entries Tagged as [design history]

‘They’re so small they’re evading our terrible lizards’

In 1977, this poster hung on my bedroom closet door – and was eventually eaten up by use of that same door.

It came as an extra large ‘freebie’ in the Star Wars soundtrack, which I bought thinking it was this album. It wasn’t. It was the symphonic score; for me, an introduction to classical music. What I learned from the free poster – as a young impressionable creative – is abstraction, when done right, looks great.

It was painted by artist John Berkey – who used quick brush strokes that up close were a gloopy mess, but at a distance create energy and implied motion.

Berkey’s work influences me to this day.

And for my iTunes-loaded tracks of the Star Wars radio program, I’m using some of his art as my ‘album covers,’ below.

As for Star Wars’ ‘terrible lizards,’ these are them.



Poster found via KlaatuCarpenter

‘Hanging Loose’

Illustration by the great Bob Peak. From 1972.

Found via Martin Klasch

Tibor, trubblemaker

‘What role we are playing. Making the filthy oil company look ‘clean,’ making the car brochure higher-quality than the car, making the spaghetti sauce look like it’s been put up by grandma, making the junky condo look hip. Is all that okay, or just the level to which design and many other professions have sunk?’ –Tibor Kalman

I first discovered Tibor Kalman’s work sometime around 1990.

He was doing something that most everyday graphic designers seemed to be avoiding. Questioning things.

His adeptness at social change – being a responsible human being, helping others – happened by working within the system. First at Barnes & Noble, M&Co., then Interview, Colors magazines. And as a teacher.

Before he passed in 1999, Kalman was the facilitator of what I see as a great awakening in our industry. And those who were part of his circle – such as his wife Maira, Stefan Sagmeister, Scott Stowell, Alexander Isley – have made graphic design much more than pretty brochures and generic logotypes.

Good design for good purposes is good. Making shitheads lots of money thru questionable practices is bad. Seems simple, right?

It isn’t.

I posted this because the rest of the world is waking up just about right now. And this past week, Steven Heller wrote up a great piece on Kalman.

Pictured from top down, advertisements and promotions for NYC’s Restaurant Florent. With Alexander Isley, from 1985–88. Found via Tibor Kalman: Design and Undesign and MoMA

Robin Rhode: Variants

The work of Robin Rhode.

Below, image from Rhode’s Variants.

Zig Zag

Illustration of Gerrit Rietveld’s Zig-Zag Chair by Brazil-based Carol Grilo.

Leerstof Tekenen alphabets

‘From Leerstof Tekenen, a collection of assignments and exercises for graphic design students   . . .   Rescued from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy library in Amsterdam’

Found via Freaky Fauna

Vintage Missoni, lookbook

‘bold patterns, mixed fabrics and kaleidoscopic colors’

Missoni has aged well. Here’s a look at some vintage wears from Lookbook, Free People, eBay – with a few other finds from around the web  . . .  [Read more →]

Creamy! Vintage Albolene

‘A pure, bland, unscented, soothing cleaning cream and lubricant’

Another vintage find: Albolene cold cream container.

For the past 15 or so years, we’ve had this little can perched in whatever bathroom was part of our nest.

Swooshy! Van den Velde Script

The newest font package from Brazil-based Iza and Paulo W of Intellecta Design is pure pen magic: A loose interpretation of the work of Dutch calligrapher Jan van den Velde, 1568-1623.

The Van den Velde fonts feature a bunch of stylistic alternatives, ligatures, swooshes, swashes and other strokes that say woooooooo!

Two frilly fonts are available – one with letters, alternates and fleurons – and a ‘words’ version that features a set of customized words to make any decorative communiqué become the domain of an expert penman.

Snag your own thru MyFonts. Both fonts are on sale thru September 27, 2011.

Lady Baltimore Fashion Luggage



‘Exclusive designer styled brass finished die-cast locks’

We found this on our honeymoon back in 1995.

We’d picked up a bunch of trinkets in Seattle and needed an extra piece of luggage – so a few hours before our trip home, we ran across this luxuriously lined Lady Baltimore display model in a small shop.

Been a part of the family ever since.

In Helfer & Baker’s Shadow

‘It didn’t last long; true-blue Shadow fans (and, apparently, the owners of The Shadow trademark) didn’t care for Helfer and Baker’s smart-ass approach, especially when they killed the character off and resurrected him as a killer cyborg. It’s not surprising that happened to also be their final issue.’ –Robot 6

The Shadow (1987-89) was my favorite comic book series.

It was a sequel to a Howard Chaykin-penned 1986 update to the classic radio program, pulp novel character The Shadow, ‘What evil lurks in the hearts of men  . . .  The Shadow knows!’

Chaykin had brought the character into the 1980s, with uzis instead of .45s, ‘for mature readers’ emblazoned on the cover. And unlike the rest of his crew (Margo Lane and others had aged), Shadow alter-ego Lamont Cranston was still a rather youngish, dapper guy – ready to take on the New York of the Miami Vice era.

A monthly series followed – and after a few artist changes, writer Andy Helfer and artist Kyle Baker made it something else entirely.

Helfer and Baker’s take on The Shadow became a crazy whirlwind tour of Sopranos-like mobsters, wickedly dark humor, extreme violence, unexpected plot twists and in issue 13, they killed off the main character. Then his sons lost his body and with every successive chapter, one could not predict what would happen next. [Read more →]


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