Design for Mankind = Food for Brains.

I wanted to share a whole slew of photos today, but I left my camera at work, so I've decided to up the ante and share some video instead. I was tipped off to Design For Mankind's Dialogue Series through contributor Kate Bingaman-Burt (from Obsessive Consumption) and whenever I stop in to check on the series I'm fascinated by the topics of discussion.

Design For Mankind - Dialogue Episode 8 from Design For Mankind on Vimeo.

In this episode the contributors talk about the future of art and design. What Craig Atkinson has to say is particularly fascinating. His basic point is that we saw graphics look really crisp and hi-tech in the 80's and 90's. Design that bears a more handmade aesthetic is something of a reaction to that era-- perhaps the apex of which was Starbucks Christmas 2008. In any event-- what's next? We've come to a place where the most current art of our time bears that sort of home-spun, handmade look. See illustration sensation Julia Rothman, for example. Basic line work like hers is HUGE in illustration right now. Or the entire soundtrack of Juno (which bears a basic line work cover) -- particularly that folksy theme song which you can now hear tweaked on endless mainstream commercials. Commercials which also LOOK handmade! Its everywhere!




As someone who not only participates in this design zeitgeist by hand painting signs 40 hours a week, but also hand painting faux sewn stitches onto handmade signs, I am curious to see what happens next. I recently made this poster for an upcoming MICE show:

Design doesn't get much more handmade looking than being popped into a .jpg of an embroidery hoop. Craig predicts that sleek design will soon make a comeback in reaction to the handmade craze, and even points to some airbrushed work he's recently noticed.


The episode prior is about the influence of blogs in the creative life of artists and designers:

Design For Mankind - Dialogue Episode 7 from Design For Mankind on Vimeo.

Blogs are a huge inspiration point in my work, but I definitely feel like its a bit much sometimes. Working too much from what you see out there on the internet can strip away your own voice if you're not also pulling from abstract, real-life situations. Its easy to feel drawn to work and say "I want to make that!" because you can, not necessarily because its the result of your own creative process. I feel this particularly with looser, more subtle images, but know that my strengths lie in making graphic work. I know that I'm not capable of working in this mode all the time, because its just not how I process visual information.

Its a lot to process-- how the work of our time is influenced by this relatively new global community-- how the handmade aesthetic is almost a reactionary force to our high-tech world and what we might do to push into 'what's next'

In any event, this series is really interesting and well worth a peek!

Favorite Things: Google Reader Feeds Edition

If you're not familiar, Google Reader is tool that allows you to track internet information and blog entries from a variety of sources in one convenient place-- like your own constantly updating internet library of favorites. I check it almost every day-- here's a handful of my must reads.

1) GOOD Magazine Blog
GOOD, which I also subscribe to (you can name your subscription rate, so its entirely affordable) is an amazing magazine jam packed with visuals-- graphs, diagrams, charts-- it completely entertains my visual leaning mind and fills it with useful information. It constantly references the greater world, and helps me remember to think outside of my bubble.



2) Cake Wrecks
Cake Wrecks is a hilarious blog with photo after photo of cakes gone bad. My favorites are the cakes where the client presents the baker with a specific photo and winds up with a much different result. Don't read with a drink-- you'll spit it everywhere.



3) Obsessive Consumption
Kate Bingaman-Burt draws everything she buys and posts it for you to see. She often adds side comments about how she feels about her purchases or what drives her to buy them. I find the personal habits of others highly entertaining, so this stream is really delightful. She also has a really cute illustration style-- her daily drawings definitely push me to maintain a sketchbook.



4) Nothing But Bonfires
Holly Burns' is a British ex-pat living in San Francisco who has a really lovely writing style. She's funny and self-deprecating, and despite her constant assertion that she's boring, leads a really interesting life as she bounces around the globe visiting family and writing for Travelocity. She also makes occasional Best!Things!Ever! posts, which is where the idea for My Favorite Things came from.

5) Post Secret
Another site that fills my need to better understand human idiosyncrasies. Here's how it works-- you make an anonymous post card that shares a secret. You mail it to Frank. Frank scans it and posts them all on Sunday morning. Then I sit at home and wonder about the story behind it while I drink my coffee.





If you have any favorites I would love to hear about them! If you'd like to add this blog to your a feed program like Google Reader, there's a link on the sidebar.