Typographic Mania

While looking around at fellow Graphic Designer’s blogs, I found an excellent post on typography in advertising. Veer posted a short link displaying a selection of their favourites, here are just a few of mine. Make sure to check out the rest, they are amazing!

Smart recombinations

While Yves Béhar was a well known design when he created his XO computer and off road vehicle, some designers are born along with their first creation. Mark Noonan from New Canaan, Connecticut came up with his creation in response to a common issue he was having. Each time Noonan shoveled snow he had a sore back the following day, he decided there had to be a better way. By attaching a shovel to a 34 inch wheel and creating a lever system, back strain is greatly reduced. “A study at the University of Massachusetts found back strain from the Wovel is roughly akin to walking, reducing the risk of lower-back injury from shoveling snow by 85 percent.” (APPLEBOME)

Although Noonan had no formal training, by questioning current conditions, then doing something about them, he became a designer. Designers are people who realize there is a problem, and instead of whining about it, decide to change it. Some of the most useful innovations are seemingly easy solutions. So next time you are about to complain about something, try to think of ways you could improve the situation instead.

Yves Béhar

The first time I learned about Yves Béhar was in Warren Berger’s novel Glimmer. He talked about the XO laptop and the way he used future inventions to cut costs. He assumed that future innovations would be smaller and more cost effective, he was right. His latest creation is a bare-bones vehicle that allows for do-it-yourself modifications. The vehicle is intended for dirt roads and areas with unreliable power infrastructures, it is built to accommodate various power sources to make it as versatile as possible.

Béhar believes these vehicles would work well in developing countries because their automotive companies are not as established. Unlike North American companies, who are “stuck in a rut”, developing countries will likely be more open innovation and the ability to supply vehicles to more people. Often times, designs made for developing areas of the world (wind up flashlights and radios), later make their way into North America as emergency devices. Perhaps in the future Béhar’s vehicle will be used when gas supply gets low and prices spike, or as a low cost solution for first time drivers. In any case, if his creation makes it to the North American market we will know that companies are out of the rut.

Kopernik

Each year designers come up with innovative products to make our lives easier. Sometimes these innovations cannot get to the people who really need them, often times this is because the people who need them do not have the funds to purchase them. Kopernik, a new donations website, tries to remedy this problem. Visitors are able to look at proposals from groups in need and chose which ones they want to donate towards. Once sufficient funds have been raised Kopernik transfers the cost of the product and necessary shipping to the company that invented the product. The company then ships the product to the group in need and that group reports back to Kopernik on how the technology is being used.

Some of the most interesting products currently on the site include: life straw, self-adjustable glasses and Q-drum. The life straw is a low cost water filtration system that purifies enough water for one person for a year. It prevents common diarrheal disease and can be carried around for easy access to safe water. The self-adjustable glasses allow users to turn wheels connected to syringes of silicon oil to adjust the prescription of the glasses. Once the glasses are properly adjusted the syringes are cut off and the user has a properly adjusted set of glasses. Q-drums take the burden of carrying water off the shoulders of women and children. The donut shaped drum can be pulled behind, allowing easier transportation of water from a reliable source.

Check out the site for more innovations.

Manifesto for Growth

After our class discussion yesterday I re-read Bruce Mau’s Incomplete Manifesto for Growth. Here are my top five statements along with what they mean to me.

1. Allow events to change you.
You have to be willing to grow. Growth is different from something that happens to you. You produce it. You live it. The prerequisites for growth: the openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by them.

Even though my experience working at Conestoga wasn’t meant to help my design career it did in surprising ways. I’m now more comfortable speaking in front of people I have never met and am better at communicating my thoughts.

7. Study.
A studio is a place of study. Use the necessity of production as an excuse to study. Everyone will benefit.

Each time I read about design, in any context, I learn something new. One of the reasons I wish the day was longer is that if I had more time I could read more about design. The more I immerse myself the better I understand the logic behind design philosophies.

14. Don’t be cool.
Cool is conservative fear dressed in black. Free yourself from limits of this sort.

This one might be hard to accomplish, being trendy can be fun, but creating your own trend is so much better! While I use a lot of sources for inspiration, I just take small pieces from each to mix my own style.

