Sep 30, 2011

Hall of Femmes: The Female Icons of Graphic Design

(thanks Bedirhan)

Four self-made women who shaped the course and voice of modern graphic design.

After spending some time in the creative industry, Swedish design duo Hjärta Smärta (“Heart Pain”) observed that there weren’t nearly enough female design role models at the forefront of our cultural awareness. So they started Hall of Femmes, an online project (alas, in Swedish) highlighting female designers and art directors who have significantly influenced creative culture. In 2009, the pair traveled to New York to interview some of these design icons as the basis for a series of books and soon thereafter they published four of these volumes honoring female creative legends.

A few years ago, we traveled to New York to meet up with a few iconic female graphic designers. We wanted to connect with women whose successes we could aspire to. With the book series HoF, we direct attention to these unsung heroines.” ~ Angela and Samira, Hjärta Smärta

Hall of Femmes: Lillian Bassman tells the story of one of the first art directors, who got her start as an assistant to Alexey Brodovitch at Harper’s Bazaar during the golden age of the American magazines in the late 1940s. In 1945, Bassman became art director for the newly launched Junior Bazaar, a fashion magazine focused on teenagers that functioned as a creative lab for up-and-coming creatives. The magazine folded just three years later, but the creatively agile Bassman taught herself photography and became one of Harper’s Bazaars’ most sought-after photographers. At 94 today, she still works every day.

Hall of Femmes: Carin Goldberg highlights the legacy of postmodernist book designer who earned the prestigious AIGA Gold Medal for lifetime achievement in 2009. Her career began in the 1970s as a designer at CBS Television and CBS Records, an era that expected you to be, as Goldberg puts it, “a cool, irreverent, experimental, hungry, talented smart-ass”. In the 1980s, she founded her own firm, Carin Goldberg Design, where she heads to this day. Over the past three decades, Goldberg has designed more than 1000 books for every iconic publishing house and has worked with legends like Madonna and Steve Reich, as well as Brain Pickings favorites Kurt Vonnegut and Susan Sontag.

Hall of Femmes: Ruth Ansel highlights one of the greatest magazine designers of all time, who over the past half-century has been shaping the visual aesthetic of some of the most influential magazines of our time as a visionary art director — Harper’s Bazaar in the 1960s, The New York Times Magazine in the 1970s, Vanity Fair in the 1980s, and running her own design studio since the 1990s. She has collaborated with nearly every icon of magazine publishing — Diana Vreeland, Richard Avedon, Annie Leibowitz, Bruce Weber, Tina Brown, and many more.In her 70s, answer remains active and creatively restless as ever.

The most recent in the series, Hall of Femmes: Paula Scher, covers one of my personal heroes, whose views on combinatorial creativity capture the founding ethos of Brain Pickings with remarkable eloquence. Scher began her graphic design career as a rebellious record cover art director at both Atlantic and CBS Records in the 1970s, where her hate for the then-ubiquitous Helvetica led her to create some of the most innovative and memorable typography of all time, which helped define the visual voice of New York City. In 1991, she joined iconic design firm Pentagram as a partner. Her stunning typographic maps have become one of the most celebrated feats of creative cartography. Her identity and branding systems have helped shape iconic cultural institutions and brands like Bloomberg, Coca-Cola, the Metropolitan Opera, the MoMA, and Citi. In 2001, Scher earned the coveted AIGA Medal for her contributions to graphic design. In 2006, she was awarded the Type Directors Club Medal. At 63, Scher remains a principal at Pentagram and teaches at New York’s School of Visual Arts.

Periodic table of typefaces

So was looking through your posts... and found this periodic table of typefaces on Jen Gaily's blog...

i've stumbled onto it myself couple years ago and found it very useful

so Jen, thanks for posting and reminding me!


