Behind Schedule

These past few weeks have been unbelievable in quite a few ways. As such, my posts have been rather delinquent. I'll be updating a few things in the next couple of posts, but first, let's discuss some ethical design groups.

Then first group is pretty straight forward. The Ethical Design Collective. Their primary philosophy: the encouragement of education and development, philanthropy towards our fellow beings, and care of our planet and the flora and fauna it supports. Personally, I think it sounds a bit fluffy and self-important, but that doesn't change the fact that they have wholesome goals and a healthy purpose. The idea behind the collective is to bring designers together under a common purpose. It is a forward-thinking group in that it is more of a connection for designers than a design office with headquarters in New York. In terms of their output, I think their portfolio is in its growth stages, but they are relatively young, and I look forward t seeing more of their work.

One thing I enjoy is that they don't just display their work... they display their experiments as well. Many design groups and studios just display their work. While this shows their strengths, it doesn't exactly give a client the opportunity to see rage of skill and ability. Necessity may be the mother of invention, but innovation [especially in this new age of green and ethical design] is the child of experimentation. They remain true to their philosophy by encouraging designers to appreciate and participate and just playing with design. Even the high end design studios can be stuck in the rut of innovating classics. We are in an age of more than great design... looking good isn't good enough. You have to mean good-- BE good. [I am really beginning to appreciate playing with type and creating arbitrary pieces of art in my spare time. It's the random things that inspire.]

The second design group I found is such a little gem of design. Celery Design Collaborative. [How organic is that!?!] I thi k the name just about says it all. The cleanest design does not have to be classically minimalistic. They take a new approach to design that they call "engaging upstream."
"The major goal of engaging upstream from the traditional designer’s role is to shift the focus of 'green' design from a battle over cost to a strategic conversation about value."
Designing ethically, for them, means taking initial responsibility. We have little control over production and distribution because it simply isn't part of what a designer does or it isn't within their resources... but the design is. So instead of blaming circumstances and availability, the idea is to look ahead and include your intentions in the original design. They call it designing backwards. Genius.

They have me all excited and about to jump outside of my seat. They have the neatest lightbulb packaging innovation. PLEASE visit the site and read all about it. Seeing as packaging is the next assignment, I will talk more about it in the next post. Until then... enjoy the taster :)

When I first read the prompt for this assignment, I was frustrated. My ambitions were never to work for a major ad agency. The corporate world has only left a bitter taste in my outh. The quest for design fame and glory and the accompanying monetary rewards have created money-hungry monsters. Advertising, branding, design, etc. have become increasingly corporatized. As such, people aren't always designing to an ethical or moral standard, just to whatever gets them up the next rung of the design ladder. I really enjoy design but I had determied that I ultimately wanted to do in-house design work with a non-profit, or freelance design for non-profit only. That way, all of my work would be ethical and stand for what I believe in. I am beginning to realize that ethical design is'nt about standing ona soap box in a corner and drawing with a self-righteous pout on my face... Just get out there and do it. People, groups, studios, clients... they're all catching on. Ethics are not dead. Au contrare-- they are spreading!

I'll Type Your Face

Birth Of A Hero is a typeface created by Gyom Séguin, a Canadian designer. It was designed just last year as were some of his other typefaces. His work can be found and downloaded on dafont.com. In his designer profile, he says that he "listens to rock music and designs rocking fonts." This influence is apparent in his style. This typeface in particular is a very bold and linear design. Rock music, though some might consider it messy, has more recently been more of a controlled chaos. While it moves and makes noise and goes in a million directions, there don't really seem to be many grey areas as to what's rock and what isn't. More recently, rock design and presentation has become "controlled chaos." Instead of colors and textures running together or a seemingly careless design, the style has been strong, bold and linear. There are fewer layers within the design usually only containing a hierarchy of 2-3 with colors the compliment yet contrast such as green and brown, or black and electric blue.

The most interesting quirk in this type face is the angled A and the tilted G. It gives the typeface a sort of abstract movement. Though it is a seemingly clear and concise typeface, it stands out with strong well-placed differences. I love the name because it kind of represents a rocker attitude: amongst the many, rock is being bold and and fearlessly different like it's a good thing... rock gives life and stands for the heroes. Visit his website!


