Tattoos, water balloons and green bananas

Spread the word like Sagmeister & Walsh

For a show at the contemporary art gallery Deitch Projects in 2008, designer Stefan Sagmeister stacked 10,000 bananas against a wall. Unripe green bananas among the yellow ones spelled out the sentence, “Self-confidence produces fine results.”

For an iconic 1999 poster for the American Institute of Graphic Arts, Sagmeister cut type into the skin of his torso like a tattoo.

Sagmeister has also created ad campaigns and album covers for organizations like HBO, Levi’s, the Rolling Stones and the Talking Heads.

‘Six Things I’ve Learned In My Life So Far’

I learned of Sagmeister and his partner Jessica Walsh at “Six Things,” a new show at The Jewish Museum in New York. In five videos and a sound-activated sculpture, the designers illustrate six beliefs Sagmeister has developed by keeping a diary:

• If I Don’t Ask I Won’t Get
• Keeping a Diary Supports Personal Development
• Be More Flexible
• It Is Pretty Much Impossible to Please Everybody
• Now Is Better
• Feel Others Feel

The design duo spells out these phrases using sugar cubes, bubbles, water balloons and other surprising elements.

I found the exhibit and Sagmeister’s book Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far to be great sources of inspiration on typography. And watch for Sagmeister’s The Happy Show, a traveling exhibition, and The Happy Film, Sagmeister’s upcoming documentary.

How can you use surprising elements for your display copy?