Crafty commentary

In Cozying Up to Cozies, Penelope Green of the New York Times writes of the blog kraftomatic.blogspot.com, on which writer Marian Lizzi posts various odd crafty items she finds on the craft-laden site Etsy. Lizzi also adds humorous commentary to the pictures of strange items. She uses the "just sold" feature on the site and writes only of these items; as she says, "The thing about the just-sold feature is that it shows you what people are actually buying, that matches are being made. And that makes me so happy.” Among the items cited are crocheted turkey legs and soaps shaped like dentures. As the article emphasizes, "In a world gone mad, there is something comforting about the fact that someone is painstakingly stitching spotted dick, the British pudding, out of felt, or molding shea butter soaps in the shape of dentures, and that someone else is cheerfully snapping them up." Such quaintness is often the underlying joy of crafting; though these items are certainly not needed, there is something fun about the fact that they are being created for sheer creation's sake. As a design student, it's impossible not to make the comparison between such superfluous crafting and design. How many times have we, as students, been asked what exactly defines design and separates it from both arts and crafts? In my opinion, this exercise in recognizing craft for the sake of craft highlights the underlying definition of design: that it exists for a purpose, whether to sell, inform, guide, or explain.

Jason Santa Maria lecture

Swissmiss highlighted Jason Santa Maria's lecture at SVA regarding print vs. web design. The lecture is quite interesting. First, Jason focuses on the nature of print design and how magazine and newspaper layouts are generally much more inspired and interesting than their web versions. Next, he explores the web medium and the particular problems it poses, such as the fact that designers don't know where the site will be viewed (on a computer, iPhone, or Kindle); cannot be sure how the page will be displayed (font sizes, etc. can differ on different computers); and cannot count on the chronological aspect that books and magazines provide. Finally, Jason highlights how he has attempted to bring techniques of print design to his own web design style, focusing on his personal website, jasonsantamaria.com. I definitely recommend listening to the lecture, as it certainly pertains to Interactive Design, as well as design as a whole.

Kings of Convenience

Seth Godin points out that marketers typically work in Circles of Convenience: "They stick to the tactics, products, people and channels that they are comfortable with, instead of rethinking what the market demands." It's difficult to do, but business requires serious risk-taking. Rather than doing what has always been done, successful businesspeople must try new things that have never been done. Instead of looking at often-used solutions and applying them to current situations, they must look instead at the problem and situation and develop entirely new solutions. They must clear their heads of existing ideas and arrive at something entirely different. While it may seem risky, it seems to be the only way to differentiate oneself from "the pack"—and thus, gain success.

Kindling interest in the Kindle

Nussbaum asserts that the Kindle, Amazon's new medium for reading, is especially loved by Boomers. I have to agree with him from what limited discussion I've had regarding the Kindle; my father and his friends seem to be very intrigued by the device, yet my friends look down upon it. This fact is somewhat counter-intuitive. One would think that younger readers would more readily embrace the new technology, while older generations would prefer traditional books. Nussbaum writes,

Boomers read and the Kindle satisfies this desire. It’s a platform that is light, small, easy to use and better than carrying around heavy books (remember, pain is a constant, especially in the hands, from 55-onward).

I think the weight is a huge factor in the Kindle's popularity. My dad, who travels often for work, cites the fact that he could bring multiple books with him on one device as the main reason for wanting one. The question is: why do Gen-Y'ers not want the device? Is it because, more and more, we read different things (i.e. blogs, social networking sites, and Internet news) instead of books? Is it because we stare at a screen all day long and want to rest our eyes when it comes time to read a book? It's an interesting question and one worth exploring. Further, I wonder how Amazon is pursuing marketing the Kindle and whether Boomers have been their target in marketing efforts.

The High Line - take two

At the risk of beating a dead horse regarding the High Line (which seems to have crept up in every NY news source over the past week), I enjoyed this Design Observer article about the park. The article explores the design process that went into the park, along with the implications of the narrow, elevated space it inhabits. As the article argues, the narrow pathway, which at times gives way to landscaping, causes parkgoers to meander slowly through the directional forces of its structures (including planks and benches), as well as its curvy shape. Plentiful benches and lounge chairs underscore the idea of a slow stroll. Each structure along the way functions in multiple ways, and in doing so, reduces clutter. The surrounding buildings and landscapes become picturesque sights, causing viewers to stop and admire them. The park's unique form is perhaps what has attracted so much public attention, as it seems to be a reflection of what urban life will be in the future.

