** Archived Posts **** Archived Posts **http://www.graphicology.com/archived-posts/2009-03-04T21:18:08ZSquarespace106. A Courageous Post from Armin.http://www.graphicology.com/archived-posts/2007/6/19/106-a-courageous-post-from-armin.htmljj2007-06-19T16:56:00Z2007-06-19T16:56:00ZGo to this post by Armin Vit of SpeakUp. It's one of the most courageous and introspective posts by a designer I've read in a long time. In it, he breaks down his recent logo designs (not selected by the client) and objectively categorizes and evaluates them in order to explore or discover his own design perferences. Quite thoughtful and interesting to say the least. I love it and want to try it on myself.]]>105. AICP's The American Commercial.http://www.graphicology.com/archived-posts/2007/6/11/105-aicps-the-american-commercial.htmljj2007-06-11T21:20:00Z2007-06-11T21:20:00ZThe Association of Independent Commercial Producers, or AICP have published the winners from their annual show of the best spots produced in the US, in a collection called The Art & Technique of the American Commercial. Browsing each year's category winner is a good resource for beginners (and veterans) to see the potential of great storytelling. The surprise spot I liked � and hadn't seen before � was for Sears and called Arboretum... it's great. Check it out. Link via Rm 116.]]>104. Wieden & Kennedy Website.http://www.graphicology.com/archived-posts/2007/6/5/104-wieden-kennedy-website.htmljj2007-06-05T15:48:00Z2007-06-05T15:48:00ZAs some of you know, Wieden and Kennedy has taken a beating lately on their lack (perceived) of interactive ability/integration. Read this article about their long time client Nike and you'll begin to understand how the agency's 'new media' reputation is affecting their business. I think it's silly really - an agency like W&K hires smart, creative people that regardless of the medium, will produce ground-breaking work. I think they have led the industry in interactive applications of creativity too, but somehow they are not getting credit for it - at least from CMO's and the like. Eventually, they'll be fine, but I recently noticed that they changed their website from their long-time, understated, uber-negative space, black and white, spartan website in favor of a new, flashy, time-line oriented, modern, whiz-bang interactive experience of their work. I bet they did this to counter the heat they've been taking lately � and it will probably help; but I wonder if it will have the longevity of their previous version? �nd I wonder if internally, they feel like this reflects their culture or if it was just a big middle finger to all the critics? (FYI: their London branch's blog is a great peak into what I consider one of the best pound-for-pound agencies around.)]]>103. London 2012.http://www.graphicology.com/archived-posts/2007/6/5/103-london-2012.htmljj2007-06-05T15:32:00Z2007-06-05T15:32:00ZThere's a great discussion going on about the identity for London's Olympic bid in 2012, on Speak Up. Check it out. Personally, I think it's ugly - although it does generate an entire system of graphic communication as well as stand out from the normal crowd... sometimes two out of three aint bad. Compare it to Chicago's recent Olympic bid, which is really beautiful. (Done by VSA Partners as pro bono.)
UPDATE: Check out what Coudal Partners has to say here. They make great points.
UPDATE 2: Yet one more thing to considering when designing.]]>102. Seventy-Nine Short Essays on Design.http://www.graphicology.com/archived-posts/2007/5/25/102-seventy-nine-short-essays-on-design.htmljj2007-05-25T16:40:00Z2007-05-25T16:40:00ZMichael Bierut's new book, 79 Short Essays on Design, was released today on Amazon. (A lot of the content has already been released as essays on Design Observer � where he discusses why he was compelled to compile this material into a book.) But I think it'll still be well worth the Jackson. I've already purchased mine and will update this post with highlights.]]>101. BMW Art Cars.http://www.graphicology.com/archived-posts/2007/5/11/101-bmw-art-cars.htmljj2007-05-11T16:00:00Z2007-05-11T16:00:00ZI recently had the opportunity to visit the BMW manufacturing plant's Zantrum (that's German for museum;) in South Carolina and saw an exhibit of art cars designed by such greats as Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Matazo Kayama, Frank Stella, and Andy Warhol - of whom I'm not a big fan just so you know. Apparently every year from 1975 and 1999, BMW commissioned one artist to paint one car. The cars provided a great medium for which to show off their unique styles and I hope that they restart this tradition soon. Check them out here, and here. (And for diecast versions - click here.)]]>100. Cross-Country Design.http://www.graphicology.com/archived-posts/2007/5/8/100-cross-country-design.htmljj2007-05-08T16:42:00Z2007-05-08T16:42:00ZOver the past week, I had the privilege of driving cross-country from San Francisco to Greenville, SC. This country is amazingly beautiful, but when I wasn't admiring the scenic views or stopping for a bag of these - I had time to think about two almost-design-related items. First, I believe that Tennessee has the best (standard) license plate of the states. It's pleasing, a lot of the state looks just like the image, and as a bonus - the numbers are quite legible too. Also, as I passed all of those U-haul trucks I wondered which state had the best mural (U-Haul calls them supergraphics by the way.) You've seen them on the sides of their trucks. Though none are well-designed per se, I have to give the nod to Louisiana, with the worst design by far going to Arizona. I have to admit that they are a guilty pleasure for me, I was forced to look at each one as I passed. (I have always liked what Budget does with their trucks too. But where's the D in this one?) I promise to get back to serious design matters within a few days.]]