Archive for September, 2009

On a Designer’s Book Shelf: Rolling Paper Graphics

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

rp_solysombra-251x300 rp_pascal-208x300

I know it’s out of vogue and a health no-no, but the images in “Rolling Paper Graphics” will make you long for the days when smoking was an accepted creative expression of a personal sense of style.
rp_bambu-206x300 rp_alfa-239x300

Page after page of little works of art that define a brand and attempt to crush the competition. (Mad Men would have a field day!) With such a small canvas, typography was used sparingly and intentionally to great effect.
rp_chinahorse

The calligraphy reminds us that once upon a time letters were hand drawn pieces of art by their own right. Layouts vary from graphic simplicity to the spare no kitchen sink theory of advertising.
rp_nil

It’s an inspiring book with images from the exotic to the sublime. There is a brief history of the industry but the emphasis is really on the art and design, as it should be. These artists, long gone and unnamed, deserve our attention.

Rolling Paper Graphics
Author: José Lorente
Art director: Laura Meseguer
©2007 by Index Press, S.L.
Ginko Press, Inc.

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Cheese or Font? The game.

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

You know how I feel about fonts, well I’m also a big fan of cheese, especially real cheese made from real milk. We have a saying in my house: “A meal without cheese is like a day without sunshine.”

How well do you know your cheeses? your fonts? This game will challenge lovers of both. Good Luck!

cheeseorfont

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Irksome Signage

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

I’m not a sign snob, well maybe I am, a little. I appreciate a sign’s attempt to educate, guide and generally provide order to society. Designers, by nature, respond positively to order and strive to create it. Signage designers ever more so. Signs come in wide variety… they can be funny, colorful, handmade, kitschy, boring, even redundant, but they must always be clear. The following rant is my attempt at providing font abuse awareness in signage. Font lovers unite!

I fully admit to being a type snob or maybe my training has just made me sensitive to the abuse of fonts. I wonder… is there a PETA-like organization dedicated to the relief of these vulnerable characters? Maybe a DRTF: Designers for the Respectful Treatment of Fonts? …but I digress.

Imagine my distress when I discovered such an abuse on a sign marking my very own grocery store! Whenever I drive by, the hairs on the back of my neck rise up. Don’t get me wrong… I realize on the scale of societal injustices, this ranks pretty low. Still, it irks me.

See if you can find the offense. I’ve snapped photos of each side of the sign. One side has been properly installed, the other side is tragic (on the scale of type-abuse). Can you find the offense?
hannaford-logo-side a
hannaford-logo side b

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Posted in Uncategorized, just for fun, on design, sustainable design, type design | 6 Comments »

Summer, Squirreled Away

Monday, September 14th, 2009

I apologize for the absence, but you see, summer in Maine is fleeting and I’ve been out enjoying every minute of it. All the while, I’ve been collecting images and inspiration to squirrel away and retrieve when the sun wanes in my northern sky.

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