Typeface Ideas

http://cg.scs.carleton.ca/~luc/RodrigoGerman-Maribel2009.jpg

I am especially interested in typefaces after seeing the film Helvetica. I think that children’s handwriting can be a very effective marketing tool, even converting a child’s handwriting into a typeface could be quite useful.

It is like the Toyota iQ car font. There are so many place that typefaces can be derived from. Watch the video here: http://vimeo.com/5233789. You'll see what I mean.

“Incomplete Manifesto for Growth”

I went on the website of designer Bruce Mau and read his “Incomplete Manifesto for Growth”. (http://www.brucemaudesign.com/#112942/) I like his approach to growth, that it is neither good nor bad. I have been on a search for inspiration lately. This passage did just the trick: “3. Process is more important than outcome. When the outcome drives the process we will only ever go to where we've already been. If process drives outcome we may not know where we’re going, but we will know we want to be there.” As a developing artist his statement reaffirms a idea that I already strongly believe in.

The second motivation that I appreciated was, “22. Make your own tools.
Hybridize your tools in order to build unique things. Even simple tools that are your own can yield entirely new avenues of exploration. Remember, tools amplify our capacities, so even a small tool can make a big difference.” I like this idea. I think tools can be a number of things. For example, I was listening to NPR on Tuesday morning and I heard Doug Lemov (Managing Director, Uncommon Schools; Author, "Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College") talking about teachers and his book. What he said interested me not because I could use his advice the specif advice he gave regarding his field instead it was his approach that I took to heart. In so many words, I put it in my toolbox.
“Most advice to teachers uses the word strategy. A strategy is a decision that you make, and you make it once. So if I'm a tennis player, my strategy might be I'm going to charge the net.

A technique is something like your backhand, where you, you know, you start low, you finish high. You practice it 100 times before you go in the game. You wouldn't dare play a tennis match without practicing your backhand first.”

Lemov’s differentiation of technique and strategy are very useful. It is an obscure way of expressing something so mundane like practice makes perfect, yet he applies it to life. I’ve been thinking about it ever since.

Back to Mau’s words, I think that just taking a few of his motivations and employing them in everyday life will allow me to see and experience the world with wider eyes. His ideas allowed me to reflect on life in a way I may not have if I hadn’t read his manifesto.

Mau, Bruce. ““Incomplete Manifesto for Growth”. 1998. 13 May 2010.
(http://www.brucemaudesign.com/#112942/)

Conan, Neal. Lemov, Doug. “Simple Techniques Can Make You a Great
Teacher.” 11 May 2010. 13 May 2010.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126743261.

Visual Metaphors

After attending the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Tucson Museum of art I started to think about visual metaphors in his work. Most of Warhol’s commercial work contains visual metaphors in someway or another. The Campbell’s soup series, and other reproductions of celebrities’ covey his message of commercializing the commercial. However I decided to discuss the images that were most meaningful to me.

I found the message in his endangered species series most interesting to me:




















http://www.artbrokerage.com/artretail/images/main/warhol_endangered/Andy_WarholEndangered_Species_Suite_of_10.jpg

Epitomizing endangered species on such a scale while placing them together in a series, with an abundant use of color Warhol visualized the plight of the animals. He gave the animals a voice and a context by presenting them in that way. Not only did it provoke thought the metaphor he conveyed in the images (among other messages) was that there is beauty in rarity.

Propaganda

I think this is some propaganda you have to see. I was looking up Russian communist propaganda because it somewhat relates to my paper on Alexander Rodchenko. I stumbled upon this site: http://zazzle.com

(Take a look at the site where the postcard is sold. Please bare with me the link is very long.)

Click on the link and look closely at the image that says, “Spreading the wealth since 1917”. Notice the man in the foreground is President Barack Obama and following him are other genuine socialist leaders (some of which I cannot name). I have heard the overstated and untrue claims on different news outlets about certain groups claiming the President is a socialist. But to see it in this context on a post card for sale online among other communist/socialist postcards was a very interesting form of propaganda. Especially since it is obviously by a private organization. Literally I was just searching “propaganda in post revolutionary Russia” and this is what came up.

Another aspect that was shocking to me about this postcard was the subtlety. When I found it I had been browsing through the post cards for a while before I realized what the image contained. It reminds me of a political cartoon. Although I don’t agree with the image it makes it’s point very clear in an astute manner. All in all it is very thought provoking what you can come across on the Internet.

I found this image by searching the title of the postcard on Google images.
























http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BX2aSG8RqEU/Sq6xEtXmhaI/AAAAAAAACpQ/ouNfKH6Yxjo/s400/Socialists+-+Spreading+the+Wealth+Since+1917.jpg

Design, Culture, and Language

The first place I started in my attempt to define these three words (design, culture and language) was http://www.wordnik.com/. It is my favorite online dictionary complete with examples from texts and definitions from multiple dictionaries. It has a whole online dictionary culture.

