The Massimo Vignelli Canon

The great Massimo Vignelli published a canon on his work principles and practices that should not be missed (if you have by some chance missed it already).

Massimo Vignelli is famous for his work on the New York Subway system signage and map in the 70's, IBM and American Airlines.

This document is 96 pages in length and covers a wide range of items you should be considering while working of a design project.

The canon is broken down into two parts. The following subjects are covered in Part One, The Intangibles: Semantics ,Syntactics, Pragmatics, Discipline, Appropriateness, Ambiguity, Design is One, Visual Power, Intellectual Elegance, Timelessness, Responsibility, and Equity.

In the next section Part Two, The Tangibles you get information covering; Paper Sizes, Grids, Margins, Columns and Modules, A Company Letterhead, Grids for Books, Typefaces, The Basic Ones, Flush left, centered, justified, Type Size Relationships, Rulers, Contrasting Type Sizes, Scale, Texture, Color, Layouts, Sequence, Binding, Indentity and Diversity, White Space, A collection of experiences and the Conclusion.

The canon is a great document that give you a much greater understanding of how one of our greatest designers work. "If you want to achieve greatness as a designer you must study the great designers" is a philosophy that I instill.

To download the nearly 4 MB .pdf canon that covers Vignelli's ideas over the years click here.

AIGA Design Archives

The AIGA website just got better with the revision of the AIGA Design Archives. The Design Archives is full of work that will inspire, take you back in history and show what is happing in today design world. The collection covers a broad range of time and subjects. In the Design Archives you can be energized by such categories as 50 Books/50 Covers from 2008, AIGA 365, Works by Chermayeff & Geismar, Information Graphics, Packaging, and Push Pin Studios. The vast collection is sure to spawn many ideas and give a greater understanding of how our profession has developed on the years. Bookmark this site, more will be added and you will want to visit often to regenerate your imagination.

Felton 2009 Annual Report

The Felton 2009 Annual Report is available for your viewing "pleasure" online. Nicholas Felton is the master of taking facts and figures and converting them into visual organization that are beautiful, logical and engaging. Nicholas started his annual reports as a personnel project in 2005. Each year since, he has taken his life and converted it into these magnificent publications. This years report is based on the following statement from Nicholas' website:

Each day in 2009, I asked every person with whom I had a meaningful encounter to submit a record of this meeting through an online survey. These reports form the heart of the 2009 Annual Report. From parents to old friends, to people I met for the first time, to my dentist… any time I felt that someone had discerned enough of my personality and activities, they were given a card with a URL and unique number to record their experience.

I kept track only of who I gave survey invitations to, the number of the card and where it was given. The surveys answers were submitted via text forms, allowing the respondee to write whatever they desired, and leaving the task of making comparisons between the data up to me. I have used only this information to create the report, however accurate it may be. I have strived to sort and collate the data in a clinical and repeatable manner that could be reproduced by someone looking for the same stories I have selected.

If you want to see the power of informational graphics at their best, take a look at Nicholas Felton work. You will be amazed.

Box Bottle Bag! Early Review and Release Party of Book

The newest package design book to hit the streets is Box Bottle Bag by Andrew Gibbs, the founder and editor of TheDieline.com. I got a chance to look Box Bottle Bag over when Andrew showed up at the Debbie Millman lecture last Friday in Orange County. Box Bottle Bag is clean, crisp and cool full of great design inspiration and creativity. The book is packed with wonderfully large images of some of the best package designs that have been released in recent times. Package design has risen to the forefront of today's modern age of branding and this book is a showcase and testimonial to prove why. The book's images are some of the best I have seen in a package design book and the range of categories that is covered is extraordinarily large from food to consumer products to high end lines to wines. Box Bottle Bag is an excellent book for inspiration and stimulation for any package designer.

Andrew Gibbs will be hosting a Release Party and Signing for his new book in Los Angeles on February 21st from 5-7 pm. He will have copies and a sharpie to sign books along with good company and beverages. To read about the Release Party and to sign up, visit this link at TheDieline.com.

To purchase a copy of Box Bottle Bag which is now shipping click here look for it on the shelves of your local bookstore soon.

(Andrew signing his first copy of Box Bottle Bag and presenting it to Debbie Millman)

On a personnel note, Andrew was a past package design student of mine. I still remember him telling about starting TheDieline.com several years ago. I am very proud of him and his accomplishments with his website becoming the #1 resource for inspiration and happenings in the package design world and this book. From a simple idea and an enthusiasm for package design, Andrew has taken his passion and turned it into a passion for all us to share. Great job Andrew, I look forward to having you sign my copy of Box Bottle Bag at your release party and to Box Bottle Bag 2.

