Archive for May, 2010

DESIGN: AIGA’s Design Journey Has Arrived

Check out AIGA’s Design Journey: You Are Here

This is a photo essay of the opening night celebration.

Above is a selection of photos which include mural design by Rafael Esquer of Alfalfa Studio, Exhibition Design by Marcos Chavez of TODO, group shot of 2010 graduates of D-Crit program Angela Reichers, Alan Rapp and Fred Duarto.

28

05 2010

DESIGN: Steve Mehallo Offers A Refreshing Spin On Design History

After recently reading this post on a design colleagues Ayana Baltrip blog, DESIGNSPEAKS, I decided this essay was definitely worthy to share, with my design friends too. Steve Mehallo, teaches at American River College and he decided to share his views on the best ways to teach and research Graphic Design History. I’m interested in hearing your thoughts about Mehallo’s essay, on how design history should be taught.

Read about Mehallo’s refreshing methods on, how he teaches Design History. His essay offers you a thorough review on many of the key design history books considered the best by lots of design educators. I’m not going to mention any of the design history books, since you’ll get to read all about them in Mehallo’s essay. Although Mehallo’s does give you his aesthetic reasons on which books are worthy, and which ones need to skipped. In addition, his essay offers a solid rationale why anyone who teaches design history should not solely depend upon one book, but develop their own research methodology to make this subject engaging. Otherwise once you start lecturing and showing slides, you might just get a lot of students sitting in your class with their heads bowed once you turn down the lights. Last fall, I started my second Master’s in the Design Criticism program at School of Visual Arts in NYC. As a design educator, who also loves teaching Design History, I must confess that teaching this topic is an arduous task. However, my design history instructor in the program, Russell Flinchum, taught our class with the rigor of a southern baptist minister on Sunday morning. All to say, none of my classmates dared to bow their heads once the lights were turned down. As for me I left Russell’s class with a more varied knowledge on the history of design, and a lot of new books to add to my already overloaded bookcases at home. (above photograph; by Steve Melhallo student Samantha Costanilla).

Read more about Mehallo on his blog: http://mehallo.com/blog/

So I’ve been teaching my version of ‘a history of graphic design’ for several years now. Just finished up my 9th session.

As a text, Philip B. Meggs’ landmark research book – History of Graphic Design, first released in 1984 – is the bible on the subject. Even the ‘making of’ has its own edition.

It’s the most thorough analysis, and one of the best graphic design reference books I own. But as Meggs points out in his introduction, it’s only the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more to discover, find, research and incorporate into one’s own view.

Finally, there is another book that just hit the market – The Story of Graphic Design by Patrick Cramsie. It tackles similar ground, but from another angle. A refreshing find. And from what I could tell so far, it syncs with my own classroom take on ‘The Story’ . . .

DESIGN: Rick Griffith Curates His First Love—Letterpress

Rick Griffith, Design Director & Principle at Matter is organizing, curating, and presenting: Pressed: An Exhibition of Letterpress Printed Ephemera along with few other forms of typographic mischief throughout Denver May 28th through July 4th.

On Friday the 28th of May Untitled #29: TYPO kicks off the weekend with Printing demonstrations, Spoken word, and various sorts of Typographic mischief that are sure to tickle senses throughout the night. The show opens at 7pm and runs until 10pm.

The following day the ABOUT FACE Symposia will be set into motion with two type related film screenings: Typeface, by Justine Nagan & Jack Stauffacher, and Printer by Jim Faris. The screenings will be followed by a Panel discussion lead by Nick Sherman of FontBureau & Woodtyper, Jim Sherraden & Brad Vetter of Hatch ShowPrint, Rick Griffith of MATTER and Tom Parson of Now it’s up to you publications.

Closing out the weekend on Sunday May 30th Pressed: An Exhibition of Letterpress Printed Ephemera will open to the public. The show will feature work from the Hamilton 10th Anniversary show, Hatch Showprint, and Works produced at the TypeLab/Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection.

Spare Beats: Happenings Around Town

This spring there are a lot of events occurring around NYC with film, visual art, design, food and more. Here is a breakdown of the ones that I’ve been able to find, and some are all free! Please leave a comment if I’ve left anything out.

