If we are the foot soldiers in the battle of design enlightenment, Ellen Lupton is our fearless leader. This bodhisattva of typography tells us not to be attached to our exclusivity as designers, but rather spread our knowledge so that others can also experience the satisfaction that we feel when we see good kerning.
But according to Lupton, design does not end with typography, a website or the printed page. She says, “Everything is a design problem." In her new laugh-out-loud book aimed at working moms, Design Your Life, Lupton shows us that design decisions are made in our everyday life. Something as common as making or not making your bed, and whether you so choose to embellish it with tiers of chenille pillows, says a lot about who you are. And she speaks with humor about how design affects everything from technology to toilet paper.
I had the fortunate opportunity to spend some time with Ellen and talk to her about her future plans, typography, tea, and the wedge pillow.
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PC: My friends and I have talked about being obsessed with a particular typeface and being frustrated trying to find the perfect opportunity to use it. Is there a typeface that you really love but you’ve never been able to use?
EL: Well, I mentioned last night this typeface, History. Which I would like to use but I have not used or bought yet--I just admire the book about it. He [Peter Biľak] did a beautiful type specimen. On his web site it shows all the different things you can do with it. It’s a bit intimidating because you have to be a good designer to use it.
PC: I found the place where you can buy it and it looked cool. There is so much to mix and match...
EL: It’s a tool for a designer to use. You know, you have to have the energy to play with all the parts.
PC: Is there a trend that type design is taking because now, with the web, everything is interactive and so type isn’t static any more?
EL: I haven’t seen too much of that, but there are more typefaces that come with layers that you can turn on and off. Like Jonathan Hoefler has some that allow you to create variations of decorative typefaces. Or Marian Bantjes has a typeface that has a set of ornaments that hook together. And those require a lot of foresight from the designer. They are high end tools.
PC: On the opposite side of the design spectrum, was there a decisive moment when you realized that design should be for everyone or when it became your mission?
EL: It goes way back in my history, that I’ve always used design as a tool for getting out a message, and I feel that lots of people can and do that whether we like it or not. And I came of age in the moment of desktop publishing, when designers were worried that our industry would be destroyed because secretaries had Times Roman. You know, it was like a new moment for people to even know what a font was, and suddenly they did. They were able to do limited things on desktop computers. And it didn’t happen. The graphic design industry actually got bigger and not smaller. I think overall standards for publishing and communication got higher. So, there was more for designers to do, not less. But there were also more possibilities for non-designers to use typefaces and software, and Kinko’s was invented and, you know, Docutech binding systems. There were all these things that everyday people can use. So it really is a trajectory that my career has followed. Those are all revolutions, and the internet of course was huge. I’ve always been excited by how each of those revolutions has opened up the field and hasn’t made it smaller.
PC: You were saying last night that while you were doing the DIY book your students were wondering, “What? We are going to teach everyone our craft and our skills?�? But the more I thought about it, the more sense it made, because that actually diminishes the sites like the $50 Logo--because if people know what good design is, they know quality.
EL: You’re raising people’s visual literacy, and when you think about literacy, often you think about reading. But a literate person can write. And if you’re visually literate, it isn’t just about going to a museum and knowing the difference between impressionism and post impressionism. Visual literacy has to be hands on. And just setting up a beautiful resumé and a nice email is all a part of visual literacy. How to use design in your life.
PC: As for the design in your life, is there a favorite exhibit that you’ve curated at the Cooper-Hewitt?
EL: Well the very first exhibit I did at Cooper-Hewitt was called The Mechanical Bride. It was about women and machines and how certain products have been associated with women. That is still a very dear project to me, because it was my first and it was fun and different. I also helped establish the Design Triennial, which is an exhibition that the Cooper-Hewitt does every three years and that is our most successful ongoing exhibition project. We do it with a team of curators. It’s certainly not just me, and it’s a big, big deal. I am proud to be involved in that, because it means paying attention to what is going on in the world and getting to communicate with a lot of designers. It’s fun.
PC: What makes the Triennial special?
EL: Well, we look at what is going on in contemporary design. Usually, it’s American design just to put some kind of limit, but the next Triennial, which opens in 2010, is called Why design now? and it’s global. And that’s really exciting.
PC: So, you’ve done the twenty-somethings book, you’ve done a kids book, and the next book is Design Your Life.
EL: This is the working moms book.
PC: So do you have another target? What’s next on your list?
EL: I would like to write a novel. I would like to write fiction about design. I am very interested in writing and exploring the medium of writing in relation to design. I think that would be my fantasy project. I love Maira Kalman. I love her book that just came out, The Principles of Uncertainty. It’s her beautiful paintings combined with her written memoirs and thoughts about the world. She’s an amazing artist. She’s a real hero to me. And I would love to do a book. I wouldn’t do something poetic like that, but I would do something more funny and about life. That would be a dream project.
At this point in my career, I could do such a book if I wanted, because I could always publish it myself. The challenge is doing these things and having them reach an audience. It’s very important to me not to do projects that are self indulgent, and I think often design authorship is very self indulgent. It’s whatever is somebody’s pet obsession, and for me it’s very important to connect to an audience.
PC: I feel like the design industry in general, is... well... we design for designers a lot, and it would be nice to branch out.
EL: Yeah, well, I’ve been trying to create these books that speak about design, but beyond the design audience. And that’s a big challenge. And I think they’ve kind of built on each other in terms of gradually reaching further outward.
PC: I’m excited to see this next one come out. The excerpts were really funny, and the subject matter... unexpected. The wedge pillow. I had no idea.
EL: Thanks.
PC: But anyway, there were so many people out to see you last night. So many people were excited...
EL: I’m just amazed that I go to these schools and it’s standing room only. I feel so honored that people want to come and hear me. It’s always surprised me. I don’t know why. I think it’s really nice, and I feel that whatever it is I am doing, it seems to be speaking to students, which really pleases me. You know, that younger people are interested. I think that the design community is so hungry for information about itself and for its own growth. A lot of lectures are really about a person and what they did. And I think I’m trying to speak to what we’re doing--you know, a collective. Because I think designing is this incredible social event that includes us professionals but also our mothers, fathers, and just people out in the world.
PC: You’re also the head for the Center of Design Thinking at MICA...
EL: Yeah, what the Center does is create opportunities for faculty and students to publish their work, whether it’s in a book or a conference or exhibition. It’s about public expression. To me, the word thinking implies that it’s all in your brain. And yet we constantly externalize our thinking through writing, sketching, designing, and making models. So, I’m really interested in finding public ways to express design content.
PC: To wrap it up, do you have a favorite breakfast food?
EL: I’m obsessed with Tazo Organic Chai tea. Not the sweet stuff in box. It’s the tea bag. Hot water, a little milk, no sugar. I go through a box a week.
PC: That smell is amazing.
EL: And the pepper. I like that it burns a little bit.
Portfolio Center students share a strong desire to communicate ideas, the willingness to let go of preconceived notions, and the compulsion to learn new ways of thinking. These qualities are fostered by the school’s constant stream of industry bigwigs, who bring their varied and colorful perspectives from all over the country. These creatives, who are always generous with their time and energy, tend to hang out with students, conducting informal workshops and continuing the day’s discussions over dinner. Often, what results are provocative interviews—written, shot, and designed by PC students.
