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Recently I spent the day with a top notch, veteran studio photographer. In the midst of a difficult session everything came to a halt when, inexplicably, the camera went black. After a few minutes of troubleshooting the seasoned professional discovered a probable cause... he had not removed the lens cap.
I guess it doesn't hurt to pause from time to time and reflect on the many actions we perform automatically. I like the idea of forgeting from time to time, -- it makes us better appreciate all that we remember. And it gives us an opportunity to examine things we should potentially change.
Be well, Chuck
Have you seen my 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...
For Adobe InDesign
For QuarkXPress
What I most admire about this photographer is something you don't see
I admire Sam Jones' ability to navigate what is sometimes the most dicey, difficult part of doing creative work - dealing with other creative people. Many, as you know, are saints. Good people who go out of their way to be gracious, who respect what you are trying to do, and who see your work together as an opportunity have an enjoyable, productive experience.
Then there are the not so good people. I remember (for example), a video shoot, years ago, with a high-strung actor who pretty much terrorized the set for a day. We were working on a promotional piece for a client and this gentleman was the central character. There was nothing to be done but to ride it out, make the best of it, and be certain never to write him into another script.
Clearly, Sam Jones has some magic about him that gives those who work with him - even these big names - the confidence to let him do his work. It occurred to me, looking at his work and seeing the many people he has worked with, that engaging and managing people is a not often discussed talent of the best creatives. Yet it is among their greatest assets.
Example 1...
Example 2...
Example 3...
There's lots to see on Jones' website...
An interesting sidelight, Heidi Volpe interviewed Sam Jones for The Daily Edit about the design of his website...
Using paper, printing, and perforations to turn a static design into an interactive tool
I hesitate to point out that the work you are about to see is, as I understand it, work that Fred Carriedo created for class projects at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Yikes, is every bit as talented as some of the best designers I know.
Rather than focusing on the aesthetics of the designs, I suggest you dig into the way he uses perforations, die-cuts, types of paper, printing techniques, and such to create pieces that give me a sense that I want to interact with them.
To me, this is fabulous stuff, loaded with insightful ideas.
Example 1: Transform..."Detail from a conceptual experimental book and conference collateral that addresses the topic of evolution and the future of communication, technology, and design."...
Example 2: Sugar Deli Food Center... "The final project for my Package Design 2 class... I chose to redesign the Sugar Deli Food Center in New York and work with a modernized picnic concept based on the "Now Serving No." tickets you often see in delicatessens. Each items carries a unique number with a description of the item on the label"...
Example 3: Empire Vineyards... "Package Design 3 / Project 1. Design Objective: Design labels and packaging for a line of wine, liquor, or beer. I chose to design and brand my own vineyard based on the research I conducted"...
Carriedo's website...
If you use this link to buy your type from MyFonts.com, you won't pay any more but I'll get a kickback and will be one step closer to getting that English manor house.
Movie titles provide a timeline of typeface design and period aesthetics
There are plenty of design lessons to be learned on this site dedicated to stills of motion picture titles. Designer Christian Annyas explains, "I've seen a lot of movies over the years. To prove I've sat through at least the first ten minutes of them I started making screenshots of the titles."
The resulting collection, which begins in the 1920s and extends through the current day, offers an interesting timeline of typeface design and period aesthetics.
An example of an early John Ford film, Prisoner of Shark Island (1936)...
The home page...
You may recall another title design collection we visited back in 2009 - The Art of the Title Sequence...
An amazing archive of odd-ball films said to be in the public domain
Prelinger Archives is a treasure trove of advertising, educational, industrial, and amateur films produced by and for US corporations, nonprofit organizations, trade associations, community and interest groups, and educational institutions.
The good news is, as I understand it, that the films are free to use however you want. Obviously, I'm not a lawyer so you should confirm this for yourself by reading the "Rights" section (left column) of the the Prelinger Archives home page at the Internet Archive.
Getty Images is licensing broadcast quality clips from many of the same films for a fee. Why pay? here's what they say at Prelinger.com:
"Prelinger Archives allows free access to many (but not all) films from their collection on the Internet Archive site. However, the Internet Archive does not provide written permission to use any material, and the user therefore assumes all risk when repurposing Prelinger footage. By way of contrast, when you license Prelinger clips from Getty Images, Getty Images will indemnify you against claims for copyright infringement relating to copyright in the footage clip. Getty Images charges for this service."
Again, I am not declaring this material is free to use, you must perform your own due diligence.
On with the show.
Example 1: Destination Earth (1956)...
Example 2: What Makes A Good Party (1950)...
Example 3: The Mailman (1947)...
The Prelinger Archives home page at the Internet Archive...
Browse the archive by subject...
The Field Guide to Sponsored Films...
How to enrich the browsing experience by mixing media
I don't know whether or not you want to use this particular service, but I like the result. ThingLink is used to "create rich images with music, video, sound, text and more."
An example of the Thinglink service...
How it works...
They set out to create an international language of pictures
Beginning in the 1920s Austrian philosopher Otto Neurath began developing an international picture language - Isotype, an acronym for International System Of TYpographic Picture Education.
As the Isotype Revisited organization characterizes it, "Isotype was a method for assembling, configuring and disseminating information and statistics through pictorial means."
"Its initiator, Otto Neurath, described it as a 'language-like technique' characterized by consistency in the use of graphic elements. The basic elements are pictograms - simplified pictures of people or things, designed to function as repeat-able units."
The designer Neurath teamed up with was Gerd Arntz whose work, I'm guessing will be familiar to you. I point you to it because, to me, it's interesting to understand how their work clearly influenced modern-day information design.
International Picture Language, The First Rules of Isotype, by Otto Neurath...
An introduction to the idea...
A website dedicated to the work of graphic designer Gerd Arntz...
Isotype: Representing social facts pictorially by Christopher Burke (762KB PDF)...
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