Techno

We live in an ever changing world joined and connected through our technological advancements. From the internet to digital networks to cell phones we are all effected somehow through technology. Designers are greately affected through the introductions of new and improved software, more reliable hardware, with more advanced features. This helps the designer save time, improve techniques,andexpand their expertise. I can't wait to see what they will come up with next.

Fashion First

We're long past the days of wearing clothes for survival purposes. Fashion reigns supreme and is here to stay. Its an international, multi-cultural, multi billion dollar a year business. There is a good amount of effort that goes into presenting ones appearance to our peers and society. Take a look at what your wearing and think about why you re wearing what your wearing, who are you wearing it for, what influences your look, and why you're wearing it for this specific occasion. What brands do you adore,and what life styles are your pursuing?

Logo Talk

Logos are one of the most important factors in brand identity. They help the public identify with you and your company. Good logos communicate the messages that you or your brand would like to portrait. They are a good way to introduce yourself and maintain a customer basis. On the contrary if you or your company has a poorly designed logo or could have detrimental repercussions to the overall health of the business.

Music is funny. Its pure emotion with the artist spearheading the melody to your eardrum. Each verse or lyric is designed with a specific implication from by the musician to the the producer to the consumer. Take Nas and Kirk Franklin for example. Two totally different artist that speak from two totally different loud speakers. Nas is a rapper, Kirk is a gospel artist. Ones story is about love and the other about deception. Well I guess thats how my ears pick up on the design of their melody. What do you think, and what do your ears hear?

Design Map

The thing that I try to do the most is to dumb down design and make it simple. I think thats its the easiest way to make effective design. Strip it down to its core elements and let the design perform on its own. Let the design rely on its core principles and hopefully if you've done the research and work correctly it will meet its mark.

INQMND

In my opinion, this is the best designed magazine online and possibly in print. They have a flair for the dramatic in terms of layout and photography. One look and you are guaranteed to become a full-time subscriber. I bet you cant look just once...

I just wish they posted new stories at a faster pace.

http://www.inqmnd.ca/

Futura

Used in iconic apparel brands from Nike to Obey, this font expresses an appeal for the bold. It says here I am come look at me. The san-serif typeface is very popular in popular culture used in various propaganda posters and images. Its most famous use is by the Nike Corp. which uses it in its just do it campaigns.

Copy Cat

The Hundreds: http://www.thehundreds.com/index.html

I love following these guys. They are an apparel based company reigning from the Los Angeles area. They have a very interesting take on fashion, design, and the streetwear culture that follows. They run a very successful clothing company distributed across the the U.S.

Obey: http://obeygiant.com/

I dig Shepard Fairy's art. From the Obama posters which were so popular during the last presidential election, to his humble beginnings as a garage poster designer. Check out the vintage Andre the Giant...

You have the right to remain silent

Most of us forfeit that right on a daily (more like an hourly) basis. Now and again we all find ourselves prisoners to our cellular devices. This visual metaphor is a great example of communicating technological captivity. Because of the popularity and recognition of a mobile phone paired with the international iconic symbol of imprisonment through the reference of handcuffs, this image is easily transferable to most cultures. I'd love to go into more detail but you'll have to excuse me for the time being.......my Blackberry is ringing.

Define & Conquer

My definitions of...

Design - the process of creating a form for a communicative function to be understood by a specified or unspecified audience.
Culture - the norms and ordinances practiced and adopted by a community (or entity) for the purpose of identification and expression
Language - communicative or non-communicative form of expression often used for primitive and complex understanding.

Possibly the oldest trilogy of interaction since the creation of man. Each balances off one another in order to create a solution to a problem (of course one much believe that there was an initial problem in need of resolution, which I do). Whether they are equally distributed for the purpose of the solution is debatable.
One of the most prominent and ancient intersections of design, culture, and language is trade among men.

Beautiful Mistakes

The designers space is often filled with pieces of inspiration through iconic figures, symbols, and ideals which in turn help the designer cultivate his or her own style or design language. Mark Romanek's feature on www.hillmancurtis.com gives insight to his inspiration and outlook on the process and purpose of film making and creating.