Debbie Millman Week - Speaking Event

On Friday evening at the Art Institute of California - Orange County in conjunction with the Orange County chapter of AIGA, Debbie Millman gave a presentation titled, "Why We Brand, Why We Buy". Debbie's talk was a combination of brands, science and history brought together to help explain modern branding and consumer actions given with passion and enthusiasm. The talk was an excellent presentation that felt more like a graduate lecture which was fresh and informative. If you expect a show and tell presentation look at Sterling's website, this lecture informed, elated, and left me thinking more about how what we do ties all together. Debbie's presentation discusses how we think and group together, how trademarks developed and how technology and society join to make brands a reflection of the times. Debbie's talk is one that should not be missed and showcases how design is something that solves a problem and reflects the needs of our clients.

After the lecture, a mixer event was hosted nearby where Debbie signed books. Debbie is so gracious, intelligent and generous. I truly cherished my moments speaking with her and getting to know this wonderful designer, educator and leader. I look forward to meeting and hearing her speak again soon. If you have the chance to catch Debbie Millman speaking, do it, you will not be disappointed, I was far surpassed in my expectations of a typical speaking event.

Getting Creative- #10 Attend a Lecture

We all get wrapped up in our own little boxes and churn out the designs but a way to gain fresh insight is to attend a lecture. As designers we love to talk and we love to talk about what we are doing, have done and then talk some more. This avails us to have the opportunity to go and listen to a fellow designer / artist to talk. Check you local colleges, AIGA and art museums for lists of upcoming guest speakers. Most of these events are low in price or free, in the evenings so they don't take up a ton of time and many are very small and intimate. Over the recent pass I have had the pleasure to hear Ellen and Julia Lupton, John Van Hamersveld, Andrew Christou, and Jon Gothold speak. You will find out new information, make some friends and enjoy this profession we call design.

Get your creative mojo going tomorrow night by coming to hear the fabulous Debbie Millman speak at AICA-OC. More details are available at this link.

Debbie Millman Week -Essential Principles of Graphic Design

Don't just a book by its title, The Essential Principles of Graphic Design by Debbie Millman is more and than some. You might think that this book is one you would get for your introduction to design class but it goes to well beyond. The book does start out covering several key principles of design such as typography, color, layout and style but then leads into such important areas of design as research, visual strategy and account management. This is great information that will not be covered in you old intro class.

From this prelude, we get to the meat of the book, a section where design principles are discussed and examined within 32 disciplines. These disciplines include catalog design, packaging, environmental design, restaurant identity, museum exhibit design, personal blog design, magazine design, and poster design to name a few. The disciplines are explored by different designer and firms such as Armin Vit and Bryony Gomez-Palacio, Hillman Curtis, Hoefler & Frere-Jones, Luba Lukova and Khoi Vinh. Each section explains how the designer approaches a project, what they found that works and even what does not work at times. You get an in-depth look in the projects. Most design books you find are filled with glamor shots of projects. These are always important for gaining ideas and inspiration but we don't get the how and why most of the time. The Essential Principles of Graphic Design does give you the how and why.

Debbie's The Essential Principles of Graphic Design is full of insight, words of wisdom and ideas on how and why to complete the communication challenge. "Art is Work" as Milton Glaser has stated and this book will give you the acuity to get both the art and work done. The Essential Principles of Graphic Design is available at amazon and your local bookstores.

Debbie Millman Week -The AIGA and Design Matters

The AIGA-

Debbie Millman took over as the National President of AIGA last year. I believe that Debbie represents design in its best light and gives the organization a new energy and direction. I am sure the job is a demanding one, but Debbie brings with her many years of experience and understanding to this position. She has worked as the President at Sterling Brands since 1995. At Sterling Brands her clients have included Gillette, MTV, Star Wars, Nestle, Pepsi and Campbells. Debbie has taught courses at SVA and FIT over the years gaining an understanding of our young designers and what they desire from a national organization like AIGA. She has given more talks at conferences that I am sure she can keep track of sharing her ideas on design and branding. She has contributed to our knowledge base with books, articles for design magazines and as a contributing editor of Print Magazine. Put this all together and you find someone who can take the AIGA to its next level. Someone with the energy and passion of our profession to communicate not only to fellow designers but the world around us that uses our talents. I believe one of the major missions of AIGA is to help get the word out of how design does matters and should play a key part in the decision processes of business and social issues. I believe that Debbie is helping with spreading the word and has already made the steps to help bring the organization to a new position in the minds of designers and those that use our skills.

