Superbowl 2008

While I may not have strapped my brain into a machine to test the efficiency of the advertisements during the 2008 super bowl, I can definitely say that I was impressed with the diversity and creativity shown in their execution.

I find it difficult to summarize any one overriding theme, as many different subjects are discussed such as valentines day, self-help and general silliness. By and large the commercials were comedic in format and fairly well thought out conceptually. My favorite ads came from Saatchi & Saatchi, BBDO Worldwide, and Weiden & Kennedy.

I can definitively say that the 'Bob's house' ad from BBDO is my favorite ad of the superbowl season. The ad was targeted to a growing demographic of Deaf individuals, and was shot entirely in ASL(American Sign Language). No audio was used and even though I 'speak' passable ASL I was thankful that the ad was subtitled for people not fluent in sign language.
The ad seemed to be a branding piece for EnAble; a division of PepsiCo, as it was not intended to promote a product, but educate people and raise awareness of Deaf culture in a fun way.

My runner up for favorite would be between the career builder ads from Weiden & Kennedy(for their simultaneous depiction of one character as both hero and victim) , and the tide to go interview ad by Saatchi & Saatchi (Because they obscured all conversation and the ad was twice as effective).

The Blogosphere is a daunting place

I recently found some interesting work on the blog of a Cranbrook university student named JK Keller. He created an Illustrator Script he calls the Slitscan Type Generator that takes one character from every typeface on your computer and slices them all together.
This piece really interests me because I've always been a big fan of collage work. It's funny to be comparing this to traditional collage but in a sense its the same only he has replaced the scissors with a computer code that can do the job in a fraction of the time.

I find it really interesting now that I'm posting on my own blog to see what else is out there, its nice to see that tons of design students post their work on their blogs and get a considerable amount of traffic from people that want to see it.

Ease of Understanding: a designers credo

When thinking how to encapsulate such a complex subject as my own design theory, I think the ideal place to start is the end. What do I hope to accomplish as a designer?

While I may want to create pretty visuals and present dynamic content to the reader, I am always aware that this is what I want to do, not what I need to do. I know that in the end, what I need to accomplish is to effectively facilitate communication between the client and the consumer.

So, what is design?

Design is combining complimentary elements into a design in order to both draw in the viewer and move their attention in a dynamic way to each element in its on time. In essence, we as designers try to develop visual systems to help the eye ‘digest’ information in an effective and efficient way.

The Legacy of Steven Heller

I recently stumbled upon a website for Steven Heller’s Masters Series, and I find myself somewhat smitten with the man. How can he have written so many valuable books for both design literate and illiterate people?

Honestly, if you told me he wasn't human I doubt I’d be surprised. With over 100 books published in his name, he almost seems a fantasy figure, immune to human weakness and infinitely knowledgeable in the ways of design.

I’m sure a number of you have seen my Stylepedia, which I have been raving about ever since I bought it at swipe. But for those who haven't seen it, it’s an encyclopedia edited by Steven Heller that serves as an invaluable resource in creating authentic designs.The stylepedia has cross referenced topics all sorted alphabetically which makes the book so easy to navigate, you can find out anything you need to now about different periods and styles of design in mere minutes.

Klee's Synesthesia

To continue on the thread of influential artists, I'd like to elaborate on one of the Bauhaus artists whose work I have been drawn to since I was a child. Ever since I had the opportunity to check out a gallery of Klee's work, the strangeness of the forms and the impression of deep calculation has had quite a bit of influence on how I can now perceive art in an objective way.

As a child I was mainly drawn to the modern art appeal of the bulk of klee's work, where he creates seemingly random fields of colour painted on a rough canvas or burlap. As I grew interested in his teachings I eventually warmed up to what I had always taken to be untalented sketches. I simply had no concept of what he was trying to express, a short sight that I try relentlessly to correct in my current appreciaton of art.

This is a watercolor painting titled Abstract trio(1923)
This quote from a lecture on synesthesia written by Dr. Hugo Heyrman that could express more eloquently than I, what Klee's inspiration may have been.

In this watercolor we see an interaction between three forms —a configuration of growth, patterns and traces. They might represent the abstract sound patterns of three voices, or three instruments of a performing trio. The allusion to music is strengthened by the rhythmic interplay of lines and forms. Klee himself referred to the nervously line of his drawings as a form of 'psychic improvisation'. In the work of Klee, (like Kandinsky) there are many spiritual correspondences between music and the qualities of color and form (20).

In any case, It goes to show that excellent art is in the mind, not necessarily on the page.

Gonzo book design?

I dont know how, I dont know why, but somehow I have been unaware that my favorite artist redesigned one of my favorite books, resulting in the disturbingly illustrated 50th anniversary release of George Orwell's Animal Farm.


Ralph Steadman, the artist whose explosive style of illustration gave form to Gonzo journalism in the late 60's and early 70's, is commonly recognized for his work on Fear and loathing in Las Vegas written by Hunter S. Thompson.

It seems though that his work has been cropping up more and more lately. I for one miss the energy and excitement of real Gonzo journalism, however sadistic it may be.

The death and rebirth of print media

It has been said that the growing scope of the internet and digital media will eventually eliminate the necessity of printed media. I feel that this is a whole lot of hype, every time we (as a culture) develop a new technology it is heralded as the best invention, and the only invention we will ever need.

In almost all cases, the previous form of media has survived the shift only suffering the indignity of being considered kitsch. After all, vinyl was superceded by many forms of music storage and distribution systems, 8-track, cassettes, Cd’s, Minidisks, and eventually despite the dominance of MP3 players, vinyl seems to be making a revival.

I think we can be sure of the continuance of print media, and as designers we will begin seeing the use of print as having its own set of implied meanings. The tangibility of some work is indespensible, people consider and analyze the content to a greater extent while reading printed forms rather than digital. Thus, choosing print in the future may become a targeted solution for presenting complex concepts and ideas that may demand the readers’ full, undivided attention.

In summation, I think print will never die. But if it does, it will soon be reanimated in far more inventive applications -a zombie of sorts- hungry for the brains of consumers who want more than just another ordinary book.