2018: Edited by Jessica Helfand and Michael Bierut, Culture is Not Always Popular: Fifteen Years of Design Observer will be out in early December from MIT Press. Buy the book here. See the video here.

November 2018: The Design of Business | The Business of Design conference will be held on November 2 and 3 at Yale School of Management.

September 2018: Face Value, Cooper Hewitt’s entry into the 2018 London Design Biennale, is named one of the four medalists.

July 2018: Jessica Helfand and Allison Arieff host a Next Stage event at Google on the ethics of design.

June 2018: Jessica Helfand is one of three artists chosen to participate in Face Value, the US entry into the London Design Biennale for 2018.

May 2018: Jessica Helfand hosts The Next Stage at The Mercantile Library in Cincinnati and The American Film Institute in Los Angeles.

May 2018: Jessica Helfand debuts The Next Stage at Continuum in Boston.

March 2018: Jessica Helfand is keynote speaker for the In Pursuit of Luxury Conference, Cape Town, South Africa.