Often there’s this thing – where the graphic designer – feels like shouting, ‘I’M A PROFESSIONAL, I KNOW WHAT I’M DOING. REALLY.’

It usually arises from the idea that graphic design is a voodoo art that many do not understand. Or they think they do, but only understand a small portion of it. Trained, professional designers do spend at least 4–5 years studying our craft – and the years after finessing what we know.

Keeping communication open to clients is also important. But really, there’s some of us who know what we’re doing.

Mostly.

Button design by UXPin.

Found via Sandoer Berg

Former student Alice Woodruff posted this list on my Facebook page.

It’s good thoughts and will probably offend some. Turning off one’s ego long enough to connect with others is often difficult. I have to enact #25 before week’s end. A good, unexpected apology for something I didn’t expect to occur will make someone else’s day. Fingers crossed.

[1]    Most people hide their suffering better than you think, you pass dozens of people a day on the street without any idea how well they’re wearing their tragedies.

[2]    People’s names are the sweetest sounds they hear. You should make a point of being good at learning and using them.

[3]    People love to spread their misery around, but not as much as they enjoy being lifted out of it.

[4]    Being young is not in and of itself an achievement. Neither is being beautiful. But people often treat you as if they are.

[5]    For a lot of people, music is a reflection of who they are and their relationship to life. Remember that before insulting someone’s favorite band.

[6]    The Golden Age never existed. People are always trying to get back to a time when things were simpler and better. The world was a far more dangerous place fifty years ago, especially if you were black or a woman or gay or diagnosed with cancer.

[7]    Most people, whatever their choice of profession, feel like complete novices that are about to be found out as frauds and fakers.

[8]    Most people love quite helplessly, despite what they would have you believe.

[9]    Show me the most beautiful woman in the world, and I’ll show you a man who’s bored with taking her to bed. Show me the most devoted husband, and I’ll show you a woman who feels that he’s just not doing enough. A lot of people are never satisfied because…

[10]    Most people have no idea what they want out of life, let alone how to get it. Most others are still waiting for someone to give them permission.

[11]    Whatever it is about yourself that you’re trying to hide, it’s usually the first thing someone else notices about you.

[12]    You should call your mother and tell her you love her. Like most women who decide to marry and have children or help take care of a dying parent, she probably sacrificed a lot of her dreams to be there for you, and she wishes that you appreciated her more for it. Susan Boyle represented this demographic powerfully, but for every one of her, was a woman like your mother who will never get that standing ovation.

[13]    If you tell a man about your problems, he assumes you want some sort of help or advice. If you tell a woman about your problems, she assumes you simply want a shoulder to cry on. Women rarely want to be told what to do about a problem, and men rarely want to be coddled through a hard time.

[14]    Creative people thrive on feedback. You can never give them enough of it, and you will endear yourselves to them mightily if you do it frequently, thoughtfully, and honestly. They understand far better than most think, the value of time.

[15]    For most people religion is a social commitment more than a spiritual one.

[16]    A lot of people who consider themselves intelligent can’t properly label all the states on a map, or all the countries in Europe, let alone Africa or the Middle East. Most couldn’t list off the ten commandments, five pilars, or the amendments of the Constitution, and feel that politics are too complicated to bother with understanding, let alone talking about.

[17]    A lot of Christians have never, and will never, read the Bible. Most of them will conduct their lives exactly as they would if they’d never attended a single church service. It is nearly impossible to tell a Christian from an atheist by their actions alone. Both Christians and atheists will probably find the previous statement offensive.

[18]    For nearly every crazy idea, you can find a fully credentialed scientist who will back it up.

[19]    People are more frequently kind and compassionate than they are fooled by our manipulations or lies.

[20]    Life often works in reverse. People treat strangers more politely than their family or friends. People will ask a friend’s band to play their party for free, will call their best girlfriend to come over and cut their hair without a thought to payment, but would never dream of calling a mechanic they found in the phonebook and asking them to donate their time and labor to fix a broken down car.

[21]    Everyone has done something they would be desperately embarrassed for anyone else to know about.

[22]    Never joke with a man about his sexual performance, and never joke with a woman about her appearance. No matter how much they make fun of these things in themselves, never, never do it for them. They may laugh along with you, but you’ve just driven a tiny needle into their brain.

[23]    Most women get married because they want to have a wedding, most men get married because they are ready to settle down with a woman for the rest of their lives. Women, statistically speaking are more likely to suffer clinical depression if married, and initiate upwards of 80% of all divorces citing irreconcilable differences. People expect a significant other to change their lives and make them happy without any conception of how this change will take place. Sort of like assuming a college degree is going to guarantee you security in life without ever thinking of how this can be practically possible. I call this the ‘If you build it, they will come’ approach to romance and one out of every two times it ends in divorce.

[24]    Most people are worried they’re not having as much fun as they should be. This usually makes men cheat and women nag.