Social Dramas and Shimmering Spectacles: Muslim Cultures of Bombay Cinema
May 19 to 27

Celebrate and explore the rich influence of Muslim cultural and social traditions on the cinema of Bombay at Lincoln Center. http://www.filmlinc.com/wrt/onsale/bombay.html

Chaudhvin Ka Chand
M. Sadiq, 1960, India; 169m
Fiza
Khalid Mohamed, 2000, India; 170m
Garm Hawa
M. S. Sathyu, 1973, India; 146m
Jodhaa Akbar
Ashutosh Gowariker, 2008, India; 213m
Mammo
Shyam Benegal, 1994, India; 124m

May 21st and 22nd – Costume Collections: A Collaborative Model for Museums
The Brooklyn Museum and the Costume Institute are hosting a 2-day symposium about their new costume collaboration. I’m looking forward to seeing both exhibitions this spring!

Fredrick Levore at University of the Streets
We hope you can play your part in the audience and enjoy an incredible evening of live music featuring: Michael Feinberg on bass, Daniel Platzman, drums Richard Louie, piano Alex Pope Norris, brass Emily Greene and Tatiana Kochkareva vocals.
Saturday, June 5, 2010 at 7PM-11:30PM; located at 130 East 7th Street (Avenue A) New York City.

COLLABORATION: 
KARIN FONG OF IMAGINARY FORCES
THURSDAY 17 JUNE 2010 6:30–8:00PM

Join Karin Fong, founding member of Imaginary Forces and renown title designer, as she discusses the collaborative nature of designing cinematic experiences in its many roles.
As director and designer for a wide range of projects, spanning the worlds of fashion, entertainment, advertising, live-action direction, video games, experience design and environmental installations, Karin’s work carries a unique stamp whether it features the Marines or stop motion claymation figures.
AIGA/NY event

Black Brooklyn Renaissance: Black Arts and Culture, 1960–2010. The summer season gives ample evidence of the renaissance at work: the Black Brooklyn Drum Call, a concert featuring Toshi Reagon, an exhibition featuring the work of six Black Brooklyn photographers, the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival along the Dumbo waterfront, the annual Tribute to Our Ancestors of The Middle Passage in Coney Island and so much more. summer event calendar

17

05 2010

On Point: Elizabeth Gilbert on Creativity

On Ted.com excerpt:

Elizabeth Gilbert reflects on the creative spirit and her model for writing through creativity. Listen how she takes you through her trajectory of  ­premidlife crisis by doing what we all secretly dream of – running off for a year. Her travels through Italy, India and Indonesia resulted in the megabestselling and deeply beloved memoir Eat, Pray, Love, about her process of finding herself by leaving home.

She’s a longtime magazine writer – covering music and politics for Spin and GQ – as well as a novelist and short-story writer. Her books include the story collection Pilgrims, the novel Stern Men (about lobster fishermen in Maine) and a biography of the woodsman Eustace Conway, called The Last American Man. Her work has been the basis for one movie so far (Coyote Ugly, based on her own memoir, in this magazine article, of working at the famously raunchy bar), and now it looks as if Eat, Pray, Love is on the same track, with the part of Gilbert reportedly to be played by Julia Roberts. Not bad for a year off.

Gilbert also owns and runs the import shop Two Buttons in Frenchtown, New Jersey.

“Gilbert is irreverent, hilarious, zestful, courageous, intelligent, and in masterful command of her sparkling prose.”

Booklist

17

05 2010

On Point: Design Journey Mural by Rafael Esquer of Alfalfa Studio

I’m honored to be a part of such a creative group of 25 designers in the show Design Journey: You Are Here, set to open on 20 May, this week at AIGA in NYC. My good friend Rafael Esquer of alfalfa studio is busy racing against time to put the finishing touches on the mural for the exhibition.
Check out some of Raf’s sketches, better yet make sure to see the show to experience his amazing mural artistry.

I called Raf to offer my help along with some of his artist and designer to paint the mural on the wall in the AIGA gallery. And the entire process will be videotaped.

Below of are few more examples of the murals.

You Are Here opening reception: Wednesday, May 19, from 6:00–8:00 p.m. at the AIGA National Design Center. The exhibition was designed by TODA and will be open to the public from May 20 to June 23.

