New Issue of XXMagazine launched!

Issue No. 2 features:
Avantika Bawa
Elasticbrand
Faye Driscoll
Johnson

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.

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

Christie Wright & Scripps 63rd Ceramics Annual in Art Ltd. Magazine

Ofcourse, I'm proud to share with you the work of my wife and business partner, Christie Wright. Her "Ceramic Cell Phones", –which she designed and created at the European Ceramic Work Center in Den Bosch, The Netherlands– are built by hand from many tiny ceramic and wire parts. The body and the parts were developed using rapid prototyping technology as well as dripping clay. The body shape was based on a yet to be released typeface by yours truly.

This month's Art ltd., West Coast Art & Design has a great feature on the Scripps 63rd Ceramics Annual with a photo of Christie's Black "Ceramic Cell Phone". (She has a black and a white phone in the exhibition and has made different models, of which you can see examples on her website.)

Also see this previous post. And the Art ltd. website.

Sensei Sagmeister keeps you on track.

"A designer who aims to make great work and make a lot of money, fails on both accounts".



"Having guts always works out for me". Hillman Curtis interview:

Stefan Sagmeister books.

Travels Through Paradise - Nirvana by model trains

Curator Cynthia Hathaway, former artistic director of the FunLab Master’s course at the Design Academy Eindhoven, is fascinated by miniature landscapes and their devotees. As a visitor you can take a trip in the train that visually leads you through the landscape.

55 Creative people from various disciplines participated and each developed 1 meter for of this huge model train track. The journey can be followed from the trains' perspective by way of a small camera that is mounted on the locomotive. The video feed is then projected on the wall next to the track.

Among the participants are: : Ted Noten, Albert Scholtheis, Claudy Jongstra, Hans Burtner, Liesbeth Fit, Bob de Mon, Bart Reuser, Melle Smets, Anna Maria Cornelia de Gersem, Gerrit van der Meij, Ed Annink, Eefje Halters, Nicolette Brunklaus en Daniel van der Veer.

Organised by guest-curator Cynthia Hathaway. Hathaway (Newmarket, Canada) works as designer, curator and educator. She previously was creative director of Masters course 'FunLab' in Eindoven and owner, Hathaway Designs.

Platform 21
Platform 21 is an international meeting place where professionals, amateurs, producers, critics and the public meet and inspire eachother.

Opening: zaterdag 21 april, 16.00 – 19.00 uur

Hours: Woensdag – zondag, 12.00 – 19.00 uur
Free.
Prinses Irenestraat 19, Amsterdam.

London Underground Map on PBS Thirteen.

The much acclaimed and graphically revolutionary London Underground Map was the brainchild of London transport engineering draftsman, Henry Beck. This documentary takes a look behind the history and creation of this world-renowned transportation system. (Closed Captioning)


Additional airdates
2:30am Monday, April 23

WEAK - By Kelly Rakowski

"WEAK is a 1 page, letter sized, b+w photocopied zine made by KR in a studio overlooking the East River. Each time KR visits her studio she completes an issue. All of WEAK's collages are built from an old book of etchings found at a used book store entitled 'AMSTERDAM'. WEAK is inspired by KR's life and dreams."

"Low Life in the Golden Age" Golden Frame Poster

I thought This was a kind of interesting approach to backlit poster design. You see designers "color outside the lines" often on billboards, but I hadn't seen that kind of approach on a backlit poster box before. This is for the exhibition about farm life in The Netherlands, in paintings at the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam-Schiphol. Including Adriaen van Ostade, Jan Steen & Jan Pieter van Baurscheit

Hey, That's ME! > "National Design Association" T-Shirt

Rob Reed drew this "logo" originally for a Chopping Block press kit in 2001. Yes that is me in that silhouette. Now it is a T-Shirt available at the ChopShop.

JDK Featured in Fast Company Magazine

JDK is a very interesting firm to me, because they work on brands in every dimension; identity research, concept development, graphic design, product design etc. They are located off the beaten track up in Burlington, VT and are most well known for their X-Box and Burton branding. Another very interesting conceptual piece that is featured in the Fast Company Magazine article, is their Do-It-Yourself shoe, created for Patagonia.

