Sep 30, 2010

DAVID CARSON: THE END OF PRINT talk

Time: Thursday, November 11 · 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Location: FIT, Haft Auditorium
Created By: Visiting Artist Program at FIT

http://www.fitvap.com/home.html

In Search of the Miraculous or One Thing Leads to Another

October 1–November 24, 2010
As a graphic designer, Milton Glaser has created some of the most powerful and enduring visual art of our time. This exhibition of Glaser’s work attempts to plot the path of a series of design ideas over a period of time to demonstrate how one influences another, and how any two ideas brought together can produce a totally new idea that cannot be anticipated.
Curious to see what the exhibition is like? Take a tour by browsing the exhibition brochure (25.4 MB PDF).
Exhibition design: Milton Glaser, Inc.

365: AIGA ANNUAL DESIGN EXHIBITION 31

October 1–November 24, 2010
Design excellence results from creativity, inspiration, skill, experience, intuition and discipline. Visit the AIGA National Design Center to see the best in communication design from 2009—including logos, websites, animations, experiences, packaging and advertisements created by some of the world’s most talented designers—in this exhibition of 125 works selected by an esteemed jury for AIGA’s annual “365: AIGA Annual Design Competition.”
This competition extends a legacy that began almost 100 years ago and is widely recognized as the most selective statement on design excellence today.
From more than 3,200 entries received, the jury selected 125 outstanding entries as the year’s best.-->The selections represent the best work across all disciplines of communication design and strategy. As such, they become part of the AIGA Design Archives, an interactive, visual database of exemplary design; are exhibited at the AIGA National Design Center in New York; and presented in a traveling exhibition for display across the country. The physical artifacts are maintained in the AIGA National Design Archives at the Denver Art Museum.
Designers must work within the challenges of a commercial brief, and the jury’s ability to highlight work that excels within these constraints defines the educational experience. The overriding criterion for inclusion in the show is excellence as the successful pairing of effectiveness and aesthetics. For design practitioners, this clear statement of the criteria the jury uses explains the basis for the selections. Those outside the profession can learn about the role of design excellence in the world in which they live and work.
The exhibition was designed by Lorena Duran.
Gallery hours and location
Monday through Thursday: 11:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. Friday: 11:00 a.m–5:00 p.m.164 Fifth Avenue (between 21st and 22nd Streets) in New York

Macarthur grant for a type designer

MacArthur Design Geniuses: A History

Last night’s announcement of the MacArthur Foundation’s yearly $500,000 “genius” grants brought a pleasant surprise for fans of good TV: The Wire and Treme creator David Simon made the list, in a rare nod to pop culture. He certainly deserves the recognition, but we’re also excited to see that the foundation, which has always been more generous to fine artists and architects, has handed out its first design award in over two decades. Meet Matthew Carter, the type designer who made the cut, and the four other designers who have won the grant, after the jump.


You may not know Matthew Carter by name, but chances are you’ve seen his work. This principal of Carter and Cone Type, Inc. has created more than 250 fonts and 60 typeface families over the course of his five-decade career. His fonts have appeared everywhere from The New York Times to Wired, and even the most casual word processor user will recognize such ubiquitous typefaces as Verdana and Tahoma. And while the 72-year-old designer apprenticed in traditional, metal punch cutting in The Netherlands at the tender age of 19, he has, since the early ’80s, been blazing trails in digital type. Most recently, the Yale graphic design program critic is working on developing fonts that can easily be read not only on computers, but also on small-screen devices like mobile phones and ereaders.

MARIAN BANTJES: I WONDERINTRODUCTION BY PAULA SCHER...

IS ANYONE INTERESTED IN GOING? IF SO WE CAN MAKE THIS OUR CLASS TRIP?

Time: Monday, November 1 · 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Location: Haft Auditorium, F.I.T
227 West 27th Street between 7 & 8th Aves.
New York, NY
Created By: AIGA/NY

To purchase a ticket for this event please go to www.aigany.org.
An RSVP does not hold you a seat.