Plugged in

What a great idea! The node power strip from Metaphys in Japan provides an attractive and functional alternative to traditional, ugly power strips. The device contains two notches near its perimeter, which allow the user to plug in various electrical appliances. Meanwhile, at the center of the "strip" is a button that allows the user to turn off all the devices at once.
I love industrial design that rethinks the way every day objects work—and makes them better. Its often even more difficult to re-imagine current objects than it is to create new objects, as we're used to seeing them a certain way. It can be very easy to get stuck in a creative rut when we have the look and feel of a current product stuck in our minds. This power strip, however, breaks away from tradition nicely, and I'd love to try it out myself.

Pet Airways

A true lesson in absurdity: Pet Airways, the airline for pets that was featured on Cool Hunting this week. The all-pet airline provides amenities such as pre- and post-flight walks, in-cabin kennels, and personal attendants who walk/carry pets onto the plane. As of now, the airline only flies once weekly to select major cities (New York, Washington, DC, Chicago, Denver, and Los Angeles), but hopes to expand in the near future.
I personally am surprised that the company is launching amidst the current recession. The idea seems a bit extravagant in this market, and I wonder if it will be popular. It seems it would have been better suited for the bull market of a few years ago.

Feedback

I enjoyed Seth Godin's posting about feedback. His observations are true not only in the workplace, but also in a school environment. Often, teachers tend to be stubborn about their stylistic viewpoint and are thus stubborn about the praise or rejection they give students. This method of feedback often causes students to focus merely on what the teacher wants, and because of this focus, miss out on truly engaging with the project.

Never say never

Yet another book review piqued my interest on Swissmiss. Never Use White Type on a Black Background And 50 other Ridiculous Design Rules takes a look at the various rules that design schools and professionals often pass along to beginners and turns these rules upside down. According to the review, the book essentially tells designers that, rather than be governed by a set of rules, design is to be experimental and free of restrictions. I agree that it is difficult to use a specific set of rules in design; such constraints can limit creativity. Instead, designs must be approached on a case-by-case basis. While it is important to have a foundation of knowledge to draw on, it's also important to free oneself from too many restrictions.

It's not easy being green...

This post on Cool Hunting reviews the new book Design is the Problem by Nathan Shedroff. The book discusses the need to reassess what we as designers consider "green" and often arrives at counter-intuitive conclusions. Though I haven't read the book myself, the ideas presented in the review sound compelling. So much work has been put into marketing products as "green," yet I find it doubtful that many of the purportedly "green" products actually stand up to their claims. In my opinion, more products should be developed specifically to be green, rather than simply re-branded as such. From the sounds of this book, it will help designers do so.


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Banksy vs. Bristol Museum

This Core77 posting takes a look at street/graffiti artist Banksy's new exhibit at the Bristol Museum in his hometown. The exhibit was planned in secrecy, and not even the museum's director met Banksy; instead, the artist worked on the exhibition anonymously amidst his large crew. Ironically, Banksy is famous for his (illegal) graffiti throughout Bristol, yet is now showing at a government-funded museum. His illegal behavior, then, has made him famous throughout Britain and the world.
It will be interesting to see what the public response to the exhibit is and how his work translates in a museum setting. His art is known for its political commentary, a fact that dovetails nicely with his usual forum of graffiti on the sides of buildings. Will this message be weakened if he instead shows his work in such a traditional setting?

Circumspect

After our in-class discussion about cool hunting / trend forecasting, I found this article from the NYTimes about the evolution of sunglass trends particularly interesting. The article focuses on the summer's new trend of sporting round sunglasses, but covers the larger process of defining, starting, and spreading trends in general. The author points out that many style makers see the same art exhibitions and current events, and that this exposure often influences them in similar ways. For example, a pair of John Lennon's signature round glasses were auctioned recently at a high price—a fact that many designers likely noticed. As designers, we must pay attention to such trends, and it's thought provoking to examine the origins of them.

Hooray for the Highline

As Nussbaum points out, the High Line has opened at long last. I'm excited about the park—not just for the new space to stroll in the summer, but for the great design used in developing the park. As you can see from the pictures below, the park uses some innovative structures and is anything but boring. It's projects like these that will allow NY to keep its cutting-edge reputation. As Nussbaum illustrates in his post, the park will help revitalize the area, as many new retail stores, restaurants, and even hotels (The Standard) have opened along its path. I'm looking forward to checking it out this weekend!

