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The Design Entrepreneur: Turning Graphic Design Into Goods That Sell (Design Field Guide) Paperback – September 1, 2008

by Steven Heller (Author), Lita Talarico (Author)
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 20 ratings
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Designers are used to working for clients, but there is nothing better than when the client is oneself. Graphic and product designers, who are skilled with the tools and masters aesthetics, are now in the forefront of this growing entrepreneur movement.

Whether personal or collective, drive is the common denominator of all entrepreneurial pursuit; of course, then comes the brilliant idea; and finally the fervent wherewithal to make and market the result. The Design Entrepreneur is the first book to survey this new field and showcase the innovators who are creating everything from books to furniture, clothes to magazines, plates to surfboards, and more.

Through case studies with designers like Dave Eggers, Maira Kalman, Charles Spencer Anderson, Seymour Chwast, Jet Mous, Nicholas Callaway, Jordi Duró, and over thirty more from the United States and Europe, this book explores the whys, hows, and wherefores of the conception and production processes. The design entrepreneur must take the leap away from the safety of the traditional designer role into the precarious territory where the public decides what works and what doesn’t. This is the book that shows how that is accomplished.

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Previous page
  1. Part of series
    Design Field Guide
  2. Print length
    240 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Rockport Publishers
  5. Publication date
    September 1, 2008
  6. Dimensions
    7 x 1 x 10.38 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    9781592534210
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1592534210
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Steven Heller wears many hats (in addition to the New York Yankees): For 33 years he was an art director at the New York Times, originally on the OpEd Page and for almost 30 of those years with the New York Times Book Review. Currently, he is co-chair of the MFA Designer as Author Department, Special Consultant to the President of SVA for New Programs, and writes the Visuals column for the New York Times Book Review.

Lita Talarico co-chairs the MFA Designer as Author program at the School of Visual Arts, along with Steven Heller. Talarico is the former founding editor of American Illustration, was Reporter-at-Large for Graphis, and has been a director for special initiatives in design and architecture at both Purchase College, SUNY, and the Cooper Union. Talarico holds an M.F.A. in Art Criticism and Writing.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 159253421X
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Rockport Publishers; PB w/slipcase edition (September 1, 2008)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781592534210
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1592534210
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.07 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 1 x 10.38 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 20 ratings

About the author

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Steven Heller

Steven Heller

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Steven Heller, author and editor of over 130 books on graphic design, satiric art and popular culture, is the co-founder and co-chair of the MFA Designer as Author program at the School of Visual Arts, New York. He is also co-founder of the MFA in Design Criticism, MFA in Interaction Design, MFA Social Documentary Film and MPS Branding programs. Although he does not hold an undergraduate or graduate degree he has devoted much of his career to fostering design education venues, opportunities and environments.

On the editorial side, for over 40 years he has been an art director for various underground and mainstream periodicals. For 33 years he was an art director at the New York Times (28 of them as senior art director New York Times Book Review). He currently writes the “Visuals” column for the Book Review and “Graphic Content” for the T-Style/The Moment blog (http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/author/steven-heller/). He is editor of AIGA VOICE: Online Journal of Design, a contributing editor to Print, EYE, and Baseline, and a frequent contributor to Metropolis and ID magazines. He contributes regularly to Design Observer and writes the DAILY HELLER blog for Print Magazine (http://blog.printmag.com/dailyheller/). His 135 books include "Design Literacy, " "Paul Rand," "Graphic Style" (with Seymour Chwast), "Stylepedia" (with Louise Fili), "The Design Entrepreneur" and "Design School Confidential" (both with Lita Talarico), "Iron Fists: Branding the Twentieth Century Totalitarian State", and the most recent, “Born Modern: The Life and Design of Alvin Lustig.”

He is the recipient of the 1999 AIGA Medal for Lifetime Achievement. His website is www.hellerbooks.com and his blog, The Daily Heller sponsored by Print magazine is http://imprint.printmag.com/daily-heller/

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
20 global ratings
This book is for a very targeted audience
4 Stars
This book is for a very targeted audience
This is red softcover book that's housed in a black die-cut cardboard case. I wonder why the designer included the case, which has no particular use.This book is for graphic designers, specifically those who want to turn their designs into products, and product designers.There are three chapters with talking about the general process of conceptualizing an idea to selling of the product. These tips on selling the product is good to know, but they are really general. Any entrepreneurial book from the Dummies series will provide much better depth, and be a better complement to this book. Further reading on the business starting is compulsory if you're really starting a business. There are many details to take note of.If you do decide to go into creating your own product, this book offers a lot of insights. They come from more than over 60 interviews with designers who have designed and sold their own products -- they are the clients themselves.It's inspiring to read about their success stories, to learn some tips and gain some experience off them. The number of interviews ensures that most of the business aspect to be talked about, such as distribution, business strategy formulating, funding and other stuff from the perspective of a designer.I'll recommend this book to designers who are thinking of selling products designed by themselves.My rating for this book is 4-stars because it's a book targeted to a very niche market. And even so, there should be more written on challenges and obstacles. Selling isn't as simple as the examples in the book suggest.Side note - I once drew a calendar, got it bind and sold it. Only manage to sell 20 copies but it's fun. It's really hard work.(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)
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Top reviews from the United States

Xenorium
5.0 out of 5 stars Just what I needed
Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2013
Verified Purchase
I needed this book for my senior project. It's been a help in learning how to create a brand or product out of an idea. I recommend it greatly for anyone in the design field.
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Curious Epicure
4.0 out of 5 stars Good starting point for designers looking to branch out
Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2009
Verified Purchase
Designers are naturally entrepreneurial, but relatively few of them have taken that road to success. This book, co-written by the prolific design writer, Steven Heller, is a good starting point as a resource for designers who want to take that next step. In fact, I do not know of any other book which tackles this subject, so it may well be the only resource specifically for designers.

