November 2009
8 posts
Simplicity
Looking about the world wide web for inspiration, I recently stumbled upon designer Albert Exergian’s blog (http://exergian.tumblr.com/). It’s filled with his own take on poster designs for popular television shows. What struck me the most is how simple the work is and yet it still encapsulates the particular show’s essence. He uses simple shapes and bright colors in a very...
Speaking of Sustainability
Nathan Shedroff, author of the new book Design is the Problem, lectured on one of my classes this past week and talked about sustainable design. At the beginning of his lecture, he asked us three questions:
1. What’s a more sustainable world look like?
2. What’s a more meaningful world look like?
3. What’s a post-consumer world look like?
He never fully answered all of...
Objectified
I recently saw the documentary Objectified, by Gary Hustwit, an exploration of the design process of several designers. The movie interviewed several designers from different fields asking them about how the process affects what the end product looks like. The movie explores design aesthetics ranging from Ikea and Target, to Apple computers.
Further into the documentary, Hustwit makes a...
Let's Talk Gaga
What does a pop star have to do with a love of good design, you ask? If it was any other pop star, then absolutely nothing. But when it comes to Lady Gaga, good design has a lot to do with her chart-topping success. Lady Gaga is a package. Her music is catchy, but alone they are only slightly better than most of what’s already been done. The beauty and genius of Gaga comes with her...
Is It Really That Green?
Color is one of the most important tool in a designer’s arsenal. As visual creatures, we humans respond to colors so much, whether it be the color of the next fashion garment or the color of the new leading website. For designers, it’s difficult to pick and coordinate the right colors for your design. Personally, I use Adobe’s Kuler website (http://kuler.adobe.com/) to help...
Good Design for Evil Purposes
I hate to be the one to say it, but Walmart has significantly improved its image in the last year. I personally think that Walmart is an evil, homophobic corporation that oppresses its employees. That said, who can honestly turn down their low low prices? I certainly can’t.
In the past year, Walmart has definitely classed-up its image with feel good television advertisements that are...
Can you turn that down, please?
I was going through the pictures that I took from the African American Quilts exhibit at the Nelson Gallery and I came across one particular quilt that deserves mention. Strips of contrasting colored fabrics were juxtaposed to create a pattern that, from far away, can immediately be associated with music. The evenly spaced vertical bars are reminiscent of sound waves in a recording device while...
Gay Zombies
In the spirit of Halloween, I decided to watch a queer cult zombie film called Otto; or Up with Dead People a few days ago. Otto is a gay zombie that came back to life and was discovered by a director working on a political documentary called Up with Dead People, the scenes of which were interspliced throughout the film. Written and directed by Canadian indie filmmaker (and pornstar) Bruce...