A Stress on Letterpress

I love browsing the "Today" posts on Design Observer, which catalog inspiration for the week. This week's posting was of particular interest to me, as it details various examples of letterpress printing, as well as the history behind it. As the post mentions, letterpress printing has experienced a resurgence in popularity in recent years—a fact that dovetails with the current backlash against mechanical, computer-based typography. In this post, Eric Baker explores letterpress's tradition of highly ornamental typography, often drawn by hand. I personally love the look of letterpress printing and would love to learn the craft myself. Furthermore, I am exploring the "return to the past" as a possible thesis topic, and this post underscores some of the themes I've been examining in Directed Research. See below to check out some of the images featured in the post.

Social Media and the Workplace

Nussbaum's amusingly titled post VP of Twittering examines the new and popular role of VP of Social Media. He goes on to remark,

many VPs of Social Media do not have significant social media footprints on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Wow. I guess many corporate bureaucracies still can’t trust the younger members of their culture, because Gen Yers absolutely live in social media. In fact, there is a growing split between “young” Gen Yers and “old” Gen yers on how they use social media.

This statement echoes our exploration of the millennial generation in class. Similarly, I consider myself an "old" Gen Yer...I have not yet fully embraced social media (namely, Twitter). It's interesting to see that, according to the post Nussbaum tags, there is an effective and credible way of going about Twittering—and it's very similar to in-person networking.

Blogging 101

As the writer of this blog, I found this article from this weekend's NYTimes to be interesting. I always wonder how many of the millions of blogs out there are actually read, and according to this article, the answer is: not many. The article explains that, while many people start a blog with the hopes of obtaining a book deal, advertising money, or wide viewing audiences, most people are let down by a lack of readership. Indeed,

According to a 2008 survey by Technorati, which runs a search engine for blogs, only 7.4 million out of the 133 million blogs the company tracks had been updated in the past 120 days. That translates to 95 percent of blogs being essentially abandoned, left to lie fallow on the Web, where they become public remnants of a dream — or at least an ambition — unfulfilled.

There are many reasons these blogs are abandoned, including a lack of anonymity or quite the opposite: a lack of readership. Whatever the reason, it's clear that blogs, though increasingly popular reading sources, are often not all they are expected to be.

CreativeMornings

The CreativeMornings events, as described in this post on Swissmiss, look like informative, useful sessions for designers. It's always helpful to hear experienced designers talk about what they have learned—something I've been glad to see integrated more fully into Pratt's special events series this year. Some of the main points this week's CreativeMornings speaker, Khoi Vinh brought up were:

1. Tell The Truth
2. Understand the problem
3. Don’t Skimp
4. Fads are bad
5. Let things be what it is
6. A little bit of self-delusion goes a long way

Hopefully, I'll be able to catch a CreativeMornings session sometime soon.

Sketchy business

Core77's book review of Richard Brereton's Sketchbooks: The Hidden Art of Designers, Illustrators and Creatives reads like it was written by one of my Pratt professors. By this, I mean that the author stresses the utter importance of sketchbooks to designers, stating, "sketchbooks can serve as practice pages, ways to fill time, as a finished products [sic], or even what graphic designer Pep Carrio beautifully describes as 'warehouses of memory.'" Indeed, as a student, I've found how useful sketchbooks can be in developing ideas for a project. Similarly, Brereton's book looks as though it would be interesting to peruse for inspiration. As the review mentions,

"While looking at the notebooks of a Da Vinci, I'm stricken simultaneously with awe and despair by his utter mastery of line and form, but Brereton sets us a far more reasonable bar. With Da Vinci a reader might feel compelled to meticulously copy the masters work, but by including both 'wow' and 'I could do that' moments, Brereton's readers might actually be inspired to pick up a pencil."

True to this statement, the images included in the review are, in fact, inspiring. Upon viewing the few shots, I'm compelled to set off sketching myself. To "draw like no one is looking," as the review states, is a liberating and important component of any creative project.

Deeper vs. Wider

In his post Deeper or Wider, Seth Godin examines the differences between "deeper" and "wider" targeting. He argues that, in order to be successful and "grow the size of [its] customer base," a company must choose between the two tactics, either creating a wide variety of options so that 100% of the population will be satisfied or creating an "expert-like" focus on one item so that it becomes a specialty. I think this is an effective way to think about marketing. Too many companies fall somewhere in between, and in their lack of definition, fail to strike a chord with anyone.

Trumping the Real Estate Market

In the world of brand identity, Donald Trump is, no doubt, an expert. This post on Design Observer examines the beginnings of his Trump Tower logo and the brand identity that emerged thereafter. It's interesting that the logo's designer, Der Scutt, admits his design decisions were purely visual. Here at Pratt, our teachers constantly remind us that every design must have a conceptual basis and meaning; simply designing because something "looks nice" will not suffice. Clearly, however, Scutt's logo—along with Trump's decision to double it in size on the building's facade—have had a lasting impact on Trump's legacy.