Billy Argel designed Green Piloww in 2008. This typeface is full of content and depth so thought it is a highly useable font, it's definitely intended for making short and poignant statements... not essays. The designer even gave it a tagline "Green piloww for green minds." That basically says it all. He designed the typeface in an era when actively caring about the environment is just a way of life but a highly popular style of life. The typeface actually has something to say in it's design. IT makes no demands, rather it is a statement about the person wearing it, or the activity advertised. It says, "Being good natured is about caring for nature and I've got to say it feels good. Want to join?"

I have to say the most interesting thing about this typeface is that it's designer live sin Sao Paolo... Brazil! I have recently been discovering some joyous bits of design, and Brazil seems to be the place for new and happening design as well as designers. That definitely says something else about the typeface... whatever it reads and certainly implying what's current and "in."

The First Task of Many

I had previously discussed two designers I'm a fan of on another blog... but it got spammed! So I'm re-writing it and putting it here. The first I chose was actually a group of designers.

Target is an American store that is a bit like ASDA, but for them, design is everything. It's hard to find names for their creative team as they use an in-house agency, but they do partner with other designers for their ads/campaigns every now and again... such as the wonderful Ryan Cox! They consistently empower the brand by respecting customers and audiences as creative individuals. Their latest campaign, "Hello Good-buy" is a play on a top Beatles song. It's another example of how they are always reinventing the classic. Their goal isn't to be edgy, and I think that makes for gret design. Because TRYING to be edgy, always looks forced. And Target ads are just naturally fun and inviting.

Next, we have Meg Hunt. She has a much more artistic look. In general, she uses a rather interesting colour palette. Her work has such a flow to it, and it isn't because she has a great use of line. When you pick it apart, there is nothing about her work that is smooth. But her ability to use interesting colors, patterns, and motions makes for the most brilliant design work. Her illustrations have a much more natural artistic look to them then alot of the current and newer work. In my opinion, I think it is the direction of future design. Artistic and stylized work are definitely the direction of future design... which, interestingly enough, was how it started. The era of stark solids and basic forms for advertising is over. Designers are definitely coming back. And it's nice to see advertisers, and brands really recognizing the power of design and image.

RSA pt.1

So, I think I have chosen my design project. Elegant Frugality. It almost sounds frou frou, but the exciting thing is that it doesn't have to be. The aim of this brief is to, "Create and produce an original, persuasive and behaviour changing strategy for the issue you feel it is important to address." There are two sides to how I'm feeling on this. The first is that I am excited. I come from California. All we talk about is being green and ways to have less impact on this earth [as far as your carbon footprint is concerned]. The negative side, and what I am most concerned about, is that I am not British. Yes, I want to cover something important to me like the brief states, but I also want to do something relevant to more than myself and my own life. So I am setting forth a battery of questions to move myself beyond... myself.

What IS important to me?

What do I really care about?

What issues does my hometown face?

What issues does Britain face?

Are any of these alike?

How has each approached the issue?

What is the difference in style?

What is Britain facing that I find important?

How can I best approach any issue from a British point of view?

Are there any cultural differences that must be noted?

Is it important that I come from a British point of view... or is it time for something different?

I know that I will have more questions as time goes on, as this design process moves forward, and I will also answer these questions. I'm really excited to see where this will lead. Hopefully I find a pattern of design/design research that works for me, personally. Something better than the four years of text books [ALL the same] have offered.

I would like to start a little tradition. Hopefully, I will keep it up. But for now... with every post I want to put some piece of design that I find interesting, or simply enjoy. Because the more I look at design, the more I'm actually studying it and processing it in my mind. Without further ado... I give you "monster" [located above] by Ryan Cox. I love... LOVE his design work. His work resembles every element that I adore and I work to employ. His design are bright simple and fun, and as basic as they may seem each is unique. There is just something special about his design, whether it is intuitive, or just a little fun. It's design that doesn't take itself too seriously, and I love that. I chose this particular piece because it's just a whole lot of fun. And also because it reminds me of the Fire Gang from The Labrynth starring David Bowie. [Throughout the course of this blog, you will more than likely discover my love for the 80's.] Just check out his work... doesn't it just put a smile on your face? I think that's one of the gifts of good design. Good design moves you in some kind of direction. Ryan Cox moves me to happiness. Without a doubt, I will include more of his work in this blog at some point.