1st Edible Billboard

From National Geographic's Website:

"London, England, April 3, 2007—Kim, Megan, Ellen, and Kitty cadge chocolate from the world's first edible billboard. Perhaps to the chagrin of London parents, U.K. candy retailer Thorntons invited visitors to the Covent Garden area to pick away at the advertisement in anticipation of Easter.

Britain boasts the world's third highest per capita consumption of chocolate, according to a 2006 report by U.K. trade group Food From Britain. According to the BBC, hungry passersby finished off the 860 pounds (390 kilograms) of candy in just three hours."

Chris Ware meets This American Life

One of my all-time favorite graphic designers/artists, Chris Ware created this animation for one of my all-time favorite radio shows This American Life. The new Showtime TV version.

[I stumbled upon this news at Motionographer.com]

Chris Ware books.

Michael Hearst [of One Ring Zero] - New CD: Songs for Ice Cream Trucks

From Michael Hearst's Press Release:
"SONGS FOR ICE CREAM TRUCKS"

A new album by Michael Hearst of One Ring Zero

Are you tired of hearing the same old two or three ice cream truck songs over and over? Michael Hearst certainly is. That's why he's created an entire album of NEW songs for ice cream trucks. Fun for the whole family!

I am very excited about this CD and am incredibly grateful to Arjen Noordeman of Elasticbrand,llc for designing the entire package (CD, postcard, sticker, and website).

In addition to the CD now being available for purchase, there will also be two release shows:

Songs For Ice Cream Trucks
unofficial release show
Saturday May 6th (7pm)
Barbés
376 9th St. (corner of 9th st and 6th ave in Park Slope)
Brooklyn, NY
$10 suggested donation
with an after party at Colson Patisserie (next door)

Songs For Ice Cream Trucks
OFFICIAL release show
Saturday May 26th (7:30pm)
Housing Works Book Cafe
128 Crosby Street (Soho)
New York, NY
$10 gets you in plus a free drink

CHARLEY HARPER: AN ILLUSTRATED LIFE

The amazing body of work of under-exposed illustrator Charlie Harper finally gets the careful attention that it deserves.

Graphic Design by Kelly Rakowski. (My fabulously talented former intern at MASS MoCA and now designer at Todd Oldham Studio,

Charlie Harper, An Illustrated Life is certainly worth a look.

From the AMMO Books site:
"AMMO Books proudly presents this beautiful large format title as the definitive monograph of artist Charlie Harper’s lyrical illustrations, spanning his six decade long career. Renowned New York based designer Todd Oldham rediscovered Charlie Harper’s work in 2001, and since then has collaborated closely with him, combing through his extensive archive to edit and design this stunning AMMO Books release.

Charley Harper is an American original. At 84, Charley continues to make art in his studio in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. He is beloved for his delightful, graphic and often humorous illustrations of nature, animals, insects and people alike. Charley likes to say, that when he paints a bird, he doesn’t count all the feathers in the wings – he just counts the wings. Minimal realism, he calls it, and his unique and precise style continues to resonate and inspire his admirers.

Charlie Harper - An Illustrated Life, showcases his illustrations that appeared from 1950-1975 in the Ford Times magazines, as well as in books such as the beloved “The Giant Golden Book of Biology” in 1961, “Betty Crocker’s Dinner for Two” in 1961, and “ The Animal Kingdom” in 1968, among many others. His well loved book “Birds and Words”, first published in 1974, is considered a classic. Remarkably, however, Charley’s work has never before been published in one complete retrospective.

Bringing his legacy to a wider audience, AMMO Books offers Charlie Harper, An Illustrated Life a large format standard book, or as a luxurious limited edition.

The Artist's Guide to Making Money

An exciting, decidedly eccentric, relentlessly well-crafted, and not without hope of being lucrative venture — The Artist's Guide series. The Artist's Guide is a topic-driven art journal produced
by Matt Cassity and Sam Spratlin.

This is a book/magazine full of inspiring, self-deprecating, insightful, intelligent and humorous creative discourse. Buy it for the words, buy it for the pictures... or both! Not by a Cranbrook grad, but the team behind "The Artist's Guide" certainly deserve your support for this exciting creative endeavor.

