First Weblog

Dialogue: Relationships In Graphic Design

Thu, 13 Apr 2006 18:53:36 -0500

Sharing a topic of many of my recent, focused discussions (yes, offline discussions), it was a pleasant surprise to happen upon Dialogue. The premise, as the subtitle reveals, is covering the varying relationships that make up the interactions of contemporary design practice. The back cover teases with a promise of “in-depth analysis of key projects.”

Quipsologies~ Vol. 55 ~

Mon, 10 Apr 2006 09:28:28 -0500

Feast your eyes and your mouse on this edition of Quipsologies.

To Brag or Not to Brag

Sat, 08 Apr 2006 10:56:11 -0500

Not so long ago, on a lazy Friday evening I happened upon Brag!, a book that caught the corner of my eye and reeled me in. I can’t say much as to why, but somewhere between the title, the simple yet loud cover and my intrigue I was entangled for the rest of the weekend.

Are you bragging? Self-promoting? Hiding under a rug?

Is it wrong to brag?

Recent Rebrandings 8

Fri, 07 Apr 2006 08:52:44 -0500

Have more fun, get more action and go online in this edition of Recent Rebrandings.

Ye Olde Graphic Designer

Wed, 05 Apr 2006 13:54:18 -0500

As I mentioned previously, I’ve been taking a design class. Our most recent assignment calls for us to create a heraldic crest. Now, heraldry is something I’ve always avoided, partly because I associate it with genealogists—the amatuer kind, who are, imho, geeks—and partly because I associated it with mediaeval recreationists who are also ... geeks. And while I may be a geek of one sort, I'm not that sort.

Quipsologies~ Vol. 54 ~

Mon, 03 Apr 2006 08:38:49 -0500

The more the merrier in this edition of Quipsologies.

Culture of the Quick

Sat, 01 Apr 2006 18:16:11 -0500

These days, Americans believe that nearly any task can be done through a “hurry up” state of affairs. The breadth of television programs, such as ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition, have an entire house remodeled or built in under an hour. Other entertainment like Fox’s The Swan has promised physical transformation with the help of surgery, exercise, and diet. Of course, these shows and others operate during television’s compressed timescape, but one thing’s certain, people want results and they want them now. Chances are you’ve worked with clients that want things done on the fly, and when that happens, how do you cope with it? Do you give in, and if so, how do you manage the pressure—have you seen the work suffer? If you refuse to work under a “hurry up” offense, how do you communicate this to the client—or buy yourself more time?

Word It for April

Tue, 28 Mar 2006 12:23:01 -0500

Bring intro back here

Bad Behavior

Mon, 27 Mar 2006 13:29:35 -0500

I have been working in the design business for 23 years. I started working long before computers were commonplace; my first job mainly consisted of specking type for a cable television magazine. I graduated to drawing picture box frames with a rapidograph, and in an effort to save money on type, I handset paragraphs of copy with Letraset. It wasn’t easy, but I got a secret thrill looking at the finished text and imagining it could pass for professional typesetting. In 1985 I started freelancing. In order to make my rent, I also worked as the receptionist for a nutritionist during the day and as a cashier at the Integral Yoga health food store at night and on the weekends. It took years to make a real living via design, and by the time I was able to start my own business, I had designed a furniture catalog, created political posters for Gloria Steinem and Bella Abzug, and made business cards for my colleagues at Integral Yoga. I loved the variety of jobs, and while scrappy, I felt pride in actually making a living as a designer. 23 years have passed since I first started in this business, and in the last year or so I had begun to believe that I had experienced every possible type of client and every possible kind of client/designer partnership. Maybe it was hubris, maybe it was experience, maybe it was naiveté, but nevertheless, this is how I was feeling. Until last Friday. Last Friday I did something I never, ever, in my wildest imagination, ever thought I would do. Last Friday I yelled at a client.

Quipsologies~ Vol. 53 ~

Mon, 27 Mar 2006 08:56:18 -0500

Bubbly is a word that could be used to describe this edition of Quipsologies. Yet it is not.

The 1960s Revolutions: Race, Sex, Culture, and Design Education

Thu, 23 Mar 2006 08:50:34 -0500

Guest Editorial by Katie Varrati and Derrick Schultz

Upheaval and revolution dominated the 1960s. The Civil Rights movement bubbled over into riots and assassinations; feminism pushed for equal rights at home, the office, and the world; and anti-Vietnam protests and the Hippie counterculture challenged and changed the previous lifestyle of a majority of Americans.

But less known to historians, the 1960s was a time when a small group of American graphic design students were taught how to think, design, and give back to their community in a revolutionary way in Kansas City, Missouri — probably not the first city that comes to mind when you think of revolutionary design.

Quipsologies~ Vol. 52 ~

Mon, 20 Mar 2006 08:38:47 -0500

The letter Q is the proud purveyor of this week's edition of Quipsologies.

Paul Rand's Final Logo Part 2Doug Evans + Partners

Thu, 16 Mar 2006 08:27:53 -0500

It was all quite surreal. Both meeting Doug Evans and being in the presence of a trove of Paul Rand work, yet not being at the Yale archives. Doug and I had traded emails for the better part of two years, several of which he was not on the same continent as me and this was the first time we stood face-to-face.

We were to meet at 7am on a workday at his storage locker in Lower Manhattan. It was in the middle of New York's 10 straight days of rain which came in October. It was pouring and I was late and lost. I decided to walk one block east after standing on a corner getting wet even under an awning, and I found it.

Doug already had a bakers' rack wheeled out of the 5' X 10' space but the rest was filled with boxes stacked to the ceiling. We were looking for a single sheet of paper.

The Face of Human Rights

Tue, 14 Mar 2006 10:35:40 -0500

The Face of Human Rights weighs in at 4.5 pounds, and while its mass challenges readers to hold the book in their hands, its subject matter challenges us to consider the values and freedoms that we too often take for granted.

Quipsologies~ Vol. 51 ~

Mon, 13 Mar 2006 09:06:36 -0500

We dare you… no, we double-dare you to enjoy this edition of Quipsologies.