Rick Landesberg: Design & Generosity

Pictured above is my friend & colleague, Rick Landesberg and photos of a wonderful little book that he produced called "Design & Generosity". The book was done as a remembrance of a talk that Rick gave at TEDx Leadership Pittsburgh in November of last year. The book itself is something to be cherished—a letterpress printed cover on stout recycled stock, beautiful typography and design, and hand stitched by Debra Williams, a fine artist and Office Manager at Landesberg Design in Pittsburgh.

But more than the book itself, are the ideas which Rick has captured. In Rick's 3 minute talk, (See it here on YouTube)  he is able to summarize the importance and value of a fully developed aesthetic sense in work that might be done by graphic and industrial designers. He points out that even modest objects with the most utilitarian of functions can be designed so that they are imbued with beauty as well as utility. This, as Rick defines it, is the gift that is given by the designer. He goes on to define this idea as generosity and encourages all of us who create things to invest this spirit into those things that we design. "...investing our work with a bountifulness and kindness that makes the work truly generous."

 Thank you Rick! Truly inspirational.