Red Flag Design's handmade recycled sail cloth bags.

Vancouver, Canada based Red Flag Design aims to create products about more than just function or style. Stuart Sproule and Barnaby Killam became inspired by the amount of useful material that was discarded as by product of insdustrial production.

Craft in America

Cranbrook Academy of Art Press Release:

Tune into Michigan Television/WFUM tonight (Wednesday,
May 30) from 8-11pm for the national broadcast of the three-part PBS
documentary series titled "Craft in America"
(http://www.wfum.org/tvschedule/specials.html). The documentary is
part of a larger project that includes a nationally touring exhibition
that will open at Cranbrook Art Museum in June 2008. Portions of the
film were shot at Cranbrook as the film's director and crew spent more
than a week on campus in April 2006.

The exhibition and documentary are a journey through the origins,
artists and techniques of American Craft. The history of Cranbrook and
the Academy figure centrally into the exhibition with 17 of its 150
total objects on loan from Cranbrook Art Museum. Gerhardt Knodel also
appears in an episode.

For metro Detroit Comcast subscribers, tune to Channel 24; metro
Detroit WOW! subscribers can tune to Channel 8. To check for the PBS
broadcast in other areas and at other times, visit http://www.pbs.org.
Below is a brief description of the three part documentary and tonight's
airtimes.

CRAFT IN AMERICA Memory
8 p.m., Wednesday, May 30th
The first episode takes a personal tour through craft's history in
America. The intimate stories of some of the country's most prominent
craft artisans are set against the larger historical context of craft
itself.

CRAFT IN AMERICA Landscape
9 p.m., Wednesday, May 30th
The second episode examines the relationship of craft artists with
their physical environment, which serves as a source of materials and
inspiration.

CRAFT IN AMERICA Community
10 p.m., Wednesday, May 30th
The final episode focuses on the spiritual connection between artisans
and their communities. The personal stories of gifted artisans reveal
the deeply held belief that craft is about more than just the making of
an object.

TV networks getting sneakier about commercials

It is interesting to see that the latest form of creativity in the industry today is about inventing new vehicles for delivery of advertising.

From an excellent story on cnn.com:

The Geico cavemen have become popular enough they've become the subject of a show.


Story Highlights:
• Viewers paying less attention to standard commercials
• Broadcasters trying new ways to attract attention
• Nielsen is starting to rate commercials

NEW YORK (AP) -- Some of the most creative thinking in television these days has nothing to do with comedy or drama. It's about the commercials.

Fueled by a growing sense of desperation, networks are inserting games, quizzes and mini-dramas into commercial breaks. They're incorporating more product pitches into programming. Two experimental programs without traditional commercial breaks will premiere this fall. NBC has even called on Jerry Seinfeld for help.

This is all being done to stop viewers with DVRs from fast-forwarding through advertisements, or to circumvent those that do. (Blog: All commercials, all the time)

Adding to the urgency, this week Nielsen Media Research begins offering ratings for commercial breaks, instead of just the shows around them.

"We all need to become more creative in how we incorporate sponsors into a program," said Ed Swindler, executive vice president for NBC Universal ad sales. "No one on the creative side or the business side wants to make commercials intrusive, but we do need to commercialize efficiently so viewers can afford to get free television."

Read the entire article on cnn.com

Heaven, Hell and Purgatory, Encased in Glass [NY Times]

Awesome new media museum building in Hilversum, The Netherlands. This is the town where almost all of the TV Networks in Holland are based. The outside panels are images overlayed stills of famous moments in dutch television history by artist and graphic designer jaap Drupsteen. Also known for his design of the classic graphic design monograph Karel Martens: Printed Matter. (Among other things.

[From The New York Times:]
Architecture Review: Heaven, Hell and Purgatory, Encased in Glass
By NICOLAI OUROUSSOFF
Wrapped in a luxurious skin of colorful cast-glass panels, the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision is the most gorgeous work to date by Willem Jan Neutelings and Michiel Riedijk.