For one special night in New York City, Marian Bantjes will take the stage to speak a bit about fate - or lack thereof - and the evolution of her career all the way up and through the writing and illuminating of her just-published book I Wonder.Before Marian gets started, Paula Scher will prep us all with a bit of insight to the impact that Marian has had on our industry. Don't miss this event. It will be unforgettable. For a little insight to Marian's charming perspective on things, take her thoughts on being Canadian for example:"I'm Canadian, and I love being Canadian. I love being self-deprecating even though Americans see it as a sign of weakness. I love being politically left of center (actually, quite far left, if you must know). I love being honest, and nice and polite and caring and kind. (Although sometimes I really do wish I could be a total bitch without feeling guilty about it.) I’m amused by my own respect for authority and rule-following instincts."Or her view on her career to this point:"These days I call myself a lapsed Graphic Designer. This is largely untrue, but in my struggle to redefine myself it’s helpful to cast off the old me in the search of the new. I have a ton of experience in typesetting and design, but it wasn’t until I started doing this other thing in 2004 that I began to find the thing that is me in the act of what I do. Does that make sense? Am I successful? Yes. In terms of how I feel about what I make and why I do it. In terms of the acclaim and attention I feel far more worthwhile than I did when I ran a graphic design firm. Am I rich? No."Marian's forthrightness and self-deprecation bely her mind-blowing client list, which includes but is not limited to Saks Fifth Avenue, Stefan Sagmeister, Michael Bierut/Pentagram, the AIGA, Winterhouse, Bruce Mau Design, Rick Valicenti (Thirst), Print Magazine, wired, The New York Times, Wallpaper, The Guardian, seed, FontShop, Houghton-Mifflin, Little, Brown & Co., Knopf Books, and Young & Rubicam Chicago.Come checkout all the other contradictions that make up Ms. Bantjes. And leave with your own copy of I Wonder, which will be available for purchase at the event.

$20 AIGA member
$10 AIGA student member
$30 General public

Sep 23, 2010

Type specimen inspiration

Theo van Doesburg and Vilmos Huszår, Piet Mondrian:
De Stijl (designer unknown):

Joseph Muller-Brockmann

Paul Schuitema

Piet Zwart
Barbara Kruger:
2x4:
Alexi Brodovich:
Poulin+Morris:

Sep 21, 2010

Assignment #1

Design a 16 page signature resume. Use your own text.
Pick 15 typefaces that are relevant and that suit your aesthetic.
  • 3 serif display
  • 3 sans serif display
  • 3 serif text
  • 3 sans serif text
  • 3 decorative

NOTES:

Set your type properly and kern all your display text. Read Ellen Lupton's InDesign crash course for tips.
Be inventive with the form and binding of your signature. Check out "type specimen inspirations" posts.
Design your specimen in black and white.
Print to size, bind and bring to class.
Post on your blog.

Q&A:

Q: Why are we doing a type specimen book?
A: Typography is the basis of good design. So that you discover and learn how to use at least four to five basic fonts that can be applied to many different projects. Make a portfolio piece that shows off your typographic skills.
Assess your knowledge base and skill level so that we know how to proceed from here with course assignments.
Not looking to see a lot of funky fonts that can only be used once in a design career.

Have fun!

Sep 20, 2010

Typography is good for you!

Inspirational and educational video on typography:



Make a statement with your typography/be concept driven and you might as well make an impact on this world:

Sep 13, 2010

Welcome Fall 2010 Class

Hello and welcome Fall 2010 class!

This is our class blog where you will be able to keep up with the class assignments, along with sharing helpful information and following what your classmates are up to.

To the right you can find links to blogs of all your classmates.

Genevieve's and my contact information could be found on the right as well.

Please create a blog for yourself and email the link to me (Olga) as soon as you can.


Looking forward to a very productive and fun semester!

Cheers,
Olga