Critique: Route 66 Covers

I actually presented these covers last week, but there was nothing new for this week (just yet), so I am posting them now. These photos all belong to Stuart Palley, the photographer who travelled along Route 66.

Response: The September Issue

I saw "The September Issue" for the first time yesterday. It was a fascinating glimpse into the world of fashion magazines. Everything seems so glazed and perfected to-the-detail, so it was surprising to find out that many decisions happen at the last minute and in a rush. I interned at a magazine a year ago, and the two final weeks of production were usually a frenzy of work and last-minute problems as well, so maybe this is just a fact of life at any magazine.

One compelling dynamic was the relationship between Anna and Grace. Grace is portrayed at the romantic who works because she genuinely loves the escapist, make-believe aspect of fashion. She is the passionate side, and Anna is the chopper, the one who cuts content and lays down the law. I know that Grace rose to fame after this movie, and rightfully so, as her work has been invaluable to the magazine over the years. Still, I was more interested in the inaccessible editor, who is a genius in her own right. In an industry that doesn't get much respect, Anna Wintour repeatedly makes decisions that drive things forward and allow people to have jobs. She's also a woman making big decisions in the magazine industry, where men still hold many of the powerful roles, and that's a very cool thing.

I'd love to see a follow-up doc on Vogue.

You Can't Miss: Sign Painters

Eye Magazine's blog posted about a book featuring sign painters this week.

I went to the book's site and took a few screen caps of a preview. There are some beautiful examples of hand-painted typography on there, as well as some wise old gems about design.

Here's a spread from the book, Sign Painters. Read the pull quote!

Hand-painted signs that look vintage. Not sure if they are. Credit: Sign Painters by Faythe Levine and Sam Macon.

Inspiration: A New Take on Traditional Chinese Paintings

I was reading Slate this week and came across these beautiful paintings. The artist Yao Lu uses "conflict to create harmony" in an exhibit called "New Landscapes."

Basically, he took photos of landfills and digitally altered them to look like traditional Chinese landscape paintings. It's captivating but also disturbing. Definitely go read the entire post at Slate.

Yao Lu's "Ancient Springtime Fey." 2006. Credit: Slate Magazine

Inspiration: NYT new site design

As you probably have heard, the NYT is launching its new website design soon, saying it will be cleaner and easier to navigate. It's an exciting time to be a NYT reader.

Credit: The New York Times

You Can't Miss: Node Weaving

This week on Eye Magazine's blog, an exhibit showing collaborations between Western designers and craftspeople from Nepal was featured. There are some really beautiful results. Here are some of the highlights:

A beautiful print on an illustrated carpet by Micah Lidberg. Credit: Eye Magazine's blog.

A pattern by Serge Seidlitz. Credit: Eye Magazine's blog.

Response: Portfolio Talk

I was looking for some inspiration for my online portfolio. Here's what I found:

I really like the opening page for this designer's site.

Here is a cool example of a site for someone who has multiple types of work to display. 

Here is a very cool online portfolio. I like the three columns. 

Here's a beautiful black-and-white design from a fashion and portrait photographer, Lachlan Bailey.

This designer's website is funky.  

Enjoy!

Critique: After Dark design

Here are two of four of the spreads from my "After Dark" design. These aren't from the final version, but they are pretty close to it. The awkward spacing issues were resolved with more diversity of type and by using little tags for the reader to identify the story. 

Tell me what you think!

Inspiration: True/False

I spent a lot of time at Jesse this weekend, tearing ticket stubs and pointing to restrooms. While spending the day around True/False coordinators, supporters, and other volunteers, I looked at a lot of True/False art. There was an overall bee hive/tree theme for the passes, and there was a weird (but cool) house on stilts theme for other aspects of their media. The simple but powerful True/False logo is a classic.

Logo

Volunteer pass

You Can't Miss: Objects of Desire

Eye Magazine's blog did a post about an exhibit in Milan called, "Kama. Sesso e Design." It features representations of sexual fetishes in Modernist style.

Found on EyeMagazine's blog, here is an image of the Modernist exhibit.

According to the curator, Silvana Annicchiarico, previous artists never addressed the fact that sexuality could be found in everyday objects because it was taboo at the time. That period of prudishness is certainly over where this exhibit is concerned. Check out the rest of Eye Magazine's post about this exhibit for more less-than-subtle references to sexuality.

Critique: Portfolio Review

Yesterday we reviewed everyone's work in class. It was interesting to see how each person's style showed through their collection of designs, and I was very impressed. We have a talented group of people in the class.

I haven't reviewed my comments yet, but I am interested in what people think of my work, as well as what should make it in my portfolio.

Response: True False

Last weekend was a crazy one; I volunteered at T/F, went to a classical music concert, and did a ton of homework on the side. Little sleep was had. That said, it was a fantastic time. I saw several documentaries. My favorite was probably "Crash Reel," the story of Kevin Pearce, a professional snowboarder who sustained a traumatic brain injury in 2009. He slowly regained the ability to walk, talk, and live a normal life, but he'll probably never snowboard professionally again. It was hard to watch as Kevin realized he wasn't able to do the same things, but the support of his family and friends made this documentary the most moving and inspirational thing I have seen in a while. Go see it/Netflix it.