Jessica Helfand and Michael Bierut, writers, graphic designers, and co-founders of Design Observer, will join the Yale School of Management as faculty in design this summer.
In 2003, Helfand and Bierut worked with writer Rick Poynor and author and designer William Drenttel to establish Design Observer, a website with news, features, and essays on design, urbanism, innovation and pop culture.
Helfand and Bierut believe that a quality faculty, solid curriculum, and involvement in the 28-school Global Network for Advanced Management will allow the Yale School of Management to introduce and integrate design across its programs.
“At SOM, we will approach it as one might a second language, introducing theory and practice, defining visual grammar, reframing expression, construction, and craft,” Helfand and Bierut wrote on Design Observer. “Can we move beyond the clichés of whiteboards and Magic Markers, away from Post-It notes and buzzwords, and past the overused promises of ‘design thinking’ to define new ways of exploring the value that design can bring to business—and to a larger world? We think so—and SOM does, too.”
Helfand graduated from Yale with Master of Fine Arts and has taught at the university since 1994. She has written books on subjects like graphic designer Paul Rand and the information wheel. Her book on scrapbooks, titled Scrapbooks: An American History, was named the best visual book of 2008 by The New York Times.
Bierut, a partner with Pentagram, the world’s largest independent design consultancy, is a Senior Critic in Graphic Design at the Yale School of Art. With Pentagram, he has led identity and branding strategies for companies like Benetton, Verizon, and the New York Jets, and his work has been added to permanent collections at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
Related Stories
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Feb 20, 2015
Chargers, Raiders propose joint stadium in Carson
Two rival teams may bring the NFL back to Los Angeles.
Cultural Facilities | Feb 20, 2015
‘Floating’ park on New York’s Hudson River moves one step closer to reality
The developers envision the 2.4-acre space as a major performance arts venue.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 19, 2015
Is multifamily construction getting too frothy for demand?
Contractors are pushing full speed ahead, but CoStar Group thinks a slowdown might be in order this year.
Architects | Feb 19, 2015
Illustrator Federico Babina imagines architecture from nowhere
The illustrator imagines architecture where past, present, and future intertwine.
Codes and Standards | Feb 18, 2015
USGBC concerned about developers using LEED registration in marketing
LEED administrators are concerned about a small group of developers or project owners who tout their projects as “LEED pre-certified” and then fail to follow through with certification.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 18, 2015
Make It Right unveils six designs for affordable housing complex
BNIM is among the six firms involved in the project.
Office Buildings | Feb 18, 2015
Commercial real estate developers optimistic, but concerned about taxes, jobs outlook
The outlook for the commercial real estate industry remains strong despite growing concerns over sluggish job creation and higher taxes, according to a new survey of commercial real estate professionals by NAIOP.
Museums | Feb 18, 2015
Foster + Partners' National Museum of Marine Science and Technology breaks ground in Taiwan
The museum will be home to an aquarium, exhibition space, and waterfront views.
University Buildings | Feb 18, 2015
Preparing for the worst: Campus security since Virginia Tech
Seven years after the mass shootings at Virginia Tech, colleges and universities continue to shake up their emergency communications and response capabilities to shootings and other criminal threats.
Office Buildings | Feb 18, 2015
Why the mobile workplace isn't always mobile
Perkins+Will’s Janice Barnes addresses the nuance in mobility types and explains the importance of defining terms upfront.