Reminder to self: K.I.S.S.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/dec/22/diy-adjustable-glasses-josh-silver
Reminder to self: K.I.S.S.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/dec/22/diy-adjustable-glasses-josh-silver
Came across this article on anthropomorphism in illustrative arts. I’ve always found drawing animals easier than humans, so I usually represent myself as an animal that goes back to a childhood nickname, a bunee. Human personalities are so varied and complex, sometimes it’s easier to pick an animal that embodies core traits to represent a human.
I’ve been asked by many students lately, “what is the future of illustration”? I usually refuse to answer on the grounds that I may incriminate myself by revealing an inability to be as wise or prescient as I am made out. After all it is hard enough predicting what’s going to happen tomorrow, no less months or years down the road. But today I’m going to go out on a limb. I’ve decided that the next big thing is one of the oldest illustration conceits ever: Anthropomorphism, “the attribution of uniquely human characteristics to non-human creatures and beings, natural and supernatural phenomena, material states and objects or abstract concepts.”
But where does this tendency come from? Observe the platypus, whose prehistoric ancestor emerged from the ooze millions of years ago near what is now northern Australia and is arguably an inspiration for anthropomorphic illustration. This aquatic mammal, with beaver body and duckbill face may have been Mother Nature’s attempt at satire, an early graphic commentary about the state of the primordial world. If this seems absurd, then consider the possibility that nature was playing with disparate forms, not unlike an illustrator sketching out an idea, never intending to end up with this design until becoming curiously smitten by the creature’s strange physiognomy, then seeing in it a metaphor or symbol on which to build a global narrative. Is this too far-fetched?
Muji, a Japanese line of lifestyle goods has beautifully executed form and function in simplicity for over 10 years. Thankfully with the opening of the SoHo location last year, their products are within closer reach. Every trip to New York warrants at least one stop to stock up on my favorite .38 gel pens, as well as craft paper stationery and accessories.
From Design Observer:
Working as an in-house designer for a big corporation doesn’t sound glamorous, and staying in the same place for more than 40 years doesn’t sound like a path to career success. But Lou Dorfsman, who joined the Columbia Broadcasting System in 1946 and rose to become its vice president and creative director for advertising and design until his retirement in 1991, may have had the best job in the American design industry.
When I learned the sad news last week that Dorfsman had died at the age of 90, I pulled a book down from my shelf that I’ve referred through now and then through the years: Dorfsman & CBS: A 40-Year Commitment to Excellence in Advertising and Design. Flipping through its 216 pages, I was struck once more by the range and timelessness of the work illustrated inside. And I found an interesting passage, where authors Marian Muller and Dick Hess describe “the do-it-yourself education of Lou Dorfsman,” which began shortly after he joined the company as advertising assistant to the legendary Bill Golden, creator of the CBS Eye logo.
I’ve been impatiently awaiting the first rainfall of the season, ever since the weather forecast’s mention last week. After a relatively mild summer in Los Angeles, we’ve been enduring a month long Indian summer with temperatures in the valley as high as 100. In honor of welcomed rain and a reason to finally break out the fall wardrobe are images from Scott Schuman:
The California Academy of Sciences re-opens this Saturday featuring an aquarium, a natural history museum, a living rainforest, a planetarium, and world-class research and education programs – all in under 2.5 acres of Golden Gate Park. Back with a redesign nine years in the making encompassing new ideals in science, architecture, and the environment, it’s definitely a place to check out on the next trip to SF!
Thanks in part to Project Runway, Parsons is widely known as one of the top schools to study fashion. Alumni such as Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs, and Anna Sui have something in common which I do not doubt was a result of their education. Business sense. It isn’t enough to be highly creative; to innovate with beautiful designs using materials in ways people never imagined. You must have the ability to sell your work, to present it in a manner that convinces the client to buy off on the idea, or the consumer to purchase the goods. Sounds like the stifling of the creative process? Maybe, but reality requires us as designers of consumed items to take the user into account.