Why Sagmeister & Walsh Works: An interview with the renowned design duo about their partnership

The first eight pages of Stefan Sagmeister’s 2000 book Another Self-Indulgent Design Monograph is given over to a diagram called Timeline by the German designer Franziska Morlok. Art directed by Sagmeister himself, it begins with the Big Bang and uses a simple combination of lines and circles to chart the world from then onwards. Earth is formed on page six, jellyfish evolve near the end of page seven and neanderthals appear almost right at the bottom of the last page, just before a circle which represents “The entire history of graphic design.” In actual fact, as explained in a footnote, this last marker throws the whole scale off and it should be drawn as one ten thousandth of an inch. It’s a remarkably self-deprecating introduction to a man many would see as a conceptual maverick, individualistic provocateur, even “the rock star designer” as the biography on one of his three TED talks describes him. They’re perhaps not appellations Sagmeister would apply to himself but there is no doubt he enjoys a different kind of profile to most graphic designers. Patrick Burgoyne, editor of Creative Review, once wrote about him: “Stefan Sagmeister has always understood the power of getting naked,” tracing a lineage that starts with his first naked mailout to launch his New York studio in 1994, through his infamous poster for the AIGA Detroit chapter in 1999 when he cut the information into his body, and ending last May when he and Jessica Walsh announced her elevation to partner with another nude portrait. Stefan (it seems odd to refer to him as that) says he was surprised at the “massive reaction” to the latest publicity stunt: “I would not have thought that simple nudity still has that much power.” But Jessica, just 24 when she accepted his offer to become a partner, was less taken aback. “I expected the negative reactions, no surprise there. I was surprised by how quickly the news spread and how much the nudity helped with this. We had actual postcards printed but by the time we got them it seemed like old news, so we never sent them out.” It’s worth pointing out that Stefan’s initial concept for the shoot had Jessica fully-clothed – it was she who insisted that equality in the studio meant equality in the photoshoot too. His rise to the top has been well-charted – from his first job at Austrian youth magazine Alphorn through Leo Burnett and M&CO to founding his own studio and working with the likes of The Rolling Stones, Lou Reed and David Byrne. Jessica’s career is less well-known – after graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design she interned with Apple (and was there to see Steve Jobs give the presentation at the iPhone launch) before working with Pentagram and Print Magazine, joining Sagmeister’s studio in 2010. As simplistic as this sounds in redux, it did in fact only take Stefan five minutes of flicking through her portfolio to offer her a job. “Initially, when we first met, what I was really impressed with, apart from the obviously smart book containing well executed work, was her enthusiasm for design,” he says. For her part she had long admired him: “His work always touched me or evoked some emotion, whether through the message, beauty, wit, personality, or shock value. Not much design does that for me.” After just two years, Stefan invited her to become a partner. The idea from the start was for Jessica (or Jessie as he refers to her) to oversee the client-based work and for Stefan to concentrate on the self-generated projects. In reality both have helped each other when the need has arisen although the distinction remains broadly intact. “Stefan will often look at what I am doing and gives opinions and direction, and I often help him with concepts or design execution for his film. At the core we are both interested in coming up with the strongest concept for any design problem, and then executing it in the best, smartest, most beautiful way possible,” Jessica says. “So far it has been going exactly as I had hoped,” Stefan says. Day-to-day, the partners take the lead but everyone in the studio can have an input. “In general on our larger commercial projects we do often start out by having the whole studio brainstorm ideas,” Jessica explains. “While concepts do mostly come from Stefan or I, sometimes a designer or intern will have a great idea which we’ll run with. That’s what is great about working on a small team, everyone has their voice heard, and we can make decisions and push work forward efficiently without layers of approvals or egos getting in the way. We find this strategy does seem to produce better work." Jessica’s move to partner clearly surprised some and she admits to some nerves when it was first announced. “Sure, at first I did feel a little pressure or anxiety as a result of perceived expectations, but the pressure was mostly internal. I know worrying is always counterproductive, and the feelings didn’t last long. All I can do is continue to do the best work I can, keep challeng