I was five years old when this ad ran. I’m not sure I even had a bike yet. I did learn to ride a two-wheeler ca. 1966. This ad contains several signifiers of my youth. The bubo encrusted Ed Roth character, The Little Red Wagon wheelstander (which I saw once at Lions Dragstrip and later constructed in plastic model form) and the Sting-Ray style bicycle. As amazing as the ad is, the TV commercial will transport you back to the kinder gentler days of the Vietnam War and the Kent State shootings. Advertisers back then could promote their products using gangs of kids performing outlandish stunts on their bicycles which today would give whole corporate liability departments the vapors.
I helped out Noah Scalin’s Skull-a-Day project by converting his Skullphabet design into a working typeface. Noah’s design combines skulls with Futura Bold in some clever ways. I had a good time building the font with FontLab.
Skullphabet 2 is a caps-only typeface. We did another typeface that includes upper and lowercase.
Plain Magazine via the Plain Reader points out that while computers are seen as empowering the little guy, they are even more useful to the megacorporations who live only to grow and make more money.
I find it interesting that business relies so heavily on crappy Microsoft software. I hate it when I have to use it because some client needs to be able to work with my files in their system. The command interface elements of Microsoft programs are very un-Mac like and make it very difficult if not impossible to create professional designs Great for an office peon to make a flyer for the company picnic, not so great for a designer trying . Microsoft Word and PowerPoint make it very difficult to do quality work. Microsoft products are ubiquitous in the business world. Read the rest of this entry »
I came across this youtube clip on Skate and Annoy. A guy incorporates skateboarding into making paintings.
The commentary was mostly uncharitable. I thought the clip was amusing. I even think I might like the paintings.
A lot of art is about ideas. If you want a realistic picture of something, you can take a photograph. Modern art asks if we need painting to do that too?
I love the textures of surfaces and edges that have been skated. The photos I take of that stuff, evokes for me the experience of skateboarding. I feel what it is to grind coping or ride a wall. I think about all the runs that went into making a wall look like it does, which is why I like looking at those pictures. I think this guy is doing something similar. It also made me laugh which is one of my criteria for good art. Check out some footage of Jackson Pollock painting. It looks a lot like what that kid is doing. A Pollock painting can be an amazing experience.
Action painting is a form of non-objective art (art that isn’t trying to be a picture of something) about focusing on the visual result of the physical act of swinging a brush or throwing paint - the visual qualities of paint on a surface applied a certain way. The guy isn’t doing anything really novel here but he is exploring some of the fundamental issues of making art and the idea of what it is to ride a skateboard. Looks like he’s exploring it on different levels.
Self indulgent? Maybe. A good artist will show you something no one else could. How do they come up with something like that? I think so many skaters become artists because they are open to unconventional forms of expression.
A friend once quipped that a student show we had just seen should have been entitled: Leave Now if You Don’t want to See My Penis.Now that’s art.
The Scion XB first showed up in 2004. An innovative campaign required interested buyers to customize and order the car through a website. Cool and the XB was interesting looking. The XB was only available in California for the first year or so.
Noah at the Skull-A-Day website created a typeface based on Futura Bold and adding little skulls. I did the font conversion for him. He has made it available through the website. I especially liked the @ symbol and the accented letter I’s.
Car type is described by it’s creators as A comprehensive collection of reviews and study of typographical applications of emblems, car company logos and car logos with images, comments, links, car company information and general interest.
Not paying attention I thought the email pointing to it was from my brother who works as a designer and sends me design stuff sometimes. Turns out it was from Carlos Segura whose list I am on probably because of my past connection with his digital type foundry T-26.
Interesting car-related typographic and design ephemera. I’m looking forward to heavy perusing. image is adapted from the Parcel Packin’ Papa logo of the Stewart Stiles trucking company.
The BoingBoing website posts about a book cover illustration for The Iliad created on the cheap.
Well maybe you get what you pay for or possibly, your work will reflect the amount of care you put into it, including the concept.
The Prestwick House edition (on the right above) reproduces a public-domain translation of the text seemingly for the teenage educational market. According to the illustrator, “The challenge was to inexpensively create a cover which high school students could identify with.†Well, it sucks.
The Iliad has a lot of what I imagine as Harlequin Romance style content. I’ve read the translation by Richard Lattimore for three different classes and listened to an unabridged audiobook version. What elevates this story above cheap titillation? Why do we continue to teach this book?
The Iliad may be the oldest literature in the Greek language. The book continues to be translated. The ancient Greek text has been reinterpreted in various ways to make it more relevant to modern readers. What can we learn this old story? If the answer is muscular men ran around mostly naked fighting with spears, why bother?
A postscript points out the cover design of the Hackett Publishing edition, which is thought provoking and creative. It was designed by Abigail Coyle and Brian Rak. A parallel is drawn between the Trojan war and invasion by sea in a more modern war. We are brought into the story by equating it with modern experience. It’s not just a war picture, the choice of an amphibious invasion is an even more specific parallel to the invasion of Troy by the Achaeans.
Thoughtful book design can add to the intellectual experience. A good cover can be part of the communication as well as performing the necessary protective and marketing functions.
points out that while computers are seen as empowering the little guy, they are even more useful to the megacorporations who live only to grow and make more money.
The Scion XB first showed up in 2004. An innovative campaign required interested buyers to
