let it burn

Untitled by Mike Monteiro

I wanted to share this perfect year end piece of art brought to my attention in Jen Bekman's 20x200 newsletter.  You may have messed up a time or two in the past year, but it's only making way for you to do better for yourself. Cheers to that and a very happy new year!

food for thought: graphic gourmet

I'm a huge fan of the graphic food photography in this Ikea cookbook, Homemade is Best. Photographer Carl Kleiner worked with food stylist Evelina Bratell to produce these super-organized images. Love.

quick snippet: ruffle your feathers

Photo by Niko Tavernise

The new film Black Swan was a delicate psychological thriller in need of fantastic costumes and the right designers were chosen to create them: Rodarte. See W for a fantastic interview.

...fa la la la la LA LA la

As the holidays officially begin, I've been thinking about the traditions that I love to balance out the things about the season that I am already, again, having issues with (Christmas music all day every day in the stores... really? It's overkill.) Of my favorite things in the world -ever- are the holiday window displays (well, all windows all year 'round, but particularly the holidays). This video, for a fashion-loving artsy girl who loves some magic just like anyone else, is a little bit like a kid seeing Santa snacking on the cookies by the fireplace. (Thank you, Bergdorfs.) Enjoy.

a little different from the secret garden i remember...

Giacomo Costa is a Florentine photographer turned graphic artist. His creative journey changed planes to 3D modeling in 2003. And lucky for us. The resulting images are beautiful! Check out his work and story at giacomocosta.com.

the project triangle

The "Project Triangle"
Good - Fast - Cheap (aka: Quality - Speed - Cost)
• Design something quickly and to a high standard, but then it will not be cheap.
• Design something quickly and cheaply, but it will not be of high quality.
• Design something with high quality and cheaply, but it will take a long time.

*One of Vannon Chiang's contributions to the CA Group on LinkedIn.

Quote of the Day

"I asked him if he would come up with a few options. And he said, 'No. I will solve your problem for you. And you will pay me. You don’t have to use the solution. If you want options, go talk to other people. But I’ll solve your problem for you the best way I know how. Use it or not; that’s up to you. You’re the client. But you pay me.' And there was a clarity about the relationship that was refreshing." ~Steve Jobs on Paul Rand

i.e. Trust your designer.

how much do you love shoes?

Stereo Stilettos by Jacob Matthew

 I always thought it would be fun to have an abundance of beautiful shoes displayed on shelves intercepting rows and rows of art books. So why not make shoes functional as display pieces? Jacob Matthew thought of this to be a perfect lifestyle solution apparently and went about creating speakers out of high heels.

To see more shoe fun, visit the Virtual Shoe Museum!

creative professional quips

Every now and then, you have a rough day. Then you come home to the new Vogue in your mailbox and you think, "It's all going to be okay. I'm going to flop on bed with my trusty sidekick (my dog) and devour this magazine start to finish. I'll forget everything that's gone wrong today." But the designer neglected to account for trim and the margins of your magazine are off. "Oh my god, if a creative professional can't turn to Vogue to escape, what is this world coming to?"

Have no fear. The Communication Arts group on LinkedIn is here to save the day. Did someone tell you to work your magic? "Sorry, I left my wand at home." Can you make this look good? "Photoshop can work miracles, but some things are beyond saving." Don't use yellow.  My wife hates yellow. "Really?!" Can you clean this up? "I'm not a janitor." I want this printed in RGB spot. "Do you want it printed or not?" Can you fill the left side of this page with this photo? "It's 1inch square and 72ppi... Sooo... No, I cannot."

I could go on and on with fabulous comebacks to ridiculous client demands (I need this yesterday.), requests (You need to fill up this white space so it will really pop.), and comments (I don't like that font. "You mean this typeface?" No, that font.), but you get the jist.

Hopefully this brought a smile to your face and encourages you to hold your tongue the next time someone tries your patience.  There are plenty of us who understand.

picture progress

from the "light" collection.

I always find it strange how we fight wars that kill people we don't know but don't like because they are guilty by association. But we also aim to raise the standards of living for other people we also don't know but do like. Global politics and economics have never been my super strong points, but I am all for making a difference. And now it's easier than you think for you to contribute to 4.8 million gallons of clean water and 1.7 million hours of solar power for families in Indonesia, and 45,000 kW hours of wind turbine energy for health clinics in Peru. Submit your photos of wind, water, and light through Flickr to support GE's ecomagination efforts.