[25]    When you insult or offend someone, always admit it and apologize promptly, even if it wasn’t your intention or you had no idea. It is always better to be a penitent villain than to appear so socially inept as to not recognize when you’ve hurt the people around you. An evil genius is someone to bring to your side, a blundering fool is someone to keep as far away from you as possible.

Sketches by Alice Woodruff

Here’s a roundup of advice graphics.

I’m always frustrated when beginning students give up prematurely, when there are those who see being ‘creative’ as either a job or something not important and/or not realizing the more a creative works at what they’re doing, the better they will get; collaboration is great, rules get in the way, others will never understand you and that’s okay, work should be fun (especially hard work), breaks are important and a zillion other things.

Click to view larger/jump.

Found via hyenabonz

Many creatives are introverts – some famous ones include J.K. Rowling, Eleanor Roosevelt, Clint Eastwood, David Letterman, Howard Stern, Steve Martin. The trick is most introverts are annoyed just enough by the banalities of everyday societal demands that one typically doesn’t want to get bogged down by the bullshit. Introverts have important thinking to do – typically, introverts are out to change the world in one way or another.

There’s a graphic that’s been bouncing around the interwebs (below) that doesn’t quite hit the mark. Shyness is something totally different.

Above, a list that nails it (and yes, the type is stretched. Typographers: Deal.) – it came from this cool post. And here’s an article with more detail (book available too).

When I’m in quiet mode, I’m busy. Then I come out and play when in a classroom or social situation. Even though the second part is a learned behavior, it is also quite fun and a great balance. Wouldn’t change it for anything.

Bullshit

Found via Lindsey, Jes

‘Perfectionism is exhausting’

I’ve watched my students push themselves so hard to get an ‘A’ that they’ll overlook what it really takes to come up with creative work.

Here’s another take on the concept – by author Michael Nobbs, with a pitch for his book Sustainable Creativity.

‘Creative people across all genres, it seems, have this reputation for being enormously mentally unstable  . . .  [and we've] accepted collectively the notion that creativity and suffering are somehow inherently linked’

Creativity = a horrible life? Anxieties, fear, alcohol – ?

In her TED Talk from 2009, Author Elizabeth Gilbert throws out some diversionary concepts to keep going – be undaunted.

What really motivates us to do the things we do? I’ve read studies like these over and over – it’s not quite money. And it’s not very simple either.

Found via Bill Mead

From last year: The bold choices ad. Starring Willem Dafoe and directed by Dante Ariola for StrawberryFrog.

Behind the scenes here.

‘Check out one of the songs i’m most proud of – my cowrite with Nicola Roberts on a very personal, epic and beautiful ballad.’ –Maya von Doll, Sohodolls

Video for Nicola Roberts’ Sticks + Stones.

Sticks + Stones brings back memories. When one is ‘creative,’ one doesn’t always fit in.

And you know what I’ve learned over the years? It’s fucking cool to not fit in.

I think I’ll post this here.

About fifteen years ago, when Titanic was in full swing and everyone was trying to cash in on the concept – books, exhibitions, games, sequels – I came up with this idea for a tee vee series: The Titanic Boat.

It would be the same concept as The Love Boat (1977–86) where every week new stories revolve around guest stars. The only difference, all would take place on the original Titanic. And the guests would either be saved (via lifeboats) or die some sort of gruesome death.

revolving doors
Anthology series serve a great purpose on television. They provide out of work actors a part time job and (sometimes) a place to stretch their acting abilities.

By the end of the 1970s, Love Boat and Fantasy Island were the weekly haven of fun under the sun for the likes of Barbi Benton, Charo, Shelley Winters, Jim Backus, Bert Convy, Dennis Cole, Sonny Bono, Cathy Lee Crosby, Betty White, George Kennedy and The Landers Sisters. After the Boat’s heyday, Murder She Wrote (1984–96) made it possible to keep guests such as Eddie Albert in the limelight. Today, it’s the universe of Law and Order.

high concept
So for The Titanic Boat, each episode would take place on the very same cruise – leaving Northampton, spending a day at sea then slamming into the fatal iceberg.

Guests such as Elizabeth Berkley, Ben Affleck, Michael Richards, Shelley Stringfield, Michael Ian Black, Shannen Doherty, Eva Longoria, Matt LeBlanc and Joe Piscopo would fill out the hour; either falling in love, partying in sterrage, eventually fighting for the lifeboats or dying in many different, terrible ways.

Footage from the film (ship flybys and sinking) would provide transitions, just like on the original Love Boat. And Fred Grandy can again be the ship’s Gopher – why the hell not?

All new each week. Drama, pathos, the guy who played Urkel, the actress that was Jack Bauer’s girlfriend, dinner music, fireworks – The Titanic Boat, a ratings bonanza!

The original Van Halen broke up when I was a senior in high school. And yes, I am an old fan of David Lee Roth, read about it here.

