Thomas Henry Huxley
Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.
Springtime in Paris
We were honored to be asked again to design a concert poster for the Charles City Community Chamber Orchestra. This poster composition was inspired by the music for the concert; composers such as Faure, Ravel, Bizet, and Chopin. Beautiful and passionate music.
It was fun to develop a design using elements of art nouveau which we rarely get to use in our designs. To stay with the branding we developed for this orchestra, we simplified the design and chose to not create the typically intricate and ornate textures that were common in that era.
Staying consistant with the other posters we designed, we opted to use the Art Deco inspired Bandoengsche for the font. Designed by the talented team at Studio Formika.
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If you haven’t heard Gabriel Faure’s Pavane, Opus 50 – you must listen to it. Put on some headphones, close your eyes and be transported to another place and time, yet somehow still familiar. It is joyful with a tinge of sadness, passionate yet delicate. It will touch your soul.
For the love of Comic Sans
Ah yeah…Comic Sans.
Smooth. Sophisticated. Sexy.
Let’s people know. This brand…this brand is a cool cucumber with style to spare.
Hold up. Wait a minute!
What font are we talking about again?
I have yet to be in a meeting with a client who has demanded that their corporate brand include Comic Sans. But I have learned over the years to ‘never say never’.
If you have ever been curious who designed this amazing/atrocious font, you must check out this video.
Feel like defending the ‘honor’ of this font?!
You can join the movement with the Comic Sans Project.
Still craving more?
Just do a quick search on Comic Sans Logos. You’ll feel a bit like you ate a full can of frosting and topped it off with a glass of chocolate milk. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
You can read the original article here.
—-UPDATE
For all you Comic Sans lovers.
Netflix adds Comic Sans subtitles so you can ruin (or improve) your favorite movies
Apparently, Netflix has a secret obsession with the font as well. You can add this fantastic font to all your anime translations.
AWESOME!
Here’s a link to the original article in case you want to read more into it.
Midnight City
Leave it up to the French electronic band M83 and directorial team Fleur & Manu to create the perfect blend of sci-fi and great music. It gets us all giddy inside just listening/watching it. The bonus – it’s a serial epic that spans over three songs. According to member Anthony Gonzalez, the trilogy was “built as a soundtrack, as an imaginary film.” Inspiring. Great music. Fantastic directing.
Simply amazing.
If you enjoyed that, you might like the full trilogy.
powerful message for us all
To say we are fans of Carl Sagan would be an understatement.
His calm demeanor and passion for our universe was infectious. He introduced us to the vast world of astronomy and astrophysics, but in a palatable way that made us ‘commoners’ believe that we too could touch the stars (without the PHD in astrophysics from CalTech). He made Fringe Science cool (interstellar flight, ancient aliens, existence of UFOs) and brought to light our own humanity. He gently expressed that we are only a microcosm in the expanse of the universe and how we should treasure our existence instead of fighting petty wars over small pieces of dirt. A reminder that our actions in and on this world are but a fraction of the bigger picture.
With all the unsettling things that are happening in our world, his quote that we share here reminds us to think about the responsibility that we all share as human beings.
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“Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors, so that in glory and triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot.”
Can we finally make limitless energy happen?
Nuclear fusion has long been considered the “holy grail” of energy research. The long allure of nuclear fusion is simple: clean, safe, limitless energy for a world that will soon house 10 billion energy-hungry citizens.
Non-carbon emitting and virtually limitless energy. Sounds like sci-fi? Well it is…sort of.
The project on the radar lately has been the Iter project, the fast rising colossus in Provence, France aimed at bringing the power of the sun down to Earth. Johannes Schwemmer, the director of Fusion for Energy, the EU partner in the international Iter collaboration said. “It is a bet that is very important for humanity. We need to get this energy once and for all.”
Yes! But with over 35 countries involved and ballooning costs in the billions, at what cost?
Now it seems that the race for developing the first functioning Stellarator is between Germany and China with Japan having some success. Does America has enough billionaires interested in privately funding our efforts to get into the game?
This is something we could solve. No problem was ever too insurmountable that we weren’t able to conquer it. Even with politicians and their own personal agendas in the way. We have some brilliant US physicists – the battle cry – “Do it for the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor!”
Come on America! We’ve lost our edge.
We are too busy trying to secure the last remaining old way of fueling our soon-to-be archaic machinery and piling trillions into warfare – we’ve stopped looking to the future. Are we really so busy taking selfies and trying to get our numbers up on social media to look forward to our future?
We’ve deviated from our brand and warped it into something not as interesting and definitely not as marketable.
If you are interested in more: Read this article that explains in layman’s terms what nuclear fusion could mean to us and the future.
Or you could always watch this movie with Val Kilmer and Elizabeth Shue 😉
Dreams of Sushi
There is something really awe-inspiring about being in the presence of greatness. If you pay close attention, you can feel the energy slow and form into a singular focus. A rudimentary version might be that of an athlete at the top of his/her game. Your body, the motion, the action, and time itself become one.
As designers in this day and age with the assistance of computers, we have developed a bit of ADD in regards to design. We can switch from project to project, designing under unreasonable timelines, and expect to produce fantastic designs. The reality is most of what we do is great for marketing. We can even come up with some really clever solutions for the design problem, but our work inevitability is done to keep the lights on and if we’re lucky, satiate that drive inside to make things around us look better.
To masters, like Jiro Ono what he does is not work – it is art.
There is a clear distinction. Designers are not artists.
I may get some flack for saying this, but being a designer myself I know the difference. To create art is to create from the soul, baring all to the world…but not for the world necessarily. It’s masturbatory in many ways. There is a part of the artist that care little for what the outside world thinks or feels about his/her art. It is merely an expression of self.
An artist, like Ono-san, creates a symphony of flavors and orchestrates each dish in time with his vision. I envision patrons who appreciate his gift leave their meal in awe and perhaps moved to tears. But for him, it is one more step to perfection, one more set of dishes to complete his masterpiece. The patrons are just the recipient of his experimentation.
I envy that level of dedication and focus in a way. What could be created with that consistent practice? If we could slow down our design timelines and focus on creating a single logo over a year’s time. What would that end result look like? Perfection or disappointment?
If you haven’t seen this documentary, you should take the time some raining afternoon and watch it. Trust me when I say, you will be craving sushi afterwards.
Yumiko Kayukawa
She’s Japanese. Grew up in Hokkaido. Lives in Seattle.
Literally, rocks your eyeballs with amazing details and subtly smacks you with attitude.
She intertwines Rock, movies and fashion into a tapestry set in a natural environment surrounded by animals both cute and fierce. All designed in a print style that is reminiscent of an ancient Japanese block prints – refining that with a hint of Manga influence. It’s been love ever since I discovered her artwork.
View her work on her website: sweetyumiko.com
Naoya Aoki
Stumbled upon this video quite by accident.
Amazing choreography that is so dipped in reality you would almost expect it to happen on your street. The dancers interaction, the fluidity of the movement…just fantastic. It’s a great example of art portraying life.
Naoya Aoki is a Dancer/Teacher/Choreographer who has developed his own dance method through mixing body work to his Jazz/Ballet/Modern dance training. Not classically trained, he developed his style as a hard working freelance dancer.
It is a testament that if you have the will, the drive and the diligence – You can become great!
Inspirational.
To learn more about the JAPON Dance Project. Click here and be prepared to be inspired!
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