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.”

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?
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