While working at my favorite an adequate independent coffee shop today, I saw these: Direct TV’s shameless coffee sleeves. Seriously. Barf. I honestly wouldn’t mind if they had some kind of clever campaign that integrated well into the context of a coffee cup, but this is just a bunch of logos yelling in your face; and the morning was going so well!
I am now realizing that since I have opened up this channel of hatred, I will start seeing obscene coffee sleeves everywhere. This is the burden of a designer, just as these terrible images will make a photographer’s skin crawl. Taken on my iSight…
Going through my never-ending bookmarks folder today, I revisited the amazing work of James Joyce. Each of his pieces is entirely stripped down to its most satisfying conclusion. I am constantly inspired by people who are able to do this. I really believe that the world would be a much nicer place if every one took this kind of care to be as clear and direct as they can. A complicated message isn’t necessarily clever or meaningful.
Last week I met with the guys from Inksie and I feel I should mention them. Inksie is a new brand based out of Portland that is currently taking shape as an excellent “Journal of Design & Culture”. The site features intelligent writing and original content concerning all of things I am interested in. They are growing at a rapid rate and there’s a good chance the site will feature a contribution or two by yours truly, so you should probably pay attention. And note: their fantastic typographic logo was designed by Portland’s own Color Cubic, whose work is definitely worth digging.
Also: Have you ever seen something that is so visually inspiring that you just want to eat it? I mean physically ingest it so it becomes a part of you and brings you one step closer to being an unstoppable creative juggernaut? I may be insane, but that’s how I feel when I look at the illustration work of Alex Trochut.
Happy MLK day. Here’s a picture of the reverend. I can’t find a bad picture of the guy. He’s extremely photogenic.
Something I should have mentioned a while ago: I HAVE AN ART SHOW. FOR REALSIES. That’s right, my good friend and colleague Chris Bodven and I have a show up in the Higgins Gallery at Pacific Northwest College of Art. It’s called THEYEARTWOTHOUSAND and it is an exploration of design through revisiting the naïve mediums of desktop publishing, which sparked our evolution as visual artists. The show will be open through the end of the month so check it out. Here are some photos taken by my girl, who’s about to lap me on the blogging track.
Maybe I should just start a blog of awesome things I find at the grocery store. It seems to be a trend. How can I help myself when I find something like this that combines two of my favorite things: chocolate milk and things that make me feel like a giant.
I did this poster for the Doug Fir through the C4D (Center for Design), PNCA’s working design studio. The idea with these rock posters, I’ve found, is go nuts, don’t think to hard about it, and get the attention of the masses. That’s the definition of high design, right? look for these on your local telephone pole.
Save the date! I designed these “save the date” cards for my good friends, Chris and Ali. That’s what the kids are doing these days. Everyone’s saving dates left and right. Frankly, I don’t understand it, but it’s more jobs for me, so I can’t complain. The design process is pretty similar to what I described above, with the addition of “get bride’s approval” on the end of it. I should also mention that these were beautifully silk-screened by Portland’s own Seizure Palace. I highly suggest you consider taking advantage of their services. They do exceptional work. I appreciate it even more now that I am doing a lot of screen printing myself. I set up a pretty insane design, as far as registration goes, and they nailed it. Sorry for the crappy photo. A better one will be posted somewhere.
ALSO: You should definitely check out the latest threads over at the Green Hill. Definite Christmas present possibilities. Who knew hoodless sweatshirts would make a comeback?
