ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Michael Bierut - Designer, critic
Michael Bierut is a partner in the New York office of Pentagram, a founder of Design Observer and a teacher at Yale School of Art and Yale School of Management.

Why you should listen

Michael Bierut studied graphic design at the University of Cincinnati's College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, graduating summa cum laude in 1980. Prior to joining Pentagram in 1990 as a partner in the firm's New York office, he worked for ten years at Vignelli Associates, ultimately as vice president of graphic design.

His projects at Pentagram have included work for the New York Times, Saks Fifth Avenue, The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Harley-Davidson, The Museum of Arts and Design, Mastercard, the New York City Department of Transportation, the Robin Hood Foundation, Mohawk Paper Mills, New World Symphony, the New York Jets, the Brooklyn Academy of Music and MIT Media Lab. As a volunteer to Hillary for America, he created the ubiquitous H logo that was used throughout the 2016 presidential campaign.

He has won hundreds of design awards and his work is represented in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Montreal. He served as president of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) from 1988 to 1990 and is president emeritus of AIGA National. Bierut was elected to the Alliance Graphique Internationale in 1989, to the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame in 2003, and was awarded the profession’s highest honor, the AIGA Medal, in 2006. In 2008, he was named winner in the Design Mind category of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards. In spring 2016, Bierut was appointed the Henry Wolf Graphic Designer in Residence at the American Academy in Rome.

Bierut is a senior critic in graphic design at the Yale School of Art and a lecturer at the Yale School of Management. He writes frequently about design and is the co-editor of the five-volume series Looking Closer: Critical Writings on Graphic Design published by Allworth Press. In 2002, Bierut co-founded Design Observer, a blog of design and cultural criticism which now features podcasts on design, popular culture, and business.

Bierut's book 79 Short Essays on Design was published in 2007 by Princeton Architectural Press. A monograph on his work, How to use graphic design to sell things, explain things, make things look better, make people laugh, make people cry and (every once in a while) change the world, was published in 2015 by Thames & Hudson and Harper Collins. This accompanied the first retrospective exhibition of his work, part of the School of Visual Art's Masters Series, which was on view at the SVA Chelsea Gallery in New York City for five weeks in autumn 2015. His next book, Now You See It, is due out from Princeton Architectural Press this fall. 


More profile about the speaker
Michael Bierut | Speaker | TED.com
TEDNYC

Michael Bierut: How to design a library that makes kids want to read

Michael Bierut: 點樣設計一個令小朋友想睇書嘅圖書館

Filmed:
1,850,983 views

Michael Bierut 受邀去為公立學校圖書館設計標誌嗰時,佢完全冇諗到呢個項目會需要佢咁多時間同心血。Michael Bierut 幽默風趣咁回憶佢點樣將能量、學習、美術,同平面設計帶入學校圖書館,使到未來更多讀者受到敫啟發。
- Designer, critic
Michael Bierut is a partner in the New York office of Pentagram, a founder of Design Observer and a teacher at Yale School of Art and Yale School of Management. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