OOOMS Studio

Studio OOOMS, based in Eindhoven, The Netherlands was founded by Guido Ooms and Karin van Lieshout. They intend to make you smile by turning conventions upside down and generally have an attitude of wit and positive skepticism towards product design.

Check out their Anti-gravity Machine for example:

Songs For Ice Cream Trucks" CD release show

A reminder to come see the big CD release show on Saturday!

There will be free ice cream provided by local ice cream makers 5 Borough Ice
Cream. There will be tap dancing. There will be an amazing children's band singing. There will be Allyssa Lamb, Ron Caswell, Greta Gertler, and Michael Hearst, all dressed like buffoons and playing strange instruments. What's not to love? Bring the entire family! In fact, kids under 10 get in for free.

Songs For Ice Cream Trucks' CD release show
Saturday, May 26th 7:30pm
Housing Works Bookstore Cafehttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
http://www.housingworks.org/usedbookcafe/
128 Crosby Street, NY
Plus FREE ICE CREAM provided by local ice cream makers 5 Borough Ice Cream!
http://www.5boroughsicecream.com/

Did everyone see the piece in the NY Times? Very exciting! (Even though they let Mr. Softee have the final words.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/20/nyregion/thecity/20song.html?ex=1180324800&en=c02cfcc74ff2719a&ei=5070&emc=eta1
Also, if you missed the segment on WNYC's "Soundcheck" with host John Schaefer
last week, here's the link.

A review of the first test run by "the Ice Cream Man" can be found here.

And don't forget to watch Michael's funny homemade video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z-N2YkrNpc

Rem Koolhaas Designs a Death Star for the UAE

[From Wired]



The proposed Ras al Khaimah Convention and Exhibition Centre in the UAE bears a striking resemblance to the Death Star. Designed by Rem Koolhaas and Reinier de Graaf as part of their collaboration with OMA, the sphere holds a convention centre, hotel rooms, apartments, offices and retail space.

Porcelain by James Klein and David Reid - 1993 to present.

Porcelain by James Klein and David Reid
Works from 1993 to the Present

June 6 - September 28, 2007
Schein-Jopseph International Museum of Ceramic Art
NYSCC at Alfred Unversity, Alfred, NY
Binns-Merill Hall
607.871.2421 / ceramicsmuseum.alfred.edu

Wednesday September 19
Conversation with James Klein & David Reid
Holmes Auditorium, Harder Hall, 5.00pm

Thursday September 20
Museum Reception with the Artists, 4.30 - 6.00pm
Bergren Forum: "Reframing Ceramic Industrial Design" Ezra Shales, Ph.D.
Nevins Theatre Powell Campus Center, 12.10pm

Brand Apart by Joe Duffy, Book party

Book Release party for Brand Apart by Joe Duffy

The One Club and AIGA invite you to a book party and signing for Brand Apart by Joe Duffy.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Presentation by the author at 6:30 pm.
Reception and book signing to follow.

AIGA National Design Center
164 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010

Free Admission

Call 212.979.1900

RSVP: rsvp@oneclub.org

New York Design Week

New York Design Week is going on. Check out the enormous list of events at Core77.

Don't miss the Designboom Design Mart at ICFF this year.

Music/Man: Niklaus Troxler (AIGA Event)

If you like your Jazz with some great Typography and Illustration (or the other way around), go attend this event organized by AIGA New York and the Cooper Union and see an 80 poster retrospective from over 3 decades by Niklaus Troxler.

I'm totally ripping you off - great Story on SpeakUp

Alexander “Fish” Bohn describes how wanted to have my own intellectual property demonstration, to see how the concept might operate in the field of graphic design. I assembled an exhibition of posters at a student gallery here at RISD. The show, called "I AM TOTALLY RIPPING YOU OFF", consisted completely of from-scratch recreations of notable typographically-oriented examples from graphic design and conceptual art. In each recreated work, I used the words "I AM TOTALLY RIPPING YOU OFF, _______" with the blank substituted by the author or artists' name. I ripped off a very wide range of practitioners in this fashion, from Wim Crouwel, to John Baldessari, to M/M Paris.