Design Matters-

Design does matter and Debbie Millman has been spreading this idea for several years with her Design Matters radio broadcast. I can not remember when I first came across the Design Matters interviews, but I got caught in the web of design and interview questions that Debbie presented to some of our most influential designers working today. I have been a steady listener ever since. Interviews that Debbie has presented include Stefan Sagmeister, Paula Scher, Michael Bierut, Steven Heller, Ellen Lupton, Ed Fella, David Carson, Art Chantry, and my favorite Milton Glaser. I had the privilege of taking Milton's Summer Design course at SVA back in 2007 and gained a good understanding of this man's passion and thought. Milton is a true lover of design and art, an educator, and a humble man that is intellectual on many fronts. I can state that Debbie's interviews reveal these great designers and their thoughts extremely well based on my experiences with Milton.

The Design Matters series has recently been tied in with the great blog, Design Observer. All of the Design Matters interviews are available to listen to or download to your favorite device. I have spend many a dinner break between teaching classes getting caught in the web of these interviews, loosing track of time and enjoying every minute.

Debbie Millman Week - Look Both Ways

Look Both Ways may have been the advice your mom gave you prior to crossing the street, but in Debbie Millman's newest book of this title, it is the intersection of design and our everyday life that comes alive. Look Both Ways is a series of short stories were Debbie relates how design and branding have become a part of her life.

We learn how to properly eat Keebler Fudgetown cookies and the observations of a youth about the package design. A simple observation that leads to Debbie actually designing packaging for many of our biggest brands.

"The Illustration on the front panel of the cookie package, which showed the Keebler Elves holding a package of Fudgetown cookies. This meant that the Keebler Elves were holding a package of Fudgetown cookies featuring the Keebler Elves holding a package of Fudgetown cookies. And so on and so on and so on..... This killed me!"

Another chapter goes into the summer long production of a young teenager producing a magazine. Interviews are made, he stories are all handwritten and illustrated with a close friend. A one of a kind design is produced.

The book is full these short observations, about life, food, music, clothing, growing up and how it all plays a pivotable intersection in Debbie's world of design. As I read, I found myself going back and searching my own memories from days past and how they intersect into my life today. Each story is presented in a new typographical fashion, with many in a playful hand written style to modified abstraction layouts in all caps.

I found the book to be full of intrigue, excitement and fun. Seeing how many of the simple things can shape where we are today, how items are tagged to our memories and experiences and to gain further understanding into how design and branding truly do shape our lives will be the lingering thoughts that make Debbie Millman's Look Both Ways a fun and unique read.

The book is available at bookstores and you can read more about is debbiemillman.com.

To meet Debbie Millman, she will be speaking this Friday evening in Orange County, CA. It promises to be an exciting evening.

Look Both Ways: An Interview with Debbie Millman and Rodrigo Corral from Print on Vimeo.

Debbie Millman Week - How to Think Like a Graphic Designer

This week to celebrate Debbie Millman speaking in Orange County, I am devoting this blog to her many contributions to this profession that we all love, design. I will start with her first book, How to Think Like a Graphic Designer.

A better title might be How to Thing Like a GREAT Graphic Designer because this book is full to the brim with interviews from the greatest in the profession. Designers that are covered in this book include Paula Scher, Michael Bierut, Milton Glaser, Chip Kidd, Stefan Sagmeister, Neville Brody, Jessica Helfand, Seymour Chwst, Stephen Doyle, Abbott Miller, Massimo Vignelli and many more. As you can see by that list, it is some of our greatest working today.

The book seems to be a natural extension to the radio show that Debbie does, Design Matters. Design Matters is a series of hour long interviews with designers that gives you a better understanding of their accomplishments, how they got started, and their approachs and methods of design. Design Matters archives are available at the Design Observer site and on iTunes.

I have a theory that for us to truly become great at what we do, we have to study not just design and its theories but also those that have come before us. We have to gain a better understanding of how to be a designer daily and what works and does not work from others.

How to Think Like a Graphic Designer's interviews are smart and lively. Debbie's interviews give us the understanding that we need to step up to greatness as a designer. The book inspires you to design, to breath design in with a deep inhale, and is unjustifiably, a great read. To get your own copy check out Amazon or your local book story.