On Point: Social Media Revolution 2 (Refresh)

Just out.  While media moves through space quicker than superman, this new updated version of Social Media Revolution 2 differs drastically from last years outdated video, this version is fresher with new stats and graphics.
Social Media Revolution 2 is a refresh of the original video with new and updated social media & mobile statistics that are hard to ignore. Based on the book Socialnomics by Erik Qualman.
As reported by the SocialTimes Blog:
Socialnomics Revisits ‘Social Media Revolution’
Last August Erik Qualman, author of Socialnomics, introduced ‘Social Media Revolution’, an infographic video chock full of social media statistics.  The original video was a hit, with over 1.8 million views, but in the 9 months since it was released the world of social media has changed quite a bit and many of the statistics represented in the video have become outdated.  Yesterday, Socialnomics released a refresh of their video, new and improved with up-to-date social media and mobile statistics, facts and figures.
For more read the SocialTImes.

Kulture: Venus Symposium Videos are Online

Venus 2010: Panel Three – The “Hottentot Venus” in Art and Film from NYU Photography and Imaging on Vimeo.

This was an excellent Symposium and now you can checkout all those inspirational presenters online: Venus 2010: They Called Her “Hottentot,” An Interdisciplinary Symposium on Sarah Baartman.
The event was a great success and we were honored to host such amazing presenters and attendees.
For information, photos, and video from the March 27th symposium, please visit our website at: http://photo.tisch.nyu.edu/object/photo_venusgallery.html
If you would like to purchase or find more information about the accompanying book,
Black Venus 2010: They Called Her “Hottentot” please visit the Temple University Press website at: http://www.temple.edu/tempress/titles/1440_reg.html

Venus 2010: A Poem for Sarah Baartman by Diana Ferrus from NYU Photography and Imaging on Vimeo.

06

05 2010

On Point: First Graphic Design Biennial Germany–Opens in China

I could not resist posting this amazing Graphic Design biennial featuring some of the most prolific international designers. Check out the poster design it’s an excellent example of the use of symbolism merging two cultures (Chinese and German).

The First Graphic Design Biennial Germany–China will open in Offenbach, Germany om May 12, 2010. More than 300 contemporary posters and 150 books, as well as numerous animations will be shown in the Am alten Schlachthof exhibition hall.
The best communication designers of China are coming to Germany to attend the opening. Amongst them will be Min Wang, designer of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games graphic identity, and many world famous poster and book designers. Furthermore they will give lectures and presentations at the HfG Offenbach from May 10 to 12. The presenters include Bi Xuefeng (Shenzhen), Chen Shaohua (Shenzhen), Chen Zhengda (Hangzhou), Yang Liu (Berlin), Lü Jingren (Beijing), Sascha Lobe (Stuttgart), Eike König (Berlin), Song Xiewei (Beijing) and Wang Min (Beijing).
Additional information can be found on the official website www.biennale-decn.com

Below examples of Poster in Chinese and German

On Point: Create Poster Against the Death Penalty

The AIGA/XCD is promoting “Design Is Not Justice,” they are asking designers to become more socially aware of what it means when countries sentence people to death. If you believe that “death” is wrong, then make your voice heard with your design.

Posterfortomorrow.org call for entries launches:

Call for Entries!
Death is not Justice.

October the 10th 2010 (10/10/10) is the World Day against the Death Penalty.
Poster for Tomorrow is holding its second annual poster exhibition featuring 100 exhibitions in 100 cities.
This year’s theme calls for the universal abolition of the death sentence, in the spirit of Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

We’re working with Amnesty International, the Council of Europe, Reporters Without Borders, the World coalition against the Death Penalty and Bianca Jagger to raise awareness of our cause.

In 2009, countries with the highest number of executions were Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. In China information regarding the death penalty remains secret, but estimates indicate that China probably executes more people than the rest of the world combined.*

There is hope – executions around the world are apparently on the decline. In December 2010, the United Nations is scheduled to deliberate on a universal moratorium on the death penalty.

To respond to our call for entries, please visit the Poster for Tomorrow’s website. Be sure to register and create an account in order to properly submit your work. Call for entries closes on July 18, 2010 at Noon, Pacific Standard Time. There is no entry fee.

Selected winners of the Poster for Tomorrow (as selected by the jury) will be included in 100 locations worldwide on October 10, 2010. Their entries will become part of the permanent collection of selected design museums worldwide, and published in the exhibition catalogue.
For more information about the awards, please contact:
Setareh Farsi, press office manager
T: +331 5341 4161, E: setareh@posterfortomorrow.org
*source Amnesty International

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