Creative Time celebrates 33 Years

New York Art organization Creative Time celebrates their 33 years of existence with Creative Time: The Book designed by my heroes over at KarlssonWilker. Check their site out for some graphic design inspiration while you're at it.

Incubate Design in CA Illustration Annual

Check out my friends at Incubate Design and their bad-ass design chops, if you haven't already. They will be featured in the upcoming Communication Arts Illustration Annual which hits the stands in June.

Studio2K / Katya Moorman & Karen Dunn

Katya Moorman and Karen Dunn's is hard to label, and I find that a good thing. Combing area of installation Art, Motion Graphics, Film Making and Interactive Design, to name a few, they explore some interesting territory. It's interesting that it is sometimes applied and sometimes autonomous art but that it seems to come from a similar place an that it works in either arena. Check out THE OPENING OF SKY AND SEA on their website and in the still image below for example.

THE OPENING OF SKY AND SEA -A fashion extravaganza showcasing the work of designers Brooke Priddy and Kelledy Frances. Using the themes of sky and sea we created a dynamic visual environment (videobackpacks on bare chested ushers, projections on oversized helium balloons) which enhanced the narrative. We were also commissioned to create an opening title sequence and a video for the finale. (2006)

BKLYN DESIGNS

Visited BKLYN designs today, here are a few designers that caught my eye. The show is in 3 separate locations in Brooklyn's DUMBO neighborhood: [F train to York St] 81 Front St., 92 Plymouth St. and 38 Water St, with the Front st. location being a cash and carry market that includes craft, design and art.



LONGOLAND's creatures literally stopped me in my tracks. They were so creepy, realistic, yet cuddly and humorous at the same time. They are durably made stuffed animals and definitely one of a kind. Longoland created an accompanying monster-rug (why get a boring old bear-rug?), lazy chair and shirt as well.





Brave Space Design had some very sophisticated yet modern -but not any easy vernacular reference- furniture design. Their mountainous coat rack was another favorite piece in the show.



Site Specific.
I suppose I'm just mostly attracted to design that doesn't take itself so seriously. I like to walk into a show like this and be a little startled, surprised, or laugh or have little childhood memories. Site specific's huge insect inspired floor lamps and stools-that-are-big-tops did that for me.

Michel Gondry Interview at PixelSurgeon

Michel Gondry is my hero, Science of Sleep is a great achievement in motion design, animation and film making and so much fun to watch. Ofcourse his music videos are classics. Pixel Surgeon landed an interview with this great artist.

Soo Sunny Park's show in Vermont on YouTube

I posted earlier about Sunny Park's incredible work at the Firehouse Gallery in Burlington, VT. For all of you who are not in that area, check out a nice video documentation from the opening:

Songs For Ice Cream Trucks on READYMADE.com

From Readymademag.com
Nothing says summer like the sound of an ice cream truck cruising down the street. Enter Michael Hearst of the Brooklyn band
One Ring Zero and his newly released solo album, Songs for Ice Cream Trucks..

For the CD release show, front man Michael Hearst had hoped to buy an ice cream pushcart—which he planned to wheel through the audience on his way to the stage—and hand out ice cream to the crowd. But he quickly discovered that even used ice cream carts sell for $500 to $1000—more than he was prepared to shell out.

Being a resourceful guy, Hearst took a field trip to his local discount shop, picked up a $25 grocery cart, and swung by the hardware store for a sheet of white Masonite on the way home. That’s when the [cell phone] camera started rolling. Watch Hearst in action as he builds his own cart, then heads over to Barbès in Park Slope, Brooklyn for One Ring Zero’s big debut.

The video’s audio tracks are from the new CD. Give ‘em a listen—or better yet, buy the album—here.

Graphic design by Elasticbrand.

Brilliant Pop-Up Book Video by Price James

A brilliant new video for the band Shitdisco

[By way of Designboom & Creative Review]

Everything you see is fake

Check out this montage by RIOT.