Click here to see contributions made by others to the photo project and read more. :)

a passion for prints

Alexander McQueen

Honestly, I am not one to venture so far as wearing prints.  As a general rule, said prints can be dangerously fattening, particularly if you are not... naturally shaped like a toothpick, so to speak.  However, the phrase "you get what you pay for" holds some credibility and Bergdorf Goodman has selected a series of the TEN BEST PRINTS for fall that actually, surprisingly, struck my attention.

vintage vantage point

Stephen Kunken, Tony Award Nominee, photograph © Pushett Irby 2010

Pushett Irby is a photography duo in Brooklyn, NY, that uses a wooden 11x14 camera. The resulting images completely rock my socks off. Loving the old school ambiance of film and technique, my songs of praise go to anyone who manages to maintain original photographic procedures, materials and concepts in the fast paced society of today. "We love how the experience teaches us to slow down and appreciate the beautiful things right in front of us." Long live the darkroom.

belk rebrand

I have toyed back and forth with the idea of voicing my opinion about the new Belk identity for some time. Finally, I decided yes, I will construct a brief comment on the concept.

Maybe it is because I recently had what seems like infinite years of concept development strategy beaten into my head or maybe it is simply my inner consumer or maybe it is both, but the only thing I like about this logo is the type.  I'm not sure what the flower/feather vector art on the left side is supposed to symbolize.  And southern hasn't been synonymous with style since before the Civil War, so I am not sure why they would want to bring their Charlotte origins to market attentions. (Not to say that people who live in the south can't be stylish, but when you think "style," "southern" is not what comes to mind.

Obviously, this a company striving for relevance in contemporary culture, not only by image but expansion of merchandise offerings.  I'm not sure that I'm intrigued enough to check it out...

loving london

As if there were not enough reasons that London is the number one place on my list of highly desirable locations to visit, here I go adding yet another: the Design Museum. Particularly exciting is the new exhibition, Drawing Fashion, that begins November 3rd. Showcasing some of the greatest fashion illustrations since the beginning of the 20th century, this show is sure to be an amazing presentation of sketches and finished pieces with photographic and musical support woven throughout.

The collection took 30 years to produce and was meticulously curated by Joelle Chariau.

young love

© Nirrimi Joy Hakanson. Age 14/15

© Nirrimi Joy Hakanson. Age 16

© Nirrimi Joy Hakanson. Age 17

This photographer, Nirrimi Joy Hakanson, is seventeen or eighteen years old. I am absolutely amazed at this talent. Her website is full of beautiful photographs and her blog is full of literature and more beautiful photographs. A true developing artist that can teach us all something about life.

sea sculpture

A new book from Alison Luchs, the curator of early European sculpture at the National Gallery,  focuses on Renaissance fantasy aquatic imagery in Venice.  A long-time of love of mermaids (what little girl never completely adored Ariel?) certainly attracts my attention to this publication, aside from my weakness for any opportunity to buff up on some art history.  The NGA explains that the book "explores the ways Venetian Renaissance artists interpreted a variety of mythical hybrid sea creatures that were handed down, through art and literature, from the ancient and medieval worlds."

*This is not yet available from Amazon.com.  You can pre-order it and wait.  Or you can support the National Gallery's efforts to keep art and related education free to the public by shelling out the extra cash that comes with the reward of immediate gratification.  And, you can listen to the podcast for free.

in the loupe: photography focus

Recent New York rulings (see the New York Times Lens page) have reinforced the rights of photographers in public spaces.  While I have never understood how street photography could be a threat to public safety or any kind of hazard, many artists have been wrongly harassed by officials and suffered from their equipment being confiscated.  The Musumeci case discussed here (against the Department of Homeland Security) is just one example, but boldly highlights the creative rights we have to photograph anything from public property.  Happy Shooting.

a little bit more on good ideas...

