Discovering Design: New Series of Talks by Design Greats at Strand Book Store, May 3 – 19

DISCOVERING DESIGN aims to increase awareness and appreciation for important and newly released books in architecture, graphic design, and fashion.

Each event takes place at New York’s Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway (at 12th Street), 3rd-floor Rare Book Room, and will begin at 7:00 PM; admission is $20 or purchase of the book. Speakers will their sign books.

Tuesday, May 3
7:00–8:15 PM

Richard Danne & Michael Bierut discuss the long-awaited release of The 1975 NASA Graphics Standards Manual Reissue. 

Richard Danne, multi-award winning designer and former AIGA president, joins Pentagram’s Michael Bierut (also former head of AIGA) for a discussion of the reissue of his firm’s 1975 NASA Graphics Standards Manual via a very successful Kickstarter. Tthe reissue celebrates a lost era of American space exploration, featuring the notorious “worm” logo and iconic color schemes.

Friday May 6
7:00–8:00 PM

Isaac Mizrahi & Chee Pearlman: A landmark survey of the work of a trailblazing American fashion designer, artist, and entrepreneur.

The Jewish Museum’s Isaac Mizrahi: An Unruly History is the first exhibition and monograph to focus on the work of the influential American fashion designer. Joining Isaac in conversation will be journalist, conference creator, and curator of the exhibition, Chee Pearlman.

Monday, May 9
7:00–8:00 PM

Annabelle Selldorf, Michael Bierut, and David Breslin discuss Selldorf Architects Portfolio and Projects. 

Annabelle Selldorf is the principal of Selldorf Architects, known for its designs for galleries (including New YorkÆs Neue Galerie) and cultural projects, as well as private homes. The eponymous monograph is a newly shot, full-color portfolio by renowned photographer Todd Eberle. David Breslin, the John R. Eckel, Jr. Foundation Chief Curator at Menil Collection’s Drawing Institute will moderate the conversation between Annabelle and Pentagram partner Michel Bierut.

Friday, May 13
7:00–8:00 PM

Patricia Gucci, granddaughter of the founder of the House of Gucci, tells the buried history of the family that’s defined Italian glamour.

Patricia Gucci was born a secret: the love child whose birth could have spelled ruination and even imprisonment for her father, Aldo Gucci, the trailblazing businessman who transformed his father’s small Florentine luggage company into a worldwide luxury powerhouse. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear the story of the esteemed House of Gucci, told as only a direct descendent of its founder, Guccio Gucci, can tell it. Patricia Gucci discusses her deeply personal book, In the Name of Gucci: A Memoir and will be joined in conversation by the Wall Street Journal’s Marc Meyers.

Monday, May 16,
7:00–8:15 PM

Legends of New York City Design and Architecture.

Aileen Kwun and Bryn Smith, two New York writers and designers, introduce a panel of lifelong luminaries in their fields, whether it’s architecture, graphic design, or criticism, all in their ninth decade. Their book, Twenty Over Eighty, delves into what’s changed, what’s stayed the same, and what brought these legends in their fields to their current stature. Panelists, all featured in the book, will include Seymour Chwast, Jack Lenor Larsen, and Jane Thompson.

Tuesday May 17
7:00–8:15 PM

Taking and Making: A Panel on Creativity.

This panel of writer-designers—Steven Heller (author of, among many other books, the forthcoming Graphic Design Idea Book), Peter Ahlberg (author of the forthcoming Please Make This Look Nice) and Kyna Leski (author of The Storm of Creativity)—will walk the audience through the process of being a creative: what it means for each of them, and how those measures and mechanisms can be applied for those of us willing to learn. The conversation will be moderated by Debbie Millman, President Emeritus of AIGA, author, and host of Design Matters, an award-winning program of interviews with eminent designers.

Thursday May 19
7:00–8:15 PM

The Invention of Desire in Design.

This incredible panel features heavy-hitting designers and design writers Jessica Helfand, Paula Scher, Eugenia Bell, Julie Lasky, and Véronique Vienne discuss how designed things make us feel as well as how—and why—they motivate our behavior.  Looking at objects, letterforms, experiences, and even theatrical performances, award-winning author and panelist Jessica Helfand, whose new book is Design: The Invention of Desire, asserts that understanding design's purpose is more crucial than ever. Design is meaningful not because it is pretty but because it is an intrinsically humanist discipline, tethered to the very core of why we exist.

DISCOVERING DESIGN is presented by the Strand Book Store and Designers & Books, as part of the NYCxDESIGN celebration of global design.