Michael Bierut

Graphic designer and ne plus ultra New York City personality Michael Bierut has come a long way from his origins in the midwest: "I grew up in Ohio in the '60s in a suburban milieu," he writes, "where design was seldom seen and never discussed." After studying at the University of Cincinnati, Bierut's first job in the city was in the studio of legendary designer Massimo Vignelli, who, along with his wife Lella, informed the look of the entire New York subway system and created the ubiquitous Bloomingdale's brown shopping bag.

Bierut has been a partner at the juggernaut firm Pentagram since 1990, and is a senior critic for Graphic Design at the Yale School of Art. He's also responsible for a great many things you can see around New York today, from the New York Times building to pedestrian wayfinding signage to the cleaned-up street parking placards. Here, Michael Bierut gives us a glimpse into the first "grown-up" apartment he lived in with his wife, after they move to New York from Cincinnati. The couple moved out at the end of June, 1984, but thanks to a series of rigorously archived sketchbooks, the drawings live on.

For Home Sweet Home, Curbed talked to 30 engaging personalities across a range of industries to learn about where they grew up and what home means to them. Follow Michael Bierut on Twitter and read his design writing on Design Observer.

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