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 Wednesday, April 02, 2008
2008 Y Conference Recap
Now that I’m back at home in Cincinnati (but still recovering from jetlag), here are my last highlights from this year’s Y Conference, which focused on how, as designers, we can be more aware with our work when it comes to the environment and world in general: - Brian Dougherty of Celery Design made the compelling point that our job as designers isn't to prevent costs—it's to provide value. That's what we're good at and often, to provide premium value, will often mean the exact opposite: spending more. We shouldn't be afraid of spending more, because the extra value is worth it—to the client, too.
- Eric Karajaluto was a speaker, and he created the website Design Can Change, which is full of resources to help you think about and make your design do good.
- Marc Alt from the AIGA Center for Sustainable Design brought up a good point: electrons aren't free—the answer to our wastefulness is not simply to take everything online. (That was in response to the fact that when we’re thinking about green design, we often pose paper as the villain when that isn’t the case; there are many elements to take into account and balance.)
- Susan Szenasy said that the idea of sustainability shouldn't be something that's tacked on to design, but should be an inherent aspect—it should be integrated into our design process from the very beginning, not an afterthought.
All in all, it was a great trip and really gave teeth to the green design movement—from something that we often think about and want to do, to something that we actually can do. See all my notes from the conference here.
Events
4/2/2008 1:45:36 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) 
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Vintage Illustrations
Illustration
4/2/2008 11:29:44 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Your Logo Here
Another cool thing we spotted in today's Trendwatching report: A Dutch fashion company called Wickd makes Ts and other apparel marked with a logo that's unique to you. (Think of it as a cooler-looking version of a barcode.) You can link the logo to, say, your Facebook page or to a profile you create on the Wickd site. Wear the shirt around, and someone can use a cellphone to snap a pic of your logo, and they're instantly linked to the site of your choice. 
Just for Fun
4/2/2008 10:56:07 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Clever Baby Announcement
Japanese company Yosimiya offers a very clever baby announcement in the form of a bag of rice that matches the newborn's weight. The bag includes a picture of the baby's face to simulate holding the infant. This and many other unique offerings are highlighted in Trendwatching.com's latest Trend Report.  Posted by Megan
Thought Provoking
4/2/2008 10:10:38 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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News, Etcetera
Wow! The e-mail inbox is full of industry news this week, including: • Jonathan Barnbrook's distinctive Mason is now available in OpenType format from Emigre.  • More news from The Paper Mill Store than you can shake a stick at: They're now carrying additional lines from Gmund (Bier, Ever, the yummy Kaschmir and Treasury). Appleton's "insanely bright" Fluorescents line of C1S cover stock is also now available. The online retailer also offers new double-thick cover stocks from Monadnock, Mohawk and Finch. And they've added square envelopes from a variety of mills. • Sappi has issued a call for entries for its 2008 Ideas that Matter program, with submissions due May 31. The program provides grants to North American designers for development of print campaigns that support social, environmental and humanitarian causes. • Global packaging manufacturer MeadWestvaco has rebranded as MWV. • O'Reilly has published "Photoshop Elements 6 for Mac: The Missing Manual." • Paper distributor Unisource has launched greenfinder to help designers sort through paper options by their "green" characteristics. • Here's a new stock source: PhotoShelter Collection, which purports to fill the gap between Flickr and Getty with a curated collection of quality images from both amateur and pro photographers (who retain 70% of the sale price). • Benetton's Fabrica communications group (publishers of Colors magazine) is teaming up with Academy of Art University and the Italian Cultural Institute in San Francisco, for an exhibit and portfolio review. An event on April 18 will launch the new issue of Colors and feature editorial director Enrico Bossan, creative director Erik Ravelo and Fabrica's video/film director Babak Payami. The trio will host portfolio reviews for Academy of Art students on April 15 and 16; selected students will serve one-year internships at Fabrica in Italy. Finally, an exhibit of all 73 issues of Colors will run at San Francisco's 79 Gallery through May 17. • Domtar has a new swatchbook for its newly FSC-certified Cougar brand called "Cougar Commands Attention."
