Best Week Ever Contd.

Not only did I get into the best graduate school ever this week, I found out that I won a design show here in DC. My entire graphic design class (of eight people) submitted a board to the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington’s annual Real Show. I’ve been told that over 400 people submitted from around the country and there were 48 winners. I was one of 12 winners in my category. Here’s the list: my name is under “Naked Décor Stationery.”

Above is a bigger view of my logo. The challenge was to design an identity (logo, letterhead, envelope, business card) for a hip home decor company. I tried to go and see my work hung in the Corcoran but it had already been taken down by the time I got there. From my teacher’s pictures, I could see that other entrants had pursued ideas tossed around in class. More fun than your average school project!

Photo courtesy of flickr user Pedestrian Typography, who is also AU Adjunct Prof. Carolyn Sewell. Thanks!

2009 Desktop Calendar

UPDATE: I guess I thought it was self-explanatory, but the calendar starts on Mondays and the weeks are off-set by the next week being opaque. For instance, today is January the 14th, and you can see that it’s three circles into the new week, which should make the rest of the days of the week obvious. I also found this calendar, which is similar but looks like it’s only the weekends.

In this exciting new year you owe it to yourself to know what day it is. In 2009, we don’t flip through calendars any more. I often find myself consulting a calendar with solely number related questions and this reflects that. It was inspired visually by this planner (me being impressed but not wanting to pay for it) and typographically by the Obama campaign (expect HF+J’s Gotham to show up around town a bit more this year). Click on it to get the big size, download it, and use it if you like. Share alike please.

Postcard #4: Pac Man

This one goes out to another loyal reader. I’ve been all about grid systems recently, and here’s a somewhat playful one that I think retains its fresh handrawn character while still strictly conforming to the grid. I was never good at Pac Man (or his wife’s game); I was always afraid of being eaten up. I think I would play this version though—nothing but gluttunous gratification.

Postcard #1: Marvin Gaye

One of the authors of a blog I read regularly recently mentioned that he keeps up a postcard regimine. Coincidentally, a friend of mine frequently sends my house postcards/messages/collages.  I really like the idea of sending people random postcards, and I think I’ll start doing it weekly. The first one is above. Not only is it a brief and welcome distraction from routine, my family has inherited a (miniscule) wealth of old stamps that have no real value but are still really cool.

I mean, that’s pretty great design. Check out some others. So if you recieve a postcard from me, feel free to respond! I want to correspond with pretty much everyone. Leave addresses in comments if you want, or email me your address.

Riverside Toothpaste

When I first arrived here, I needed to buy shaving cream. I was warned by my roommate David to just get the Gillette. It would match my Gillette Mach 3 razor, which incidentally almost all of my friends have because we were all mailed one upon turning 18. “No,” I said, “I’ll just get the cheaper, generic kind. It’s all the same anyway.” I was wrong. It’s gross and smells very alcohol-ly.

So when David noticed that I was stealing his toothpaste, I decided that I would not make the same mistake twice. I was in the grocery store, just about to reach for the Colgate, and then I saw it:

The clean, modernist packing cried out to me. The name reminded me of the street by that name in the next town over where I made at least five friends. I was intrigued to say the least. Here was a cheaper (€ .49), alternative toothpaste with a dynamic, yet dated look. In terms of the design, the clean primary colors, asymmetrical organization, and all-caps san-serif small type suggest Swiss influence. Not to mention the Swiss cross made out of white type on a red field with a tooth in the middle: how cute is that? However, the main type is far too blocky and imperfect to be Swiss. It reminds me more of Frank Lloyd Wright’s style, and is a bit more avant-garde looking. Anyway, the toothpaste is made in Milan and doesn’t taste incredible, but I think what I like most about it is that I really like looking at it, and there is literally no trace of it on the internet, which is weird and great. Colgate, you’re on notice.

Illustration Alive and Well on Threadless

As I’ve written about before, illustration is no longer incontrovertibly linked to design. In this world of stock photos and cheap digital cameras, being able to draw is no longer a requirement. But is illustration going down the crapper? In some arenas, illustration is not only the best format, it is essential to design.

Take for instance Threadless. This post-internet-bubble startup t-shirt company sells only t-shirts that online participants vote for and choose. What ends up for sale ranges from the stereotypically emo, to the visually punny, to the ambiguous and perhaps deep. And believe me, it’s not a piece of cake to the approval of your peers; take a look at one of my high school attempts. People can be pretty harsh. But what do all of the t-shirts being sold have in common? They are excellent illustrations! The design is meticulous and often very aesthetically pleasing. As the website continues to grow, they do more (such as interviews) to emphasize the role design and illustration plays in their products. I just wish they would do more $10 sales.