Fold-Ins

The New York Times online has an interesting, interactive article on Al Jaffe, the creator of the "Mad Fold-In" for Mad magazine. Mad Fold-Ins are seemingly simple illustrations, but when you fold in one side there is a hidden joke. Jaffe's first fold-in was created in 1964, and he continues today, maintaining the quick wit of a youthful culture. My favorite is below: Roger Clemens folds to become a pregnant Jamie Lynn Spears. What makes this even more fascinating is that Jaffe draws and paints these pieces by hand, on a flat surface, so he is never actually folding the sheet of paper. Today, this effect could be done in a few clicks on Photoshop. It is sometimes easy to forget the "old school" way of creating a masterpiece.

I Am __________

I was able to participate in an exciting piece of collaborative community art today on 2nd street.

Jackie Young and Cybil Gustafson, part of the Art Alliance Austin, will present a collaborative installation titled I Am, an interactive photography exhibition that invites patrons to provide statements that describe themselves to accompany individual Polaroid portraits taken by Jackie Young. Performance artist Cybil Gustafson will hang the photos and statements. Some of the statements are serious, others witty, thoughtful and introspective.

Woah, who are those good looking people?!

Ulani

Came across a lovely little site today. I can't read any of it, of course, it's in German. Ulani has some great designs up, including these tarot cards. I like the mash-up of everything; type, color, old and new, and the cards still hold together as a set. The site is worth a look!

Genius and Genius.

Steve Jobs discusses Paul Rand. Amazing. Amazing. Amazing.

eww. feet.

Au(x) pied(s) de la lettre by Maxime Delporte. Even your feet can become a type face!

Pantone Eyewear

Ok, I admit to being a design nerd, but I don't know if I have the guts to wear these...Pantone Eyewear. You can pick from multiple pantone color options and change your frame color day-to-day depending on your mood. Today I think I would pick 'nomad'.

Photomontage Social Experiement

They say you can tell a lot from a person by looking in their garbage or do what I do; judge them by the food they are buying in the check out lane at the grocery store. (Although I can't image what people would think of me). Face your pockets is an online social experiment where people empty the contents of their bag, purse, or pockets. The objects and often the person's own face are scanned and uploaded onto the site. Some of the arrangements are quite beautiful and certainly tell a lot about the person. What's in your bag?

Faces

I just found this on my computer...in the "ill shit" file...I don't know where it came from (sorry). It is some good inspiration for making something out of nothing.

British Prints at the MFA, Boston

I went to the MFA last weekend because word on the street was that there's a printmaking show there. Obviously I needed to go. Rhythms Of Modern Life, British Prints: 1914-1939 exhibits the impact of Futurism and Cubism on British modernist printmaking. From the beginning of WWI to the beginning of WWII, the first inherently abstract British art movement of the 20th century arose; Vorticism. I never thought I would say the words "wow, look at that linocut!"...I am a printmaking snob, openly...but these linocuts were amazing. Dynamic, colorful, textural, these little gems really surprised me. Below are two Lill Tschudi linocuts. For the print on the left, she used the underside of the linoleum block to provide a tweed-like texture to the clothing. Oh, hey Genius.Also exhibited are some incredible drypoint etchings by C.R.W Nevinson (right, below) and woodcuts by Edward Wadsworth (left). Their take on bleak, industrial subject matter is graceful and clean.If you have the chance, go check it out!

ABC3D

Remember all those type exercises back in design school? Turns out they really can have real world applications! Marion Bataille's ABC3D is an "adult" pop-up book that inventively explores letterforms. The transitions Bataille makes are so clever (and even witty!): I especially enjoy the vellum overlay leg additions transforming OP into QR, and the mirror effect changing V to W. I know I am going to need to own this book– someday it could really come in handy for teaching my kids their ABCs! Available for pre-order on Amazon.

HOW Design Conference in Boston

If you subscribe to Print or HOW, you've likely already found this Boston themed poster in both magazines this month- a promotional piece for the HOW Design Conference, which will take place in my city this year from May 18-21. I truly wish I had the the necessary funds to attend this event (the tickets are- no word of a lie- $995. At their Early Bird Price). But if you are a wealthy designer (do those exist?), or if your company is willing to foot the bill, this conference would be pretty amazing: there are dozens of noteworthy speakers, workshops, portfolio reviews, and yes, invaluable "networking" opportunities. Link here to a full schedule. For now, I think I'll just enjoy their free poster of fun Boston references, hanging in my cube. Wicked.

And FYI, the poster was made by Stoltze Design, who apparently also created the identity for TypeCon 2006, Boston T Party, which I admired at the time (and still do).

To Tag or not to Tag

I need some advice. My company is adding a tagline to their logo, which in the world of corporate American...a very big deal. A tagline essentially sums up your company's core belief; it should be memorable and relevant. Considering all these ideas, you can see why this is no easy task. We already have the tagline created and are ready to debut it to the world and consequently have them gasp in wonder and awe and buy our product immediately. As far as style and branding guidelines go, its pretty up in the air.

