…: April 2008

World Graphic Design Day

World Graphics Day is celebrated on 27 April, because this is the day in 1963 when Icograda, the world body for graphic design, was founded. It is a day to celebrate the profession of communication design globally. The day has been celebrated since 1995.

On this occasion, designers reflect and hope that our international network can contribute to a greater understanding between people and can help to build bridges where divides and inequities exist. , <http://www.icograda.org/events/events.htm>. Retrieved on 16 April 2008.

World (no) Graphics Day: The 1998 theme "World (no) Graphics Day" engaged designers, clients, media and the public to imagine a world without graphic communication - road chaos, impossible to identify wrapped goods in supermarkets, confusion at railway stations and airports, no newspapers. Designers used this simple exercise as an effective way to illustrate the role of communication design in our daily lives. Sanderson, Brenda (27 March), Icograda Managing Director, <http://www.icograda.org/feature/current/articles1074.htm?query_page=1>. Retrieved on 16 April 2008.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_graphic_design_day

hyper-realistic vector art

Smashing Magazine has a feature on hyper-realistic vector art. Link. Oddly enough, sexy chicks seem to be the subject for most of them. What's going on there?

"'Charlie Rose' by Samuel Beckett"

iLugger.

Enough of teensy weensy little laptops, I am getting an iMac and going mobile …

Just need to find a generator carrying case.

ilugger.com

Flare Facade.

This reminds me a lot of the Troika Cloud.
flare-facade.com

On Site.

architecture, art, engineering, performance, landscape, culture, infrastructure, photography: we mix it up and show smart work from Canada, the US and Latin America not on the web, not in any other magazine. onsitereview.ca

BJWood

April 26 (Saturday 5:00pm – 11:00pm)

& April 27 (Sunday 12:00pm – 5:00pm)

206 – 4361 De Bullion (corner of Marie–Anne)
Montreal Quebec

David Lynch. Catching the Big Fish.

In this rare work of public disclosure, filmmaker David Lynch describes his personal methods of capturing and working with ideas, and the immense creative benefits he has experienced from the practice of meditation

Over the last four decades, David Lynch has created some of the best-known and widely discussed screen works of our time. This distinctive writer-director's art bears not only the mark of box-office success but also critical acclaim and cultural posterity.

Yet Lynch generally reveals little of himself, or the ideas behind his work. Now he provides a rare window into his methods as an artist and his personal working style. In Catching the Big Fish, Lynch writes candidly about the tremendous creative benefits he has gained from his thirty-two-year commitment to practicing Transcendental Meditation.

In brief chapters, Lynch describes the experience of "diving within" and "catching" ideas like fish-and then preparing them for television or movie screens, and other mediums in which Lynch works, such as photography and painting.

In the book's first section, Lynch discusses the development of his ideas-where they come from, how he grasps them, and which ones appeal to him the most. He then shares his passion for "the doing"-whether moviemaking, painting, or other creative expressions. Lynch talks specifically about how he puts his thoughts into action and how he engages with others around him. Finally, he discusses the self and the surrounding world -and how the process of "diving within" that has so deeply affected his own work can directly benefit others.

Catching the Big Fish provides unprecedented insight into Lynch's methods, as it also offers a set of practical ideas that speak to matters of personal fulfillment, increased creativity, and greater harmony with one's surroundings.

The book comes as a revelation to the legion of fans who have longed to better understand Lynch's deeply personal vision. And it is equally intriguing to anyone who grapples with questions such as: "Where do ideas come from?" and "How can I nurture creativity?

from us.penguingroup.com

Hot One Inch Action.

5th Annual Hot One Inch Action

@ Gallery Gachet, Saturday May 24 2008, 8:00pm

On Saturday May 24, 2008, Gallery Gachet hosts us yet again as we bring together 50 artists, 50 buttons, a couple DJs, some hot button trading action and Vancouver's hottest art audience – that's Hot One Inch Action.
Conceived by Jim Hoehnle and Chris Bentzen in 2004, Hot One Inch Action is the original, one-night only show of art, music and social interaction.

Runs from May 25 – June 1 / Wednesday to Sunday, 12:00pm – 6:00pm

Gallery Gachet 88 East Cordova Street Vancouver Canada

*If you want to submit a button design of your own you have until May 17.

Mansy. lululemon.

lululemon.com

Friday.

Bill Plympton.

Anyone remember Bill Plympton? I haven't seen him since long ago Spike & Mike Sick & Twisted Animations …

Tuesday morning cartoon

"Duck Amuck is a surreal 1951 animated cartoon directed by Chuck Jones and produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. The short was released in early 1953 by The Vitaphone Corporation, the short subject division of Warner Bros. Pictures, as part of the Merrie Melodies series. It stars Daffy Duck, who is tormented by a sadistic, unseen animator who constantly changes Daffy's location, clothing, voice, physical appearance, and even shape. Pandemonium reigns throughout the cartoon as Daffy attempts to steer the action back to some kind of normality, only for the animator to either ignore him or, more frequently, to over-literally interpret his increasingly frantic demands. In 1994 it was voted #2 of The 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field, and was included on Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1."