New Shift Mag for May '07 - Cover by Jeremyville

The latest issue of Shift magazine has the fun cover by Jeremyville above. Jeremyville says "What most influences me is the little child inside me." An animator, cartoonist, illustrator, product designer, published author, fine artist, toy designer, clothing designer based in Sydney, Jeremyville is here! With the new book "Jeremyville Sessions" and Shift cover, enjoy his interview.

Check out Shift & Jeremyville.

Rob Jones, Resident White Stripes / Raconteurs designer

I came across the intense, bizarre and inspiring work of Rob Jones via IceCreamMan.com who's webmaster I ran into at the first SongsForIceCreamTrucks.com show at Barbés last Sunday evening. (Phew, did you get all of that?). He is the resident designer for The White Stripes and The Raconteurs.

Check out tons of great posters at Rob Jones's website.

W.A. Dwiggins Research Blog by Kelly Rakowski

Kelly Rakowski started a new blog on her research of Type Designer, Illustrator, Graphic Designer, Puppeteer and Book-Artist William Addison Dwiggins.




What I didn't know, is that Dwiggins also did a lot of work on marionettes. Very beautiful stuff:

All photographs by Kelly Rakowski.

Here is a short piece on WAD, as he called himself, from Wikipedia:

William Addison Dwiggins (June 19, 1880 Martinsville, Ohio - December 25, 1956 Hingham, Massachusetts ) was a U.S. type designer, calligrapher, and book designer. He attained prominence as an illustrator and commercial artist, and he brought to the designing of type and books some of the boldness that he displayed in his advertising work.

His typefaces—Electra and Caledonia are most widely used—were specifically designed for Linotype composition and have the clean spareness of the motor age. Metro is most notable as his most modern sans serif typeface. Metro was developed by Linotype in the late 1920s in response to similar type being sold from European foundries such as Futura, Gill Sans, and Erbar.

His scathing attack on contemporary book designers in An Investigation into the Physical Properties of Books (1919) led to his working with the publisher Alfred A. Knopf. A series of finely conceived and executed trade books followed and did much to increase public interest in book format. Dwiggins was perhaps more responsible than any other designer for the marked improvement in book design in the 1920s and 1930s. He gained recognition as a calligrapher and wrote much on the graphic arts, notably essays collected in MSS by WAD (1949), and his Layout in Advertising (1928; rev. ed. 1949) remains standard.

WAD (as he called himself) is credited with coining the term 'graphic designer' in 1922 to describe his various activities in book design, illustration, typography, lettering and calligraphy (his first typeface designs were released much later). The term did not achieve widespread usage until after the Second World War.

"Meridians" New Volumeone piece by Matt Owens.

Skulls, a cougar and eagle roam through time and space as a lighthouse keeps us company.

Check it.

Seung Pyo Hong in "And Fork: 100 Designers, 10 Curators, 10 Good Designs"

Check out And Fork: 100 Designers, 10 Curators, 10 Good Designs for fellow Cranbrook alum (3d, 2002) Seung Pyo Hong (3d, 2002). Furthermore, Seung's piece "Masked Citizen X prototype 02" is mentioned in Domus Magazine no. 902 (April issue).

Also see On the Cutting Edge of Design on & Fork at the BusinessWeek website..

At samsungexhibition.com Seung explains:
My name is Seung Pyo Hong, who is an Industrial Designer. I have designed for a car manufacturer, design consulting firms and an online game company. Nowadays I am maintaining my career as a freelance designer specializing in consumer products including electronics. I am also teaching product design at some universities in Seoul.

I would like to describe my characteristics. Basically, I am a very easy-going and laid back person. I love taking photos of people around me (but do not like to be pictured). Sometimes I feel I am a bit anti-social but I never hesitate when it comes to discussing about design issues. My favorite sketch tools are Post-it and Sharpie. At work I always wear indigo blue T-shirts which I refer to as a “school uniform.” I only drink Americano with one packet of Equal and a bit of half and half. I like three-door hatch typed cars, especially VW Golf. I am addicted to watching the movement of heavy equipments like an excavator in huge manufacturing facilities. And, I also like the actor Kevin Bacon.

