Make Good Art

These days most job advice comes along the lines of "be practical," but Gaiman's speech to the 2012 graduating class of the College of the Arts is the exact opposite. He urges these students (and the world in general) to take risks, to make mistakes, and to break the rules, which taps into the increasingly borderless tack that the arts world is taking. Never before have we had such freedom, and we wouldn't be doing the world any favours if we just let the future lie. Innovators like Gaiman have paved the way for the next generation of artists, so we would be fools not to take advantage. And to break away and make our own ways as well.

Gaiman's Make Good Art speech was excellent. Sometimes I was a little confused reading it because a) spoken words and written ones have a little different flavor, and b) sometimes the typesetting and colors were hard to follow. But I have to say, it made me slow down and appreciate the words just a little more. I am not an artist, and my humanities field of linguistics is trying really hard to move into the sciences, but almost every word of this speech could have been spoken directly to me. This book/speech/work of art was about how to be successful in one sense, but it was more deeply about how to be happy. Enjoy the successes. Move towards your greatest dreams. Do the thing that only you can do. And I needed to hear that. Everyone show more does. Everyone needs to hear that they have something to contribute, but more importantly, we need to be told that the world does need us. Make Good Art. Do good work. That is all we can do in this world, and it is the most important thing we can do. show less

*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.*

Whenever I'm feeling down, Neil Gaiman's Make Good Art speech is one of my go-to videos to help me feel better about writing, the job search, or just life in general. It's everything a commencement speech should be: funny, inspirational, and actually wise. Gaiman is one of the most intelligent people of our time, and he gives good advice for how to live life. It's not all "do great things" and "change the world," which is kind of what the speaker for my graduation said; instead, he gives advice for how to be happy and enjoy life. Sometimes, all it takes to make the difficult choice between being happy and having a "steady, grown-up" job is having someone's permission to do the show more thing that makes you happy -- especially if that someone is Neil Gaiman.

I had my doubts when I heard this speech was made into a book, because I wasn't sure that print could fully capture the humor, wit, and beauty that Gaiman puts into his words.

I was wrong.

I am now a huge fan of Chip Kidd, the graphic designer for this novel. Let me tell you, it is amazing. He adds depth and meaning to Gaiman's words by his designs. There's a part in the speech that says "Make your own rules," and Kidd does just that by breaking line and sentence conventions. There are a lot of little things in here that make this book so worth a read and a look. By adding a visual example of what it means to break rules, make your own rules, and make good art, Kidd shows how fantastic the results can be when you do the thing that makes you happy.

Just buy it. Read it. Live it. You won't be disappointed. I think Make Good Art will be replacing Oh, the Places You'll Go! as my gift to graduates -- at least, graduates who are interested in making a career of an art-related field. show less

Even if you've seen the video of this speech the book is worth reading because it holds so much good advice - and not just for writers. Neil reminds us to keep going and pursing our goals even when we're knocked down. We all need reminders every once in awhile, but this reminder has a beautiful layout and is artistically presented. The book is itself is "good art."

If one hasn't heard Neil Gaiman's "Make Good Art" speech (and one should) - reading the book is a necessity. Even if one HAS heard Neil Gaiman's brilliant speech - one can benefit from reading the glorious words constructed by Neil Gaiman.

No matter the art one creates - one may find inspiration, and courage, in the words of this book.

I want to gift this book to every creative person I know. To uplift and inspire them when times get hard (which happens all too often)...in reading the wisdom found within this fantastic speech - they will continue to Make Good Art. On good days. And on those other days.

Which is it should be.

(I removed one star from my rating because the textual graphics of the book are *really* irritating and loud. The show more design distracts the reader from the important message the book conveys. It's a real shame because the message is first-rate.) show less

This hard cover book collects Neil Gaiman's commencement speech at the University of the Arts, originally given on 17 May 2012. Renowned graphic artist Chip Kidd designed the text layout. The speech is part autobiography, part inspiration, with Gaiman imploring his audience/reader to "make good art" as a way of coping with anything that life throws at them. He defines art broadly enough that even scientists could consider what they do a way to keep going in life. This is one of the best commencement speeches and this volume makes a nice gift for anyone who just achieved something, is going through tough times, or even for oneself.

Autographed. A card inside: "Compliments of the Author."

I bought this at a flea market. I can't believe someone would give up a signed book. Maybe they aren't a fan.

It's the content of a speech that Gaiman gave at the Philadelphia University of the Arts in May 2012. The speech is great and you can hear him give it on youtube. I found it to be very uplifting, especially for a person who does freelance work and works with budding writers. There are a lot of great takeaways in it. It would make an excellent gift for any creative person.

Chip Kidd, a graphic designer, turned the speech into an interesting visual using different fonts and designs on each page to make it interesting. It's lovely. (I've done desktop publishing so I have some show more experience in this sort of thing.) My biggest problem with the design is his color choices. While it's pretty ... it's also pretty hard to read in many spots. Especially when the typeface is small and the contrast is low. I'd give the graphic design a 2 because of that. show less