Shepard Fairey, Animal Farm, 1984

from the Penguin Blog.

Adobe TV.

tv.adobe.com/?trackingid=CCJTE#

New coin designs. The Royal Mint.

The new designs have been chosen via an open competition which was widely publicised in the national media in August 2005 and attracted 4,000 entries. The winning designer is 26-year-old Matthew Dent, originally from Bangor who now lives and works in London as a graphic designer.

After exploring a number of different options, Matthew Dent finally developed the heraldic theme, taking the greatest heraldic device ever used on coinage – the Royal Arms.

The New Coin Designs in Formation, as you can see in the image, the Shield of the Royal Arms has been given a contemporary treatment and its whole has been cleverly split among all six denominations from the 1p to the 50p, with the £1 coin displaying the heraldic element in its entirety. This is the first time that a single design has been used across a range of United Kingdom coins.

The new designs will enter circulation gradually throughout the year. It is normal practice for banks to order coins from the Royal Mint to satisfy public demand, which fluctuates over the course of the year. The current coin designs will remain in circulation and as legal tender for the foreseeable future.

To mark this major numismatic milestone, the Royal Mint is offering a range of magnificent limited-edition collections produced to Proof quality.
royalmint.com
mattdent.com

Barron Storey

""Nobody draws better than Barron. Not you, not your little sister, your architect dad, not your rebellious ex-boyfriend who draws with his own blood, not the most talented kid at your art school. Not your favorite artist in the whole world; I've seen the work with my own eyes. Nobody draws better than The Barron," said David Choe. That’s quite a recommendation, and it’s well deserved in our opinion. Barron Storey’s work permanently graces the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, the New York American Museum of Natural History, and the National Air and Space Museum."

the Barron Storey Journals. From Juxtapoz.

Where's Waldo?

"For my graduating project at the Emily Carr Institute of Art Design and Media, I am creating a Google Earth Wheres Waldo inspired game. Players will be given the hint that Waldo is hiding somewhere in Vancouver and he can only be seen via Google Earth. In order to do this, a giant Waldo painting is being constructed and placed on a rooftop! The project will be exhibited at the Emily Carr Graduation Exhibit 08 opening May 3, 2008."

from Where on Earth is Waldo?

Blog. muse-ings.

Thoughts on photography and what inspires it - books, poetry, film, art. And various other ramblings.

photo-muse.blogspot.com

ABC 3D Book.

an amazing pop-up book with embedded smart, paper-based elements designed by Marion Bataille. each of the 26 dimensional letters move & change when turning the pages. for instance, the C turns into D, M stands at attention & X becomes Y with a flick of the wrist.

youtube.com
amazon.com

Neighbours

"Norman McLaren was a creative and technical innovator whose film career spanned more than 50 years, during which he created a body of work that has no peer in cinema. Considered an artist, animator, filmmaker, scientist, inventor, musician and technical expert, his work might be better classified as experimental than as animation. His films are artisanal creations designed to provoke an aesthetic response, although they also inform, amuse and entertain."

from the Film Reference Library.

Blogging: an unhealthy lifestyle

“I’ve got a background getting punched in the face,” he said. “That’s why I’m good at this job.” - Brian Lam, the editor of Gizmodo, and former Thai boxer. The New York Times looks at the stressful life of a few top bloggers, mostly in the tech industry. A few have died recently of coronaries, although no one is directly pointing the finger at their job. In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop Of interest to those who work in more traditional paper publishing is how the paradigm of how people get information, and expect to get information, is or has changed. In that same mode of thought: as people get their info fix 24/7 from various news sources, via different screens, how does that affect how designers approach constructing material? For example, the same story may be picked up and posted on many different sites (think Digg or Deli.cio.us or any other aggregator) replacing the news source's information architecture with another.

Guy Bourdin

Rephotographing, and retracing Stephen Shore

"…Stephen Shore has been given rephotographic treatment. French photographer Valéry Denis has retraced Shore's steps across America in an effort to rephotograph the sites from his landmark project Uncommon Places. It's interesting to see the transformation, or lack there of, that has taken place in the locations that became iconic representations of the vernacular American landscape. Denis' project On the Steps of Stephen Shore: 30 After Uncommon Places, although geographically accurate, was photographed with Black & White film and a medium format camera. The result is less an homage to Shore's vision and more reexamination of land use."

Stephen Shore, Holden Street, North Adams, Massachusetts, July 13, 1974 Valéry Denis, 61 Holden Street, North Adams, Massachusett

from the Exposure Project. On the steps of Stephen Shore

ColorMunki DESIGN. Pantone.

ColorMunki Design. Monitor + printer calibration.

ColorMunki is the do everything solution that gives you the freedom to design with any color from the visible spectrum, even ones you never thought possible. Now you can swing from inspiration to production without losing color quality. And ColorMunki is so versatile, it's ready to help no matter where you grab your next idea.

pantone.co.uk

vostokone.

Noah Becker. Back Gallery Project.

Noah Becker. Paintings. April 10th 2008. 6:00PM to 9:00PM. Back Gallery Project. 109 West Cordova Street. Vancouver, Canada. Exhibition continues until April 24th.

noahbecker.org backgalleryproject.com