有樣嘢叫做意外結果定律
00:12
So there's this thing called
the law法律 of unintended意外 consequences後果.
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00:17
I thought it was just like a saying,
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我以為佢係個傳說
00:19
but it actually講真 exists存在, I guess.
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其實,佢真係存在
00:20
There's, like, academic學術 papers文件 about it.
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仲有人寫關於佢嘅學術論文
我係個設計師
00:23
And I'm a designer設計師.
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00:24
I don't like unintended意外 consequences後果.
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我唔鍾意意外嘅結果
00:27
People hire me because they have
consequences後果 that they really intend打算,
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啲客戶請我
因為佢哋要喺控制範圍以內
達到佢哋要嘅嘅效果
00:31
and what they intend打算 is for me
to help them achieve實現 those consequences後果.
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00:35
So I live in fear恐懼
of unintended意外 consequences後果.
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所以我好怕失控
同意外嘅結果
00:38
And so this is a story故事 about
consequences後果 intended打算 and unintended意外.
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呢個故事係關於
預期同意外嘅效果
00:44
I got called by an organization組織
called Robin罗宾 Hood
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有個叫羅賓漢嘅機構揾到我
00:47
to do a favor for them.
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叫我幫手
00:48
Robin罗宾 Hood is based基於 in New新增功能 York約克,
a wonderful美妙 philanthropic慈善 organization組織
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羅賓漢,如同其名
00:52
that does what it says in the name名字.
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係一個喺紐約嘅好正嘅慈善機構
00:54
They take from rich豐富 people,
give it to poor可憐 people.
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佢哋摞富濟貧
00:56
In this case情況下, what they wanted to benefit效益
was the New新增功能 York約克 City城市 school學校 system系統,
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今次,佢哋想幫助紐約嘅公立學校系統
01:01
a huge巨大 enterprise企業 that educates教育
more than a million students學生 at a time,
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一個每年負責教育
過百萬嘅學生嘅龐大嘅機構
01:07
and in buildings建築 that are like this one,
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啲教學樓就係噉樣
01:09
old buildings建築, big buildings建築,
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又大又舊
01:11
drafty通風 buildings建築, sometimes有時 buildings建築
that are in disrepair失修,
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漏風,年久失修
01:14
certainly梗係 buildings建築
that could use a renovation改造.
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好需要修理
01:17
Robin罗宾 Hood had this ambition野心
to improve提高 these buildings建築 in some way,
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羅賓漢嘅本意係想改善下哋樓房
01:20
but what they realized實現 was
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但係佢哋意識到
01:21
to fix修復 the buildings建築 would be
too expensive昂貴 and impractical不切實際.
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成棟樓咁修不但止貴,而且唔現實
01:26
So instead相反 they tried試過 to figure out
what one room間房 they could go into
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所以,佢哋諗不如
01:30
in each每個 of these buildings建築,
in as many好多 buildings建築 that they could,
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每棟樓翻修一間房
01:33
and fix修復 that one room間房
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盡量多整幾棟樓
01:36
so that they could improve提高
the lives生活 of the children孩子 inside
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咁樣,佢哋可以改善
01:39
as they were studying研究.
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啲細路嘅學習環境
01:40
And what they came up with
was the school學校 library圖書館,
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於是,佢哋決定翻修每個學校嘅圖書館
01:43
and they came up with this idea想法
called the Library圖書館 Initiative主動.
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就係「圖書館計劃」
01:46
All the students學生
have to pass透過 through透過 the library圖書館.
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所有學生都去過圖書館
01:48
That's where the books are.
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一個有好多書嘅地方
01:49
That's where the heart
and soul靈魂 of the school學校 is.
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係學校嘅心臟同靈魂所在
01:52
So let's fix修復 these libraries圖書館.
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好,我哋去翻新圖書館喇
01:53
So they did this wonderful美妙 thing
where they brought in
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佢哋嘅計劃好正,請咗十,二十
01:56
first 10, then 20, then more architects建築師,
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然後更多嘅建築師嚟
01:59
each每個 one of whom边个 was assigned分配 a library圖書館
to rethink反思 what a library圖書館 was.
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一人重新設計一個圖書館
02:03
They trained訓練 special特殊 librarians圖書館員.
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佢哋仲培訓特殊嘅圖書管理員
02:05
So they started初時 this mighty強大 enterprise企業
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成個事業好宏大
02:07
to reform改革 public公眾 schools學校
by improving提高 these libraries圖書館.
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改革公立學校,從圖書館做起
02:10
Then they called me up and they said,
"Could you make a little contribution貢獻?"
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佢揾到我,問:「可唔可以幫手?」
02:13
I said, "Sure, what do you want me to do?"
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我話:「冇問題,你要我做咩?」
02:16
And they said, "Well, we want you
to be the graphic圖形 designer設計師
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佢哋話:「呃,我哋要你
02:18
in charge負責 of the whole整個 thing."
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做成個平面設計嘅總監。」
02:20
And so I thought, I know what that means意味着.
That means意味着 I get to design設計 a logo標誌.
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我就諗
收到,設計一個標誌
02:23
I know how to design設計 that. I design設計 logos標誌.
