Questions revisited

At the beginning of this semester, I answered some questions to reflect on my design concepts. These are the questions that I answered:

What is graphic design?
What is typography?
What are your responsibilities as a designer?
What can you do to make your VisCom classes more valuable to you?

So, I know I had some dictionary definitions in there somewhere, and I talked about how design is so undervalued. I still believe that good design is undervalued, but sometimes bad design is overpaid.

In my first post, I was so detail-oriented. I was meticulous, and I even made sure to change my ' to ’. I am sure my type teacher can find a bunch of mistakes, but overall I just thought about it too much.

With the blog, I didn't space things out very well. As most students, I have an issue with time management and don't do things until right before they need to be done.

Usually, this is a bad thing for me. I need time to think about complicated processes and consider the concept. But, every once in a while I find it much more beneficial to just sit back and let my subconscious do all the work.

There were several projects throughout this semester in both of my design classes where free-association design saved me. Last-minute work is not always shabby, as long as you leave some time to clean it up.

This is all true, but I do think that getting so close to deadlines will give me an ulcer if I keep it up. I like to give myself time, but I never do. This is something I need to work on.

I also have found that I need to work SO much more on my process, or at least learning to present it. Through my design projects, the greatest problem that I have is the processbook. I am always spending my time on the finished process, but I don't give myself time to reflect. Sometimes, this is the most important part.

Reflection, perhaps, is the lesson I have learned the most this year. Just ask Ferris Bueller,

Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

Cheesy, yes, but also true.

Inspiration _ Type _

When I think of type that has inspired me, it is usually the moveable, bendable, changable, flexible, and, most importantly, expressive type. Although it is not necessarily what I typically do, it is what I strive for.

I love the Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus, not just for type inspiration, but also for finding another word for the one I keep repeating.
The text is so multi-layered, and it has an ease of motion that seems very alive.

Bembo's Zoo is another source of interesting movable type. Here are some of the animals you may see at the zoo.


Keep in mind, the creation of the animals is animated on the site.

Despite my typical dislike of reading blackletter fonts, this one was very dynamic to me.
One facet of design that I don't understand, though I would like to, is the tattoo. I enjoy it on others, but I guess I don't have the commitment to have some type on my body for the rest of my life. This book, Body Type by Ina Saltz shows the variety and possibility of type on body.

Packages within Packages within . . . more PACKAGES

I believe that packaging can create a wonderfully-designed experience, if you let it. However, packaging can also create a bunch of frustration. Take CD packaging; I think this is the main reason that we use MP3s nowadays.

Also, packaging can be so wasteful. One day I went to the grocery store and saw a bin of potatos that were wrapped in shrinkwrap. Why the hell would you do that!?!?

However, there are some very inspired uses of packaging on the market, like those silly little Chinese takeout boxes. Who would have ever imagined a package like that, and why is it so universal?

Aside from the shape, people can put the package surface to work in interesting ways, as well.

Just like we have done with books, packages often come in a series.

I like the way this AXE toy matches the usual packaging but adds a new dimension to it as well.

The following are reactions to films by Hillman Curtis:

Creative camera angles. Only tight shots. What does that mean? Are we too close?

The tight shots show quirky mannerisms of human behavior. Spinal Tap references almost annoying. They are woven through very serious words from a man whose father just died. The expression of love is very conflicted. Do you need to say I love you, or can you just show it?

I feel like I am intruding on someone's very private moment. An intimate conversation. What a gift.

Sometimes we use humor as an emotional shield, but sometimes we can use it as a glue that holds us together.

It is as if Stefan Sagmeister spends his life designing special experiences for us. How sweet. He really has a lot to say. These are things that we all know, but we never have enough time to believe.

Isn't it amazing how design can create wonderful intimacy among strangers?

Design should be about spreading happiness.

I appreciate seeing microphones in movies. Happy accident.

Is Stefan an artist now, instead of a designer? Are designers in fact artists?

Often I feel that the way he repeats his maxims make them less effective. It is better to see them designed than to hear them, although he has a very sweet accent.

BMI, UGC, too many TLAs

A TED talk with Larry Lessig I just watched was very enlightening on the concept of balance.

At first, I thought it was going to be about how old farts don't understand the technology of kids today. Luckily, it was much more than that.

The subject was UGC - user generated content - and the conflict between read/write media where the user has some say versus read only, where the user is a passive listener/watcher but never a doer.

Obviously, we are becoming much more of a R/W culture. This blog is an example of that. However, this blog is also an example of where one creator has lifted images from other people and, basically, stole their creative property (I won't do that this time, just for the record).

We've been through the property battles that technology incites many times, as Lessig discusses. Before it was about physical property. Now it is a bit less tangible. However, MP3s and digital creative property in general ware another domain that will soon be public.

