Christoph Niemann: Insecurity Is Essential to Great Design

by Maria Popova

Inside the mind of one of today’s finest visual communicators.

Christoph Niemann — LEGO-lover, dispenser of irreverent wisdom on creativity, author of the excellent Abstract City and That’s How! — is one of my favorite illustrators. In this short video from Gestalten, Niemann discusses his philosophy on design, the state of visual language today, his creative process, his adorable non-neuroses, and more.

A certain amount of insecurity is a very helpful trait for any kind of designer.

Of particular note is Niemann’s point about insecurity, a point we’ve already seen made in other disciplines, from science to cinema.

The video is a teaser for Gestalten’s Data Flow 2, a fine complement to their fantastic Visual Storytelling.

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