And the reunion no one thought would happen happened and the album no one thought would happen was released yesterday. 28 year wait. The sound harkens back (harkens is the word) to Van Halen I and II – apparently the tracks are based on notes written back around 1975–77ish.

The sound is old – with parts feeling like an odd 1990s solo album Dave put out. Album cover design by SMOG, art directed by Jeri Heiden.

New track: Tattoo, with Dave explaining it here

You Really Got Me acoustic

And an update: Dave’s been posting new videos on Vimeo all week. Love the ‘recreational director’ discourse and this one about his dogs.

What exactly are our priorities today?

The work of Alex Cherry.

These vintage Santas are just a tad older than me.

Them, with their cartoony script lettering, would grace the table every year – with or without the requisite salt, pepper, for which they were created. Made in Japan.

Below, track from the ultimate 1960s Christmas album.

Ray Conniff: Twelve Days of Christmas

So while I’m still in seafood mode, I should mention my absolute favorite food is Dungeness Crab.

I grew up eating these west coast crustaceans, dusted with Old Bay seasoning, partnered with slabs of sourdough bread. All I need is a small fork and I can get thru the whole thing in under an hour – no cracking necessary. The obsessive trick is to get every single piece out intact – and dip it in melted butter.

Saw this shirt in Old Navy; but alas, not available as a men’s tee.

When my mother was a kid, chickens were grown in the garden.

My mom grew up during The Great Depression in a small house in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. And when it came to cooking, the family made due with what they had. My grandmother used to make her own chicken soup, using the backs and necks of poultry on hand.

My mother learned her technique – and has turned her version of the family soup into an art. The catch is: It doesn’t always come out (by her standards) so a few cans of chicken broth are kept on standby for just an instance (and to adjust the flavor). Even when it’s not perfect, it’s better than one can find in just about any store.

This is the most current recipe, it nets a small pot of gold. Always great in the winter months.

dorothy mehallo’s chicken soup

ingredients

Whole free range chicken from the butcher, cut up (with back and neck)

Cooked rice or noodles

to make

Local butchers doesn’t always have backs and necks available anymore, but if so – it will really add to the flavor. Before cooking, carefully clean out any goop inside the back. Giblets are usable for this too, but don’t add the liver; it will make the broth bitter.

Add chicken, celery, onion, bay leaf, thyme, parsley to the pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Avoid adding too much water, just cover the chicken. Don’t fill the entire pot, it will result in a weak stock (use a second chicken if necessary).

Lower heat and bring to a simmer for around 2-3 hours. Scum will appear on top, carefully skim it off with a spoon.

Add carrots 15-20 minutes before finish. Add salt to taste, canned stock if flavor isn’t really strong; this part depends on the individual chicken. Good chickens make great flavorful soup (this part is unpredictable).

Serve hot, strained broth poured over (deboned) ingredients; rice or noodles. Using a fat separator helps.

to store

Strain the broth into a container and pick thru the other ingredients. Debone the chicken and separate the vegetables. Throw away anything not edible and refrigerate everything else; or freeze. Hardened fat will be easy to remove. The broth will gel when chilled, clear when heated.

There was always the family belief: The thicker the gel, the better the broth.

Be careful, a good batch will attract a begging dog or two

So I love anchovies.

The thought process involves seeing them as a seasoning instead of fish – and using them instead of salt in dishes results in some incredible flavor.

The Romans used to use products called garum and liquamen as condiments – after discovering that rotting, fermented fish have some pretty decent health properties. Garum became as common as ketchup is today; and by law, the smelly factories were located far outside town. Like ancient olive oil (both olive oil and garum were swiped from Greece), modern adaptations can still be found.

Anchovy-based nước mắm (from Vietnam) has become a mainstay in my cooking. There was a huge Vietnamese population near where I went to school (dollar bánh mì for lunch!) and for me, having a bottle in the fridge became common.

And I’ll hunt thru stores till I find a good bottle of Three Crabs Brand® (above). Just like the 8,000 variants of Crest toothpaste in today’s drug store, many Asian groceries also sport Three Fish, One Crab, Four Crabs, Two Shrimp and Crab and Shrimp and Shrimp and Crab and Crab, Shrimp and Crab, Crab Shrimp Shrimp or Shrimp Crab Crab Shrimp Shrimp brand variants to throw one off buying the really good one.

(although this article has a different take on this. Five Crabs may actually be the best.)

As for fresh anchovies (not canned) in a good olive oil  . . .  Heaven.

I’ve been drawing some form of type since the 1980s. And have been teaching type for several years now.

It’s hard to ‘go digital’ when introducing typography, since letterform history goes back hundreds (and thousands) of years.

So I still use 15th century era handtools in my introductory type courses.