I found that many of the minor definitions of design relate to outlining or sketching an idea. That intrigued me because those definitions note the mapping principle of design. It is important to include the creative process in the definition of design. With that in mind I concluded that the definition of design is: the progressive creation of an idea into a final product.

To define culture I took another approach. I thought of what culture can be. The culture of a company or other institutions, the sociological definition of culture, and high culture were the ones that came to mind. The definition culture is the collective conscience of a group.

My unofficial definition of language is language defined by its relationship to structure and meaning. The way I define it does not necessarily have to relate to linguistics. There can be a language of a design, a work of art, literature or, anything that can be analyzed.

An example of how the three intersect is the creative process. In the development of a novel the novelist designs their inventory of literary elements to incorporate into their book. Depending on the culture of the novelist the novel will have certain points of reference. Finally, a novelist uses language to articulate their narrative.

:: hillmancurtis :: Bobbi Brown Profile ::

hillmancurtis :: film and video :: Bobbi Brown Profile :: 347 756 5049 Click above to view entire profile video.

When I went to www.hillmancurtis.com I viewed two videos about Bobbi Brown the makeup artist. She tickled my fancy because the beauty and fashion industries go hand in hand. Since fashion is where my interest is I like to keep up on beauty and fashion trends. Bobbi Brown had an interesting design philosophy. She considers each woman she is applying makeup to. Her medium is so personal to each client. In the video she said she, “dreams in color.” She loves to wear makeup, make makeup, and apply makeup on other women.

http://www2.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/Bobbi+Brown+Make+Up+LPGA+Golfers+igZJEwEfnlSl.jpg

There were two videos about her on the site. One was a profile on her and the other was about how women felt after she made them up. It was interesting to see both sides. Her and her finished products. The beauty industry is an interesting aspect of design, the packaging, the products, and how the products are used. The application of makeup can be considered art at times. It fascinated me when she said, “it is better to feel than to think.” Which is a crucial part of the design process.

The final product for Bobbi Brown is a woman who is happy and comfortable with her makeup. She said that it is about the woman finding herself in the makeup and not about a woman being someone else by wearing makeup. I think this an organic approach to an art that can be considered superficial.



http://www.springboardpress.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/01
/face_gelbronzer_step4-300x268.jpg

Fashion Blogs

I love blogs especially fashion blogs because I am a sewer who loves everything fashion related.

1) http://www.garancedore.fr/en/category/streetstyle-photos/: Garance Dore as she calls herself is a fashion illustrator. She contributes to many magazines internationally. In her blog she give styling tips and documents tidbits she finds on her travels and experiences in the fashion world. I like it because it is a French perspective on fashion and I get to practice my French by attempting to read her blog in French.

2) http://facehunter.blogspot.com/: I like to check out facehunter before I get dressed to inspire myself or when I just want to mindlessly look at interesting pictures. The blogger also has a myspace television show that is worth checking out on a study break. He travels the world and takes pictures of peoples dress. What is cooler than that?

Mind Maps

I Google-imaged mind maps and looked through quite a few. (This image is from another blog https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5OMqfHwPJH_iKmbKsCKqzj-ztrMFiqSNQcjrxqFKfSQ5C7hs9utwbxc5Q1zZtmIf0NpA550LA9iRqEM7z0f0YygAMFXlrnbQzEWf5zs5qH727PaYah2p6gGy7tBuwY4NCHUIZIst8KH9A/s1600-h/Mind+Map.png.) I found this one to be the most interesting because it is very true to life and the creative process of an artist. In addition it contains many of the principles that I learned in a foundation class in the University of Arizona School of Art. Specifically, “applying knowledge and experience to develop multiple solutions, make decisions in the absence of rules, and work with in the constraints of a medium”. These principles were stressed by my teacher (Gary Setzer) in a Space class that I took last semester. Applying these principles makes better art and a stronger artist. I experienced this first hand when I had to work with wood. It was a medium that I was completely unfamiliar with and the tools like chop saws, ban saws, etc… were very intimidating to me. But as I worked on the piece and familiarized myself with the tools and the medium the final product was more than just my creation. I valued the process as much as the final product. I had to solve problems, over come fears, and create a piece with a medium that I would have never worked with willingly.

I also found truth in the section that says, “Explore values, understand cultural change, and engage with 21st century life and culture”. I find that I gain the most inspiration from the world around me. My observations and experiences translate themselves into what I create literally and figuratively, depending on the design and medium.

I was inspired my just looking at so many mind maps. I enjoyed exploring and following how different people think. I have done mind maps myself for projects and they are very helpful for organizing ideas and even generating them. I think it relates to the Saul Bass video Why Man Creates when he says, “ideas come from fooling around”. Mind mapping is an alternative to just letting ideas happen. It is a catalyst for inspiration.