While I believe, and have seen, it to be true that UGC will cause an eruption of amateur creativity, I also believe that there is a backlash to this situation.

The creative content on YouTube, blogs, etc is often very racy, democratic, varied, unexpected, everything I could want in a source of information. It is not reliable, but what is? People create for the love of creation. How beautiful.

But, where is the professional who spends her life refining her work? Where is the master? Do masterpieces exist in UGC? If everyone is a writer and a designer, why am I going to school for these things? I feel like, with any expansion of our horizons, it brings up more questions than answers.

In the end, the answer is balance. I know that there is a lot of UGC in the world, and it is a wonderful source of entertainment, but from time to time, somebody needs a professional. That is why I go to school, and that is why all of the YouTube stars have day jobs.

One haunting point that Lessig made is that, because of the obsession with piracy, we live life knowing that we are breaking the law. All the time. All of us. Is that damaging or helpful to the democracy we strive to create?

Web love

Here are some Web sites that inspire me.

http://www.saatchi.com/worldwide/index.asp

I like the message of this one
http://loveisrespect.org/

Same with this one
http://www.invisiblechildren.com/displaceMe/

The simplicity of Richard Serra is reflected in is site.
http://moma.org/exhibitions/2007/serra/

Ad love

Here are some of the many ads that have inspired me.

Tofu for design

John Maeda worked in a tofu shop. He hated this work, therefore he became a lover of school and eventually a lover of design. Thanks for tofu.

This blog isn't really about tofu, though. It is about design. This article is about designing with computers. Maeda said in an interview with Design Matters that he believed that working with a computer was more enabling because it gives a designer millions of virtual hands.

He believes that print is different from computers in such a fundamental way that Paul Rand would never be a good Web designer. Quite a statement.

That being said, he also discussed the computer as a cold medium, and he designs programs for his children to make it more “warm.” How does that work?

This is something that I have been struggling with, too. There is something special about hand-made images and type that I don't know will ever be duplicable in digital. This process has led MAEDA say that he has grown tired of computers because they are not necessarily humane and cooperative. How sad.

Scraps

Did you know that there is a National Scrapbooking Day? Did you also know that every over-priced scrapbook store that pops up tears a little piece from my soul?

I don't mean to insult scrap booking, the art and the past time, but don't you think we've had enough?! Every stay-at-home mom with a cutting mat considers herself a designer. But trust me, it is a lie.

In Design Observer, there is an article about the historically preservative art of scrap booking. This is, to me, a very valid and useful artifact. The above scrapbook from that article has memorabilia, postcards, family seals and ticket stubs. These are all very personal and historical items.

The kind I detest are the perforated, pre-cut, scrap-paper, hideous things that people spend hundreds of dollars decorating.

For these scrapbooks, it is not about the memories. It is about how much crap one person can squeeze into the page.

Ok, enough of my rant. I will leave you with an image from a scrapbook that would have been so much better without all the stupid balloon paper. Sorry if this is yours.

The Eye

I found an article on the Design Observer about the CBS eye. Turns out it represents the all-seeing eye by Kurt Weiss. He took his inspiration from a shaker book.

If you think about it, the eye is very strange. It looks like big brother. Why do you want your TV watching you. The logo in motion is even more creepy.

However, it is also very iconic. It has such simplicity, and none of the CBS viewers that I know are concerned with the fact that it is watching us. However, it was something that definitely piqued my curiosity.

The beauty of correspondence

In the days of e-mail and blogs, sometimes it is so special just to receive a letter in the mail. As I was looking for images of letters, it reminded me of the experience of opening a letter. The revelation is a narrative, and sometimes a surprise.

Postcards do not have this same kind of narrative. Their information is revealed immediately. The only drama would be when you flip it over to see who sent it. Just for my personal information, here is an image of the backside.

There are specific requirements and constraints of a postcard that most letters do not have.

However, the effect can still be interesting, as is this thank you postcard above.
This envelope causes the recipient to think about the revelation process.

This envelope would give a little tease, as well as a hint with the leaf design on the print.

Lastly is the letter itself. I like this one above because it has a process of unveiling in and of itself. There is a lot of intricacy to this, while its aesthetics are still so simple.

As I said, I love snail mail. However, I also love trees and breathing. This company offers an alternative.

Typography is Everywhere

I love public acts of typogrpahy. Due to a lack of a digital camera, I had to borrow my found type.

Most images are from Itchy Robot.

A business card is such a lovely social and networking tool. It can get so many people's feet into doors - in a good way. So, we must be different. For some, their personality and credentials stand out enough. These people do not need unique business cards.

