Chuck Green's Design Likes
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I was talking with a neighbor today about the profound effect the web is having on the world -- it clearly represents the best and worst of us. Don't let this get around but I believe that because designers and writers so often shape the online conversation, that we have an enormous opportunity to use it for the furtherance of truth and good. (And a responsibility to discover what is true and what is good.)

No pressure, Chuck 

Check out my Adobe InDesign Ideabook: 315 template files in 19 different categories
Everything from brochures, newsletters, and direct mail to packaging, calendars, and books (one CD works with both Mac and PC). Use two or three files and you'll pay for the entire book and disc...

 


The future of graphic design is much bigger than graphic design

As the story goes, Adobe was founded in 1982 and named for the Adobe Creek that ran behind John Warnock's house in Los Altos, California. Who could have predicted what Adobe would become - the company that started as the home of the PostScript page description language, ended up precipitating the desktop publishing revolution and today has 9000-plus employees and revenues of $3.8 billion.

But the magic, to me, is what Adobe has done for my profession. It has helped to grow seemingly creative disciplines -- graphic design, photo editing, illustration, animation, and so on -- into scientific collaborations and pursuits of the highest order.

Adobe invests 20% of its revenues in research and development. But, as they explain it, "The company's commitment to innovation... goes far beyond dollars spent. With a wide range of initiatives that provide resources, tools, and support to stimulate innovative practices at every level of the company's activities, Adobe has ensured that innovation remains an essential element of its long-term strategy."

For a guy who once used a T-square and press type, the stuff going on in places like the Adobe Advance Technology Labs is science fiction made real.

Here > Cosaliency and image triage...

Here > Video Tapestries...

Here > Articulated puppet building...

Here > PatchMatch...

Here > About Innovation at Adobe...

Here > Adobe Advanced Technology Labs home page (Above are just a few of the many developments Abobe has pursued on its own and in collaboration with other organizations. Be sure to explore the many headings under "Technologies" in the right column and meet the some of the players.)...

Here > The Adobe Creek

Here > Haha... press type

Here > Hahahaha... the olden days...

Here > Discuss this topic here...  
 


Pictures of ideas -- a tour of Scripts: Elegant Lettering from Design's Golden Age


(I recommend you read this post from its original page as it includes illustrations)
Here > http://www.pageplane.com/typography/pictures_of_ideas_--_a_tour_of.html

I guess the reason I find ephemera so fascinating is that it freezes ideas in time. Advertisements, specimen sheets, instruction guides, product labels, and other forms of printed matter that were never meant to outlive their immediate purpose, provide a snapshot of the producer's intent and reveal a designer's approach to solving a problem.

Below is a brief tour of a new book the folks at publisher Thames & Hudson sent along: Scripts: Elegant Lettering from Design's Golden Age. It's a collection of elegant and eccentric examples of script lettering - French, British, German, Italian, and American - compiled over a thirty year period by authors Louise Fili and Steven Heller.

If you know the work of Fili and Heller, you might expect they'd have amassed a rather substantial collection of ephemera over the years. Heller, a former art director for the New York Times and well-known lecturer on the history of graphic design, has authored over 100 books on design and popular culture. Louise Fili, formerly a designer for Herb Lubalin and art director for Pantheon Books, has authored another twenty titles, many of them in collaboration with Heller (they are husband and wife).

Fili is among my favorite designers. If you have no idea why you'd want a book of this type, take a look at her portfolio of work. Though she offers a fresh and modern approach, you can't help but see the influences of 19th and early 20th century graphic design and typography.

Discovering, digesting, and deconstructing the work of others - finding the essence of how disparate elements are arranged in order - is part of the design mind's blessing/curse. Whether it's a conscious effort or gut-level assimilation, you can't help but absorb the layouts, typefaces, colors, and imagery that pass through your vision each day and mentally store them away. The beauty of this book is that it captures some of the best of what these two experienced designers have found and distills it in a form we can easily access.

The book is virtually all images - there are brief introductions to each section and footnotes, but just enough to supply the necessary orientation. The wonderful cover design was created by Louise Fili and John Passafiume. (I'm told that another favorite of mine, Jessica Hische, worked on the early stages of the interior design.)

I have hundreds of design books on the shelves around me. And, though I love digital, I love print too. I get some indescribable sense of satisfaction knowing that the thoughts of so many good designers and tens of thousands of their designs are by my side.

Scripts: Elegant Lettering from Design's Golden Age by Louise Fili and Steven Heller, ISBN 0500515689, 352 pages, published by Thames & Hudson, 2011

Some links...

Here > Louise Fili...

Here > Steven Heller...

Here > Thames & Hudson, the publisher...

Here > Jessica Hische...

Here > Discuss this topic here...


 
"Wiggle pictures" grow up: The making to lenticular 3D images

Lenticular printing is the process of reproducing two or more images on a single surface to create the illusion of 3D. As you view the surface from slightly different angles, the images change.

I've certainly seen them before but hadn't considered designing a job using one. From what I read, the cost of production is less expensive than it once was. I'm you pointing to these resources with the thought that you might want to add the idea to your toolbox.

