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I just finished reading 79 Short Essays on Design by Michael Beirut, Graphic Design's unofficial spokesperson to the world. They are a collection of recently written essays from his editorial work, as well as his blog posts on Design Observer. Reading his 79 different musings on design was perhaps the most enjoyable and fulfilling experience I've had in a long time.

Not only is Michael a genius designer, a gifted writer, and an articulate thinker, but he's also just plain smart; his writings rarely go longer than one spread in this standard-ish novel-sized book, but each writing nugget really packs a whollop. He manages to cover politics, architecture, exercise on a treadmill, and of course, designer's neurotic obsessions with their overblown nonsense. His insights are lucid and keen; Beirut is a grounded and down-to-earth designer who has been around the block a few times, worked with enormous clients (most recently on the redesign for Saks Fifth Avenue), and seen (almost) everything. He's well-read and well-cultured. His reflections and musings in 79 are all a product of that rich, dimensional personality.

When Beirut cuts Carson a new one, or even at times my hero Tibor, he does so with the grace of a diplomat. When he hails the genius of Bruce McCall or Fred Marcellino, a wave of energy and excitement rushed through me; he inspires passion. In fact, I'll go as far as saying that Beirut's 79 essays is as important as any work of Caplan or Papanak, and just as well written and inspirational as the fine art criticism and reflection of Lawrence Weschler.

The book itself is proof of the power of design; there is something infinitely more precious and sacred about the word on a printed page than on a back-lit LCD panel. Furthermore, each of the 79 essays is set in a different font, with clear wit in the selection (an essay on a former diplomat's telegram is set in Courier's familiar typewriter style, and a reflection on Barbara Kruger is set in her iconic zippy Futura Extra Bold Italic.) But to give credit where it is due, Abbott Miller is responsible for the design. Regardless, the book has also proven effective as a design reference tool, and I have picked two fonts from the book's essays to use with my current clients.

The second blog I ever posted on this site was called Images vs. Words- I Choose Words, an argument that contradicted the very profession which subsidizes my life. But reading Beirut reinforced my conviction on the matter. No matter how powerful an image can be, a word will always win. Words create infinitely more images in the brain than a photo's lusciousness can compete with. 79, in the course of it's 246 pages, managed to challenge me, anger me, rattle me, and made me laugh. It touched my heart. And that's something that even Sagmeister would agree on: graphic design rarely touches the heart. Bravo, Mr. Beirut. You are a gift to the design community and the corporate world.

Go out and buy the dang book, cozy up, and savor it. It's a beautiful thing.