It's a Small World, After All

This project by Edgartista (aka Edgar Gonzales) on Cool Hunting is an example of how a small, daily project—such as a doodle—can often become something much larger. As I begin attempting to come up with a thesis topic, this idea is particularly inspiring (and comforting-?). While the artist began his project simply as a doodle of the NY cityscape while on his way to work, it has evolved into something far more conceptual.

As stated on Cool Hunting,

Inspired by the urban landscape, the upshot is a large-scale futuristic drawing that incorporates major landmarks from cities around the world, signifying unification among everyone to create this new life for the future. . .[The artist] also refers to his utopian image as the "The New Hope," representing the ideal that one day the world will be a better place.

Cardboard Kingdom

The new and absurd: cardboard bedding. I'm always one for charity, so I like the company's social activism (a portion of the proceeds benefit an organization fighting homelessness), but the design (which merely LOOKS like cardboard) strikes me as a bit odd. To some extent, the design mirrors the vintage, beat up look that's popular now, but in my opinion, this design takes it too far. The site features a picture of someone sleeping on a bench with a comforter and pillow from the line... It's almost offensive—people who can afford nice bedding sleeping in "faux" cardboard linens as a fashion statement.

There's Nothing Funny About Design

Ellen Lupton interviews David Barringer in this interesting article on Design Observer. As a graphic design student at a well-regarded design school, it's interesting to read his opinions about formal schooling (Barringer is self-taught).

This quote from Barringer especially struck me:

Hybrid writing forms are perfect for design, because design itself is a hybrid of art, business and culture. Design is an eye of many storms. So it’s because of design’s great connectedness to art, business and culture that I have in mind a reader who might be a designer but could be any creative person, an artist, photographer, or writer, or someone who, like me, can’t help having fun thinking about what the world means.

As someone who enjoys all types of art, writing, and business, I came to graphic design looking for a fusion of the three. I hope to pick up this book as a summer read!

Adding to Ads

This post on Core77 about "product re-placement" is similar to things I'm seeing a lot of on design blogs lately. A number of artists are finding ways of replacing or altering ads in public spaces in order to "reclaim" these spaces for art, communication, or satire. One recently publicized example is Poster Boy, the New York-based "artist" who literally cuts and pastes pieces of subway advertisements onto one another to create new, often humorous pieces. It seems the public is growing tired of the increasingly invasive advertising industry's efforts to sell products and services, and instead of quietly absorbing them, people are defacing, adjusting, or otherwise creating new messages and visuals to absorb. It will be interesting to see how the advertising industry deals with this threat; my thought is that those who are smartest will work with, and not against, this trend.

Doodle

I'm interested to see if Doodle, the app covered in this posting on Swissmiss, will become popular in the United States. According to Swissmiss, it's currently enjoying popularity in Switzerland. The app allows users to create polls and schedule events.

I checked out the site, and I'm not entirely sure what it has to offer that Outlook, Gmail calendars, and email do not. While making polls is a fun feature, it doesn't seem like a commonly-enough used process to warrant a unique application. The polls seem less advanced than those created by sites like SurveyMonkey, so I doubt the app is prized for its ability to survey large groups of people more effectively than other sites.

Memory Lane

Seth Godin's post Nostalgia is a basic human emotion asserts that, like joy or greed, nostalgia is a basic human emotion that should be addressed in marketing. He believes this "emotion" has been overlooked, save for the efforts of a small few companies.

I tend to disagree that nostalgia has been wholly overlooked. Rather, in today's market, many companies are tapping into customers' nostalgia. Amidst a recession, customers long for a simpler, easier, and more profitable time. Many companies have been savvy enough to make use of--and sometimes exploit--this desire for simplicity, often tying it to the green movement. Even a choice of materials—glass over plastic, organic cotton over synthetic textiles—signals this sense of nostalgia.

Some examples of nostalgia being used in today's market: the desire for organic produce (as used by Whole Foods); a return to analog photography (Lomo); the resurgance of vintage and antique goods' popularity; the use of more "classic" or retro packaging, such as with both Coca Cola and Pepsi; and the return of old-style trends. Even the hand-drawn type aesthetic (as discussed in my recent post) signals a desire to return to a time before machines mass-produced goods with an impersonal look. It will be interesting to see how long this trend continues and how it will evolve.

Innovation in a Recession

Nussbaum's post How Do you Innovate In A Recession mentions some brands and products that are thriving amidst the recession. My thought is that recession inherently forces innovation. Creatives must make do with fewer resources, which often inspires greater creativity and innovation. It's a challenge—but a worthwhile and often fruitful one.

