and get lost in Hort's website for a while. Playful, genre-defying design work. And a lot of it. Don't forget to check the about page, where you can find this statement:
HORT - a direct translation of the studio's mission. A creative playground. A place where 'work and play' can be said in the same sentence. An unconventional working environment. Once a household name in the music industry. Now, a multi-disciplinary creative hub. Not just a studio space, but an institution devoted to making ideas come to life. A place to learn, a place to grow, and a place that is still growing. Not a client execution tool. HORT has been known to draw inspiration from things other than design. √
Role models in my book. A couple examples of their work:
Thanks to Need Supply's Human Being journal for the tip off.
Jamie Zuverza's work is effortlessly cool, in that fuck-it, indulge your deepest, weirdest urges kind of way. His posters reference (but never blindly emulate) Grindhouse, Creepshow, that sweet Buzzcocks art, Ukiyo-e, and more. It's great to see someone being so reckless, playful, and subversive with their poster design. There are a ton of great posters to peep on Jamie's site, and you can read an interview here (via it's nice that).
In love with these posters designed (and screen printed!) by Ronny Hunger aka Comet Substance.
There's just something satisfying about the color and texture found in ephemera. And, out of left field, there are slick, bold forms made with more modern technology. These juxtapositions make for a delightful, disorienting experience. Reminds me tangentially somehow of the work of Bart de Baets.
via It's Nice That. Check the Comet Substance site and see more goodness here.
I am so honored to be a participant in Affiche #1, the poster show currently up at the mOb + Storefront space.
If you have a chance to mosey on down there, you'll find yourself surrounded by massive, colorful, strange, quiet, loud, funny, and serious posters. All of them deal in some way with the theme of "the city I live in."
Here's a little blurb:
An exhibition of very large posters at mOb + Storefront is opening March 1 from 5 to 9 pm. Designers were asked to create a visual interpretation of the city they live in ranging from New York, Gothenburg, past, present, future, dark, green, Richmond, etc. Styles are diverse, the walls are bright and demonstrate the need to respect the poster as a critical component of our city streets.
Let's keep the poster alive! Let's get 'em out in the streets!
Some great points in this video about our current relationships with technology and information. There's probably a greater amount of information consumed than ever before. But how many of us are responsible for the creation of information? How many of us are responsible for giving shape to the world around us, and refusing to be passive? See Mitch Resnick explain the difference between reading and writing below:
This project is great because it uses a material (in this case ice) to echo an idea in a song. According to video below, the song Blue Ice is by Shout Out Louds and is about fading devotion.
Aside from the obvious connection between song title and material, I think what gives this whole thing power is that a song, which is temporary, manefests itself in a temporary form. The fact the record has an expiration date makes it all the more precious. Watch the video and listen to how the quality of the song slowly degrades over time.
This is a case where people have to work harder to hear the single, but they are rewarded all the more for their efforts. I'm suprised in some ways that Mr. White hasn't figured this one out yet. Props to TBWA Stockholm for figuring it out!
The site wearelucky is operated by an individual who suddenly came into a lot of money. He or she has decided to give complete strangers $1000, with the only rule being that they must use the money to do something positive. He or she has documented the encounters with complete strangers by taking photographs and asking them thoughtful and provocative questions. The result is a compelling exploration of human kindness, the different definitions of good, and whether its more important to make a small impact on a big problem or a big impact on small problem. What a beautiful way to spend money.
Bart de Baets is one cool fellow. I first came across his work in Elephant Magazine and was really struck by his playfulness and irreverence. I like how he makes meaning by using (or misusing) existing imagery.
He recently did a project with Sandra Kassenaar, where they both became resident artists in Egypt in the midst of the political unrest and revolution of 2011. As a reaction to the environment that surrounded them, they created Success and Uncertainty. From their website:
Being stunned by the political tidal wave flooding the country, the resignation of Hosni Mubarak and the phenomenon of having a curfew — something they had only heard of in World War II stories — the designers found themselves gazing from the sidelines, not knowing how exactly to react to all of this. They asked themselves ‘Would it be arrogant to confront the Egyptians with our assumptions? And ‘isn’t it ignorant to pretend to have a nose bleed?’
On Wednesday June 1st 2011 a lightbox will hang outside the Townhouse Gallery announcing the start of the project and showcasing the first of twenty-one posters. During the month of June 2011, each day a new poster will be presented, generating a growing exhibition. The daily changing posters will be seen both in- and outside of the gallery and will, just as newspapers do, show bold statements and gruesome facts, next to light-hearted messages, such as casual observations and rumours that caught Sandra and Bart’s attention during their residency. The content provided by both therefore creates a clash of information that will influence the way one reads a poster. It was this constant dialogue between the designers that lead to Success and Uncertainty.
Their unclear position and the new situation the country found itself in proved to be an inspiring discovery, which eventually lead to the project Success and Uncertainty. The title of this work is an existing headline taken from the 12th of February 2011 front page of The Evansville Courier & Press, a local Indiana newspaper reporting Mubarak’s resignation as the president of Egypt.