Good fonts still contain elements from long ago – and today, all we really do is recreate what was once done with broad pens – using digital tools.

font games!
To get a taste of how ‘us professionals’ render type these days, check out Mark MacKay’s brilliant Shape Type (pictured above) and Kern Type. Both are nutshell adaptations of today’s process – kerning being a majorly overlooked, but necessary typesetting skill.

digital type tools
Fonts today are vector-based, so a mastering the basics of Adobe Illustrator is the start.

Beyond this, there are a bunch of applications on the market for drawing fonts. FontLab is the big one, Fontographer is the old one with the easy interface – and TypeTool is a barebones student-discounted alternative. Unlike Illustrator, these font tools take into account how letters are drawn, with built ins that make it easy to adjust edges. Karen Cheng’s Designing Type is also a must resource to have.

And I do all my logo drawings directly in FontLab – after multiple sketches in pen and ink. It’s just easier that way.

Shape Type found via Mark Nutini

Today’s zeitgeist: Jobs, Apple, Occupy. Fan-made video set to Kidneythieves’ new track, Floating Angel.

Found via Kidneythieves

More posters from my room.

In early 1977, Marine World Africa USA was giving away these Coca-Cola promo posters. Their elephants were used in the first Star Wars movie as the banthas – and I ended up with some free wall hangings.

Knew nothing about the movie and I knew nothing about droids, the old guy with the Jesus circles around his head or why something was called a ‘SEE-THREEPIO.’ Also thought Chewbacca the Bear seemed a bit odd.

A few months later, went to the drive in and saw Star Wars. The previous year, saw Logan’s Run at the drive in. Star Wars was something much different.

‘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

This seems obvious but it isn’t.

I’ve been using credit unions for about 15 years, have free checking and there’s no fees on my debit cards – unless BofA (or another ‘out of network’ teller) decides to charge me one.

For more info about credit unions (or simply banking local), visit the Move Your Money Project website.

Image found via Don Button

‘Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.’ –Steve Jobs

Intuition is very powerful, once one knows how to trust it. It involves turning off the insecurities of ego and concentrating on pure feeling. And it works wonders.

The news of Steve Jobs’ passing came in via social media. I saw a Facebook post right after I gave a design history lecture on early modern artists and how they’d managed to change the world.

I was fortunate enough to both go to school and work in and around Silicon Valley where Jobs’ approach reverberates and inspires. Playing it safe, following the status quo will not lead to new things, will not improve life as we know it – and Jobs knew how to get the best work out of Apple’s creative team.

He knew that details are excruciatingly important. Leveraging design, using good typography, giving us what we really want – instead of what we think we need – was all part of the package.

Thinking different makes the world a better place. That’s the legacy he leaves.

Image by Dylan Roscover, using Apple’s suite of fonts from over the years

‘Having many food and chemical sensitivities has been a largely trial-and-error process for what can be tolerated and what can’t, and has resulted in many creative kitchen science experiments’

Web designer/cartoonist (and former student of mine) Annie Hero has developed some major health problems. Recently, she’s taken to blogging about her approach to reclaiming her life from years of processed food intolerance.

Annie’s WTF are you eating? can be found here.

‘The company injects fatty beef trimmings with ammonia to remove E. coli and salmonella’

Ammonia in the beef. Sawdust in the cookies. Orange juice on life support.

Today’s US food processing industry is similar to a big Hollywood production of an apocalyptic society, arrived early. Fast Food Nation and FOOD Inc. were appetizers.

Read CRACKED’s The 6 Most Horrifying Lies here.

CRACKED? Yes, the humor ‘mazagine’ I read when I was a kid turned snarky humor website is now an investigative news site. Another sign of the apocalypse.

Photo by Carol Guzy/Washington Post

I have a soft spot for Arby’s.

The food isn’t great. But when I was a kid, there wasn’t an Arby’s nearby – so heading to the South City location, which showcased a super cool flashing chuckwagon-themed neon sign, was always a special trip.

It was years before I even tasted what REAL sliced roast beef was – who knew it wouldn’t have a salty, lunchmeat-like boiled flavor?

Back then, Arby’s house BBQ sauce was sold in take home bottles; which today I’ve replaced with a knockoff recipe. The trick to a good sauce is a long, slow simmer and the right non-HFCS ketchup. Trader Joe’s Organic makes a great base.

steve’s alternative to arby’s sauce

ingredients

2 cups Trader Joe’s Organic Ketchup
a splash of water
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
Dash each of nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, sumac, ground coriander seed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black and white pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
A few dashes of Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon Tabasco Pepper Sauce
Dash of Rooster Sauce (Chili Garlic preferred)

to make

Combine all in a small saucepan and bring to a light boil, stirring constantly. Simmer on low heat for around an hour or more, add more water if necessary.

Store in a canning jar, keep in fridge. Will hold up for a month or two.

Enjoy on Genuine Arby’s Food or any non-Arby’s edible that needs a sweet, spicy tang.