This very smart comic "Sense vs. Nonsense" was introduced to me by the SwissMiss blog (Tina Roth Eisenberg).  Frank Chimero illustrates our thought processes in a fun way.  Don't miss out on his blog (Personal Fridays?!) or the fabulous work on his website, such as So Far Around the Bend.

identifiability

Contact Sheets by Parsley Steinweiss on 20X200

As a photographer and graphic designer, I felt the need to post this image that I completely identified with.  This photograph of a stack of contact sheets is a simple tribute to time spent completely adoring your work.  Line, color, texture, and concept won me over.  Love.

lessons in cartography

Maps are always interesting to look at.  All containing some sort of similar information, but all appearing different, depending on the focus of the information which they are aiming to communicate.  I recently came across the creative work of a graphic designer, Aaron Straup Cope, on 20X200.  His interpretations of city maps produce unique visions that make pretty the purpose.  Though all pieces in the series utilize the same color scheme, I especially like Prettymaps NYC (left).  Although I might just be biased with my love for New York, it is a compositionally intriguing presentation of color balance and unity.  No, it won't help you navigate the complex subway system or traverse the city by foot, but it will surely brighten up your office and give you a shove in the direction of unconventional thinking.

illustration love

Maybe it's because illustration is not my key talent, but I have always admired illustrators.   Whether geared towards naturalism or stylistic interpretations, I love to see renderings that even remotely resemble their subjects (I'll address my devoted relationship with abstract and modernism work in a different post for sure). One of my favorites is Margarete Gockel (left) whose style is relaxed and fashion-oriented.  Her shoe illustrations are particularly fun and remind me much of Manolo Blahnik's sketching style. 


 

 

Clearly my preferences rest in the whimsical world of fashion illustration that is not meticulously detailed in the way that an architect would consider primarily necessary, but places significant emphasis provoking thought.  James Jean's work for Prada (right) is an ideal example of such conceptual work.







Another artist that is particularly creative in his ways is Monsieur Qui (right).  His collage style imagery and skillful use of tonality produces exceptionally intriguing works.  In addition to being a fashion illustrator, this French talent is also a brilliant street artist. Speaking of street art, Banksy can't go without mention and applause, no matter how cliché that may sound.

Certainly, this is one of sure to be many posts on my love of illustrations.  I'm always interested in seeing new and exciting (not to mention revisiting) works and will continue with brief exposes on artists as I discover and re-discover their pieces.

where DO good ideas come from?

This may not answer the question, but I love reading about history.  However, never have I read a book specifically about the history of development of thought.  Steven Johnson presents this interesting perspective in his book Where Good Ideas Come From (to be released October 5th).  Check out his narrated illustration in the promo film here and then tell me you're not interested in this book.  "We want to be more creative.  We want to come up with better ideas."  Don't you?

this one's for the typophiles

Having a strange (or not so strange, depending who you are, I guess) love of typography, this ad (left) generated by Hunt Adkins for Steelcase, completely grabbed my attention. How would you love to flop into a comfy chair that encourages you to question everything? I'm all about this modern aesthetic and contemporary appeal.  If only these were not just prints.

Additionally, by way of my love of communication arts magazine, comfy chairs, and coffee, I've come across this adorable packaging created for One Village Coffee by Able Designs.  Unfortunately, it reminds me a bit of some older Starbucks imagery, however I can let that go in favor of the happy vibes radiating from the caffeinated pouches of goodness. :)

inspiration

I think one of the most fascinating things about design -any kind of design- is where the designer draws inspiration from. This recent (not most recent) campaign from Brizo was a beautiful collaboration with Jason Wu to convey not only a product but an entire attitude.

starting somewhere

In this whirlwind of a world that we live in, it is so easy to lose track of what we may find interesting if only we had a bit more time to spend with it or came across it at a slightly different moment. Maybe it's the typeface used for restaurant signage that you drove by at 50mph. Maybe it's the abandoned building renovation across the street that you see ten times per day and never give a second thought. Maybe you've always had an overwhelming interest in Hakka, but never had the time to research because life gets in the way. This is what has recently driven me to archive thoughts, links, and images that I find relevant to my industry. To keep my gears turning. To keep me on my toes. To remind myself there is so much to discover. And also to invite discussion.

Scraps of paper are easily misplaced, but a blog will always be where you left it -accessible 24/7 from anywhere in the world.

Relate to something I brought up? Have a comment which begs the differ? I'd always love to hear from you! xoxo