michael bierut on some fundamentals that might not be top of mind for all designers…
Designing is the most important thing, but it’s not the only thing. All of the other things a designer does are important too, and you have to do them with intelligence, enthusiasm, dedication, and love. Together, those things create the background that makes the work meaningful, and, when you do them right, that makes the work good.
this tissue packaging from trader joe’s made me smile!
images from facebook’s trader joes fan. thx to garnish for the tip!
i was not very good on the whole desktop wallpaper thing during the summer, but i’ve done one for october! if you’re like me, this time of year is crazy busy. so i’ve designed a very clean, elegant wallpaper that celebrates the textures of nature… and leaves lots of room on your desktop for all those pesky work-related files and icons.
you can download it in a variety of sizes over on my freebies page. and please have patience with the downloading speed… the files are a little bigger than normal because of those hi-res textures.
enjoy!
have you seen cadence? it’s a new ornamental font, designed by jonathan perez, based on a 19th century french type specimen. the pdf sample is a wonder… my jaw dropped. i kid you not! but then you should know by now i would never kid about type.
at 35 euros it’s a bargain as far as i’m concerned. find out more here. first seen on i love typography.
you must take a peek at steven blumenthal’s first anniversary gift to his wife, shelly. it’s an illustrated anthology of key text messages they sent back and forth the year they were married. it’s genius, and i have no idea how he’s going to top this one. he clearly doesn’t buy into the idea of setting the bar low so that you can only improve with time.
you can see it for yourself on for print only.
i laud fast company for encouraging debbie millman to have her way with her blog. today it’s another meaningful story, yes, but told through the most beautifully expressive typography. it’s a good lesson that expressive typography does NOT have to be all swirls and craziness. and it’s a great reminder of the role form plays in function.
i’m always inspired by fashion shows. i know much of what is shown on the runway is impractical, or looks good only on the stick thin models, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t inspiring. i love looking at the construction, at the way the designers combine colour and pattern, at the way they layer and pad and project. with the new york, london and milan shows completed, here’s my rainbow of favourite looks.
red: bottega veneta (my favourite designer and if i ever win the lottery i’m dressing exclusively in this line… the clothes are so gorgeous!)
orange: nicole fahri
yellow: devi kroell
green: costello tagliapietra
blue: thakoon
indigo: tory burch
violet: salvatore ferragamo
and although white is not a colour of the rainbow, it is the colour of all the colours of the rainbow combined, and here’s my favourite white look, from jill sander:
all images from style.com.
a better world by design has the goal of creating connections by bringing a global community of innovators to providence, rhode island, to reach across disciplines and unite under a common goal (making the world a better place… a bit vague, if you ask me, but noble nonetheless). presenters share engaging stories, workshops teach creative skills, and discussions reframe perspectives. the objective of conference organizers is to create an immersive experience that deepens our understanding of the power of design, technology, and enterprise to reshape our communities and sustain our environment. you can check out the confirmed presenters here.
and you know what’s interesting? it’s organized by a group of students from brown university and the rhode island school of design. so it’s not just another stuffy academic conference. it’s a hip, young academic conference!
since the focus of the discussion is design, let’s take a look at the identity developed by risd student willem van lacker for this year’s conference, shall we?
and here is the event poster, designed by winterhouse, which leverages the theme of the identity quite nicely, but with much better typography, at least in my opinion…
