another side of design
- A couple dog design related posts
In early May as I was walking my weim Maddie we came across these vibrant posters that had a little dog and the word Heel on it. In the spirit of viral marketing the poster was non descript and was relying on people to search out what Heel really meant. The blog Dog Art Today by Moira McLaughlin took the poster one step further making a number of connections to perhaps the style came from in a post HEEL: Disney Gets All Dog Art-y. Go figure, the Heel poster is from Disney.
On another Maddie and dog related note, I just wanted to post the above image that was drawn of Maddie by the artist France Belleville. It was a pretty cool unexpected surprise to see her drawn in such a way that I could appreciate Maddie in a new light…
- Putting a name to that face…
If there’s a time to be in NYC when your senses can be overloaded w/ ideas, parties and events May is it. Between portfolio shows from graduating students, company sponsored gatherings, conferences and ICFF there is a ton to be aware of. For the stuff that I’ll check out I’m always taking in how the particular event is organized. It’s part appreciation and part learning. I’ve been on the other side where I was the one helping out with the work so I know what kind of effort it takes to pull something off successfully. A couple nights ago Behance through a nice gathering. If there was one idea that I luved and would execute myself next time, it would be the polaroid thing where you take a picture of every person and have them put your name and who you are. It’s such a simple way for people to place who they are, and for the host of the party you know exactly who showed up. That way you’re not relying on people leaving business cards, plus it’s way better to have a name to the face than a logo. If you’re curious to see what was going on at that party - check out www.lastnightsparty.com/behanced
- Stuff to check out from the last week
It’s a rainy Friday morning over here, I’ve had way too much coffee already and I’m just reviewing stuff that I’ve done over the last week. I thought it might be interesting to try something new and see if it sticks. Every Friday I’ll post some of the more interesting links that have been passed on to me or I’ve just found through other means that I haven’t already blogged about. Most of the sites are already on my delicious site http://del.icio.us/Michael_Surtees, but making them a bit more readable seems like a good idea.
COUPE 18
http://www.coupe-mag.com/coupe-18.html#
+ This — more than any other time — is the age of personal expression, for good or bad. Facebook, MySpace, blogging, camera phones, reality tv, etc., etc., etc., have created a worldwide generation of shrewd and shameless self marketers. The internet has become a far reaching and cheap forum for personal projects, visions, and ideas. The niche genre of personal magazines, existing outside the realm of the commercial hoard, has been experimenting with this ethic for years. But, can it, or does it, still have a place in our ever more electronic world? I chat (ironically, via email) with a couple of magazine mavericks, Neil Feineman (original editor of RayGun) in LA and Brit magazine guruJeremy Leslie in the uk, about the state of the personal magazine, and other things too…Pixel Perfect
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/05/12/080512fa_fact_collins
+ For a charity auction a few years back, the photographer Patrick Demarchelier donated a private portrait session. The lot sold, for a hundred and fifty thousand dollars, to the wife of a very rich man. It was her wish to pose on the couple’s yacht. “I call her, I say, ‘I come to your yacht at sunset, I take your picture,’ ” Demarchelier recalled not long ago…Can You Become a Creature of New Habits?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/business/04unbox.html?ex=1367553600&en=e1243d427937195c&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
+ HABITS are a funny thing. We reach for them mindlessly, setting our brains on auto-pilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine. “Not choice, but habit rules the unreflecting herd,” William Wordsworth said in the 19th century. In the ever-changing 21st century, even the word “habit” carries a negative connotation…Reason Magazine
http://www.reason.com/Why Dell will not bounce back
http://fakesteve.blogspot.com/2008/05/why-dell-will-not-bounce-back.html
+ I love Charles Cooper of CNET and I respect the fact that he’s got to print so many column inches per week in order to earn his paycheck but I have to take issue with his latest effort…110 best books: The perfect library
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/04/06/nosplit/sv_classics06.xml#4
+ From classics and sci-fi to poetry, biographies and books that changed the world… we present the ultimate reading list…The Content Manifesto
http://www.thekaiser-edition.com/the-content-manifesto/
+ The Content Manifesto is a collection of posts, a conversations and thoughts about the future of content, brands communications and agencies. I’ve started to put a series of posts together…Love on Girls’ Side of the Saudi Divide
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/world/middleeast/13girls.html?ex=1368504000&en=254038988117d77d&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
+ RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The dance party in Atheer Jassem al-Othman’s living room was in full swing. The guests — about two dozen girls in their late teens — had arrived, and Ms. Othman and her mother were passing around cups of sweet tea and dishes of dates.Society of Publication Designers : Pub 43 Winners
http://mt.apperceptive.com/spd/winners08/Color Project
http://nohealookbook.blogspot.com/2007/10/color-project.html
+ As I mentioned the other day, I’m doing a color project for a lovely couple who are about to get married. They own a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo in Mountain View, CA.Eisenman’s six point plan
http://archinect.com/news/article.php?id=75217_0_24_0_C17
+ Peter Eisenman set out his thoughts on architecture at RIAS 2008
- Having Lunch w/ the Blog Lunch and Ray…
If you enjoy food you should definitely check out my favourite food blog Lunch http://lunchstudio.blogspot.com/. Written by the two architects of Front Studio www.frontstudio.com, Yen and Michi explore New York w/ their refined sensibilities during lunch. I’ve been a fan of their site since they started when Ray www.weatherpattern.com who’s a mutual friend tipped me off. So today we all finally got together for lunch in SoHo which was pretty easy as we’re all only a couple blocks apart.