Industry News
4/2/2008 9:39:34 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Type Love
I just fell in love with the captial A in the font Maryam, designed by Ricardo Esteves Gomes. The script face, available in two weights for $45 from T26, includes more than 70 ligatures for variation.
Posted by Megan
Typography
4/1/2008 11:44:52 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Monday, March 31, 2008
Inside Decoding Design
 If you haven't had a chance to play with the cover of Decoding Design, a recent HOW book about symbols in design, read this ensthusiatic review on DT&G. Check out this Awesome book cover at your nearest book dealer! That was
my first thought on seeing this book. First perceptions, right? I just
wanted to play with that cover thingie! (The cover has an embedded
wheel -- when you turn the orange wheel to the right - symbols are
deconstructed in the circles!) You'll also find an interview with author Maggie McNab on HOWdesign.com. Decoding Design looks at the essential processes underlying
shapes and patterns, and how integrating this information in a relevant
way creates usable visual communication. It provides a reliable
structure from which to begin the creative process. Logo design is
particularly difficult because you are tasked with refining sometimes
very complex information to its most essential bits. How do you know
what that is? As we are part of the universe we follow the same laws of
nature–and we are good at intuiting them to survive. Being able to
connect the dots is important to the discovery process. When you
understand how shape and pattern work, you can integrate relative
visual content specific to your client for communication that is
universal and unique at the same time.
Posted by Megan
HOW Books
3/31/2008 1:28:58 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Pink Pearl
Jordon Crane, one of my favorite illustrators, just released a new print called Pink Pearl that celebrates the humble eraser in a limited edition 3-color screen print. The huge image is 26-by-40 inches and would be stunning and inspirational framed on a studio wall.  Posted by Megan
Illustration
3/31/2008 10:12:52 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, March 28, 2008
2008 Y Conference: Day 2
Often when you're talking about green design or sustainable design (or
whatever you choose to call it), it's often hard to come across
solutions that really make an impact and step beyond simply
switching the papers and inks you use. It's hard to drill down and do
more than merely scratch the surface of the issue.
But at this year's Y Conference, which focuses on how design can play a
part of this movement, they've actually been able to integrate that
idea down into many of the details of the conference--including my
favorite, which is a detail that you wouldn't otherwise notice: the
main banner backdrop for the conference sessions is made entirely from
used paper. What makes recycled paper worth mentioning? The fact that
the papers used are the planning notes that the conference committee
made as they planned this year's Conference. Look closely and you can
see brainstorms of logos for the event and logistics notes.  
That attention to detail--particularly when it is so well done that it
probably goes unnoticed--is what we are called to do and is what
today's sessions encouraged. Some highlights from today:
- Many of the speakers stressed that the key for designers to
embrace going green is the tool that inherently makes them a designer:
their ability to communicate. Even though they talked about the paper
choice and trash and waste in designers' day-to-day, they stressed the
great impact that can come by designers simply raising awareness. We
have the ability to take these statistics and educate the public about
them, and the power from that comes because those messages will
multiply as they reach the public.
- For instance, one speaker who's in the fashion industry shared a
simple approach that a clothing manufacturer took, which was to print
on their clothing labels the directive, "Think Climate: Wash at 30
degrees C." A simple change that gets people thinking.
- One of my favorite speakers today was Sue Redding, a designer and California College of the Arts professor, who talked about the idea of "Style Obsolescence"--basically the modern philosophy where we buy new even if the old version isn't worn out. She traced this idea back to Henry
Ford's Model T car where new lines of cars were introduced each year to
encourage people to keep purchasing, even if their current one is still
working--the new one is just trendier or different. At the time, that
concept was novel--Sue pointed out that people had to actually be
taught how to throw things away. But today that concept is so ingrained
that everything is designed as disposable and not to last. So, she
says, we must rethink the way style works. She gave various tips to do
this, one of which being the pragmatic but counter-cultural idea of
stretching the use of things out as long as possible. This is something
to be considered as a lifestyle change, whether in your own shopping
habits or in every design project you undertake.
- Along that vein of "Well then, what can we do?", other speakers
spoke up to note that paper is not the only villain to going green;
there are many alternate steps and elements to take into consideration.
However, reconsidering the way you use paper is a great starting point.
