Aug 3
Ideas 101
True passion is rare.
Much creative energy and expertise is expended moving value from one hand to the other. That's not a criticism--commerce makes lots of good things possible--I am a card carrying member of the commerce thing. But I can't help but take special notice when I encounter expressions of interest and involvement that appear at least, to have grown out of a pure devotion to its subject.
I see that in a new publication--UPPERCASE magazine (2009). A magazine? Are you kidding?! Who starts a magazine in the year of Twitter? People with passion do--their names are Janine Vangool and Deidre Martin and they've enlisted the help of an eclectic collection of talented contributors--designers, illustrators, photographers, typographers, writers, and others.
The purpose of UPPERCASE is to take a look at the creative process from all angles: profiling creatives, peeking into work environments, pointing to examples of styles and palettes, uncovering interesting ephemera--they even devote a section of the magazine to brief profiles of five or six of their subscribers--an approach that (to me) demonstrates something important about their thinking.
Enough with the accolades--at this point you probably think these are relatives of mine--they aren't, I have no connection with them whatsoever. But I can tell you the first thing I did after closing the last page was to go online and subscribe. I figure that when you find a passion you share, you should support it.
UPPERCASE Magazine: Issue 2 preview...
The magazine is just part of the mix, their web includes lots of interesting material...
Their blog...
You can buy the current issue or subscribe here...
Once you've seen it, I'd love to hear your comments below...
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Jun 5
Illustration
I'm sure you've read about Tokyo street style. And that the world fashion industry keeps an eye on how young people are dressing there--that it is one of those places from which designers draw inspiration.
Anna Rusakova reminds us that we need to keep our eyes open for inspiration everywhere. Though this might not be your style, I doubt you would disagree that she has a wonderful sense of her's. She creates fascinating illustrated Moleskine notebooks and presents them within an eclectic kind of color palette-interior design-fashion environment kind of thing that makes it all work.
I just found it very interesting that all these pieces, even the way she has organized and photographed a selection of candies, seems to establish a very clear sense of style.
What do you call this mix of design, illustration, fashion, place, and typography? Is there a better description than simply "style?"
Candies...
Anna Rusakova's Moleska...
An interior design vibe...
And a fashion component...
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Apr 29
Color
This elegant tool by Czech designer Petr Stanicek allows you to create color schemes using monochromatic, complementary (contrast), triad (soft contrast), tetrad (double-contrast), analogic, and accented analogic models. It also offers presets, adjustments, reporting, and even simulates various forms of color vision deficiency. (via a mention by Jim Dudley through LinkedIn)
The Color Scheme Designer...
Petr Stanicek's site...
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Dec 10
Color
In this recent article, David Pache at Dache presented the logos of 100 leading branding firms in black and white to, in essence, level the playing field. It made me wonder if it might be time to adopt the use of color as a foundational component of logo design. Isn't the reasoning for the need of a straight black and white version antiquated?
100 Brands of Interest...
In the Ideabook Design Store: Templates for InDesign, QuarkXpress, or PageMaker...
Oct 11
Color
That's the title of an article I wrote for the August/September issue of InDesign Magazine. It points to some of the simple ways you can tap the power of color within InDesign.
The bad news is you can't read it for free, you'll have to subscribe to the magazine. The good news is you'll have to subscribe to the magazine. Seriously, if you are a dedicated InDesign user, you'll find lots of thoughtful and detailed InDesign insight from simple to advanced. The masthead includes the names of top editors and authors you are sure to recognize including Terri Stone, David Blatner, and Sandee Cohen.
Here's a free trial issue...
In the Ideabook Design Store: Creative Business CD-ROM...
Sep 17
Color
Thanks to Suffolk Software for sponsoring an interesting new survey on color. They are inviting visitors to a match word (and its definition) to the colors that best matches it. I predict the exercise will reveal that there is no definitive consensus.
Why? Because there are too many variables. Our impressions of color are built on an incalculable set of influences--seemingly unrelated considerations such as our geographical location, upbringing, or education, or for explicit reasons such as the context in which the color is presented, the other colors it is mixed with, the background on which it sits, and so on.
I have long thought that "blue means cool" is an over simplification of a complex, highly personal impression. How do you identify the meaning of a specific color? I don't think you can but I'd be delighted to be proven wrong.
The Cymbolism.com experiment...
In the Ideabook Design Store: Before & After: Graphics For Business...
Apr 7
Color
UNIQLO is a company based in Japan that is fairly new to the United States. It positions itself at a provider of “high quality, basic casual wear at the lowest prices in the market.” Their site was designed by Yugo Nakamura who employs the color palette Roger Black made famous (at least to me): red, white, and black. It relies heavily on a combination of stark contrast, powerful typography, and bold images. Love it.
The is the company's site...
This is the site used to tease the arrival of the store in NYC...
In case you missed it previously, Roger Black's page...
In the Ideabook Design Store: Getting It Printed...
Jan 28
Color
I happened upon truthdig.com recently and was impressed by their color palette (my interest is entirely apolitical). It uses a wide range of muted colors to visually organize the subject categorys—A/V BOOTH, ARTS & CULTURE, REPORTS, and so on. Click on a subject and you'll see the designer carries the color into the category section. Notice how the background colors of each article darken as you scroll down the page—giving you a sense of a difference between the top and bottom of the listings—another nice touch.
The truthdig.com color palette...
Dec 24
Color
Black and white is beautiful. The limited use of color combined with a series of powerful black and white images builds the story-quality of this site.
A great example of a “less is more” palette...
Oct 1
Color
There is some news in the world of color worth noting. Pantone, keeper of the keys to the industry standard color matching system, is introducing the first significant upgrade of its 45 year old system—the Pantone Goe System. It includes a new range of solid colors, software, new color guides, and so on.
The other side of the news is that Pantone is being acquired by x-rite, a color conglomerate traded on the NASDAQ. Among their products are all manner of color calibration software and hardware used by many different industries around the world. I thought it was particularly interesting that one of their holdings is the Munsell Frozen French Fry Color Standard for the USDA.
Seriously though, these are the types of transactions that effect us as designers in significant ways—not the least of which is the cost of upgrading to a new system.
The Pantone Goe System...
The xrite press release...
The Frozen French Fry Color Standard...
Sep 12
Color
Among other things, the Web provides space for nuance—the subtle shades of meaning and feeling. ColourLovers.com is that type of forum. It is tagged as “a resource that monitors and influences color trends.” It provides a place to invent and compare color palettes, submit color-oriented news and comments, and read color related articles and interviews.
The front door...
Their blog...
Tracking color trends...
In the Ideabook Design Store: Design-It-Yourself: Graphic Workshop...
Aug 17
Color
Sit through a couple of cycles of the color changes here to see how they influence the mood and emphasis of the subjects.
The Asia Society...
In the Ideabook Design Store: Design-It-Yourself: Graphic Workshop...
Jul 11
Color
Here's proof that color contrast can produce real drama. The bright colors here juxtaposed with a deep, dark background struck me as having an almost neon-like quality (similar to the fluorescent ink colors that made Wired Magazine covers so distinctive).
Fluorescent colors at inkymole.com ...
In the Ideabook Design Store: The Color Harmony Guide...
Oct 18
Color
Here is an elegant little tool for brainstorming RGB color ideas.
http://www.steeldolphin.com/color_scheme.html