29. Think with your mind.
Forget technology. Creativity is not device-dependent.

My best work is usually a result of sketches done by hand. When I do concepts without technology I feel less limited to make them look nice. I focus more on getting all of my ideas out, good or bad.

32. Listen carefully.
Every collaborator who enters our orbit brings with him or her a world more strange and complex than any we could ever hope to imagine. By listening to the details and the subtlety of their needs, desires, or ambitions, we fold their world onto our own. Neither party will ever be the same.

When a client comes in I try to write down as much as I can. The majority of the time I feel like I missed something, but by carefully listening I can get a good feeling for what the client’s needs are and what style they are looking for.

Read on to find your own favourites.

Why didn't I think of that?

When I was in grade 12 I remember going to an art show and being amazed by the work displayed. Rather than limiting themselves to flat canvases, artists created 3D canvases. I remember one of my favourite pieces was a painting on a triangular prism. As you walked by you saw the piece at different angles, changing what you saw. I am always amazed by innovation more than technical skill; if I want to see something that is realistic I would rather look at photographs. Another piece that amazed me was an image created using thread wound around nails. Up close it looked like nothing, but when you stood back. It was amazing to see how people use ordinary objects to create works of art.

I was reminded of all of these things when a friend sent me a link to an artist who was just as innovative. Baptiste Bebombourg spent 75 hours creating two pieces made solely of staples. After carefully placing 35,000 staples two images emerged. Similar to the piece made of nails and string, you can’t tell what you are looking at until you take a few steps back. While you can’t see the image up close, it is so interesting to see the ways Baptiste Bebombourg bends the staples to create an image. Take a look for yourself.

Reuse!

Each day I have news from Grafik magazine in my Facebook feed. I love looking at all of the innovative things they showcase in their magazine and on their website. Last week they showcased old broken skateboards that were turned into works of art. I love how each person sees reusing things in a different way, some reuse them for the same use, like in my last post and others see things in completely new ways.

Reduce and Reuse!

As most of my friends and peers know, I am an avid recycler. When we were younger we learned to reduce, reuse and recycle, but few of us have found ways to complete the first two. This invitation for the Design Council's 'Good Design Plan' is an excellent example of reducing environmental impact by reusing outdated materials. They further reduced their impact by using vegetable based inks. This piece really works because the ‘Good Design Plan’ is all about new ways to approach design in a sustainable way, the Design Council is truly showing they practice what they preach.

Visit the designers site here.

Charity: Water

Before the earthquake in Haiti one in three Haitians did not have access to clean drinking water. That number has now increased and with this increase the group Charity : Water has received more media attention. Charity : Water is working to provide water to the almost billion people, one in eight in the world, that go without. 100% of the money raised is put towards project costs and funding sustainable water solutions in the areas of greatest need.

Of all the water in the world, only 2.5% is fresh water. Unsafe water and a lack of basic sanitation causes 80% of all sickness and disease, and kills more than all forms of violence combined (including war). Wells to provide clean water can cost from $4,000 to $12,000 and many are living on less than a dollar a day. Even if everyone contributes many cannot afford to build a well in their community.

The simple name clearly tells the viewer what the charity is fundraising for and creates no false assumptions or stereotypes for the charity. The name allows the charity to remain neutral and let its message speak for itself. In three years the charity was able to raise 10 million dollars and provide clean water to nearly one million people. Talk about effective social change.

Collage Intricacies

The State Library of New South Wales is using an innovative typeface to promote their collection. Design agency Frost took pieces of visuals from their collection and compiled them to create the letters of the alphabet. They began with only the letters “O” “U” and “T” to get the message out to the community. Due to the success rate of the work, they later completed the alphabet and created the numbers.

Each letter or number is made up of two to six pieces; Frost used well known images as well as some of the most unknown images in the library’s collection. On the Library’s website there is a breakdown of the images used for each letter and number. The alphabet is used in promotional pieces as well as throughout the library.

I was surprised that the work was commissioned by a library, but love the idea and end result. Each letter is beautifully crafted to show the depths of history they possess. This alphabet creates interest in the long forgotten beauty of the collection and inspires visitors to look at more than they originally intended to.