Recipe adapted from Todd Wilbur’s Top Secret Recipe site; mason jar photo found via Flickr

Up until a few months ago, I was living down the road from this place. I love the name, the food: not so good. Which may explain its recent closure.

Mongolian BBQ has nothing to do with Mongolia, but is a cuisine unto itself. Not anywhere near highbrow, not exactly a real BBQ. It’s a Taiwanese invention, a greasy, interactive meaty experience; the best I ever had was somewhere in Denver. The sport is all about getting as much slammed into the bowl as possible (flattening out the meat) so the food is plentiful and the trips to the grill are few.

Places with extra ingredients (such as shrimp, lamb, tofu) and seasonings (Italian herbs, Cajun spices and Rooster Sauce) are special. Ginghis (Khan) Kitchen, unfortunately, had neither. But – cool name, cool sign.

Photos by mehallo

Been wickedly busy this week. And I’ve discovered working odd hours and bouts of insomnia become part of the whole experience. Had some cool stuff happen, and some really shitty things happen. I’ve also managed to slip in some great conversations.

Had a 3 a.m. chat with my cousin George. Haven’t talked to him in eons. Tuesday night I finally met the recently-promoted head of the Animation department at school. We talked about how wonderful the feeling is when students blow us away with incredible work. And we decided to join forces in doing something new for students involving typography and motion graphics.

Also had a long, detailed chat with a former student about designers and the fears that slow or stop what it is they’re doing. And how the process is difficult, but incredibly fulfilling when one creates work that they’ve never thought possible. Brilliant minds accomplish surprising things when they get past whatever it may be that gets in the way.

‘Did I do that?’

Yeah. You actually did.

Sleep? Sometimes. The whole 9 to 5 experience: Overrated.

The La’s: I Can’t Sleep

Found via Ronnie Carnwath

‘Should probably be called Missoni for Target for eBay.’ –Zooey Deschanel

Gone, gone and gone.

About the collection here. A look at ‘Missoni madness’ here.

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.

‘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.

digging a bit
In 1989, I found myself at a comic book convention (supposedly) talking to Andy Helfer about the cancellation of his title. But Helfer couldn’t tell me much. Turned out the guy with the ‘Andy Helfer’ name badge was actually his assistant. ‘Andy doesn’t like to fly’ I was told.

He spoke about Helfer’s approach – and how he had little respect for purist interpretations of classics and decided to take The Shadow to a whole different place – darker, funnier and just plain strange. I was hooked and saddened to see it vanish. Because, frankly, comic books at that time were becoming rather boring. Same old shit, different month.

A two issue Justice Inc. kept the magic going a little bit longer but that was it. The Shadow held my interest for three years – and when it ended, I stopped buying comic books.

Not dramatically, but slowly. Just couldn’t find much to hold interest. The Shadow was a hard act to follow. Only thing I’ve really enjoyed as much since has been Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Strikes Again (2001-2), which really leaves purists sitting on the curb.

finding the shadow
There is no trade paperback of this odd series. But the 1980s Shadow can be found cheap with a little digging – here’s a list; best to start with Chaykin’s version tho, then work one’s way thru Sienkiewicz to the Helfer/Baker issues. And keep in mind there is no ending (final issue pictured below), a cliffhanger never to be completed.

ever since: the team
‘It’s funny, everybody thought Conde Nast shut us down, but it was just that we weren’t making any money. When you work on a licensed book, the owner of the license gets half the royalty check. Andy and I, on one of the later issues, ended up splitting a $20 royalty check, and we decided it was time to go.’ –Kyle Baker

After the series ended, writer Andy Helfer became an editor at DC Comics where he headed up the Paradox Press imprint. Paradox specialized in alternative titles, Road to Perdition and A History of Violence among them.

Kyle Baker – who went on to pen Why I Hate Saturn – has been bouncing around the comicsverse ever since. Some of his wares include updates of Captain America and Plastic Man; most of his work contains brilliant social criticism: His Special Forces was called by the NY Times, ‘the harshest, most serrated satire of the Iraq War.’

Baker’s website can be found here, blog here.

And here’s a great review of the Helfer/Baker Shadow – otherwise, more highlights below.

Coco? Are you out there?

Chanel shop, London, 2009.

Found via Self Interest and Sympathy

‘Suprematism, considered ‘the first systematic school of abstract painting in the modern movement,’ was developed by Kazimir Malevich in 1913 and introduced at the 1915 0-10 exhibition in St. Petersburg.’ -Alexander Boguslawski

This is my favorite Suprematist piece, Malevitch’s Sensation of Flight, c. 1914-15. Pure objects, any meaning comes from the viewer’s own interpretation.

Ever wonder what Germany may have looked like if the Weimar Republic kept going?

I like to think answers to this question could be found in the wonderful image sets posted over at kraftgenie’s Weimar blog. Each post is a collection of seemingly related imagery that is simply  . . .  Weimar.

