Design Police Directives

This is a bit dry. But, perhaps because I work for the police department and I am the designer, and have been calling myself the Design Police... it seemed like it was my duty to post this.

The Design Police Directives

Imagine you're Art Directing a new piece and are reviewing the draft. You could use these red tags to markup the doc. Not that you would. But do you ever think that sometimes a strict voice of authority is what you need to keep your design on track?

(Clicking gets multiple downloads of a PDF version of what you see when you click through the pages. That's a bit annoying. Stay with Next and Previous. Who knows what the address form is for.)

All Signs Say Paul Rand

I was poking around online for some inspiration (always a fun way to circle a task), and I was led, breadcrumb by breadcrumb, to this site about Rand that is the work of Daniel Lewandowski of Atlanta.

Here's what Lewandowski has to say about Paul-Rand.com:

"This site is meant to honor and pay utmost respect to the life and work of Mr. Rand. When I first began this project, I discovered that there were no “single-source” references to Mr. Rand or his works anywhere on the internet. Thus sparked the idea to build this tribute/archive site. I am in no way a philosopher or critic of design but have a great respect for the history of our industry and the people who have shaped it. In the course of building the site, I’ve been able to more greatly appreciate their thoughts and theories on design and develop my own opinions on the subject."

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There's a dearth of images in the galleries as of yet, this looks like a work in progress, but I was drawn to this page of writings and video interviews that might be of general interest to us design types.

I particularly liked the interview with Steve Jobs about working with Rand for the NEXT logo (logotype?)

Paul Rand said…

via Daring Fireball

I’m not familiar with The One Club, but I am familiar with Paul Rand. If you’re not familiar with Paul Rand (and you should be), you can read about him at Wikipedia.

If you’d rather see and hear about Paul Rand, though, you can watch this video created for Paul Rand’s induction into The One Club Hall of Fame.

Interact 10 Ways

Okay, I've been finding all kinds of excuses not to post. I thought I’d be the first one in July but Calixto beat me to it. Since what I’m currently working on consumes my waking moments and prevents me from blogging, I’ll just share it.

While searching for inspiration on the web front for possible ways to engage our audiences. I came across this fun, visually experimental media site. Several design groups collaborated with Gettyone to create it. You’ll need some time. Each of the 10 pieces takes a minimum of a few minutes to experience. Let me know which one(s), if any, you like. And which one(s) kept your attention the longest! www.interact10ways.com

The Human Camera

via DRAWN!

Stephen Wiltshire, artist


Truly spellbinding! Thanks, Connie!

Love The Tufte

via New York Magazine via popurls

I like to think of Edward Tufte as simply The Tufte. I don’t do this to demean him (‘The Tufte’ being aurally akin to ‘The Hoff’); it’s more of an expression of “He’s the man.” Again, in a positive sense, not in a socio-oppressive sense. Okay, that’s too much explanation.

Anyway, if you’d like to read more about The Tufte, his charts, his fans, why he thinks PowerPoint is evil, etc., head on over to Beautiful Evidence at New York Magazine.

UPDATE: And, as Kathryn pointed out, Tufte is coming to town.

Thinking and Making

This transcript is from
William Drentell and Jessica Helfand's talk
given at the '03 AIGA Conference "The Power of Design."

Maybe you've already seen it, felt it, know it...
I ran across it the other day while digging around and realized
I LIKE using my head AND my hands...what about you?

Interesting university web sites

via Allison Bloodworth on Webnet

Just ran into this really interesting website on university website designs that I thought might interest folks: www.edustyle.net.

Click here to go directly to Cornell University's home page.

Resources for inspiration

FOR THE LOVE OF THINGS MECHANICAL:

Those of you who are industrial design and car design fans, you are probably familiar with the work of Syd Mead. He’s a visionary and futurist who’s been around for at least 30 years (I first learned of his work for General Motors and US Steel when I was in art school in the ’70s). Besides being a great designer and draughtsman, he is an expert in gouache painting techniques, and does some fantastic renderings. He has worked for many movie studios, and designed all the vehicles for Tron and Blade Runner. Visit his site, and read about the new documentary on his work. Here is the blurb:

Check out the all new Syd Mead Documentary [Visual Futurist: The Art & Life of Syd Mead] by Director Joaquin Montalvan. This star studded documentary features in depth observations from Syd himself, but also the amazing cast of leading designers and producers around the globe. Featured are: Steven Lisberger, Richard Taylor, Bob Gurr, Chuck Jordan, James Knight, Gene Winfield, C. Orval Selders, Roger Servick, Paul M. Sammon, Michael Deeley, Katherine Haber, Nathan Proch, and Dyan Sublett. Listen to Syd Mead recall his influences and life tales of working on some of the largest projects the world has ever undertaken. Travel through the film projects such as Blade Runner and [Tron] with those who made the dream a reality behind the scenes.
www.sydmead.com/features/documentary/ • SYD MEAD, Inc.

FOR THE PAINTERS IN ALL OF US:

As a figure drawing fan from way back, I appreciate people who can draw and paint the human form. At the Addison Street Window Gallery (on Addison between Milvia and Shattuck, across the street from the Berkeley Rep, attached to the Parking Garage there) is a show of the work of Partners in Paint, a group of artists who have gotten together for many years to paint from live models. Check out the display of their various sketchbooks: beautiful, spontaneous work in ink and watercolors; fluid in nature, fearless, and full of vitality. Even the placement of the subjects on the page is nice. Wish I could capture that energy and imagination in my own art and design. Admittedly, not all the shows at the Addison Street Window Gallery are as good (in fact, some are downright embarrassing), but this display is worth the walk.
[City of Berkeley Press Release]