Lawrence Azerrad

Lawrence Azerrad makes me want to enter the graphic design field in a heartbeat. He has been able to work with such huge musicians like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Wilco, and RAC and foundations like The Clinton Foundation. It would be such an honor to work with those clients and to see your design on the face of those titles. Azerrad's designs are very simple yet eye catching and modern -- traits that I hope to achieve in my own work.
Lawrence spoke about many things that I have never really though about. He talked about how making art about music is more abstract because essentially, he's making art about art, which he describes is like making art about someone else's soul. This was such an interesting outlook. He also stated that album covers are cultural markers, which I agree with 100 percent. Art is a stamp of the time period in which it was made in, and it's fascinating to me how a design can capture so much. Another topic he touched on was how once your artwork is done and brought out into the world, it's no longer yours. It becomes something that everyone can relate to in their own way, and everyone has a different interpretation of a piece of art that used to have one interpretation--the artist's.
This was an eye opening speech to listen to, and I hope to research Azerrad more thoroughly!

Lawrence Azerrad

I had never heard of Lawrence Azerrad before hearing him speak a few weeks ago, but I am glad I went.  His work was interesting, as was his background in Los Angeles.  What really peaked my interest though was his work with different bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers in designing their album covers.  As a design student, album artwork and branding is something I am extremely into and something I would like to pursue in my future, so seeing someone who turned that into a career was both inspiring and showed what you can do with that line of work.  His work about regarding that retro jet plane was crazy too, I didn't know something along those lines ever existed.

Every once in a while we are presented with the rare opportunity to see things differently. AIGA LA is proud to present that opportunity. We invite you to an evening with Michael Bierut, famed designer and Pentagram partner. It has been 10 years since Bierut was last in LA sharing his invaluable lessons and profound insights on design and his experience as a designer. On April 19th, Bierut will finally share with us again in his talk titled “Learning on the Job: 10 Lessons from 35 Years in Design”. Join us for an event that you simply can’t miss.

Food will be catered by Bon Mélange Catering.

Artwork design by Ayn Roberts.

Tickets
$15 for AIGA Student Members
$20 for AIGA Members
$30 for Non-Student Members
$35 for Non-Members
(+$5 at the door)

This event will sell out fast, and only a limited number of tickets will be available at the door. There are no cancellations or refunds.

AIGA Members: Remember to bring your AIGA Membership ID card to the event. You’ll receive a lanyard for your AIGA ID at the AIGA Members-Only check-in table. This will be your name tag for the event.

Speaker
Michael Bierut, Partner of Pentagram Design
Michael Bierut studied graphic design at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, graduating summa cum laude in 1980.  Prior to joining Pentagram in 1990 as a partner in the firm’s New York office, he worked for ten years at Vignelli Associates, ultimately as vice president of graphic design. 

His clients at Pentagram have included The New York Times, Saks Fifth Avenue, The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Harley-Davidson, The Museum of Arts and Design, United Airlines, The William Jefferson Clinton Foundation, Mohawk Paper Mills, New World Symphony, Princeton University, the New York Jets, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Morgan Library and Museum.

He has won hundreds of design awards and his work is represented in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Montreal.  He has served as president of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) from 1988 to 1990 and is president emeritus of AIGA National.  He also serves as on the boards of the Architectural League of New York and New Yorkers for Parks.  Michael was elected to the Alliance Graphique Internationale in 1989, to the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame in 2003, and was awarded the profession’s highest honor, the AIGA Medal, in 2006. In 2008, he was named winner in the Design Mind category of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards.

Michael is a Senior Critic in Graphic Design at the Yale School of Art, and a Senior Faculty Fellow at the Yale School of Management. He writes frequently about design and is the co-editor of the five-volume series Looking Closer: Critical Writings on Graphic published by Allworth Press. His commentaries about graphic design in everyday life have been heard nationally on the Public Radio International program “Studio 360” and his appearance in Helvetica: A Documentary Film is considered by many that movie’s funniest moment. Michael is a co-founder of the weblog DesignObserver.com, and his book 79 Short Essays on Design was published in 2007 by Princeton Architectural Press.

Parking Details
Metered street parking is on Main St. and Spring St. Lotted and garage parking is also available. Please allow ample time for parking.

The Downtown Independent is a short 5 blocks from Pershing Square and Civic Center Metro Rail Stops. To find the route that’s best for you, use the Metro Trip Planner or contact Metro at (323) GO METRO.

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