Romanek describes movies as illusions whose purpose is to have the audience believe in the scenario. In order to achieve this the director and stagehands must be detail oriented to the point of obsession. The ideal outcome is a creative that matches the detail of your original intention. However once finished, the creative must be edited, and pieces that you thought were a perfect fit turn out not to have a place in the puzzle.
Then there are the beautiful mistakes that one encounters by mere accidental arrangement. It is the unknown paired with the contrived which help result in a balanced creative most effective to the audience and viewer.
The most important point in creating, Romanek suggests is whether or not your piece is emotionally engaging. He believes that the audience should be left with a question and that pieces should not be understood "too easily".
This leaves me to pose the question of whether or not a piece can or should be admired simply on aesthetic beauty without inner implications?

G-Dub

"There are those who have become successful by being talented, and there are those who have become successful by working hard. Then there are those who apply both hard work and natural talent to become great."

- Greg Washington

There are designers, and then there is Greg Washington. The way that this man composes flash based websites in such beauty and simplicity in beyond my comprehension. He is definitely a leader in multi-media design and digital layout. By the way, he is self taught.

This quote is the truth in every sense of the word. In the workplace and in life for that matter we as individuals have to learn to assess our talent and our desire to achieve. Some of us have less talent and an extreme desire. Some of us have the talent but less desire. And some of us are blessed to have both traits running through the course of our veins.

In my personal opinion, in the creative industry I think that it is far better to have a natural talent than only a strong work ethic. Talent can be changed into ethic. And when a talent learns the way of the formal then the talent becomes bankable.

Check out his design work for Inquiring Mind Magazine: http://www.inqmnd.ca/

Greg's quote is found in an interview by Josh Spears: http://joshspear.com/item/speartalks-greg-washington/

Mad Props!

Wow......Talk about subliminal messages and illusions. This is an image of NBA All-Star Lebron James on the cover of Vogue Magazine with Gisele. Do you see any comparisons to the two images.

Famed photographer Annie Leibovitz is responsible for this piece. This says allot on where our country (and world for that matter) stands in the present tense in terms of racial identity in pop culture, in comparison to where we have been. Apparently we haven't gotten to far. The implications are horrible in both images in terms of their dehumanizing portrayals, except one piece is implied while the other is somewhat literal. You tell me which one is which....I think I'll be canceling my Vogue subscription.

Here is a little background to the image on the left:

“DESTROY THIS MAD BRUTE” is the caption of this World War I propaganda poster for enlistment in the US Army. A dribbling, ape-like German wielding a club bearing the word “kultur” and wearing a pickelhaube helmet with the word “militarism” is walking onto the shore of America while holding a half-naked woman in his grasp (possible meant to depict Liberty). This is a US version of an earlier British poster with the same image. Dated ca 1917.

Manifesto of Growth

1. Drift. Allow yourself to wander aimlessly. Explore adjacencies. Lack judgment. Postpone criticism.

In my opinion the best design ideas happen when you just let go and freestyle with out thought but within the realm of reality. To allow yourself the opportunity to float away and create without worry of deadlines, critiques, or life's daily occurrences is a healthy way to live. Try it.

1. Slow down. Desynchronize from standard time frames and surprising opportunities may present themselves.

Blackberry's, iPhones, PDA's, laptops, high speed internet, bluetooth...Hasn't some of the best food that you've ever tasted come off of a plate from a slow broiled home cooked meal? Then why are we in such a rush to achieve a result that is best cooked under medium temperature. Once and a while take a look around you and soak up the craftsmanship of life. Take your foot off the accelerator for a moment and notice the natural compositions that we drive by daily without regard for. In a deadline driven society sometimes the fastest solution is not the fastest way to the finish line. Ask the Hare.

All in all Bruce Mau's Manifesto touched on common topics that we sometimes forget to think about while engaged in the "rat race." Those are the two excepts that spoke to me the most today.

Casual Wednesday

Tube sox with dress shoes? Fashion faux pas. And how did he get that shirt on?