Our chosen restaurant was Il Corallo. I had a tough time w/ the menu as there were a ton of choices in all-caps. I ended up choosing the tortellini - it wasn’t a bad decision though there was way too much to eat. The conversation was fun, I got some tips on things I should do when I visit Minneapolis for some Adaptive Path workshops, learned about Carnegie Mellon and we all laughed about how insanely small New York is. You can read Lunch’s take on today’s first of many lunch’s to come at http://lunchstudio.blogspot.com/2008/05/il-corallo-trattoria-with-michael-and.html
- Looking at yourself as a Graphic Designer
Here’s a secret that you rarely hear about in graphic design circles - a honest assessment of what a graphic desiner does and what they want to do in the practical world. I came across the new (to me) graphic design blog Nohea Lookbook by Calie Anderson. In a recent post she talks about where she’s been and where she wants to go with the post Cha Cha Changes… at http://nohealookbook.blogspot.com/2008/03/cha-cha-changes.html Along with taking a look back at how she became who she is as a graphic designer she’s diagramed her different stages. In the world of reblogging design stuff to buy, a post like this is quite refreshing.
- Today’s Sky Mention
Well it’s been almost a week without me mentioning anything about my New York City Colour Study so today is the perfect time to mention another unexpected result of starting the project. I’ve become friends w/ some amazing people, tried things I wouldn’t have considered previously and started other groups that will lead to new opportunities. Todays unexpected connection came via the eat/drink/design blog Kitsune Noir. Bobby took a number of my sky images and connected it to the Yo La Tengo song Today Is the Day. I was thrilled to read and see something that I started and changed to fit the needs of someone else. Check out his post and the music at http://kitsunenoir.com/blog/2008/05/14/today-is-the-day/
- Road Map
Above is a great map created by showing just roads. The details reflect the natural environment whether it’s water, mountains or edges. Check out the Ben Fry’s maps in more detail at http://benfry.com/allstreets He also has a site that just became instantly on my list to check out quite often - http://benfry.com/writing/archives/
- What’s ICFF w/ out some Parties to check out?
Just got an email from Stefan Boublil mentioning that the apartment is having another party this year while ICFF is going on, sort of like last years bash but w/ more surprises. Not too sure what that means just yet but sounds pretty cool none the less. And since I’ll be at AIGA/NY’s Smart/Models all day, that party seems like the perfect place to end the night.
Saturday May 17th
6.30 pm to 10 pm
the apartment
101 crosby street
between prince st. and spring st.
- An insane wall-painted animation
MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.