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我知掂做,我做呢行嘅
02:26
That's what people come to me for.
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人哋就係揾我做呢個嘅
02:27
So OK, let's design設計 a logo標誌 for this thing.
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好,設計標誌
02:29
Easy容易 to do, actually講真,
compared比較 with architecture建築
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其容易過起建築
02:32
and being a librarian圖書館員.
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或者管理圖書館
02:33
Just do a logo標誌, make a contribution貢獻,
and then you're out,
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設計完個標誌,我就走得
02:36
and you feel really good about yourself自己.
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仲好有自豪感
02:38
And I'm a great guy and I like to feel
good about myself自己 when I do these favors.
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我係個好人,幫到人時我好高興
02:41
So I thought, let's overdeliver超賣.
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我諗,不如超越客戶要求
02:43
I'm going to give you three logos標誌,
all based基於 on this one idea想法.
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一個理念,三個標誌
02:46
So you have three options選項,
pick選擇 any of the three.
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任你揀
02:48
They're all great, I said.
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我同啲客仔講,個個設計都好正
02:50
So the basic基本 idea想法 was
these would be new新增功能 school學校 libraries圖書館
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基本理念係
為紐約嘅學校設計嘅
02:53
for New新增功能 York約克 schools學校,
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新嘅學校圖書館
02:54
and so the idea想法 is that it's a new新增功能 thing,
a new新增功能 idea想法 that needs需要 a new新增功能 name名字.
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新生事物,就要有個新名
02:58
What I wanted to do was dispel消除 the idea想法
that these were musty發霉 old libraries圖書館,
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我唔想啲人認為
係圖書館都又老又舊
03:03
the kind一種 of places地方
that everyone個個都 is bored無聊 with,
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睇到都好悶嗰種
03:07
you know, not your grandparents'祖父母 library圖書館.
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你知喇,老一脫人用嘅嗰種圖書館
03:09
Don't worry about that at all.
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完全唔係咁
03:10
This is going to this new新增功能, exciting令人興奮 thing,
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呢個係一個令人振奮嘅新事物
03:13
not a boring無聊 library圖書館.
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唔係無聊嘅圖書館
03:14
So option選項 number數量 one:
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所以,方案一:
03:15
so instead相反 of thinking思維 of it as a library圖書館,
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唔好當呢個地方係圖書館
03:18
think of it as a place地方 where it is like:
do talk, do make loud大聲 noises噪音.
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而當佢係自由傾偈
同發聲嘅地方
03:22
Right? So no shushing舒什,
it's like a shush-free冇噓 zone.
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冇人可以噓你
03:26
We're going to call it the Reading閲讀 Room間房.
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呢個地方就叫閱讀室
03:28
That was option選項 number數量 one.
OK, option選項 number數量 two.
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然後第二個方案
03:31
Option選項 number數量 two was, wait for it,
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睇住啦
03:35
OWL貓頭鷹.
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OWL
03:36
I'll meet滿足 you at OWL貓頭鷹.
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我哋喺 OWL 見啦
03:37
I'm getting得到 my book from the OWL貓頭鷹.
Meet滿足 you after school學校 down at OWL貓頭鷹.
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我去 OWL 摞書
放學我喺 OWL 等你
03:41
I like that, right?
Now, what does OWL貓頭鷹 stand for?
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我好鍾意呢個
OWL 係咩?
03:43
Well, it could be One World世界 Library圖書館,
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可以係 「一個世界圖書館「」嘅簡寫
03:45
or it could be Open打開. Wonder. Learn學習.
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亦可以解做開放 、好奇,同學習
03:48
Or it could be -- and I figure librarians圖書館員
could figure out other things it could be
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其他解法就留畀啲圖書管理員諗喇
03:52
because they know about words的話.
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佢哋識咁多字
03:54
So other things, right?
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仲有咩?
03:55
And then look at this.
It's like the eye眼睛 of the owl貓頭鷹.
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佢似唔似隻貓頭鷹嘅眼?
03:57
This is irresistible不可抗拒 in my opinion意見.
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我覺得你係冇辦法抗拒呢個設計
03:59
But there's even another另一個 idea想法.
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仲有
04:01
Option選項 number數量 three.
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方案三
04:02
Option選項 number數量 three
was based基於 actually講真 on language語言.
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其實係個文字遊戲
04:04
It's the idea想法 that "read"
is the past過去 tense緊張 of "read,"
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靈感來自英文
「閱讀」嘅現在式同過去式一樣嘅拼法
04:08
and they're both spelled拼寫 the same相同 way.
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而「閱讀」嘅過去式又同「紅色」同音
04:10
So why don't we call
this place地方 The Red Zone?
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不如叫圖書館做「紅區」?
04:13
I'll meet滿足 you at the Red Zone.
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喺「紅區」見喇
04:14
Are you Red? Get Red.
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你「讀」咗未?
紅咯!
04:17
I'm well Red.
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我好「紅」!
04:19
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
04:20
I really loved this idea想法,
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我好鍾意呢個諗法
04:21
and I somehow無論如何 was not focused集中 on the idea想法
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但係我就冇考慮到