One thing I have to mention is that I am running a design project group with my partner, Jackson Hong. We have been friends for a long time and studied design discipline together in Seoul and the US. People tell us we are very similar in many ways, but in terms of design perspective, we are the opposite. I mostly play the professional and academic role in the mainstream design industry, but Jackson works for the Korean contemporary art scene. While I work as an industrial designer who mainly thinks of consumer’s satisfaction through market research and design process, Jackson Hong explores unusual desires in the relationship between everyday objects and their users by inventing products with unusual functions ranging from electronic devices to furniture, which mainstream design industries have not given attention to.

Although the direction of our objectives is different, our partnership has always been successful. I guess our characteristic differences have actually made an interesting synergy. Recently, we had a group exhibition named “UPSET” last June at a venue called ONEANDJ Gallery in Seoul. We unveiled some experimental art pieces. Below is one show item called “Masked Citizen X,” an electronic facial prosthetic for anti-social people.


Masked Citizen X 02 Prototype 01 - An anti-communication device 2006 / ABS plastic, Aluminum, Stainless steel / 33 x 79 x 80 (H x W x D Cm)

Since I have a background in design, most of my writings on this blog will handle design issues. As a design commentator, I will analyze the electronic devices on the IFA show in Berlin and interpretate their design stories from a cultural perspective to a more detailed user perspective through my very personal point of view.

Brooklyn Designs 2007 - May 11- May 13

Brooklyn Designs is here again. Go check it out in DUMBO, May 11 through May 13.

New Design Blog by Ali Madad

Ali Madad, Design Director at Studio Red and Professor at Pratt Institute started a new blog called SCTY, Society for the Advancement of the Graphic Arts.

It has some intriguing images of the final projects from the graduating seniors students in his class.

Some of them will be in the Pratt 2007 Show this Tuesday:

Tuesday, May 8 – Thursday, May 10
Manhattan Center
311 West 34th Street
New York, New York
Reception for the Professions, 6-9pm, May 8

JOOST! Revolutionizing Television.

I just received a coveted Beta Testers' invite to JOOST! This new venture form the entrepreneurs behind Skype & Kazaa promises to revolutionize TV by being the first to provide quality that compares to regular TV, but on demand, over the internet, for free.

This I gotta see. I'm very much into the concept of it, being an early adopter of watching shows on abc.com, nbc.com & Itunes, but ofcourse all of those have issues. (Itunes for one, forces me to own shows I want to see once, how about a subscription instead apple? $19.99 a mo. to stream it all but not own anything?). Cbs's Innertube doesn't even run on a Mac, at least not on my new Intel-chip based Powerbook.

What will this mean for broadcast design? Nothing? More work, less work? Or just different delivery? Perhaps the disciplines of broadcast and Interactive design will finally achieve the fusion that was promised back in the 90's?

The founders explain:


First Joost Commercial:

Mr. T's Biggest Fans

Mike Essl, a friend, fellow Cranbrook alum and renowned New York Designer and Educator is also a total Mr. T (also see Mr. T and Me.com) nut. There was actually another nut like him on ebay –Greg Rivera–, so they decided to join forces. They've previously been featured on USA Networks' Show US your Character, VH1 and the Howard Stern Show. People go Ga-Ga for Mr. T so it seems.

Check out this new feature video, created by Ebay:

Reed Kroloff Appointed Director of Cranbrook Academy of Art

Photo By Paul Burch-Celentano, from the Tulane University website.

May 9, 2007
For Immediate Release
Contact: Rick Loewenstein, 248-645-3110


Bloomfield Hills, MI- Following a national search, Reed Kroloff has been appointed director of Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum, effective September 1, 2007. Currently dean of the Tulane University School of Architecture and the former editor-in-chief of Architecture magazine, Kroloff will succeed Gerhardt Knodel, who is retiring from the Academy after more than 30 years of service.

"Given Reed's national prominence, varied experiences and remarkable accomplishments, we are confident he will help lead the Academy to new heights of artistic greatness," says Rick Nahm, president of Cranbrook Educational Community.