Photoshop Finish

In this week's New York Times, the article Smile and Say 'No Photoshop' points to the dangerous results of an overuse of Photoshop. As the article points out, more and more people are calling for the banning of retouching in magazines; "Artifice, in general, feels very five years ago," it states. It's a statement not altogether different from the backlash against computer-driven typefaces; people are craving a more humanistic, less mechanical design aesthetic. As countries like France seek to decrease the use of photo retouching in their publications, it will be interesting to see how the American market follows suit (or doesn't). Regardless, it's a debate that places graphic designers (in the form of graphic retouchers) front and center.

Vendor-Client Relations

Sadly, this video—as seen on Swissmiss—is all too true. It seems that, because design is an unknown craft to most people, they see it as an unquantifiable or negotiable service. When this attitude is placed in the context of other service industries (such as a restaurant or salon), as it is in the video, it quickly becomes apparent just how ridiculous this notion is. One could hope that as design becomes more central to commerce, this practice would slowly diminish; however, as the number of designers increases and the number of jobs decrease, my fear is that some designers will continue to underprice their work, making it difficult for those who abide by the Pricing & Ethical Guidelines standards.

Name your price

I found this posting, entitled How Much is that Artifact in the Window, on Design Observer to be interesting. So many artistic people become graphic designers because they want their work to be accessible, not framed preciously on the walls of an expensive gallery. Heller explores the intricacies of pricing graphic works produced in large runs, and it seems that many of these works are priced according to the same guidelines as fine art (fame of the artist; scarcity; place in design history).

How much would you pay for this Milton Glaser
Dylan poster?

What's in a name?

Seth Godin's post On becoming a household name is quite insightful. Much of the time, people choose products or services simply because they're familiar with it—thus ignoring the value or appropriateness of the product itself. Though I often wonder about the efficacy of banner ads, I certainly see his point: once you stop seeing the ads as drivers of web traffic and start seeing them simply as brand name builders, they take on a whole new meaning. In such a light, brand "skins" (such as the often-changing background on gossip site Perez Hilton) or page takeovers (in which all the advertisements on a webpage are from the same company) become particularly powerful. Even if the viewer is not actively engaging with the ad—something he/she isn't likely to do, due to his/her distraction by the site content—he/she is still subconsciously absorbing the brand name displayed on the advertisements.

The Cost of Creative Careers

Bruce Nussbaum's post on the decline in jobs for creatives is, obviously, worrisome for those of us getting our degrees in creative industries. I find the numbers he reports somewhat surprising. It seems to me that, due to the poor economy, so many companies are revamping their image campaigns and visual identities (see: Pepsi, Duane Reade, Tropicana, etc.) in efforts to turn around their business. Why, then, is there not a wealth of jobs for creatives? Is it simply because there is a decrease in the number of new companies, paired with the closing of some older, more established companies?

(Bad Time to Graduate for Creatives—Let's Change That, Nussbaum on Design)

Regenesi Sustainable Products

I enjoyed Cool Hunting's post on Regenesi Sustainable Products. The products are incredibly well designed—consistent with their Italian roots—but also make use of recycled and sustainable materials. While the "green" trend is often used as a marketing ploy these days, it's still a good trend to see popularized, as we can all do our bit to save the earth. Check out Regenesi goods here.

Made by hand

I enjoyed Steven Heller's blog posting about hand lettering on NY Times blog The Moment. I personally love the hand lettering look and think it adds a new dimensionality to typography that is often lost amidst sometimes bland computerized type. Replacing the stale, mechanical feeling of computer-rendered typefaces, hand-drawn typography lends a humanistic quality that often communicates volumes more than do the perfected strokes of traditional typefaces. This humanistic imperfection evokes a youthful, "indie" feeling, rebelling against the droning corporate mainstream. Ironically, the use of hand lettering has been adapted by the mainstream, as well as by independents; however, when used for large corporations, it is usually intended to distance the company from the corporate stereotype. Regardless, hand lettering has now become a widespread trend, and it is one that I enjoy for its democritization of design, personality, and youthful feeling.

Some examples of hand rendered typography as seen on book covers—one
of the books being one of my favorites, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

Mike Perry's book Hand Job serves as a catalog of
hand-drawn type.

(Hand Lettering, The Moment)

Mockett to me

This post on Core77 details some cool—yet practical—objects for around the house. Mockett offers products ranging from hardware to cable concealers, yet all are made with design in mind. The products look incredibly simple and clean, a look that is difficult to execute while maintaining complete utility and functionality. Who knew shopping for wire managers could be fun?