The Happy Show - Chris Solorzano

I've been a fan of Sagmesiter's work since I saw his poster of one of my favorite artists Lou Reed. The Happy Show does a really good job at exploring his mind and vision. I view him as a person who isn't led by what is considered normal instead he's a brilliant explorer. Aesthetically speaking the Happy Show is a beautiful exhibit that draws your attention. His choice of colors really set a mood for me. His choice to use his handwriting as oppose to a font made it much easier to accept the information and relate to it as a human being. Jessica Walsh's choice of music was also a big plus. Everything was neatly organized and no confusion was present. It was nice to see a designer not only stick to print or web but go beyond the parameters into info-graphics, sculpture, video and installations. Something I really found fascinating was info graphic of the world that illustrates which countries are said to be the most happy. Scandinavia was said to be the most happy yet Sagmeister said that his encounter with Brazilians often demonstrate the most happiness. This lead me to believe that perhaps these statistics are based on wealth rather than joy. 

The Happy Show definitely made me question my happiness which I am sure is what Sagmesiter intended. Although happiness is much more complex than we think, hopefully the knowledge and statistics that Sagmesiter shared with us can help us further understand that life isn't as simple as it seems. Some information was new to me like how the level of happiness in adults is less when they have children and they're more happy once their children are grown and out of their lives. I was familiar with some information like when he mentioned that if you want something you should ask for it. He made reference to a Ted talk from last year where Amanda Palmer talks about the Art of Asking.

Further down the Happy Show, Sagmeister took us into a personal part of his world where he talked about his struggle with addiction. This just shows that he is human just like us and we all have our struggles. Over all I enjoyed the Happy Show. I see it as a open door to more avenues of expression. His philosophy and statistics can really go a long way. He set up a good foundation for an endless topic.

To tie this with the book for class and reference Sagmeister's take on the Happy Show. I'd like to add that Sagmeister did a really job at introducing us to his philosophy on happiness. I say this because when I left the Happy Show I had no questions for Stefan Sagmeister but instead I had questions for myself. This goes to show that he did his job.