Pranav Mistry - TED Talk on Next Technology

This is a fascinating talk, from the good folks at TED, given by Pranav Mistry about how we can interact with technology. Mistry studies at MIT and is interested in integrating the digital informational experience with our real-world interactions.

What Type Are You? - Pentagram

Pentagram has produced a nifty little web site to determine "what type are you?". The site leads you through a series of short questions by a noted psychologist who keeps his identity secret. Once you have completed the questions he determines which font best describes who you are. So if you are designer who loves type and has thought that this passion is getting out of hand and even contemplated mental help for it, this may just be the solution for you. Try it out at this link on the Pentagram site.

Project Team: John Rushworth, partner-in-charge and designer; Kirsty Whittaker, designer. Written by Naresh Ramchandani. Produced by The Brown Studio. Web development by Nerv Interactive.

Debbie Millman Speaking at AICA-OC

Next Friday evening, January 29th, Debbie Millman will be speaking at the Art Institute of California - Orange County from 6 pm til 9 pm. I am excited that Debbie will be giving a presentation titled: "Why We Brand, Why We Buy". Debbie's visit is hosted by the AIGA student chapter at AICA-OC and AIGA Orange County. She is currently the president of the national AIGA. Details are available at the student chapter's website and myspace page. Sign up now, this event will be one you will not want to miss.

Edgar Allan Poe - 200th Anniversary of Birth

Yesterday marked the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849). Having grown up in Baltimore, where Poe spend a portion of his 40 year life, I heard details of his life and works. Poe is known for his poetry such as "The Raven" (the name sake for Baltimore's NFL team) and his short stories, "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "The Pit and the Pendulum" that tell tales of horror. Poe is also created with writing the first detective novel, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." On each anniversary of his birth for the last 60 years of so, three red roses and a bottle of brandy have been left at his grave site in Baltimore. This year it stopped. Another mystery has started as to why and another mystery has not been solved as to who has done this over the years. Read more about this story and view images at this link.

Most Relevant Logos of Decade

Brand New has posted a nice story on what they consider the most relevant identity work of the last decade. Review the whole story and all the logos at this link. Brand New covers the world of branding and logo work in a consistently excellent manner with current changes and options.

Remembering Martin Luther King

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

Martin Luther King Jr.

Published In Basic Logos Book

Yesterday, I received a copy of the book Basic Logos published by Index Books in Spain. Two logos that we created where published in this volume, Blue Moth and our very own aNEW designs logo. The book will be available in the US in April. Look for it on bookshelves or at amazon.

Daniel Libeskind - The Contemporary Jewish Museum

On a recent visit to San Francisco, I had the opportunity to visit the Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM) designed by noted architect, Daniel Libeskind. Libeskind become famous for his designs of the Jewish Museum in Berlin and his work on the site of the former World Trade Center.

The CJM is a great museum located by the nearby SFMOMA and the city convention center. The design of the museum jumps into view as you walk into the area as the clad blue metal exterior shapes seem to grow out of a historic power station that has stood on the location for decades.

"The site, a complex urban locus, provides the necessary pressure for the emergence of a unique form and energy. The CJM will make visible the relationship between the new and the old, of tradition and innovation. It will transform the physical energy associated with the legacy of the power station to the power of human communication and imagination. The building, though small in comparison to the context, will become a steel-clad jewel like a beacon glowing of the future."

The design of the CJM is a wonderful example of converting and renovating an existing structure to bring forward new life. Libeskind talks about this sense of "life" in the following statement:

"The CJM building is based on the Hebrew word "L’Chai’m," which means "To Life." The two Hebrew letters of Chai, with all their symbolic, mathematical and emblematic structure, are literally the life source and the form of the Museum. In the Jewish tradition, letters are not mere signs but are substantial participants in the story they create. Thus the spatiality of Chai - a fundamental emblem of Jewish life - will be experienced as a full dynamic movement responding to the many levels of interpretation this word possesses."

Upon entering the museum through the old doors of the power plant, one is greeted with again merger of the old and new with a white wall that angles and intersects the existing structure. Angled stairs lead you up to room that forms the interior of the large square shape on the outside. You enter this gallery space to find white walls that are punched by windows of rectalinear shapes. The space is large and airy and becomes a work in itself.