>99. Miami Ad School, Thank You.http://www.graphicology.com/archived-posts/2007/4/27/99-miami-ad-school-thank-you.htmljj2007-04-27T18:13:00Z2007-04-27T18:13:00ZFor the past few quarters I have had the privilege of teaching at the Miami Ad School here in San Francisco. I met some fantastic people and worked on some very interesting projects all the while enjoying myself tremendously. The cliche is right, when you teach you end up learning more than anyone in your class. Thanks to all, especially Denise and Sachie for giving me the opportunity. (Kaan, Jake, Denise #2, Bryan, Dave, Matt, Amy, Charles, James, Addy, Roberto, Jess, Niklas, Josh, Andrew, and Sam � Good luck and remember to use your talents for good.)]]>98. Campaign Logo Designs.http://www.graphicology.com/archived-posts/2007/4/26/98-campaign-logo-designs.htmljj2007-04-26T17:35:00Z2007-04-26T17:35:00ZSome applications of design seem more void of creativity, craft, and inspiration than others. Cereal boxes. Grocery store inserts. Local car dealer spots. All usually terrible and mostly unbearable. The set of presidential candidate logos for 2008 provide another such example. One would think that given the visibility of the campaigns and the sophistication of the people working behind the scenes (not to mention the budgets,) the identity work for their efforts would be more professional and meaningful. Take a look at this blog which compares and contrasts the campaign designs of the major Republican and Democratic candidates. I wouldn't pay too much attention to the written critiques found on the site - but it does serve as one-stop window shopping to form your own opinions. I find Obama's to be the most crafted, though still quite amateur when compared to the best corporate design. At least there's some sort of expandable graphic mark. I also think McCain's decision to use black in lieu of good ole red, white, and blue is daring - and in the right hands, potentially powerful - though in this execution it only exemplifies the Senator's reputation of being somewhat out of touch. (One website reviewer recently wrote that he must have 'joined the Oakland Raiders.' Ha. Though more color has since been added to the homepage.) Seems to me if you are a great designer and politically motivated, your services could be put to good use backing a candidate of your choice. (Does anyone else miss Perot's charts by the way?)
Politics being what it is, this is all that I can find about who did what.: Sol Sender of Sender LLC and five others in his firm created the logo the Illinois senator is using for his 2008 presidential bid. (source: Chicago Business.)
Anyone know anything about the others?]]>97. I Love Pinstriping.http://www.graphicology.com/archived-posts/2007/4/24/97-i-love-pinstriping.htmljj2007-04-24T20:17:00Z2007-04-24T20:17:00ZPinstriping combines some of my favorite things: applied design, attention to detail, craftsmanship and an interesting medium. Even if you are not a car person per se - you can easily appreciate how talented some of these artists are and how intricate and amazing some of this eye-candy can be. I particularly like this skull design (shown above.) Take a look at this wiki page, this video (which I posted long ago,) this video, Herb Martinez � one of the more web-recognized artists, a flickr group on the subject, a couple books, as well as some helpful how-to articles to get you started by a fellow named Rocky Jr. I'm thorough if nothing else. Enjoy.]]>
Go to this post by Armin Vit of SpeakUp. It's one of the most courageous and introspective posts by a designer I've read in a long time. In it, he breaks down his recent logo designs (not selected by the client) and objectively categorizes and evaluates them in order to explore or discover his own design perferences. Quite thoughtful and interesting to say the least. I love it and want to try it on myself.]]>
The Association of Independent Commercial Producers, or AICP have published the winners from their annual show of the best spots produced in the US, in a collection called The Art & Technique of the American Commercial. Browsing each year's category winner is a good resource for beginners (and veterans) to see the potential of great storytelling. The surprise spot I liked � and hadn't seen before � was for Sears and called Arboretum... it's great. Check it out. Link via Rm 116.]]>
As some of you know, Wieden and Kennedy has taken a beating lately on their lack (perceived) of interactive ability/integration. Read this article about their long time client Nike and you'll begin to understand how the agency's 'new media' reputation is affecting their business. I think it's silly really - an agency like W&K hires smart, creative people that regardless of the medium, will produce ground-breaking work. I think they have led the industry in interactive applications of creativity too, but somehow they are not getting credit for it - at least from CMO's and the like. Eventually, they'll be fine, but I recently noticed that they changed their website from their long-time, understated, uber-negative space, black and white, spartan website in favor of a new, flashy, time-line oriented, modern, whiz-bang interactive experience of their work. I bet they did this to counter the heat they've been taking lately � and it will probably help; but I wonder if it will have the longevity of their previous version? �nd I wonder if internally, they feel like this reflects their culture or if it was just a big middle finger to all the critics? (FYI: their London branch's blog is a great peak into what I consider one of the best pound-for-pound agencies around.)]]>
There's a great discussion going on about the identity for London's Olympic bid in 2012, on Speak Up. Check it out. Personally, I think it's ugly - although it does generate an entire system of graphic communication as well as stand out from the normal crowd... sometimes two out of three aint bad. Compare it to Chicago's recent Olympic bid, which is really beautiful. (Done by VSA Partners as pro bono.)
