How a designer uses the simplicity of a child’s play to build interactive worlds
In short: Edwin Schlossberg, the self-described grandmaster of interactivity, designs museum exhibits and corporate spaces by channeling the focus of a toddler with a bucket of water. By integrating sensory and physical experiences, he transforms passive observers into active participants, turning the act of learning into a deliberate, tactile, and personal journey.
Born in 1945, Edwin Schlossberg developed his artistic voice in 1960s New York, blending text and imagery to create visual poetry. His academic background is as eclectic as his career; he holds a doctorate from Columbia University, where he studied the intersection of science and literature. His dissertation, later published as a book, imagined a dialogue between Albert Einstein and Samuel Beckett—a concept he famously conceived while dozing in a university library. Throughout his formative years, he was mentored by the futurist Buckminster Fuller and studied under the mathematician Jacob Bronowski.
In 1977, Schlossberg founded ESI Design, a firm that has since redefined how the public interacts with information. His projects range from the Ellis Island American Family Immigration History Center to digital media installations at the World Trade Center and the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. His philosophy is rooted in the idea that engagement should be physical. In his early printmaking work, such as the 1967–68 series Wordswordswords, he intentionally broke traditional printing rules—using misalignments, reversals, and fragmented letters—to force the reader to engage with the medium as a physical object rather than just a source of information.
Schlossberg’s influence extends into the public sphere, having served on the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts from 2011 to 2013 under President Barack Obama. Despite his high-profile career and numerous accolades, including the National Arts Club Medal of Honor, his core mission remains consistent: to design environments that encourage people to think for themselves. Whether through a complex digital installation or a simple printed page, his work aims to bridge the gap between the observer and the subject, ensuring that the audience sees not just the words, but themselves.
His career is marked by a refusal to be categorized, moving fluidly between roles as an author, inventor, and designer. By treating the design process like a child’s exploration of a bucket of water, he crafts experiences that allow users to integrate their sensory and physical worlds. This approach has earned him recognition from publications like Wired, which labeled him a leader in interactive design, and the Los Angeles Times, which cemented his reputation as a grandmaster of the field.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Edwin Schlossberg
- Also: Poem for Jasper, from Wordswordswords
- Also: Among the Words, from Wordswordswords
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