Eugenio Recuenco

Yuval Yairi

Sabine Pigalle

Chantal Michel

Mikel Uribetxeberria

Bill Brandt

Madame Peripetie

Brooke Shaden

Brooke Shaden

Marilyn Minter

Inez van Lamsweerde

Tamara Lischka

***

‘Type is universal’

Typography is everywhere – and as an art form is often overlooked.

There are very few actual documentaries about type – and PBS decided to take on the task of making one. Or in this case, remaking one. Off Book: Type premiered this week as sort of a seven minute version of Gary Hustwit’s Helvetica. Sort of. It IS a new doc, tho it does cover some ground already treaded.

Off Book is PBS’ new online series focusing on ‘experimental and nontraditional art forms.’ For more information, read here. Website here.

Above, artist Sherrie Levine’s Fountain (Buddha) (1996) with Duchamp’s original (1917). From the exhibition, Keeping it Real (2010).

Below, ‘a  personal note from Queen’s Roger Taylor’ (2011).

Roger Taylor: Dear Mr Murdoch

Ideas. Tyler Shields.

‘Vorticism was a radical art movement that shone briefly but brightly in the years before and during World War I.’

A few months back, I picked up Black Sparrow Press’ reprints of Wyndham Lewis’ Vorticist journal Blast Magazine. Vorticism was the British entry into the realm of modern art.

There were only two issues – which ‘blasted’ old Edwardian forms in favor of the new machine aesthetic that was about to take over the world.

Out with the old, in with the new, as it were.

The two issues of Blast – there were only two – are available for browsing at issuu. Check them out here and here.

I see a connection between Lewis’ work and the original production design of TRON. But that may just be me.

There is also a retrospective now going on at the Tate. Video referencing the work of Vorticist practitioner Henri Gaudier-Brzeska (1891-1915), below.

‘Before there were photocopiers, scanners and printers, there was the Ditto Machine (a.k.a. spirit duplicator), produced by the Illinois-based Ditto Corporation; originally introduced in 1923.’ -mnn

Clifford the Big Red Dog was supposed to be red. But in the handout I got in kindergarten, he was purple.

So was my introduction to the Ditto Machine – a device used to replicate most of the paperwork I’d used in elementary school.

Some of my earliest experiences as a ‘graphics’ guy was playing with one of these machines – seeing what it could reproduce and what it couldn’t. It couldn’t reproduce much. The copies were so smudgy, Dittos were grunge before grunge was grunge.

And the smell of the purple ink was incredible. Fruity and chemically at the same time! Tho it turns out ink ingredients – isopropanol and methanol – are toxic substances. Who knew?

Cept for a few high school teachers who were holdouts (‘I don’t trust that newfangled photocopier thing’) all the dittos in my life were gone by end of grade 12.

Snag a tee here.

Images found via They Always Come Back, a tree grows in brookline, Zazzle, Jean&Vic

From PostSecret.

Found via Lady J in Lotus Pose

‘a wooden bird tied to a fan’

Brian Eno’s The Big Ship.

Charles Bukowski and typewriter. Doc here.

‘With a combination of live-action and animation, Khrzhanovskiy weaves a magical portrait of Brodsky and his milieu from post-war Leningrad to an imaginary visit to the new St. Petersburg’

Above, trailer for Andrey Khrzhanovskiy’s A Room and a Half – based on the life of poet Joseph Brodsky (1940-96).

Joseph Brodsky, baby Hermes typewriter

‘Does the venue make the music? From outdoor drumming to Wagnerian operas to arena rock, he explores how context has pushed musical innovation’

Found via Lucy Cook

Remembering my father today.

Designing for use is something often overlooked by designers. What happens once the design is in the hands of actual people?

Stewart Brand takes a long look at design AFTER it’s implemented – in this case, the design of buildings. Does ‘form follow function?’

6-part, 3-hour BBC Documentary. Based on Brand’s book. Music by Brian Eno. From 1997.

Posted in its entirety on Google. Part one above. For part two thru six, go here.

Tonite this link just sort of popped in from former student Campbell BrownKorbel. It’s secrets that every creative – from illustrator (the focus) to designer to comedian to (hell) anarchist – should know.

Phil McAndrew’s Super Obvious Secrets That I Wish They’d Teach In Art School. Read the whole thing here.

Well, I see it this way. I’ve been using my time listening to the greats and nights spent in comedy clubs as part of my teaching ‘act’ for years now. And after reading Steve Martin’s Born Standing Up and all the insane prep he did to do what he did (never realized how neurotically obsessive he was), it all seems to resonate.

Michael Bierut – who had one of the best lines in the Helvetica film – takes a look at the parallels between hard work as a designer and a comedian. Great read for anyone working in a creative field.

Last Saturday, wandered over to the incredible SactoMoFo.

