Design Observer’s Michael Bierut: Design Lessons Gleaned from Comedians

There is a genius to graphic designer Michael Bierut‘s latest essay over on Design Observer. He shares what he learned while watching HBO’s Talking Funny – an hour long documentary about comedy. And while the lessons are aimed at graphic designers, they are pertinent to anyone doing creative work.

The show’s premise is simple. Take four comedians at the top of their game - Ricky Gervais, Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock and Louis C.K. – and ask them to talk about their craft. What I loved is that Bierut learned anything at all. Most of us would have watched it and been entertained, maybe found a bit of fodder for the next dinner party or a quip to offer up in the office the following day. But Bierut managed to watch it through a design filter and by the end of the hour had seven design lessons. The last sentence of his essay says it all, “… look for lessons wherever you can find them.”

So what are the seven lessons? I wouldn’t dream of paraphrasing the man! You can read the original post here.