Quotable Talk | Ellen Lupton

Get inspired. Be empowered. Become quotable.

Sarasota Art Museum presents an inspiring lineup of great writers with great stories to tell through its annual author series. Hear directly from authors, artists, and contemporary creatives who are sparking new ways of thinking about art, culture, and creative practices. For those who appreciate remarkable creativity, a pioneering spirit, or are in search of inspiration, we invite you to join us and become quotable.

Join Ellen Lupton, Curator Emerita at New York City’s Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, for a talk on her publication Design is Storytelling. Lupton will approach how people interact with graphic design, digital content and architectural spaces from a narrative lens, offering an in-depth look into the various strategies that go beyond the visual to help shape our view of the world.

Following the talk, Lupton will sign copies of her book Design is Storytelling, available for purchase in the Museum’s SHOP.

About the Author

Ellen Lupton is a designer, writer, and educator. Her books include Thinking with Type, Design Is Storytelling, Health Design Thinking, and How Posters Work. She teaches in the Graphic Design MFA program at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore (MICA), where she serves as the Betty Cooke and William O. Steinmetz Design Chair. She is Curator Emerita at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City, where her exhibitions included Herbert Bayer: Bauhaus Master and The Senses: Design Beyond Vision. Her Type Mom persona on Instagram (@EllenLupton) has over 200K followers.

About the Book

Design Is Storytelling by Ellen Lupton builds connections through action, point of view, and movement through time and space. Stories are the essence of novels, plays, and Netflix—but what about visual design? This playful book shows how people actively experience a graphic illustration, a digital app, or an architectural space. Concepts such as the narrative arc, the hero's journey, and the rule of the threes encourage emotional and sensory responses.