But what was more incredible was on walking back to the car, a girl on a bicycle drove by and I caught just a snippet of her conversation. It was a very basic explanation to her companion:

‘Chenis. It’s a penis made from cheese.’

Is no one else disturbed by this?

I’m not talking about the possible fact that Bin Laden is dead; I mean the convenience of this information. What a load-off it must be for the GOP. After months of dealing with backlashes for stripping our rights one by one across the country, they now have a bit of a break while the population is nicely distracted. Don’t lose sight of the real problem our country if facing right now – within its own borders.

They talk about democracy and justice and all the while Republican Governors and officials across the country are working hard to get rid of collecting bargaining rights, to put in place officials who can dismiss mayors when they see fit, and to make it more difficult for people to register to vote. They are doing everything they can to ensure that the poor and powerless don’t have a say.

What saddens me most is that many of you don’t see it. You’re too busy watching the millionaire-owned news networks who spoonfeed you garbage to distract you from the very real things that are happening.

‘When you control opinion, as corporate America controls opinion in the United States by owning the media, you can make the (many) believe almost anything you want, and you can guide them.’
- Gore Vidal, The Golden Age

For generations the government has worked to make our children less competent, less knowledgeable, more distracted, and more out-of-scync with what is real. They take money out of our educational system by staggering amounts. Yes people get angry, but do you think they really care? Of course not. An uneducated mass is an easily controllable one.

I worry for the US, and, consequently, the world. Our country is run by the rich and powerful. Let me take a moment to explain how a part of our economic system works (what it is these people control). Everyone knows about our central bank. It’s where our government has our money printed when they, well, need more. This bank is not controlled by the government. It is private owned by some of the richest men in the world. Let me stop for moment and point that out again. It’s private owned. That in itself is ridiculous.

‘The Government should create, issue, and circulate all the currency and credits needed to satisfy the spending power of the Government and the buying power of consumers. By the adoption of these principles, the taxpayers will be saved immense sums of interest. Money will cease to be master and become the servant of humanity.’ – Abraham Lincoln

Apparently Lincoln was wrong since we now don’t have that system. And like Lincoln predicted – now when they print this money, they do it on a loan and add interest right on top. This means that when money enters circulation, so does more debt. This means that the government, or rather, the people, always owe money to the central bank. Always. There is no way to settle our nations debt, because that’s how the system is designed. Sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? It is. But it’s designed to be that way; again, it’s an issue of control. That’s all they want from us, for us to stay in line and to not question.

‘There is no more direct way to capture control of a nation than through its credit (money) system’ – Mr. Phillip A. Benson, President of the American Bankers’ Association, 1939

Question is exactly what we need to do. We need to question everything. I know of people who would say that questioning your government isn’t patriotic. I hope, after everything that’s happened in the past several months, that those people have changed their minds. Remember, this country was founded by people who questioned their government and I’m sure that’s exactly what the founders would want us to keep doing.

‘Believe nothing merely because you have been told it. Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher. But whatsoever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be kind, conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings – that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide.’ – Buddha

Aren’t you tired of being manipulated and lied to? Aren’t you tired of being taken advantage of? For all my religious friends; Is this really what God wants for us? Is this what you want for our society, for our future?

Our lives are decided by a thin piece of paper whose only value is the value we give it. Money decides if we eat or if we starve, if we are sick or if we are well, if we have a place to sleep or if we don’t. Does anyone else find that repulsive? We call ourselves enlightened and civilized, yet we live in a world where people die of starvation and curable diseases. We turn a blind eye to them because well, they’re not us. It’s a shame, but I give them ten cents a month, so I’m doing my part. Right? Wrong. They are human beings. No one deserves to live like that. No one.

Worst of all, there is no reason for them to live that way. None whatsoever. There’s enough money in the world to take care of them. We may not have it, but corporations certainly do. But there’s no way they’d give so much of it away. If there’s no profit to be made, there’s no reason to do it. We sell life-saving medications for hundreds of dollars when it costs almost nothing to make. How sick is that? If you don’t have the money, you don’t get better. You die. We are barbarians who wear the mask of civility.

But companies are businesses, right? We can’t expect them to be  . . .  human. Sadly, you’re right. And therein lies the problem. Greed. Our system cannot help but foster it. We are taught that you have to work hard in order to survive. If you don’t, you won’t make it. Oh well, it’s your own fault.

That’s a terrible outlook to have. We are all human beings. Why do we work so hard to push each other down just climb all over them? Anything to get to the top. Here’s a crazy idea. Why don’t we work to help each other up? I’m not talking about jobs and money. That is the root of our problem. Money. It causes just about every problem we have today, poverty, sickness, war, crime, etc. It’s all caused by money and it’s brother, greed.

There has to be a better way.

