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About the author
Steven Heller wears many hats (in addition to the New York Yankees): For 33 years he was an art director at the New York Times, originally on the OpEd Page and for almost 30 of those years with the New York Times Book Review. Currently, he is co-chair of the MFA Designer as Author Department, Special Consultant to the President of SVA for New Programs, and writes the Visuals column for the New York Times Book Review. Visit him online at www.hellerbooks.com.
Lita Talarico co-chairs the MFA Designer as Author program at the School of Visual Arts, along with Steven Heller. Talarico is the former founding editor of American Illustration, was Reporter-at-Large for Graphis, and has been a director for special initiatives in design and architecture at both Purchase College, SUNY, and the Cooper Union. Talarico holds an M.F.A. in Art Criticism and Writing.
Summary
Designers are used to working for clients, but there is nothing better than when the client is oneself. Graphic and product designers, who are skilled with the tools and masters aesthetics, are now in the forefront of this growing entrepreneur movement.
Whether personal or collective, drive is the common denominator of all entrepreneurial pursuit; of course, then comes the brilliant idea; and finally the fervent wherewithal to make and market the result. The Design Entrepreneur is the first book to survey this new field and showcase the innovators who are creating everything from books to furniture, clothes to magazines, plates to surfboards, and more.
Through case studies with designers like Dave Eggers, Maira Kalman, Charles Spencer Anderson, Seymour Chwast, Jet Mous, Nicholas Callaway, Jordi Duró, and over thirty more from the United States and Europe, this book explores the whys, hows, and wherefores of the conception and production processes. The design entrepreneur must take the leap away from the safety of the traditional designer role into the precarious territory where the public decides what works and what doesn’t. This is the book that shows how that is accomplished.
