Graphic designer Pierre Bernard: L’Atelier de Création Graphique (Paris)
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Who in the design community doesn’t believe that good design makes life better? Even the cynics among us must admit to at least occasionally hoping it’s true. French graphic designer Pierre Bernard’s take on this central of all design issues might be described as optimistic, yet also realistic. “Graphic design will not turn the world into a paradise, but it may contribute to a more humane world," he says.

Graphic designer, educator, and writer Jessica Helfand agreed to share with Designers & Books how she selected the titles for her book list and speaks about books as constant companions in her life. An avid reader (“three or four things at once”), she gravitates toward the “unusual” and the “unorthodox,” admits to a level of absurdity “that is absolutely at the core of my personality,” and readily acknowledges the theatricality in the way she approaches books (“I started out as an actress!”). 

Graphic designer Ivan Chermayeff: Chermayeff & Geismar
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Graphic designer Tom Geismar: Chermayeff & Geismar
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Graphic designer Sagi Haviv: Chermayeff & Geismar
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In the first in a series of Author Q&As, Designers & Books asks graphic designers Ivan Chermayeff, Tom Geismar, and Sagi Haviv to talk about their new book, Identify (Print Publishing, October 2011), named a Notable Book of 2011 by Designers & Books.

Graphic designer Paula Scher: Pentagram (New York)
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Graphic designer Paula Scher talks about Maps (Princeton Architectural Press, October 2011), her recent book of map paintings, which was named a Designers & Books Notable Book of 2011 by Alissa Walker, who said, “As art, it’s gorgeous; as a process, it’s a lesson in obsession; and as a narrative, it’s storytelling at its best.”