While you might not know the great blog http://eatingsandwiches.com/ just yet, friend Jody Sugrue has been on fire with great commentary on design. Her latest find comes via Buenos Aires with some unbelievable stop motion animation that took a couple months to put together by the artist BLU. Be sure to watch the video with the sound cranked up. There’s also a great site to explore more stuff at http://blublu.org/
- Pixel Illustrations
While I wish I could get my hands on a bigger version of the NHL illustration that Craig D. Adams did for ESPN magazine, even at thumbnail size it looks pretty cool. Check out his portfolio at www.superbrothers.ca
- I Hate Perfume, Ideas I Love
On one level this post was suposed to be nothing more than just an excuse to show some real nice vials of perfume from the company CB I Hate Perfume. I first came across the Brooklyn based company via the packaging blog www.thedieline.com where I was immediately taken in by the sheer variety of small little coloured bottles and labels. Then I started going through the website and the stories that correspond to the idea behind the experience of scent were just as interesting if not more from a stand point of understanding how a company came to be. To paraphrase CB on Perfume “Not even music can stir the mind & heart so powerfully as one tiny whiff. Scent is always individual. Your sense of smell is one of the most unique things about you – more individual than your fingerprints, than the shape of your ear, than the pattern of your retina. Your sense of smell is one of the most important factors that defines you as YOU. The way you respond to any scent is unlike anyone else’s – no one remembers what you do, no one feels what you feel. There is a reason you remember certain scents so fondly – it’s the way nature designed you.”
There’s a fascinating rundown on the process of having a custom fragrance created in the CB CUSTOM BLENDED PERFUMES section of the site. It covers everything from how custom blending works to how the name of the scent will be chosen. If regular design studios had a conversational tone for their design process they’d be on to something. Other sections worth reading include why CB hates Perfume, a journal that is updated periodically and quite possibly the most fascinating aspect of the site being the section A Fairly Brief History of Me.
I’m currently reading the book Mental Models where there’s a particularly good quote that reminds me of what Christopher Brosius is trying to get across through text on the site. “When you start with the idea of making a thing, you’re artificaly limiting what you can deliver… Products are realized only as necessary artifacts to address customer needs. What Flickr, Kodak, Apple, and Target all realize is that the experience is the product we deliver, and the only thing that our customers care about.” And btw, if anyone is wondering what I typically wear - it’s currently L’homme by Yves Saint Laurent…
- Universal Sound
Last Thursday I managed to take a break from work and head over to the Art Directors Club to attend the SVA 2008 Senior Graphic Design Portfolio Review. Having never been to one before I wasn’t sure what to expect. Honestly I was slightly overwhelmed in the sheer number of students with portfolios wanting to show their work. There was a couple reasons why I actually wanted to attend - part out of curiosity to see what young designers were up to, and also in part b/c I need some help where I work. I wasn’t timing things, but I was probably there for just over an hour and saw six or seven books.
All the work was quite impressive though there’s only one that I’m going to mention b/c it was quite different from everything else that I saw or heard. The project that Matt Ell showed me (vs a portfolio of work) was comprised of experimental audio and visuals that combined together. What was interesting is that I was flipping through a book of visuals that documented environmental sounds, yet as I looked through it I was hearing the background noise of the portfolio show. It wasn’t until I downloaded the audio files at home did I know what I was looking at. At itpc://feeds.feedburner.com/EchoUniverseAudioAndVisualPodcast you can download the five tracks. There was a variety of sound recordings from around New York and one from the ocean overlayed with music that worked well together. What I liked about the combination of ambient noise and recognizable notes was that it reminded me of my first trip back to Canada after visiting New York before I moved here. One of the not so subtle things that I missed was all the noise of New York. The taxi horns, the squeaky bus brakes, over worked air conditioning units - they all make a hum that I was starting to associate with a place that I wanted to be at.
While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that every designer leaving school do a project like this, if you have a pretty good idea of the direction you want to shoot towards - why not explore it fully? You can check out more of his visual and sound work at http://phantomlimbscollective.com/echo-ohce/index.php
- Brand Tags
Friend Noah Brier passed me on a great idea for a site that he’s created. Ever wonder what people think of certain brands? His site allows people to add phrases that come to mind. Afterwards you can see what other people have added. Nice use of user generated content. Type away at www.brandtags.net
- Tables of Contents, the photos
While I don’t think the tables of contents in most books has become a lost design-form, I do wonder if it is taken for granted by the reader. Recently a flickr group www.flickr.com/groups/contents/pool/ started as an add on to the Design Observer book The Next Page: Thirty Tables of Contents. Join the group and start uploading tables of contents worth sharing. Above is one of my first five that I sent - over time you can see my collection at www.flickr.com/photos/michaelsurtees/sets/72157604965679531/
- Nothing Happened Today
It’s been a quiet day for me, I’ll save you the gory details of being “ill” but found the above video kind of appropriate. It also makes you wonder if the day there was no news what would people talk about?