"After a seven month national search, Reed emerged as the unanimous choice," says Maxine Frankel, board chair of Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum. "Reed brings wisdom, vision, energy and passion to this position and is looking forward to working collegially and collaboratively with our staff, board and the other Cranbrook
institutions."

Kroloff is looking forward to joining the Cranbrook community. "Being asked to help translate Cranbrook's remarkable legacy into an engine for 21st century creativity is an honor," he says. "I can't wait to get started."

During his tenure at Tulane, Kroloff had a significant impact on the School. He arrived there one year before Hurricane Katrina and helped lead the School to recovery and prominence in the post-storm environment, including raising a record $3 million in gifts and research grants; retaining 97 percent of the School's students and 100 percent of its faculty after the storm; and playing a significant role in citywide planning and rebuilding efforts.

The recipient of the American Academy in Rome's 2003 Rome Prize Fellowship, Kroloff previously served as the Editor-in-Chief of Architecture magazine. Under his direction, Architecture received more awards for editorial and design excellence than any magazine of its type, and quickly became the leading design publication in the nation. His writing has appeared in many other magazines and newspapers as well,
including recent features in Artforum and Metropolis. Kroloff has been interviewed and profiled by national newsmedia such as NBC News, "All Things Considered," and the New York Times.

Before joining Architecture in 1995, Kroloff taught at Arizona State University, where he was a tenured professor, and the assistant dean. At ASU, he received the first-ever "Award for Academic Excellence" from the Arizona chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Through his practice Jones/Kroloff Design Services, Kroloff advises a range of institutions on architect selection and design strategy. His clients have included, among others, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Ministry of Culture of the Federal Government of Mexico, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art, the University of Connecticut, the History Channel, and Detroit's own Motown Center Project. The combined construction value of the projects
on which Jones/Kroloff has advised now exceeds $500 million.

Kroloff lectures widely, and is a regular visiting critic at architecture schools and professional organizations across the country. He holds degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and Yale University, and has practiced architecture in Texas and Arizona. Kroloff serves on numerous boards and advisory councils, ranging from the
Register of Peer Professionals of the United States General Services Administration to the Public Architecture Foundation.


Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum
Founded in 1932, Cranbrook Academy of Art is a preeminent graduate level school of art, design and architecture. Offering an intense studio-based experience, artists-in-residence mentor students in art, architecture and design to creatively influence contemporary culture. The two-year Masters of Fine Arts program at Cranbrook Academy of Art enrolls more than 150 students who pursue degrees in nine disciplines including 2D Design, 3D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metal, Painting, Photography, Printmaking and Sculpture and a Master of Architecture degree. Upon successful completion of his or her course of study and work, each student presents a thesis project in a group exhibition at Cranbrook Art Museum. One of the region's leading contemporary art museums, Cranbrook Art Museum provides access to Cranbrook's remarkable past through its collections and tours while offering changing exhibitions by the world's most innovative artists including Cranbrook Academy of Art students and faculty. Cranbrook is an internationally renowned educational community dedicated to excellence in the arts, education and science. Cranbrook is located at 39221 Woodward Avenue in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and in addition to the Academy of Art, is comprised of the Art Museum, Institute of Science, Schools and other affiliated cultural and educational programs. For more information, call (248) 645-3000 or visit cranbrook.edu.

Recognition for the illustration work of Robert Meganck

Designer/Illustrator Robert Meganck –a Cranbrook Academy of Art graduate of '75– is getting wide recognition with four illustrations accepted into Communication Arts 2007 Illustration Annual ans well as four accepted into the Society of Illustrators 29th Annual Exhibition in NY.

2007 Illustration Annual
Communication Arts
St. Supery Wine Label/ St. Supery Vineyard / digital
Brooklyn Boy/ Barksdale Theatre / poster / digital
On a Wire / Fram Vegas CD cover / digital

Society of Illustrators 49th Annual Exhibition, New York.
Illustrators 49
Brooklyn Boy/ Barksdale Theatre / poster / digital
Intimate Apparel/ Barksdale