My question: Does anyone know of a wonderful branding book (or online site) that really gets into the nitty gritty of the wonderful world of taglines? Also, are there any particular taglines that you like and/or think successful?

Letters and Numbers

Call it a nerdy graphic design thing, but I have a serious love for letters and numbers. Crew, I think you can back me up in saying that we were officially brainwashed in all our years of typography. Anyways, I found a blog completely devoted to images of letters and numbers! Check out Fontef Photolog for more. Oh, and it's a new blog just like ours so show your support!

I love this perpetual calendar designed by Massimo Vignelli. It's a timeless classic that will keep your days straight, year after year.

Domino

Yay! I found the April issue of Domino magazine in my mailbox today. Love it.

Saks Logo

As a graphic designer working for a large corporate company, there tends to be limitation after limitation on the use of the company's logo. Branding Guidelines are more sacred and closely followed then the Ten Commandments. "don't use the logo as a graphical image" "only use pantone color so and so" "never shrink the logo smaller then 13mm"...on and on. Which is why I have been shocked and curious by the 2007 use of the Saks Fifth Avenue logo on the company's shopping bags and marketing collateral, ads, and signage. I did some investigating...

Michael Bierut, a Graphic Designer for Saks Fifth Avenue, worked with a Yale physicist to chop up the logo into 64 squares and rearrange them into different combinations. Technically there are 98.14 googols (100 zeros after that number) of different possibilities using 64 different squares. This idea is called a "dynamic visual logo," in other words a logo that looks different every time you see it. Think MTV and Google. Bierut believes a person is more likely to remember a logo that is "consistently inconsistent." But lets not forget that the Saks Fifth Ave logo had a good 34 years to it before it was chopped up.

I love Entomology (?)

In the seventeenth century, many scientists believed that butterflies spontaneously generated from warm mud. It was through art and illustration that many of these original theories were proven wrong. Maria Sibylla Merian, born in 1647 by German florists, was a painter and nature enthusiast. She was one of the first to capture the metamorphosis of the caterpillar to butterfly on the canvas. Eventually, she taught her daughters her craft and they became some of the most remarkable naturalists of their generation.Their work is displayed at a new show, Maria Sibylla Merian & Daughters: Woman of Art and Science in the Rembrandt House in Amsterdam. Not going to Holland anytime soon, the show will be at the Getty House in L.A. in June.

Custom Interior Wall Painting

Who's up for a little shameless self-promotion?! I am. ;)

For the past few years I have been doing free-hand custom interior wall painting for homes all around the Bay Area. I specialize in nurseries and children's rooms, but no space is off limits. I've painted kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, and even laundry rooms. This weekend I had my first San Francisco client - little Baby Celine in Potrero Hill! After meeting with the family and seeing the space we discussed our ideas and came up with this graphic tree image. The family had already done a wonderful job decorating her room and the painting just added the perfect finishing touch.
Unfortunately, my website is still a work in progress, but visit www.meghancolvin.com for more information.

CraftBoston 2008

Yesterday in South Station I happened to see a poster for CraftBoston 2008, and after some research today I discovered that 175 Contemporary Craft Artists will be descending upon the Seaport World Trade Center from Friday the 28th-Sunday the 30th for the event. I checked out some of the vendors on the website, and it looks as though there are a few gems (mostly in the jewelry department- no pun intended), but many booths seemed a bit new-agey for my taste. But decide for yourself! If you are in the market for some handcrafted work (and don't mind dishing out the $15 admission to browse) the time is ripe. I really am into that flower ring...

This has nothing to do with design...

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

Leave it to Martha! Check out these fancy eggs from marthastewart.com. It makes me want to dye eggs. Really badly. Have a very Happy Easter!!!

Peep Peep

I don't know about the rest of you, but Peeps are hands down my favorite Easter candy. So, naturally, I LOVED the concept behind this Washington Post Peeps Diorama Contest! It's hard to pick my favorites, since there are so many clever and well executed ideas. Props are most definitely in order for the official winning entry: Peeps are a Girl's Best Friend, created by– who else?– a graphic designer!

Kudos to Rosslyn Metro Station, Friday 5PM

But I think I like this one best of all: Dateline NBC: To Catch A Peep-a-tor, created by 6 members of Fairfax County Child Protective Services one night after work.

A Few Design Improvements

Much along the lines of Real Simple magazine, do I need to be 40+ to get excited about these design improvements on everyday home accessories? I think not! Sometimes we take for granted the way products have always looked, but here are three great examples of designs that break away from the pack and really stand out by blending in. Above, something almost anyone with an apartment could use- the Dirt Devil Kone, available at Target for 39.99 in half a dozen colors.

For the safety conscious, introducing the HomeHero Fire Extinguisher- a huge step away from the large, bright red standard! Soon to be released at Home Depot.

And if I were decorating my dream kitchen tomorrow, it would most certainly include a Drawer Dishwasher by KitchenAid- about as streamlined as it gets. Anyone else have more examples to share? This is such a fun trend to watch, as it begs the age-old question: What will they come up with next?

Hey Cupcake!