Here are a couple of my favorite posters from the project:
Hey all fellow quiet ones, take solace in this stuff:
There seems to be an interesting conversation cropping up all over the world wide web about the relationship between creativity and solitude. I remember being at Scout one day and I was talking with Charley and Angeline (the two brains / designers behind Scout) about how they were planning on restructuring their space so as to facilitate more group conversation and to allow for a more open, collaborative atmosphere. Charley had recently read an article in the New York Times (read it - it's good!) and was rethinking this a little bit. It turns out that a lot of people are their most creative and productive when they are given time and space alone. The group dynamics that are so popular in today's thinking about creative problem solving ("groupthink", the excessive use of the word "collaboration") may have some negative aspects that we didn't think about.
A group situation can very easily distort and transform an individual's thinking. In groups we often find ourselves mirroring the strongest, most magnetic personalities. A lot of other fears come along with group environments, like the fear of distraction and the fear of social judgement. Charley said that although an open space is important, its also important for there to be little enclaves where people can retreat to. Now that I think about it, a little enclave where I could just put my head down and really WORK sounds very nice.
As Susan Cain explains in her talk, This is not to say that team work and the serendipitous exchange of ideas that occurs in open environments should be abolished. It is only to say working environments also need to accommodate those who are more introverted by creating more private spaces as well. After all, the accommodation of introverts is in a company's best interest. Psychologists have found that most creative breakthroughs have occurred in solitude, when one person has had the head space and focus to combine disparate ideas into a new, innovative whole.
I came across this video somewhere on the indexhibit page, and I found it really powerful. I love how he says we are called to action, and action alone. We aren't called to act in order to receive benefits. We are just called to do. The motive does not lie in our own advancement, it lies elsewhere.
I am excitied about this film, but I also have some reservations. Could it be that the internet and things like tumblr and ffffound have canabalized Wes Anderson's stylistic tropes to the point where now they seem vapid and overly cutesy? Even so, what's not to like about boy scout uniforms, forestry, letters, and bright yellow motorbikes?
came across this cool work from Adam R. Garcia, who runs a studio called The Pressure. Some of the work is really experimental and stylistic, but in most cases sensitive to the needs of the problem. I have strong achings for this Arcade Fire poster:
It can be colapsed and constructed into a nifty shadow box, allowing you to view a young girl against several different backdrops
New year, and so excited about a lot of the new music coming out! Sharon Van Etten's new album in coming out in february, and the National are beginning work on their new album. These two new songs sound slightly more organic and easygoing than their stuff on high violet, which was so high strung and beautifully meticulous. I couldn't help but notice how "I Need My Girl" subtly nods towards the last section of Sufjan Steven's Impossible Soul. Fun how friends may possibly influence friends!
This beautiful poster was done by Anton Pearson. It is to promote a lecture by Åbäke, a graphic design firm that makes really strange and interesting work. That being said, I like how strange and aesthetically challenging the poster is. It pushes the envelope in form but at the same time it remains restrained in color choice. I'm a sucker for pieces that use one or two colors in smart and economical ways. Check Anton Pearson's site out, there's some awesome stuff on there!
via Geotypografika, a blog that is run by Erik Brandt, who is a vcu alumni and an amazing designer.
The Voyagers is a beautiful valentine by Penny Lane that weaves together personal memories, science, and poetry. On each of the Voyager space probes a golden record that contains images, information, and greetings from planet earth. It's so fascinating when you put the record in perspective. It could be the only surviving artifact, the only proof that the human race ever existed.
I think it's also worth pointing out the gorgeous song that concludes the film. It's called "The Book of Love" by Magnetic Fields. So beautiful and plain spoken in that deep Johnny Cash like voice, "Some of it's just transcendental / Some of it's just really dumb"
The Book of Love - Magnetic Fields
via brainpickings, which is a really nicely curated site, especially for food for thought.
A professor showed me these videos a while ago, and I find them really inspiring. I really like the process of translation, how Walter takes all of these existing languages and translates them into something new. Aliens, MTV, pop culture, tribes from Papua New Guinea. That's something I find really interesting, the idea of working with material that already exists, instead of trying to create something "new".
I really also just enjoy the playfulness. There's an irreverence for practicality and social norms. Walter is a dreamer, and he doesn't seem to hesitate, which is very brave. These headphone things are awesome!
Since being back in richmond, I've had the privelege to be interning at Scout Design. Charley and Angeline are some of the most kind and gracious people I have ever known, and they run Scout out of the first floor of their home in the fan. Aside from many other interesting things (which i hope to be posting on here soon) they recently turned me on to the work of Karl Martens. All of the work that I've seen of his so far is so incredibly fascinating. Charley and Angeline own a book of his, and it's such a vibrant, free flowing, and fearless object.
I've also stumble across Werkplaats Typografie, which to my understanding is masters program and test lab for self initiated coolness. Martens oversees and supervises. In alot of the work, The traditional standards of aesthetics are often subverted. Like some other work that I've been digging lately, Werkplaats Typographie has a fascination with what some may see as being ugly, generic, or undesigned.
the human mind is such an incredible system. I think it's amazing that we make value judgements based on entirely invisible and kind of mythical things. The story of an object, how it was created and with what intentions: these things are just (if not more) important as the object itself. We have a tendency to want authenticity. I think we naturally gravitate toward things we believe to be true or real.