04:24
that librarians圖書館員 as a class are sort排序 of
interested興趣 in spelling拼寫 and I don't know.
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啲圖書管理員
其實都好肉緊啲拼同寫
04:30
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
04:31
But sometimes有時 cleverness
is more important重要 than spelling拼寫,
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但係有時創意緊要過拼寫
04:35
and I thought this would be
one of those instances實例.
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好似宜家咁
04:37
So usually通常 when I make these presentations介紹
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我畀客戶睇我嘅設計時
04:39
I say there's just one question個問題
and the question個問題 should be,
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通常客戶只有一個問題,就係:
04:42
"How can I thank you, Mike迈克?"
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「Mike,我要點多謝你先得?」
04:44
But in this case情況下,
the question個問題 was more like,
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不過今次,個客嘅問題係:
04:46
"Um, are you kidding講笑?"
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「呃,你講笑啊?」
04:49
Because, they said,
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佢哋話
04:50
the premise前提 of all this work
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我嘅設計前提係
04:52
was that kids孩子 were bored無聊
with old libraries圖書館, musty發霉 old libraries圖書館.
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啲細路已經好厭呢啲
04:56
They were tired of them.
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又老又舊嘅圖書館
04:57
And instead相反, they said, these kids孩子
have never really seen看到 a library圖書館.
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但其實窮學校嘅細路從來都
未見過真正嘅圖書館
05:01
The school學校 libraries圖書館 in these schools學校
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窮學校嘅圖書館
05:02
are really so dilapidated破舊,
if they're there at all,
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好舊好爛
05:06
that they haven't bored無聊 anyone任何人.
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有啲學校甚至冇圖書館
05:08
They haven't even been there
to bore anyone任何人 at all.
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所以啲細路俾圖書館煩嘅機會都冇
05:11
So the idea想法 was, just forget唔記得
about giving it a new新增功能 name名字.
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所以,我冇需要起個新名
05:14
Just call it, one last try, a library圖書館.
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叫圖書館就得
05:18
Right? OK.
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係咁
05:20
So I thought, OK, give it a little oomph魅力?
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於是我諗,得,不如加小小新意?
05:23
Exclamation驚嘆號 pointD?
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加個感嘆號?
05:24
Then -- this is because I'm clever --
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然後,我幾鬼馬嘎
05:26
move移動 that into the "i,"
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我將個「 i 」變成感嘆號
05:28
make it red,
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同變成紅色
05:30
and there you have it,
the Library圖書館 Initiative主動.
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搞掂:「圖書館計劃」
05:32
So I thought, mission任務 accomplished完成,
there's your logo標誌.
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我諗,搞掂喇
05:34
So what's interesting有趣 about this logo標誌,
an unintended意外 consequence後果,
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呢個標誌嘅意外嘅效果
05:37
was that it turned打開 out that
they didn't really even need my design設計
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就係,根本唔使我嚟設計
05:41
because you could type類型 it any font字體,
you could write it by hand,
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電腦都可以打印,手寫又得
05:44
and when they started初時
sending發送 emails電子郵件 around,
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佢哋寫電郵時開始咁寫添
05:46
they just would use Shift轉變 and 1,
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用 Shift 同 1
05:47
they'd佢地會 get their佢哋 own自己 logo標誌
just right out of the thing.
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就打出嚟喇
05:50
And I thought, well, that's fine.
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我諗,都幾好
05:52
Feel free自由 to use that logo標誌.
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隨便用喇
05:53
And then I embarked已啟動
on the real真正 rollout推出 of this thing --
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然後就真係要推出呢個標誌
05:56
working工作 with every one of the architects建築師
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我同每一個建築師合作
05:58
to put this logo標誌 on the front前面 door
of their佢哋 own自己 library圖書館. Right?
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將個標誌放喺個門度
06:02
So here's呢度有 the big rollout推出.
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先前,羅賓漢係我個客
06:03
Basically基本上 I'd work
with different不同 architects建築師.
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宜家我同啲建築師合作
06:06
First Robin罗宾 Hood was my client客戶.
Now these architects建築師 were my client客戶.
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佢哋每一個都係我嘅客
06:09
I'd say, "Here's呢度有 your logo標誌.
Put it on the door."
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我話: 「嗱,
畀你個標誌,放喺個門度。」
06:11
"Here's呢度有 your logo標誌. Put it on both doors."
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「畀你個標誌,一幢門一個。」
06:13
"Here's呢度有 your logo標誌.
Put it off to the side一邊."
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「摞住個標誌,放喺旁邊。」
06:15
"Here's呢度有 your logo標誌
repeated重複 all over to the top返回頁首."
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「 畀個標誌你,喺上面放一排。」
06:17
So everything was going swimmingly游得好好.
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做得好順利
06:19
I just was saying,
"Here's呢度有 your logo標誌. Here's呢度有 your logo標誌."
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我就話:「畀你個標誌你。」
06:22
Then I got a call
from one of the architects建築師,
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然後有個叫理查 .劉易斯嘅建築師
06:24
