Bruce Mau describes his studio as a "multi-disciplinary think tank where designers, artists and architects, curators, filmmakers and writers collaborate ..." In interviews and in his own writings, Mau rarely alludes overtly to nuts-and-bolts design issues such as typography, page design, color, and proportion. Instead, his work critically engages what he calls the "global image economy": a new world order characterized by the impact of sophisticated reproduction technology, the proliferation of logos and printed advertisements, digitally manipulated imagery, celebrity culture, and electronic commerce, among other late-twentieth-century phenomena. This book begins with a one-page text titled "Styling Life: Declaration," which succinctly defines the firm's approach and includes the statement, "Here we accept the accidents, the encounters, the interruptions and the failures of design practice along with its successes and elations." Daily experience and direct engagement with the often unstable world around us inform his work more so than theory; in effect, design for Mau is something one lives -- a life style -- rather than something one does. Text forms the armature of the book and traverses a variety of subjects germane to contemporary design culture; project documentation is inserted between the essays. The book has a tripartite structure based on the themes Life Theories (essays, credos, declarations), Life Projects (studio work from Bruce Mau Design), and Life Stories (Bruce Mau's personal anecdotes, musings, and reminiscences; memorable moments in his career). The individual texts and project documentation that make up these three sections are interwoven throughout the book instead of falling sequentially in linear fashion. Readers may move, for example, from an essay on typography to a story about meeting John Cage, to a project presentation for Zone Books.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Bruce Mau and associates give us an in depth view into the workings of their own design practice, covering work in a variety of areas.
A volume similar in size and scope to "S,M,L,XL" (beware the P&P on this one), "Life Style" is a must for anyone interested in peeling back the surface of advertising, graphics, architecture, book design and more. Considerable insight and candour reveal the thinking behind commercial pitches and more personal projects alike. Simple language is used to explain the meanings and convey the importance of each design aspect, so if you don't consider yourself a theorist, don't be put off. This really is a fascinating behind the scenes look at modern image culture, addressing the issues of our saturated global hyper-culture in layman's terms - and if all else fails there's some great pictures too.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars
9 reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thoughtful and imaginative
12 Aug 2001
By Philippe Vandenbroeck
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Working as a management consultant I'm often turned off by the staleness of much of the current management literature. The design community is a much more sensitive antenna as to what is happening in the world today.
Bruce Mau's Life Style is an imaginative survey of how the world is being transformed under the inexorable impetus of global capitalism. It is not a dispassionate account: basically Mau is trying to show us how he is dealing with a very fundamental existential dilemma. Because, as a successful designer, Mau is part of the system - developing and spreading the lingua franca of a global economy. At the same time he is rebelling against the pervasive homogenisation of our image culture: "We should not forget that the com after the dot is short for commercial. Must we define every gesture and possibility within this envelope? Is it not our role to imagine new futures more rich and complex and wild in their style than any single framework can accomodate?"
Yhe book is a captivating mix of artwork and short insightful essays. Sanford Kwinter's introductory three-page essay alone is worth the price of the book. I gather this book will be very influential in the years to come.
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
oma envy, or bruce erases rem's name (again)
30 July 2001
By richard winchell
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Here's the thing: Bruce Mau is a very good designer. His office turns out a lot of very refined objects, this monograph included. That said, this book is probably twice as big as it ought to be. It seems to me as though BMD wants to be more like OMA; "S,M,L,XL" was one of the best architectural books ever, and its heft reinforced the work being shown within it. "Life Style" is just big for the sake of being big. Well, as well as being self-indulgent. Because graphic designers are not asked to be deep thinkers, and most of their attempts at same do not fare very well. Bruce Mau really wants to be considered as an equal to the deep thinkers, and he just isn't. He's just a (very) good designer.
Buy it anyway. It's got too much good work inside to ignore, but keep some salt handy.
(p.s. indigo.ca was allowing people to choose their cover; they may still be doing that)
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Overproduced
12 Jan 2001
By Max Fenton
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
The Bruce Mau Life Style clearly intends to brand the man behind the firm, thought the work is a corporate product. The Romantic artis-genius may be dead, but the irony of the book is its insistence on Bruce Mau as just that.
The inspirational tome (or semi-manifesto) is a beautiful object on par with the Tolleson book (Soak Wash Rinse Spin) and leagues beyond Cahan's I Am Almost Always Hungry.
In all, this is an overhyped, well-made product, worth seeing/having as an object of production.
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4.2 out of 5 stars
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