List of type foundries and other things

http://www.nikolaysaveliev.com/yearbook.html

http://www.typecuts.com/fonts.php

http://www.colophon-foundry.org/fonts

http://processtypefoundry.com/

http://www.radimpesko.com/

https://www.playtype.com/browse

http://metahaven.net/Metahaven/Metahaven.html

http://www.google.com/search?q=metahaven&hl=en&biw=1713&bih=1166&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=fxKFTvybDsSp8AOH-9xT&sqi=2&ved=0CEwQsAQ

http://www.counterspace.net/index.php?/publications/print-magazine/

http://www.handbuiltstudio.com/

http://edfella.com/

http://willemhenrilucas.com/

http://www.daveywhitcraft.com/

http://www.gailstudio.com/

http://www.stripesf.com/

http://lust.nl/

http://www.hansje.net/#1883919/Hansje-van-Halem-Graphic-Design

http://www.niessendevries.nl/

http://www.grootens.nl/

Sep 29, 2011

TEXTURES

So it came to my attention that a lot of you might want to use textures in your type history posters to give them more of a weathered look.

It's a quick and easy way to give your work more swag, if you will.

Depending on color and patterning of textures you can get different results.

Some places I go to if I'm looking for textures:

1. http://freestocktextures.com/
2. http://zentextures.com/
3. or you can always scavenge something, draw, paint and then scan in and use.

have fun!

Sep 28, 2011

Graphis Annuals

Another place to go and look for either vintage or nowadays inspiration would be Graphis Design Annuals. They're available for purchase on amazon... pretty pricey I must say... but a good investment.

You can also find them in NYPL at Bryant Park. Probably on the third floor in the Art and Picture collection.


You don't need to be a student of the city university in order to go and look through the annuals.

You might want to check Strand as well... they have some annuals there too.

Inspi for Assignment #2

Most of this beautiful stuff is taken from this source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/20745656@N00/sets/?&page=1

It's all categorized into folders with either designer's/artist's/period names... most of the images, if taken from a legit source, have dates next to them.

So browse away! it's an incredible library!

Also check out this source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joekral/sets/

Pretty good but gotta dig deeper. Not as well categorized and is also mixed with a lot of automobile b.s.





Sep 27, 2011

ASSIGNMENT 2: Type History

Using your ten crucial sentences from your The New York Times responses, choose a time period in design history: 1890-1920, 1920-1930, 1930-1945, 1945-1957, 1957-1965, 1965-1972, 1972-1980, 1980-1990, 1990-2011 and design each stylistically as though it came from that time period. Specifically concentrate on finding and using typography designed during those time periods.

Objectives:
We want to see how you are able be inventive with various period fonts, how you incorporate them into the subject matter and adapt your individual style.

Process:
1) research typography from the time periods mentioned above. Note the designer’s name, date created, and explain what the designer of the font was reacting against.
2) chose imagery, typography, and color that clearly shows your knowledge of each time period.
a. begin with image, type, and color swipe (use a separate page for each of these)
b. post your swipe on your blog
3) create your pieces
a. make sure your ideas are clearly articulated in text and image
b. you may find it helpful to use a format for your responses—ie. they’re all patterns

You are expected to have ten finished posters with variations. Print to size. Include imagery, type, color and stylistic swipe research. Be prepared to present your work. You may bring in previous drafts if you find it necessary or relevant for discussion. Please post your progress on your personal blog and comment on each other’s work.

FOR INSPIRATION PLEASE REFER TO:
Nick Misani: http://www.nickmisani.blogspot.com/
Mariya Campwala: http://littlemariyasquare.tumblr.com/
Jane Youn: http://janieyoun.blogspot.com/2010/01/ny-times-response.html

How to tie a bow tie

We know what you might be thinking: Another guide to how to tie a bow tie? Aren’t there enough of those online already? There are indeed quite a few out there, but good luck finding one that actually helps you, you know, learn how to tie a bow tie.

Which is unfortunate, because tying a bow tie is the kind of skill that when you need, you really need. You’re running late, your girlfriend is yelling at you to hurry up, and you're looking for smart, useful advice, not some guy in a clown suit trying to go viral on YouTube. Enter Park & Bond, and the single most effective guide to how to tie a bow tie in the history of the Internet. Ever.

What makes it so good? Three things: Clear instruction, great illustrations, and—best of all—a PDF specifically designed to be printed and taped to your mirror. Yep, we even reversed the illustrations.

Time to tie one on.