a guy named Richard理查德 Lewis李维士,
and he says, "I've got a problem個問題.
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打電話畀我:「我有個問題。
06:27
You're the graphics圖形 guy.
Can you solve解決 it?"
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你係平面設計師
可唔可以幫手?」
06:29
And I said, OK, sure."
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我話:「好。」
06:30
And he said, "The problem個問題 is
that there's a space空間
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佢話:「問題就係,
06:33
between之間 the shelf貨架 and the ceiling天花板."
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啲書櫃頂同天花板有啲空間。」
06:35
So that sounds聽上去 like
an architectural建築 issue個問題 to me,
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聽落好似個建築上嘅問題
唔係平面設計
06:37
not a graphic圖形 design設計 issue個問題,
so I'm, "Go on."
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嘅問題,我就話:「繼續講。」
06:39
And Richard理查德 says, "Well,
the top返回頁首 shelf貨架 has to be low enough
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理查話:「嗰啲書櫃唔可以起得太高,
06:43
for the kid孩子 to reach達到 it,
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太高嘅話,啲細路就摞唔到啲書。
06:44
but I'm in a big old building建築,
and the ceilings天花板 are really high,
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我負責嘅大樓嘅天花板高,
06:47
so actually講真 I've got
all this space空間 up there
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所以書櫃同天花板之間就有好多空白。
06:49
and I need something like a mural壁畫."
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我需要啲壁畫嚟填呢個空間。」
06:51
And I'm like, "Whoa,
you know, I'm a logo標誌 designer設計師.
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我話:「哇,我設計標誌嘅,
06:54
I'm not Diego迭戈 Rivera里維拉 or something.
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我唔係迭戈裡維拉,
06:56
I'm not a muralist穆勒斯特."
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壁畫我唔得啵。」
06:58
And so he said, "But can't you
think of anything?"
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佢話:「咁你可唔可以幫手度下橋?」
07:00
So I said, "OK, what if we just
took pictures圖片 of the kids孩子 in the school學校
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我話:「不如影學生相,
07:05
and just put them around
the top返回頁首 of the thing,
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將啲相放大,貼上個空間,
07:08
and maybe that could work."
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可能得。」
07:09
And my wife妻子 is a photographer攝影師,
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我太太係攝影師
07:11
and I said, "Dorothy多蘿西, there's no budget預算,
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我同佢講:「多羅西,我哋冇錢,
07:13
can you come to this school學校
in east New新增功能 York約克, take these pictures圖片?"
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你可唔可以嚟呢間學校
幫手影相?」
07:16
And she did,
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佢去咗
07:17
and if you go in Richard's理查嘅 library圖書館,
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宜家你去理查德嘅圖書館
07:19
which is one of the first that opened打開,
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佢是最早重新開放嘅圖書館之一
07:21
it has this glorious光榮 frieze弗里泽
of, like, the heroes英雄 of the school學校,
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佢有好靚嘅雕帶
好似學校嘅大英雄
07:24
oversized大號, looking down
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居高臨下
07:26
into the little dollhouse娃娃屋
of the real真正 library圖書館, right?
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望住個圖書館
07:29
And the kids孩子 were great,
hand-selected手工挑選 by the principals校長
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啲細路係校長
07:32
and the librarian圖書館員.
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同圖書館長欽點嘅
07:34
It just kind一種 of created創建
this heroic英雄 atmosphere氣氛 in this library圖書館,
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使到個圖書館好有英雄氣氛
07:37
this very dignified四正 setting設置 below下面
and the joy喜悅 of the children孩子 above以上.
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上邊莊重,下邊有細路嘅喜悅
07:41
So naturally自然 all the other librarians圖書館員
in the other schools學校 see this
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其他圖書館嘅館長
睇度呢個之後話
07:45
and they said, well, we want murals壁畫 too.
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我哋都要壁畫
07:47
And I'm like, OK.
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於是我話,冇問題
07:48
So then I think, well,
it can't be the same相同 mural壁畫 every time,
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但係我又諗,啲壁畫個個一樣唔得
07:51
so Dorothy多蘿西 did another另一個 one,
and then she did another另一個 one,
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於是多羅西整個新嘅,又再整一個
07:54
but then we needed需要 more help,
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我哋搞唔掂,需要揾人幫手
07:56
so I called an illustrator插畫 I knew
named Lynn林恩 Pauley保利,
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我打電話畀一個
叫 Lynn Pauley 嘅插圖家
07:59
and Lynn林恩 did these beautiful
paintings of the kids孩子.
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佢畫嘅細蚊仔嘅畫好靚
08:02
Then I called a guy named Charles查尔斯 Wilkin威尔金
at a place地方 called Automatic自動 Design設計.
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我打電話畀 Automatic Design 嘅
Charles Wilkin
08:06
He did these amazing驚人 collages拼貼.
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佢做咗啲令人嘆為觀止嘅拼圖
08:08
We had Rafael拉斐尔 Esquer埃斯基尔
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我哋請咗 Rafael Esquer
08:11
do these great silhouettes輪廓.
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嚟做啲獨具一格嘅剪影
08:13
He would work with the kids孩子,
asking問吓 for words的話,
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佢叫啲細蚊仔畀啲生字佢
08:15
and then based基於 on those prompts貼士,
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然後以呢啲生字為基礎
08:17
come up with this little,
delirious德德里厄斯 kind一種 of constellation星座
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增成代表書裡邊嘅事物嘅剪影
08:19
of silhouettes輪廓
of things that are in books.
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08:21