I love cupcakes, and so does Austin, Texas. Hey Cupcake is a cute little store/airstream on South Congress that sells nothing but cupcakes. There is generally a line and they almost always sell out of the most popular flavors (oh yes, there are flavor options!) Great branding and well designed website make Hey Cupcake worthy of a Crew Design blog post.

AND the cherry on the top, so to speak, is the option of a FREE Whipper Snapper... a shot of whipped cream injected into the actual cupcake. Bliss.

Give a Little

It seems I have become a "do-gooder". That's right, as of yesterday, I have officially become a volunteer for PAWS. Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS) is a volunteer-based organization that provides for the comprehensive needs of companion animals for low-income persons with HIV/AIDS and other disabling illnesses. Admittedly, this is something that I inadvertently volunteered for. (Let's face it, it's a bit ironic seeing as I'm not much of a pet person.) But as it turns out, I will be able to volunteer my graphic design services (phew, no dog walking for me!). This got me thinking of the importance of graphic designers volunteering their services for non-profit organizations. As graphic designers we know the importance and power of professional, high-quality design. And unfortunately, we also know the high price of such design. So to all the designers out there: Use your skills for something good! Redesign a logo, help launch a website, or design some powerful, eye-catching advertisements...your skills can make a difference!

Also, check out Taproot Foundation, it is an organization that brings together professionals to do pro bono marketing, HR and IT work in order to gain the exposure and success of nonprofits all over the country.

Spiderman, Spiderman

I really enjoy these folk images by Russian illustrator Andrey Kuznetzov, where he interprets scenes from movies in a traditional(ish) drawing style. Above, Spiderman, below, Harry Potter. Here to see more illustrations. Via Design Observer.

Picasso Smichasso

Don’t lie, you have always wanted to create your own Picasso masterpiece. “But wait,” you say, “I have no artistic talent to begin with!” Don’t worry. You can become Picasso himself on this website, MrPicassoHead.com. Once you are finished with your masterpiece, it will be uploaded to the Picasso online gallery. You can thank me later.

Google Doodle

If you happen to live on this planet, then you are probably familiar with Google. And if you are familiar with Google, then you may have noticed the logo art that replaces the standard logo every holiday. I thought today, being a holiday (St. Patrick's Day), was the perfect day to write about Dennis Hwang, the Graphic Designer of the Google logo.

Dennis' first logo 're'design was on July 14th, Bastille Day. Since then he has been creating holiday google logos for Christmas, Thanksgiving, Martin Luther King Day, etc. Sometimes he will even create art for a completely random, fun occasion such as Piet Mondrian's birthday.

The anniversary for Lego was one of my favorite days.

Today, Dennis is in charge of Google's webmasters, and designing the logo is only 20 percent of his job. Read this interesting interview with David and see a time lapse video of a google doodle, HERE.

Nike's "Green" Shoe

In the spirit of shoe design (Meghan) and environmental design (my new "green" job), I wanted to share this new shoe Nike created (with Steve Nash, a basketball player for the Phoenix Suns) called the "Nike Trash Talk." The basketball shoe is made from the manufactured waste from the Nike factory. Until I saw this shoe I didn't stop to consider about how much waste shoe factories must produce a year. The Trash Talk retails at $100. Interesting idea, but not going on my shopping list. (unless I decide to become an NBA basketball player).

International Quilt Study Center and Museum

Also featured in the NYT Style Magazine was the International Quilt Study Center and Museum. I've always wanted to see the Quilts of Gee's Bend, and now I would love to see this collection too (if I ever make it to Nebraska). I spent literally hours browsing their archives... the quilts are endless, beautiful, and diverse in style. Many of them have little to no background information attached to them. While it is sad that these amazing artists were never fully recognized for their talent during their lifetimes, it does lend a sense of mystery to the work. I'm so curious about the design choices the artists make- such as the apparently random fabric shifts in the quilt above, which make it all the more visually interesting.

The quilt above, also by an unknown artist (possibly from Lancaster PA) shares an obvious connection to Josef Albers' Homages to the Square, but predates these works by at least 30 years. Had Albers ever seen these quilts? The quiltmaker probably used her color sensibility more than academic color theory, but she makes such unusual, nuanced choices in this piece. Below are a few more selections pulled from the archives, along with the museum's award winning logo featured in Print's Regional Design Annual.

Numbers

As accountants my sister and father must love numbers. Well, math was never my strong suit but for the pure aesthetic appeal I love numbers, as well. 2 and 8 are my favorite. Here's something fun to read about numbers:

'Four is an interesting number because of it is a shape that would arouse the curiosity of a cat,' wrote Saul Steinburg. 'Most numbers are either open or closed. Number 8, for instance, is closed; a cat has no business to look inside. A cat likes to peer into something that is half open - a little bit open - a mystery. Number 3 is obvious; number 1 is nothing; number 5 perhaps is more intriguing, but 4 certainly is perfectly designed and engineered for a cat to look inside and find out what is going on.' Not for nothing are letters and numbers called characters, as Steinburg appreciated when he drew them as personalities. '5 and 2 might happily get into bed together,' but '1, 4 and 7 have no sex appeal.'