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
Office Buildings | Mar 21, 2024
BOMA updates floor measurement standard for office buildings
The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International has released its latest floor measurement standard for office buildings, BOMA 2024 for Office Buildings – ANSI/BOMA Z65.1-2024.
Healthcare Facilities | Mar 18, 2024
A modular construction solution to the mental healthcare crisis
Maria Ionescu, Senior Medical Planner, Stantec, shares a tested solution for the overburdened emergency department: Modular hub-and-spoke design.
Codes and Standards | Mar 18, 2024
New urban stormwater policies treat rainwater as a resource
U.S. cities are revamping how they handle stormwater to reduce flooding and capture rainfall and recharge aquifers. New policies reflect a change in mindset from treating stormwater as a nuisance to be quickly diverted away to capturing it as a resource.
Plumbing | Mar 18, 2024
EPA to revise criteria for WaterSense faucets and faucet accessories
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to revise its criteria for faucets and faucet accessories to earn the WaterSense label. The specification launched in 2007; since then, most faucets now sold in the U.S. meet or exceed the current WaterSense maximum flow rate of 1.5 gallons per minute (gpm).
MFPRO+ New Projects | Mar 18, 2024
Luxury apartments in New York restore and renovate a century-old residential building
COOKFOX Architects has completed a luxury apartment building at 378 West End Avenue in New York City. The project restored and renovated the original residence built in 1915, while extending a new structure east on West 78th Street.
Multifamily Housing | Mar 18, 2024
YWCA building in Boston’s Back Bay converted into 210 affordable rental apartments
Renovation of YWCA at 140 Clarendon Street will serve 111 previously unhoused families and individuals.
Healthcare Facilities | Mar 17, 2024
5 criteria to optimize medical office design
Healthcare designers need to consider privacy, separate areas for practitioners, natural light, outdoor spaces, and thoughtful selection of materials for medical office buildings.
Construction Costs | Mar 15, 2024
Retail center construction costs for 2024
Data from Gordian shows the most recent costs per square foot for restaurants, social clubs, one-story department stores, retail stores and movie theaters in select cities.
Architects | Mar 15, 2024
4 ways to streamline your architectural practice
Vessel Architecture's Lindsay Straatmann highlights four habits that have helped her discover the key to mastering efficiency as an architect.
Healthcare Facilities | Mar 15, 2024
First comprehensive cancer hospital in Dubai to host specialized multidisciplinary care
Stantec was selected to lead the design team for the Hamdan Bin Rashid Cancer Hospital, Dubai’s first integrated, comprehensive cancer hospital. Named in honor of the late Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the hospital is scheduled to open to patients in 2026.