Peter彼得 Arkle阿克勒 interviewed採訪 the kids孩子
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Peter Arkle 問啲細蚊仔
08:23
and had them talk
about their佢哋 favorite中意 books
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最鍾意睇咩書
08:25
and he put their佢哋 testimony證詞
as a frieze弗里泽 up there.
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然後將嗰啲書嘅封面整成雕帶
08:27
Stefan斯特凡 Sagmeister萨格迈斯特 worked工作 with Yuko Shimizu清水
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Stefan Sagmeister
同 Yuko Shimizu 合作
08:30
and they did this amazing驚人
manga-style曼加風格 statement聲明,
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用漫畫風格寫:
08:32
"Everyone個個都 who is honest老實 is interesting有趣,"
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「任何誠實嘅人都係有趣嘅」
08:34
that goes all the way around.
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然後整成環繞住成間房嘅雕帶
08:36
Christoph克利斯朵夫 Niemann尼曼, brilliant輝煌 illustrator插畫,
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Christoph Niemann
一個才華橫溢嘅插圖家
08:39
did a whole整個 series系列 of things
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做咗一個系列
08:40
where he embedded嵌入式 books
into the faces面臨 and characters字符
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將書嵌入書裡邊嘅場景
08:43
and images圖像 and places地方
that you find in the books.
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同人物面孔
08:46
And then even Maira玛丽亚 Kalman卡尔曼
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仲有 Maira Kalman
08:48
did this amazing驚人 cryptic神秘 installation安裝
of objects對象 and words的話
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整咗一個又神秘又迷人嘅
08:52
that kind一種 of go all around
and will fascinate吸引 students學生
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環繞住成個房間嘅
08:55
for as long as it's up there.
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藝術作品
08:57
So this was really satisfying滿足,
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呢啲作品嘅效果好令人滿意
08:59
and basically基本上 my role作用 here was reading閲讀
a series系列 of dimensions尺寸 to these artists藝術家,
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我嘅職責就係
將啲尺寸畀啲藝術家
09:05
and I would say,
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然後話:
09:06
"Three feet隻腳 by 15 feet隻腳, whatever無論 you want.
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「三尺乘十五尺,隨你點整。
09:09
Let me know if you have
any problem個問題 with that."
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你有咩問題就揾我。」
09:11
And they would go and install安裝 these.
It just was the greatest最大 thing.
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佢哋就開工。真係好正
09:14
But the greatest最大 thing, actually講真, was --
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最正嘅係
09:16
Every once一旦 in a while,
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間中
09:18
I'd get, like, an invitation邀請 in the mail郵件
made作出 of construction建設 paper,
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我會收到繪畫紙做嘅請柬
09:21
and it would say, "You are invited邀請
to the opening開放 of our new新增功能 library圖書館."
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請我參加某個圖書館
09:24
So you'd你會 go to the library圖書館,
say, you'd你會 go to PSPs10,
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譬如,PS10 圖書館,嘅開放典禮
09:27
and you'd你會 go inside.
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去到嗰度
09:28
There'd be balloons氣球,
there'd be a student學生 ambassador大使,
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裡面有氣球,有學生大使
09:31
there'd be speeches演講 that were read,
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有演講
09:33
poetry詩歌 that was written
specifically特別 for the opening開放,
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有贈興詩
09:36
dignitaries政要 would present目前 people
with certificates,
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有重要人物發獎狀
09:39
and the whole整個 thing
was just a delirious德德里厄斯, fun有趣 party.
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直程成個好開心同瘋狂嘅派對
09:41
So I loved going to these things.
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我好鍾意去呢種派對
09:43
I would stand there dressed穿著 like this,
obviously顯然 not belonging屬於,
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我會著成咁,企起度,格格不入
09:46
and someone有人 would say,
"What are you doing here, mister先生?"
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有人會問我:「先生,你嚟做咩?」
09:49
And I'd say, "Well, I'm part部分 of the team團隊
that designed設計 this place地方."
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我會話:「我係設計團隊嘅成員。」
09:52
And they'd佢地會 said, "You do these shelves貨架?"
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佢哋問:「你設計咗啲書櫃?」
09:54
And I said, "No."
"You took the pictures圖片 up above以上."
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「唔係。」
「你影咗牆上邊嘅相?」
09:56
"No."
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「唔係。」
09:57
"Well, what did you do?"
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「咁你做咗咩?」
09:59
"You know when you came in?
The sign標誌 over the door?"
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「你入嚟時有冇睇到門上邊嘅標誌?」
10:01
"The sign標誌 that says library圖書館?"
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「圖書館嗰幾只字?」
10:03
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
10:04
"Yeah, I did that!"
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「係啊。係我整嘅!」
10:05
And then they'd佢地會 sort排序 of go,
"OK. Nice work if you can get it."
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佢哋會話:「 咁都得。」
10:10
So it was so satisfying滿足
going to these little openings開口
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總之,圖書館嘅開放儀式令我好滿足
10:14
despite儘管 the fact事實 that I was
kind一種 of largely主要 ignored忽視 or humiliated羞辱,
240
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就算冇人理我,就算我俾人笑
10:18
but it was actually講真 fun有趣
going to the openings開口,
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真係好好玩
10:20
so I decided決定 that I wanted
to get the people in my office辦公室