For the rest of us, here are some business cards that could get our feet in the door.
Hot pink is always a good choice.
I thought that this sensual solution is so effective. Maybe it is because I need coffee right now.
To me, this is one of the most effective (and environmentally conscious) business cards. It does exactly what the business already does. It is clever, unique, and it stands out. However, they should work on their handwritign before I would call it typographically beautiful.
I always love printed materials with an organic feel. This card shows the successful design of the card, but it also shows off a beautiful logo.
For some reason, the black and white really intrigued me. Everyone is obsessed with full-color, hi-res, pricy design. However, I would take this card over so many overloaded solutions any day.

Next Big

What the Emigre 39 essay by Rudy VanderLans called The Next Big Thing is really saying is that designers let their egos get in the way of solving the problem.

Ones personal aesthetics and style almost never actually meet the design needs of a particular situation. We think we know what our client wants before we even hear the issue. I think that the problem is lack of listening skills.

I believe that people can hear you without listening, and I believe that this is what designers are doing with the Internet and with the printed word. They say “to hell with what you want, this is what I know.” This is not design. This is ego.

Listening skills would solve so many of the design problems today. When I say listening skills, I mean visual attention skills as well. When people are able to pay enough attention to the printed word or to a meaningful layout, designers will take the time to do more than WOW or SHOCK. They will allow the dialogue to unfold between viewer and designer and writer.

I feel very sorry for writers today. We cut their words and make them illegible. The typefaces we use are smaller and smaller. We make it impossible for the reader to understand what is going on, and we call it good design.

As VanderLans said, we are always striving for The Next Big Thing, but I think that we also strive to find Our Thing. So many people try to assert their style, their wisdom on to their work, but a designer is supposed to cooperate. We have constraints and we have possibilities, but the constraints are where we must find opportunity. Otherwise, we might as well be fine artists.

Logo Love

My first extreme experience with logos happened when I was in Visual Concepts class last semester. I created 400 sketches to make a symbol of a bird. The problem is that my sketches were illustrations. I tried to communicate too much information in each sketch. Hence, it was less of a symbol and more of an explanation.

The final product was more refined, but not by much. You can find them at people.ku.edu/~mcgillk. However, I have seen so many companies ACTUALLY use logos that are just crazy illustrations. It takes time to understand. They are not iconic.

Icons are the basis of logos. I especially appreciate the simplicity of the on/off computer button. How simple, universal and beautiful.

It is a logo, but it is also a wonderful use of typography. With logotypes, you can imbed meaning into the images.
I appreciate the ABC logo, and other logotypes that are clean and simple, but my favorite are the unique, expressive and quirky ones. I like the logo that adds a stroke of humanness.


A logo must also be flexible, though. While the one above is very sweet, and I like it when it is small, I would never want to see it large, because that would be boring.

This logo below would be attractive in both small and large, color and black and white. It is a universally useful logo in its simplicity.

F is for Futurist

“The most instructive angles from which to portray modern life are from above, from below and on the diagonal.” - Rodchenko

I finally made it to the Spencer to see the Futurist exhibit, which I will discuss in a bit. But first, I was able to wander through the Constructivist photography. These exhibits went together so well, and played off of eachother more than I would have imagined. I was able to see in photography what I then saw through lithographs in the Futurist exhibit.

The photography was basically divided in two sections. There were wonderful formal studies of Rodchenko’s angles, and there were images of the idealized citizen with a body like a machine. One side I found to be quite beautiful. The other side I found to be quite disturbing.

The formal studies spoke of the industrialization of the time, with images of machine and steel. At the time, these were images of progress, growth and a crazy obsession with speed. Now we look at these images and struggle to find the “futurism” in them. To me, the datedness is the most fascinating thing about these images. The factories and mass production, at the time, were seen as a beautiful new invention. Now it is something that people try to hide and act as if it doesn't exist. These images show the precursor to the sweatshop and the exploited worker. That is why they seem more ironic and depressing than inspiring.

The greek looking, almost homoerotic images of athleticism were what I found to be more entertaining. By showing Man as Machine, these photographers, funded by the government, took images of russian bodies and actions and framed them in a way that was almost unhuman. How ideal? How contrived. (By the way, this pic is a bad example. I can’t find any Greek looking ones. Sad.)


After viewing the photographic idealization of Man in this exhibit, it was curious to see how El Lissitzky took this into abstracted form. Instead of turning a human being into a machine, he turned a machine into a human. He gave each of his figures titles and usually eyes of some sort. These machines in frames had personality, and so did the space around them.

The other, unexpected dimension of the exhibit that I had not anticipated was the installation work. Hydeyo Okamura took the idea of proun (a word invented by Lissitzky to explain a substance between painting and architecture) very literally. He designed a set upon which the pieces danced. He responded to the work, but he also responded to the imperfections of the room to creat opportunities instead. As he says, he was having a conversation with the artist's work as he designed the space.