Author: Daniel Ortiz

In the video “Do What You’ve Never Done Before”, Paula Scher teaches us through four design projects that she was commissioned to design. What She learned from each of them. The High Line, MoMa, The Northside Pittsburgh and Metropolitan High School.

“The High line” She had to create a logo for them. She thought of a railroad and the letter H, which is the initial letter of the company, to help her come up with the logo. In my opinion it is a simple design but nevertheless it works very effectively on any platform. It works more like an icon that you can put anywhere such as: umbrellas, cups, signs, etc.

“MoMA” She explains that: “sometimes it’s not the design, it’s really the people.” She talks about how different departments don’t work together when working on a project. She believes that all departments should work as one, rather than each doing its own thing. She wanted all the designs to have consistency, like the same type, the same design, no matter what they might promote. 

The Northside Pittsburgh in particular this project. She sums it up: “The brief is wrong.” She says, sometimes you just ignore the brief and do it, especially when you don’t get paid you have nothing to lose.

Finally Metropolitan High School “Is design or Art” The last project she talks about is her design for a high school. On this specific project she decided to combine her skills in painting and her environmental graphics.They ended up painting and placing one of their paintings, which is the map of New York with zip codes in different languages. She says: Design has a purpose, art does not. For me that is the difference between art and design.  Art is free.