We need to stop seeing the world with an ‘us against them’ mentality. We are one world, one species. We need to stop fighting each other and work together to keep our species alive and thriving. Our civilization is sick and demented. We have been engrained with the idea that we have to work in order to survive. Thing is, that is no longer true. Thanks to brilliant problemsolvers (note: not politicians) we have the means to feed, clothe, provide shelter and energy for the entire world – every man, woman, and child. [link] All without the need of human labor.

I’ve read a lot of people complain that if people didn’t have to work, they wouldn’t do anything. That is ridiculous. That’s just another idea engrained into us. Sure young adults and adults alike today may become lazy, but that has nothing to do with who we are as a species. It is not our natural inclination. Those people who are that way today are so because they are unsatisfied with life and the reason they might not pursue other things is likely because they don’t have the education to do so or the money to pursue even that. And are so forced to work mundane jobs for the majority of their lives.

This is not what human beings are capable of. Think of us as children. We are naturally curious, naturally creative and explorative. That is who we are. We are problem solvers; how do you think we got the wheel? It is only through our poor educational systems and sad ideas of what is expected of us that those natural tendencies are forced out of us. It is then that the majority of us become drones of the working class.

We deserve and are capable of so much more. I remember reading about the Renaissance, wondering how people could become ‘Renaissance Men.’ I was astounded by the thought of knowing so much about so many different things. Later I realized that it is not so astonishing as it is inevitable when our growth of knowledge isn’t stunted. It’s something we are all capable of, we have just lost the environment that fosters it.

If we continue to let the small group of powerful and wealthy control us, we’ll never see our full potential. Eventually people are going to get tired of it and are going to have to either stand up for themselves or let themselves be herded like cattle.

I for one am hoping for the former.

Victoria Arriaga is a music junkie, lover of languages, design student and traveler

Pictured, photography by the incredible Margaret Bourke-White (1904-71); found via Gallery M and The Contessa Gallery

I had a very interesting conversation this past week. It was with someone who (technically) is my boss.

Works over me, but our working relationship is more colleague than overloard, serb. And that’s refreshing.

I always seek out work situations where the relationship is more of a partnership in tackling a common goal. Usually with me as the design expert dude and the other person as the expert in what they do.

Our conversation was about fear.

Fear in people we work with. How it controls everything they do. And how obvious it is to us. And how frightened people are to attempt to do just about anything these days.

the past decade
We just got out of an eight year presidency based entirely on keeping people afraid. Afraid of what might happen.

Then we got our hands on some hope. Superficial hope cause some of the horrible things happening haven’t gone away. They’ve actually gotten worse.

We talked about how many people live in a fearful world – how many of our colleagues are fearful enough that they toe the line, do what they’re supposed to and hope nothing bad comes of it.

Has our work environment in the United States become all about this fear?

fear job
Several years back, I was presented with an opportunity to ‘teach’ at a local university by another professor. Was told how cool the job is, but was then told, ‘though you know, the atmosphere is that you’ll be constantly reminded that you can be fired at any moment.’

At the time I said, ‘No, I can’t do that.’

Makes me a prick? Yeah, I know that’s how it came across.

But really, I can’t FUCKING DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT. I will NOT work in an environment of fear.

I just can’t handle it. Never could.

(Ask my wife: she’s seen the paranoia that comes from me in a corporate sardine can. It’s not pretty.)

Once someone has been repeatedly fired – typically in situations beyond their control – it makes sense to become fearful.

Or rebel. Take an enough is enough stand.

why
So back to our conversation. We talked about why the hell do people do this to themselves? One is either going to have a job or not have a job. The stable work-9-to-5 have-3.5-kids retire-at-65-lifestyle is a long ago memory today. Buck it up, that’s what we all have to deal with.

And we started thinking: Are we the only people who get this concept? That fear is so embedded we now accept it as  . . .  normal human behavior?

Someone else I work with is constantly reminding me that my sense of humor will get me fired. And I ‘shouldn’t say funny things like that.’ And all I see is someone who is really frightened giving me advice.

I have a crazy approach: I work my ass off at what I do. And I’m kinda good at it. And if it’s not working for whatever reason, great. End it. I’ll do something else (and read this post for more of this philosophy).

There’s nothing worse than a hard working, angry employee who is existing under someone’s thumb. Bad for both parties.

So what bug is up my ass with all this? See Alice’s post, it sums up all the shit that’s going on in the world right now – residue from the Bush years. This is where we are, these are the fears they put in us. This is what our next generation has to deal with.

Give them some pills, take the edge off. Help them concentrate, get things done.

You know, fear of what may happen is often worse than what actually will happen. Fear of the unknown slows everything to a stop. We can’t go back in time (yet), how do we move forward if we’re afraid to?

Fear is a decision.

One that can lead to a really miserable existence if one chooses.

Illustrations from the great Ralph Steadman (which seem to fit; to me anyway); borrowed liberally from his book, Scar Strangled Banger