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於是乎,我將參加過呢個計劃嘅
10:23
who had worked工作 on these projects項目,
get the illustrators插畫家 and photographers攝影師,
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插圖家、攝影師叫嚟
10:26
and I said, why don't we rent租金 a van架車
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我話,不如租架大車
10:28
and drive驅動 around
the five boroughs of New新增功能 York約克
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橫穿喺紐約五個區
10:30
and see how many好多 we could hit at one time.
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睇下我哋一次可以去到幾個圖書館
10:32
And eventually最終 there were
going to be 60 of these libraries圖書館,
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計劃結束時有 60 個咁樣嘅圖書館
10:35
so we probably可能 got to see
maybe half一半 a dozen in one long day.
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我哋一日可能睇到半打
10:39
And the best最好 thing of all
was meeting these librarians圖書館員
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最好嘅係,我哋會見到啲圖書管理員
10:42
who kind一種 of were running運行 these,
took possession擁有 of these places地方
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佢哋係圖書館真正嘅主人
10:45
like their佢哋 private私人 stage階段
upon之後 which they were invited邀請
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喺佢哋嘅私人舞台上
10:48
to mesmerize迷住了 their佢哋 students學生
and bring the books to life,
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佢哋使書本有生命
使學生著迷
10:52
and it was just
this really exciting令人興奮 experience經驗
253
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我好激動能夠親眼睇到
10:55
for all of us to actually講真
see these things in action行動.
254
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佢哋做嘅工作
10:57
So we spent a long day doing this
255
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我哋用咗成日從一個個圖書館咁參觀
11:00
and we were in the very last library圖書館.
256
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到咗最尾嗰個圖書館
11:02
It was still winter冬天,
because it got dark黑暗 early早期,
257
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嗰時仲係冬天,天黑得好快
11:05
and the librarian圖書館員 says,
258
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個圖書管理員話:
11:06
"I'm about to close關閉 down.
So really nice having you here.
259
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「我要閂門喇。 好高興你哋嚟探我。
11:09
Hey, wait a second第二, do you want to see
how I turn off the lights?"
260
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你要唔要睇我熄燈?」
11:12
I'm like, "OK."
261
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我話:「好啊。」
11:13
And she said, "I have
this special特殊 way that I do it."
262
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佢話:「我有一套特殊嘅程序。」
11:16
And then she showed表明 me.
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佢整畀我睇
11:17
What she did was she turned打開 out
every light one by one by one by one,
264
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佢先將其他燈一盞一盞咁熄曬
11:20
and the last light she left on
265
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細路壁畫嘅燈留到最後
11:22
was the light that illuminated照亮
the kids'孩子 ' faces面臨,
266
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11:25
and she said, "That's the last light
I turn off every night,
267
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佢話:「我晚晚最尾熄呢盞燈,
11:28
because I like to remind myself自己
why I come to work."
268
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因為我想提醒自己
嚟返工嘅理由。」
11:31
So when I started初時 this whole整個 thing,
269
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我開始做呢個項目時
11:34
remember記得, it was just
about designing設計 that logo標誌
270
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就淨係諗住設計個標誌
11:36
and being clever, come up with a new新增功能 name名字?
271
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2001
耍啲小聰明,起個新名
11:38
The unintended意外 consequence後果 here,
272
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1576
我想話,啲意外嘅效果
11:40
which I would like to take credit信用 for
273
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1816
我想認係我嘅功勞
11:41
and like to think I can think through透過
the experience經驗 to that extent程度,
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3216
係我深思熟慮之後嘅結果
11:45
but I can't.
275
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但係我唔可以
11:46
I was just focused集中 on a foot隻腳 ahead提前 of me,
as far as I could reach達到 with my own自己 hands.
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我其實就係見步行步
11:50
Instead相反, way off in the distance距離
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殊不知,我哋做嘅嘢
11:52
was a librarian圖書館員
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會一件事連一件事咁
11:54
who was going to find
the chain of consequences後果
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影響好多人同事
11:57
that we had set設置 in motion運動,
280
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喺好耐以後,間接咁
11:58
a source of inspiration靈感
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畀一個圖書管理員
12:00
so that she in this case情況下
could do her work really well.
282
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靈感同動力
12:03
40,000 kids孩子 a year
are affected影響 by these libraries圖書館.
283
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3376
呢啲圖書館每年影響四萬個細路
12:06
They've佢地已經 been happening發生
for more than 10 years now,
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2456
已經影響咗十年,啲圖書管理員
12:09
so those librarians圖書館員 have kind一種 of turned打開 on
a generation生成 of children孩子 to books
285
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4536
已經使一代嘅細路鍾意上讀書
12:13
and so it's been a thrill快感 to find out
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令人激動嘅係
12:16
that sometimes有時 unintended意外 consequences後果
are the best最好 consequences後果.
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有時意外嘅效果係最好嘅結果
12:20
Thank you very much.
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多謝
12:21
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Sylvia He