The interviews with design entrepreneurs are interesting to read, and there is much to be found in the resource section, but I feel the book falls a bit short in providing the specific information that designers truly need. For example, Chapter 2: From Idea to Product is a mere 5 pages long and amounts to a checklist. It's a good checklist, but it skimps on specifics.

The chapters of examples from designers offer some greater detail, but you have to dig through and consolidate the vital information for yourself. For instance, if a designer says that he or she first had a prototype made, that is fine to know. But it would be far more valuable to additionally learn something about the person who made the prototype, and how the designer initially found that person.

The sub-title of the book, Turning Graphic Design Into Goods That Sell, gives the impression that the book is going to help designers learn how to do that. There are some good tips, but any designer hoping to turn their ideas into products will have to go farther than this book for more specific help.

I do like this book for the inspiration it provides, as well as the list of resources at the back of the book. Heller and Talarico have included examples and interviews from a very wide swath of design styles and experiences.
One person found this helpful
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Todd L. Schofield
1.0 out of 5 stars Great title to a very disappointing book
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2010
Verified Purchase
I am a designer and have an invention that I am working on and need all the help I can get. This book was recommended in CA so I jumped at it. The bulk of the book is made up of small two page scenarios from people who have and have not succeeded in creating and marketing a product. They are asked about 7 different questions which gives very little insight on why their product is successful. (Which by the way most I have never heard of.) I would not recommend this book at all, what a disappointment.
11 people found this helpful
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Julian S.
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2015
Verified Purchase
very good item
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Philip T.
5.0 out of 5 stars Great reference
Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2015
Fantastic springboard for ideas and all things where graphic design meets commerce. Very relevant for anyone with ideas big or small.
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Parka
4.0 out of 5 stars This book is for a very targeted audience
Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2008
The media could not be loaded.
 This is red softcover book that's housed in a black die-cut cardboard case. I wonder why the designer included the case, which has no particular use.

This book is for graphic designers, specifically those who want to turn their designs into products, and product designers.

There are three chapters with talking about the general process of conceptualizing an idea to selling of the product. These tips on selling the product is good to know, but they are really general. Any entrepreneurial book from the Dummies series will provide much better depth, and be a better complement to this book. Further reading on the business starting is compulsory if you're really starting a business. There are many details to take note of.

If you do decide to go into creating your own product, this book offers a lot of insights. They come from more than over 60 interviews with designers who have designed and sold their own products -- they are the clients themselves.

It's inspiring to read about their success stories, to learn some tips and gain some experience off them. The number of interviews ensures that most of the business aspect to be talked about, such as distribution, business strategy formulating, funding and other stuff from the perspective of a designer.

I'll recommend this book to designers who are thinking of selling products designed by themselves.

My rating for this book is 4-stars because it's a book targeted to a very niche market. And even so, there should be more written on challenges and obstacles. Selling isn't as simple as the examples in the book suggest.

Side note - I once drew a calendar, got it bind and sold it. Only manage to sell 20 copies but it's fun. It's really hard work.

(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)
Customer image
Parka
4.0 out of 5 stars This book is for a very targeted audience
Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2008
This is red softcover book that's housed in a black die-cut cardboard case. I wonder why the designer included the case, which has no particular use.

This book is for graphic designers, specifically those who want to turn their designs into products, and product designers.

There are three chapters with talking about the general process of conceptualizing an idea to selling of the product. These tips on selling the product is good to know, but they are really general. Any entrepreneurial book from the Dummies series will provide much better depth, and be a better complement to this book. Further reading on the business starting is compulsory if you're really starting a business. There are many details to take note of.

If you do decide to go into creating your own product, this book offers a lot of insights. They come from more than over 60 interviews with designers who have designed and sold their own products -- they are the clients themselves.

It's inspiring to read about their success stories, to learn some tips and gain some experience off them. The number of interviews ensures that most of the business aspect to be talked about, such as distribution, business strategy formulating, funding and other stuff from the perspective of a designer.

I'll recommend this book to designers who are thinking of selling products designed by themselves.

My rating for this book is 4-stars because it's a book targeted to a very niche market. And even so, there should be more written on challenges and obstacles. Selling isn't as simple as the examples in the book suggest.

Side note - I once drew a calendar, got it bind and sold it. Only manage to sell 20 copies but it's fun. It's really hard work.

(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)
Images in this review
Customer image
Customer image
12 people found this helpful
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Kathryn Downing
2.0 out of 5 stars A nice looking book that doesn't deliver
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2009
The cover and description of this book are misleading. It claims to be about products that sell, but the many of the projects in the book make very little money, or are even losing money. Some examples are from the authors' students and I would rather read about products/projects that have been around longer and had more concrete results. The design of the book is nice, and the photos are nice. The non-interview portions of the book are very general, boring, and don't offer much practical advice. The interviews themselves give insight into the creator's thinking, but most don't address any specifics or the process they went through to get a final product. I started out trying to read the whole book, but ended up just skimming my way through most of it. Overall, I was disappointed and feel like I wasted my money on this one. If you want to read about why designers decide they want to create their own products and how happy they are (even if they don't make money at it) then this is the book for you. If you've already decided to make your own products and want specific practical advice about production, pricing, etc. look elsewhere.
22 people found this helpful
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Lisa M. Graves
4.0 out of 5 stars inspiring
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2008
This is a great book for creatives- its very inspiring and motivational (but in a good way- not a "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and gosh darn it people like me" kind of way). I love it.
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