Step 1. Start with the tie draped around your neck, underneath your collar, with the side on your right two inches longer. Cross the longer side over the shorter side so they intersect directly below your collar button.

Step 2. Flip the longer side, which should now be in your left hand, back and up through the gap between your tie and your collar, creating a simple overhand knot. Tighten the knot until you have just barely enough room to maneuver—and, you know, breathe—then hold the longer side up and out of the way while you turn your focus to the shorter side.

Step 3. Grasp the end of the shorter side with your right hand and push it up towards your collar so that the excess fabric loops out to the left, essentially folding over itself. That loop will become the front of your bow tie, so take care to keep it centered over your top collar button.

Step 4. With the loop now formed, grab the other half of the tie that’s been waiting in the wings, and lay it down over the top of the burgeoning bow.

Step 5. This is the crucial point when you need to get everything squared up. Hold the loop steady, and make sure the other half of the tie crosses directly over the middle. It's going to serve as the focal point of your bow, so be certain it's in the right place.

Step 6. Using your index finger to keep things centered, secure the partially formed bow with your right hand. Tug it away from your collar slightly, exposing a small hole of space behind the knot. Then pinch the free end of the tie between the thumb and forefinger of your left hand, marking a spot that's about half of the way up from its bottom edge, and start to push it back towards the bow.

Step 7. Continue to fold the fabric backwards at that halfway spot, forming a loop as you use your forefinger to push through the hole behind the knot.

Step 8. Now use your left hand to secure the bow while you pull the new loop through to the other side with your right. QUOTE--At this point your fate, in bow tie terms at least, is pretty much sealed. If the basic shape doesn’t look right, you’ll have to start over from scratch—no amount of twisting, tightening, and cursing is going to fix matters.

Step 9. At this point your fate, in bow tie terms at least, is pretty much sealed. If the basic shape doesn’t look right, you’ll have to start over from scratch—no amount of twisting, tightening, and cursing is going to fix matters. If, on the other hand, you like what you see, tighten the bow tie by tugging outward on its loops. Pulling gently on either loose end will help you adjust any minor size discrepancy between the loops themselves.

Step 10. Congratulations, you are now wearing a bow tie you actually tied yourself. Feel free to milk it for all it’s worth.

Sep 26, 2011

Books and things on type history

Lewis Black - 20th Century Type



Typography Timeline

this is a website/timeline that has some of the most important milestones in typography evolution starting with first cave paintings and ending with web fonts development.

in the same time it contains some of the important historic events that were taking place during that time... it's quite interesting to see the relationship between typography and history through the ages...


Sep 24, 2011

SO YOU NEED A TYPEFACE?

This cracks me up every time I look at it... enjoy!


Sep 23, 2011

PLEASE REMOVE WORD VERIFICATION!

Here is how to do it in Blogger:
1. Go to your Dashboard and click on “Settings”.


2. Next click on “Comments”.

3. Scroll down until you see “Show word verification for comments?” and click “No”.

Inspi for Assignment 1

So here's some swipe of what people have done in previous years... as you see the form of the visual response varies vastly... so please do not contain your creativity within a poster or some such. Surprise us and yourself!

Mariya Campwala

The Finished Set



A response to an article discussing the hazardous properties of oxybenzone, according to tests done on rats, the results of which are now found to be non-transferable onto humans.

Nick Misani

31_patternsdefect.png 31_patternsreferendum.png
31_patternsyougogirl.png 31_patternsonline-flirting.png
31_patternsraceandcollege.png 31_patternsnuclear.png
31_patterncolonial.png 31_patternsgolf.png
31_patternsempathy.png 31_patternsold-house.png

Ledi Lalaj-Editorial spreads






Donghee Choo- posters as a response to the NYT articles





Nicole M. Rincon- experimental typography as a response to the NYT articles.
(if you look close into the delicate line work, you could see the words)




Kristie Bailey- 3D object as a response to the NYT articles.
(Kristie created a maze to keep the mind sharp, one of the methods Arakawa advocated to slow the aging process. She used foam for her 3D object.)




Jane Youn- book covers as a response to the NYT articles.


Yours truly- advertising campaign as a response to the NYT articles.





Plus another advertising poster printed on acetate laid over a subway map.