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Michael Bierut - Designer, critic
Michael Bierut is a partner in the New York office of Pentagram, a founder of Design Observer and a teacher at Yale School of Art and Yale School of Management.

Why you should listen

Michael Bierut studied graphic design at the University of Cincinnati's College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, graduating summa cum laude in 1980. Prior to joining Pentagram in 1990 as a partner in the firm's New York office, he worked for ten years at Vignelli Associates, ultimately as vice president of graphic design.

His projects at Pentagram have included work for the New York Times, Saks Fifth Avenue, The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Harley-Davidson, The Museum of Arts and Design, Mastercard, the New York City Department of Transportation, the Robin Hood Foundation, Mohawk Paper Mills, New World Symphony, the New York Jets, the Brooklyn Academy of Music and MIT Media Lab. As a volunteer to Hillary for America, he created the ubiquitous H logo that was used throughout the 2016 presidential campaign.

He has won hundreds of design awards and his work is represented in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Montreal. He served as president of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) from 1988 to 1990 and is president emeritus of AIGA National. Bierut was elected to the Alliance Graphique Internationale in 1989, to the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame in 2003, and was awarded the profession’s highest honor, the AIGA Medal, in 2006. In 2008, he was named winner in the Design Mind category of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards. In spring 2016, Bierut was appointed the Henry Wolf Graphic Designer in Residence at the American Academy in Rome.

Bierut is a senior critic in graphic design at the Yale School of Art and a lecturer at the Yale School of Management. He writes frequently about design and is the co-editor of the five-volume series Looking Closer: Critical Writings on Graphic Design published by Allworth Press. In 2002, Bierut co-founded Design Observer, a blog of design and cultural criticism which now features podcasts on design, popular culture, and business.

Bierut's book 79 Short Essays on Design was published in 2007 by Princeton Architectural Press. A monograph on his work, How to use graphic design to sell things, explain things, make things look better, make people laugh, make people cry and (every once in a while) change the world, was published in 2015 by Thames & Hudson and Harper Collins. This accompanied the first retrospective exhibition of his work, part of the School of Visual Art's Masters Series, which was on view at the SVA Chelsea Gallery in New York City for five weeks in autumn 2015. His next book, Now You See It, is due out from Princeton Architectural Press this fall. 


More profile about the speaker
Michael Bierut | Speaker | TED.com