Here > The effects as explained on Big3D.com...

Here > A good overview of the process on Wikipedia...

Here >  Four interesting articles about preparing images by Isaac Cheung of ViCGI.com: 3D Lenticular Printing Interlacing Algorithm Illustrated Using Photoshop...

Here > Simplest Method of Making Anaglyph Images with Photoshop...

Here > Choosing the Right Lenticular Sheet for DIY Lenticular Printing on Inkjet Printers...

Here > Converting a 2D picture to a 3D Lenticular Print - Theory and Tutorial...

Here > The ViCGI (Visual Creative Graphics Innovations) website...

Here > Discuss this topic here...



This new survey about print design may surprise you

What types of media have you designed for in the past year?
What percentage of your projects involves print in the mix?
What percentage of your time is spent working in print?

These are some of the questions answered in GDUSA's just released 48th Annual Print Survey. Very interesting.

Here > GDUSA's 48th Annual Print Survey (226KB PDF)..

Here > Discuss this topic here...



Recent Tweets from http://twitter.com/ideabook
and posts from  http://www.facebook.com/ideabookfb

For writers and designers: Why I like The Free Dictionary
Here > http://tinyurl.com/65to8r6

My friend Lee Garvey points us to an announcement about the pending USPS website makeover (now in progress)...
Here > http://tinyurl.com/3srcsfs

I'm blessed to have two sons -- both are designers...
Here > http://tinyurl.com/3t4nt4h

My Design-it-Yourself: Graphic Workshop is now available in E-book form. This is kinda cool.
Here > http://tinyurl.com/447sb5z

Great little video on illustrating a poster from Jude Landry...
Here > http://tinyurl.com/3aurbj9

Do you charge graphic design usage fees?
Here > http://tinyurl.com/3rsha6z

Problem/Solution: Visually subdivide a page
Here > http://tinyurl.com/42cycb3

New from MyFonts: Parfumerie Script
Here > http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/typesenses/parfumerie-script-pro/?refby=ideabook



Meet lettering artist Dana Tanamachi

I mentioned Louise Fili last week and I came across the names of a couple of the other talented people who work for her studio. I particularly like these chalkboard lettering pieces created by graphic designer Dana Tanamachi.

Here > Example 1...

Here > Example 2...

Here > Example 3...

Here > Time lapse video of the making...

Here > Discuss this topic here...



How texture, structure, and weight add depth to graphic design

As one who started out using a t-square, a can of rubber cement, and an Rapidiograph to cobble together a design, I'm particularly aware of the "clean room" nature of today's digital world. I love it but (occasionally) I miss the physical craft (though not the X-acto knife wounds). It's no wonder I have such an affinity for work that demonstrates an appreciation of all three dimensions when I see it.

Today I want to point you to Ben Barry, a young designer at Facebook with an obvious love of craft. It looks as though he and his colleagues are as comfortable producing as they are in designing. Watch for the texture and the structure and the weight - to me, they literally add depth to graphic design.

Here > A tour of the shop...

Here > A hand stamped seal for Mark Zuckerberg's stationery...

Here > A gift in the form of a packaged art print...

Here > Letterpress coasters...

Here > Facebook Design, of course, has a Facebook page...

Here > Discuss this topic here...


 
Meet illustrator Michael Newhouse


Michael Newhouse is a former keypunch operator who has done work for neurosurgeons. That information is true, but the way it is presented gives you a curious slant on the real story. (This is his real bio.)

In graphic design it's all about how you say (and show) a thing. Newhouse is, among other things, an accomplished information architect - an expert as explaining ideas with words and images. I especially like the fact that his work is client-specific - by that I mean he varies the look and feel of each piece rather than shoehorning everything into one specific style.

Here > The Newhouse website...

Here > Example 1...

Here > Example 2...

Here > Example 3...

Here > And his feelings on logo design services...

Here > And the Newhouse Books blog on Tumblr...

Here > Discuss this topic here...



From the Ideabook.com Design Store

IDEO Method Cards
Here > http://www.ideabook.com/ideo_method_cards.html

Tintbook CMYK Process Color Selector: A palette of 25,000 CMYK process colors in print...
Here > http://www.ideabook.com/store_tintbook.html

Color Harmony Guide: From French designer Dominique Trapp...
Here > http://www.ideabook.com/store_color_harmony.html

Communicating With Color: Based on Leatrice Eiseman's seminars on the psychology of color...
Here > http://www.ideabook.com/store_pantone_guide.html

The Copywriter's Handbook: Bob Bly's classic guide to copywriting...
Here > http://www.ideabook.com/store_copywriters_handbook.html

Graphic Design, Referenced: A Visual Guide to Graphic Design: One of my favorite design books...
Here > http://www.ideabook.com/store_copywriters_handbook.html

Getting it Printed: How to wrestle control of your printed work...
Here > http://www.ideabook.com/store_getting_it_printed.html
 


About the briefing

I try to remain as objective as possible about the information I share here. Unless I tell you otherwise, I receive no compensation from the organizations and people mentioned except for occasional product samples. Comments? Suggestions? Write me at [email protected] 


Chuck Green