Now a graphic icon of the 1990s, that 1999 AIGA Detroit poster typifies Stefan Sagmeister’s style.
Striking to the point of sensationalism and humorous but in such an unsettling way that it’s nearly, but not quite unacceptable, his work mixes sexuality with wit and a whiff of the sinister. Sagmeister’s technique is often simple to the point of banality: from slashing D-I-Y text into his own skin for the AIGA Detroit poster, to spelling out words with roughly cut strips of white cloth for a 1999 brochure for his girlfriend, the fashion designer, Anni Kuan.
The strength of his work lies in his ability to conceptualise: to come up with potent, original, stunningly appropriate ideas.
“Stephan Sagmeister.” Design Museum. 2 April 2008 <http://www.designmuseum.org/design/stefan-sagmeister>.