Michael Bierut's new book, 79 Short Essays on Design, was released today on Amazon. (A lot of the content has already been released as essays on Design Observer � where he discusses why he was compelled to compile this material into a book.) But I think it'll still be well worth the Jackson. I've already purchased mine and will update this post with highlights.]]>
I recently had the opportunity to visit the BMW manufacturing plant's Zantrum (that's German for museum;) in South Carolina and saw an exhibit of art cars designed by such greats as Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Matazo Kayama, Frank Stella, and Andy Warhol - of whom I'm not a big fan just so you know. Apparently every year from 1975 and 1999, BMW commissioned one artist to paint one car. The cars provided a great medium for which to show off their unique styles and I hope that they restart this tradition soon. Check them out here, and here. (And for diecast versions - click here.)]]>
Over the past week, I had the privilege of driving cross-country from San Francisco to Greenville, SC. This country is amazingly beautiful, but when I wasn't admiring the scenic views or stopping for a bag of these - I had time to think about two almost-design-related items. First, I believe that Tennessee has the best (standard) license plate of the states. It's pleasing, a lot of the state looks just like the image, and as a bonus - the numbers are quite legible too. Also, as I passed all of those U-haul trucks I wondered which state had the best mural (U-Haul calls them supergraphics by the way.) You've seen them on the sides of their trucks. Though none are well-designed per se, I have to give the nod to Louisiana, with the worst design by far going to Arizona. I have to admit that they are a guilty pleasure for me, I was forced to look at each one as I passed. (I have always liked what Budget does with their trucks too. But where's the D in this one?) I promise to get back to serious design matters within a few days.]]>
For the past few quarters I have had the privilege of teaching at the Miami Ad School here in San Francisco. I met some fantastic people and worked on some very interesting projects all the while enjoying myself tremendously. The cliche is right, when you teach you end up learning more than anyone in your class. Thanks to all, especially Denise and Sachie for giving me the opportunity. (Kaan, Jake, Denise #2, Bryan, Dave, Matt, Amy, Charles, James, Addy, Roberto, Jess, Niklas, Josh, Andrew, and Sam � Good luck and remember to use your talents for good.)]]>
Some applications of design seem more void of creativity, craft, and inspiration than others. Cereal boxes. Grocery store inserts. Local car dealer spots. All usually terrible and mostly unbearable. The set of presidential candidate logos for 2008 provide another such example. One would think that given the visibility of the campaigns and the sophistication of the people working behind the scenes (not to mention the budgets,) the identity work for their efforts would be more professional and meaningful. Take a look at this blog which compares and contrasts the campaign designs of the major Republican and Democratic candidates. I wouldn't pay too much attention to the written critiques found on the site - but it does serve as one-stop window shopping to form your own opinions. I find Obama's to be the most crafted, though still quite amateur when compared to the best corporate design. At least there's some sort of expandable graphic mark. I also think McCain's decision to use black in lieu of good ole red, white, and blue is daring - and in the right hands, potentially powerful - though in this execution it only exemplifies the Senator's reputation of being somewhat out of touch. (One website reviewer recently wrote that he must have 'joined the Oakland Raiders.' Ha. Though more color has since been added to the homepage.) Seems to me if you are a great designer and politically motivated, your services could be put to good use backing a candidate of your choice. (Does anyone else miss Perot's charts by the way?) 
Pinstriping combines some of my favorite things: applied design, attention to detail, craftsmanship and an interesting medium. Even if you are not a car person per se - you can easily appreciate how talented some of these artists are and how intricate and amazing some of this eye-candy can be. I particularly like this skull design (shown above.) Take a look at this wiki page, this video (which I posted long ago,) this video, Herb Martinez � one of the more web-recognized artists, a flickr group on the subject, a couple books, as well as some helpful how-to articles to get you started by a fellow named Rocky Jr. I'm thorough if nothing else. Enjoy.]]>