Speaker Eric Karjaluoto (who spearheaded Design Can Change) has since stopped doing so much print work at his firm, smashLAB and within their office, they reuse all their notes and sketch paper.
Events
3/28/2008 10:11:09 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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You're Not My Type
Here's some Friday fun, courtesy of our friend Steve Gordon: Extensis has a little Flash-based dating game called Typecaster that lets you pair up two typefaces on a date to see if they're compatible. Warning: Mistral is a real jerk, so steer clear, ladies. 
Just for Fun | Typography
3/28/2008 1:20:29 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Anniversary Self-Promotion
To celebrate its 8th year in business, Maryland-based design firm Octavo Designs created a self-promo mailer with fun temporary tattoos. We gets lots of promotions from designers at HOW. This one caught my attention because it was simple and showed a sense of humor.  Posted by Megan
Designers
3/28/2008 8:58:59 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Looking For A Summer Internship?
Independent branding and design consultancy CBX is inviting all design students to enter CBXtra Credit, a competition for a summer internship in its New York City office. The deadline for entries is April 24. Posted by Megan
Call for Entries
3/28/2008 8:11:42 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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2008 Y Conference Begins
I arrived in San Diego this afternoon for the annual Y Conference, which I was also able to attend last year. This year, they were able to add another day to the conference, so it kicked off tonight with an opening keynote speaker. Unfortunately that speaker, Paul Hawken, wasn't able to make it because he became very sick. Instead, Metropolis editor-in-chief Susan Szenasy took up the torch and presented a session about green design. (The entire conference is dedicated to the subject of green and sustainable design.) Susan's presentation focused on some very inspiring, cutting-edge (albeit architecturally-focused) projects that are embracing and pushing the movement forward; projects like planting crops on rooftops in China or examples of schools and colleges where every architectural detail means something. Project after project, each was an innovative take on how to better our environmental--and living--situation through architecture. Which got me thinking: How can we, as designers, do things like this? How can we apply our talents in such ways? How can we raise that sort of awareness? That kind of kick-start thinking is the stuff keynotes are made of. And something tells me that this vein will run deep throughout the conference's next two days.  The giant Y sculpture greets attendees as they make their way into the Conference.  Susan Szenasy presents the keynote session at the Y Conference. Posted by Carmen
Events
3/28/2008 7:58:57 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Thursday, March 27, 2008
Vintage Logos
Designer Eric Carl has posted 120 scanned pages from a mid-70's edition of World of Logotypes. It's a fascinating look back in time and great place to find future inspiration.  via DrawnPosted by Megan
Design Resources
3/27/2008 12:45:35 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Collage Illustration
Illustrator Julia Bereciartu, based in Spain, creates lovely collages with vintage images and ephemera.    Posted by Megan
Illustration
3/27/2008 9:27:44 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Best Opening Credits
Creativity
3/27/2008 8:58:33 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, March 26, 2008
We Like Your Type
Typography
3/26/2008 2:09:04 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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A Bit of Friendly Competition
Over on the HOW Forum, we've started a little contest called Show Us Your Desktop, where designers can post screenshots of their Mac desktops and vote on the best ones. The designer whose desktop gets the most votes wins a free one-year HOW subscription. You can only post one image, but you can vote as much as you want; the contest ends April 18. Wanna play? Post your desktop and vote.
Just for Fun
3/26/2008 9:45:25 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Are You A Recent Grad?
If you are, you should definitely check out Chronicle Books Design Fellowship program. The program offers five *paid* six-month fellowships in Chronicle's different in-house design departments: publishing, children's, marketing and products. The deadline for applications is April 25. The Chronicle Books Design Fellowship program offers five recent
graduates a
six-month, paid, hands-on education. There is a Design
Fellow for each of our publishing groups, and they become an active
member of the in-house design team, working on a range of
projects while gaining professional skills and a portfolio of printed
work. In addition, the Fellows collectively compose the Chronicle Books
Design Lab: a think-tank charged with brainstorming the future of
Chronicle's products.
Posted by Megan
Call for Entries
3/25/2008 12:26:33 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Color Inspiration
Creativity
3/25/2008 11:42:50 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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