Stefan Sagmeister

Today is better. A perforated slipcase with shiny silver lettering, containing a 240–page book with thread stitching and an open spine – a book that makes designers’ hearts beat faster with its look and feel alone. In 2024, every employee of VISUELL will receive this book as a birthday present. Was everything really better in the past? Stefan Sagmeister gets to the bottom of this question in "Heute ist besser".
Stefan Sagmeister is a renowned Austrian graphic designer and typographer who is particularly known for his unconventional and visionary design approaches. His style is characterised by a love of experimentation, typographic precision and provocative, often surprising elements.
With his design studio Sagmeister Inc. in New York City, he implements a wide range of design projects – from documentary films to exhibitions and furniture. Among his best-known works is “The Happy Show” an exhibition about his ten-year investigation into happiness.
Since 2012, Sagmeister has been working with US designer Jessica Walsh under the name Sagmeister & Walsh. In the exhibition “Beauty”, they examine why people are attracted to beauty and what positive effects beauty can have.
"Beauty matters!" The concept of beauty runs through Sagmeister’s work. He argues that beauty is not only subjective, but is deeply rooted in human perception. He criticises the modern design world for often prioritising functionality over aesthetics and emphasises that beauty plays an essential role in well-being and quality of life. Based on scientific findings, he demonstrates that aesthetically pleasing design can have positive emotional and psychological effects. With this philosophy, Stefan Sagmeister has made a lasting impact on the world of design.
For his project “Today is better”, Sagmeister researches historical and current facts about the state of the world and juxtaposes them. In doing so, he deals with complex social issues and long-term developments. The data he collects on topics such as equality, pandemics and infant mortality leads him to a clear realisation: “the world is better than it thinks!”
Sagmeister transforms these robust figures into expressive infographics. He uses auctioned oil paintings from a supposedly better time as a canvas for his data visualisations. With his innovative infographics, Sagmeister makes the positive developments in our world visible.
With his book, Stefan Sagmeister goes against the spirit of the times. He invites us to discover these "beautiful numbers" and to look to the future with optimism. His data visualisations are art that encourages us.