video via Ethan Bodnar
- Button Buy Out
Hypothetically speaking, if you were a fan of ten15am www.ten15am.com/ and could buy one of the three buttons above - which one would you want? Just curious…
- AIGA/NY Smart/Models Event
I just wanted to quickly mention the AIGA/NY’s Smart/Models event happening Saturday May 17th at the Times Center in New York. It’s got a great line up of people (see below) that will be talking about design and business. Whether you have your own practice or not there’s going to be a lot to take in and apply afterwards. I’ll be there taking notes and will be doing a post wrap up afterwards here on DesignNotes. If you’re attending please say hello…
+ Athletics: http://athleticsnyc.com
+ Jason Fried: www.37signals.com
+ Sylvia Harris: http://sylviaharris.com
+ Douglas Riccardi: www.memo-ny.com
+ Duffy & Partners: www.duffy.comAIGA/NY Smart/Models
Saturday 17 May 2008
TheTimesCenter
The New York Times
242 West 41st St. between 7th & 8th Avenues
- Experimenting w/ Behance
Last night I spent a couple hours w/ some other interesting people talking w/ Behance. I’m not sure if they’re known more for their Creative Network or their Action Method products but I was curious to see what they were about. While I’ve been given an action pad and visited their network I really didn’t know that much. When I was asked what I thought about their stuff I blurted out that the materials were too nice. In the past I felt a bit tight writing on the pad, I didn’t want to waste the paper - I’m pretty sure that wasn’t something that they wanted to hear. I also used to use a moleskin but stopped when someone mentioned that I should try using Muji notebooks that are inexpensive. I noticed soon afterwards that my sketches were a lot looser. The other catch with the Behance notepad was that if I had actually gone through the whole pad I had no idea where to buy more. But I digress…
But loose sketches and notes don’t exactly translate to anything more than just that if they aren’t pushed further via a process. Successful people are finishers and they typically use a process to get to where they want. Thinking, dreaming and being creative is a good start but not enough. I’ve never been the best at keeping organized and I’m tired of that. Being in a creative industry is both great and frustrating b/c ideas are easy to come up with, but difficult to execute on. So I’m very interested in anything that can help me to the next level. I’m not going to go in depth to explain Behance’s method of Action Steps, Backburner Items and Reference Items - but with that philosophy and their Action Book I’m going to test it out for a couple weeks to see if I really do become better at being an organized designer. If it does work out I could be buying a lot more of their Action Books in the future. Stay tuned…
- Passing on Watches
While I’m not at the stage where I’m collecting watches as investments I really, really like them. One of my fav. companies is Nooka - I’ve mentioned Nooka a lot over here at DesignNotes so if you’ve spent anytime you know what I’m talking about. I came across an old but still going post at Core77 about cool watches that I was going to post about. I even took a photo of my fav. Mondaine and Nooka together as the image for the post. But for some reason I never got around to mentioning it, then last night another Nooka story sort of came full circle so I thought I might as well add it here.
To make this post understandable I thought it would be easier to diagram what I’m about to blab about. To make a long story short a couple months ago I visited Nooka’s HQ. Afterwards Matthew was nice enough to pass me on a pretty cool Nooka Zot Aluminum Black. I think every person that I’ve met since then has noticed it, and there’s a good story behind how I got it that I mention. Fast forward to a couple weeks ago - I was having breakfast w/ Noah Brier who noticed the same said Nooka watch on my wrist. He then proceeded to mention how his workmate at Naked Farris Yakob actually had a watch given to him by Rob who works at Nooka. They were hanging out when Farris mentioned his how he liked his orange watch. Rob then gave Farris his orange Nooka. So last night I was at a Behance thing (that I’ll be talking about in my next post) and met Farris who was wearing his orange Nooka. So he passed on his story while I passed on mine. I’m not entirely sure what the moral of the story is, but I think Nooka is on to something - I keep running into people that appreciate what they do.
- Space Invader Cookies!
Ten15am colleague Vincent Diga passed me on a cool flickr set that shows how a person could make space invader cookies w/ a playdoh extruder. Photos taken by SeattleJonman, see his flickr set at www.flickr.com/photos/27064046@N00/sets/72157603857787202/