Elliott Earls - The Saranay Motel Trailer

The first trailer for "The Sarany Motel" is posted. Original score by Elliott Earls, featuring The Venomous Sons of Jonah, Tim Day and Joshua-Ray Stephens. Starring Dora Apel, Matthew Biro, Timothy Day, Darlene Earls, Elliott Earls, Jerome Evans, The Reverend Robert Jones, Joshua-Ray Stephens, Benjamin Stewart, Kosta Stratigos (2d '02), Ries Straver and Benjamin Teague.

Joshua Ray Stephens 2d '03 in Art Asia Pacific, Rosebud

New work from Joshua featured in the
Spirituality issue of Art Asia Pacific, Winter 2006 issue (Collaboration with the 62); 8 pages of pure goodness in Rosebud Magazine.

Ali Madad 2d '03 - Lecture+Workshop, Art Institute of Houston: March 1st and 2nd

Ali Madad, Design Director at Studio Red at Rockwell Group and Visiting Professor at Pratt Institute, will deliver a presentation of his works at the Art Institute of Houston on March 1st from 12:00-1:00 p.m, room 313. On March 2nd there will be a small design workshop with the AIGA student group, sponsoring the visit.

Art Institute of Houston
1900 Yorktown Street, Houston, Texas 77056-4197
www.artinstitutes.edu/houston
1-713-623-2040
1-800-275-4244

Arden de Brun 2d '03 - New Graphic Design Program Chair, The Art Institute of Houston

Arden de Brun has been promoted from Graphic Design Instructor to Graphic Design Program Chair. An internationally published artist, de Brun graduated in 2003 with a Masters from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. His vast experience includes being a graphic designer in Italy for clothing company United Colors of Benetton, product design company Alessi, as well as designing for major US corporations like Coca-Cola, American Girl, and Fisher-Price. De Brun states, "I'm glad to be at The Art Institute of Houston and excited to challenge students to go beyond the boundaries of learning inside the classroom."

XX Magazine Launched

Karen L Dunn and Katya Moorman (2D '04), partners in their own design studio Studio2k, began XXmagazine to help fill in what they describe as the "exposure gap" between men and women in the creative fields. The first issue features Cranbrook graduates Michelle Hinebrook, Cas Holman, and KnoWear (Peter Allen + Carla Ross Allen) as well as Troika Ranch (Mark Coniglio and Dawn Stoppiello).

Each subsequent issue will feature artists who are known personally and recommended
by the artists/creatives in the current issue. Eventually XXmagazine will create a linked network of artists and additionally host events which will foster interplay and cross-disciplinary communal dialogue.

W+K Tokylab on Apple.com

A nice profile of Wieden and Kennedy's Experimental Graphic Design Lab in Tokyo, featuring Mr. Eric Cruz.

Wieden+Kennedy books.

Strange Attractors: reinventing the graphic vernacular

Written by Patricia Boman, Published on October 10, 2006.

An Excerpt:
"Based in The Hague, the Netherlands, the international design firm 'Strange Attractors' was founded five years ago by Ryan Pescatore Frisk and Catelijne van Middelkoop. Their work reflects their keen interest in the intertwining of culture, media, context, experience, and history. While they take a highly experimental approach to each of their wide-ranging design projects, their custom designed type and typography are hallmarks of their work. Through lectures and workshops they encourage designers and design students to see, value, and reinvent the vernacular around them—rather than capitulating to a generic globalist
design approach."

AIGA Chicago Fresh Talent 2006, Museum Boijmans Installation, VIDE Summer Experiences and ID Magazine's ID40

The Strange Attractors have been busy, here are a few news items from their studio, Strange Attractors Design (Catelijne van Middelkoop & Ryan Pescatore Frisk). They just returned from Chicago, where they were honored to be AIGA's Fresh Talent speakers for 2006. They also just completed a large (49 square meters) Typographic Installation, commissioned by Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam. VIDE commissioned them to create a video to promote their Summer Experiences, where they will be teaching a workshop in July. Lastly, if you haven't seen ID Magazine, SA have been included as one of the ID40 for this year.