The Contemporary Jewish Museum has rotating exhibits in its spaces that show case modern jewish life. Currently showing is a great exhibit on Maurice Sendak until the end of this week; As It Is Written: Project 304,805, an exhibit on the writing of a torah scroll; and Jews on Vinyl, the history of Jewish recorded music from the 1940s to the 1980s.

Typography in San Francisco

Above are several examples of typography that I photographed on my recent visit to San Francisco. Visual examples are always great to keep around for future use and walking a city will give you lots of inspiration. Take out your camera and shoot away. Your next great project may come from a great walk.

Sneak Peek - San Francisco

During this holiday break I got to spend sometime up in San Francisco. San Francisco is one of my favorite cities and I will have several post coming over this week about the visit. I took this photo above that I have titled "Sneak Peak" of the Golden Gate Bridge. More to come soon.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010

We at aNEW designs wish you a happy, safe and health year. May your 2010 be a very good year full of creativity, great design, and pleasure in all you do. We look forward to bring you great things on the blog in the coming year and continuing to hear from you with your comments. Happy 2010!

Happy Holiday

All of us at aNEW designs wish you a safe and happy holiday. We hope you enjoy your time with friends and family over the next few days. Peace to you and yours during this holiday season.

I.D. Magazine Fading Away

I have been a reader and subscriber to I.D. Magazine for many years now and have enjoyed reading more about design and product design from its pages. It was announced last week the I.D. Magazine will cease publication with it's Jan/Feb issue. I.D. Magazine has been published since 1954, when mid century design was know as design of the day. It is sad to see a fine publication such as this go away. It was one of only a few magazines with a variety so wide. So long I.D. - I will miss your pages in the future.

Here's the official press release:

December 15, 2009
To Readers, Advertisers and Friends of I.D. Magazine:

Since 1954, I.D. Magazine has served as one of America's leading critical magazines covering the art, business, and culture of design. Today it is with regret that we announce its closure. The January/February issue of I.D. will be its last; subscribers to I.D. will receive Print magazine for the balance of their subscription.

Ceasing publication of an iconic brand like I.D. is never an easy decision, but there are several forces that have worked against its sustainability. Certainly the downturn in print advertising has contributed to this decision, but other factors include the fragmentation and specialized information needs of I.D.'s core readers (product designers) and the plethora of information resources available to them--some for free (online and B2B) and others that are highly specialized and targeted to specific industries served.

F+W Media will to continue producing the I.D. Annual Design Review, its flagship international product design competition, in an expanded fashion online. This new web initiative will feature not only 2010's winners but will catalog thousands of notable entries from past competitions. Going forward, in addition to the I.D. Annual Design Review, F+W Media's Design Group is comprised of the award-winning HOW and Print brands--magazines, books, events, and competitions serving the information needs of graphic designers in all media.

We thank the entire I.D. community, past and present--staffers, contributors, readers, and advertisers--for their support of the magazine throughout its 55-year history.

Sincerely,

Gary Lynch
Publisher & Editorial Director
F+W Media Design Community

A Mention on How Design Site

How Design Magazine asked for suggestions for a list of Gifts for Designers. I submitted a link for Eva Zeisel's work that was highlighted on the site. To view the link click here.

Fall 09 Portfolio Show

Yesterday evening marked the end of the Fall quarter for graduating Graphic Design majors at the Art Institute of California - Orange County. The students have worked hard over the last quarter finessing their portfolios to be viewed by the public and prospective employers. I wish the grads all the best in their careers as designers. You now have the skills to create and I look forward to hearing great things about you in the future.

Pantone 2010 Color of Year Plus iPhone App.

Pantone has announced this week that it projects that Turquoise Pantone 15-5519 will be the color of the year.

"Combining the serene qualities of blue and the invigorating aspects of green, Turquoise evokes thoughts of soothing, tropical waters and a languorous, effective escape from the everyday troubles of the world, while at the same time restoring our sense of wellbeing."

Pantone has also released a nifty iPhone App for working with Pantone colors. You can view how it works in the video below. The current cost is $9.99 but you will never leave home again without your swatchbook.

Typographic Ads

Who does not love a great use of type? Check out this posting over at the GraphicDesign blog of 30 examples of typographic print ads. Some interesting work and concepts are presented. The Australia Post ad is my favorite.

For more great type, don't forget to check out the We Love Typography site daily for inspiration.

People of Walmart

First we had the Sexy People blog, now we can take a look at society not from past old photos but by some of the people visiting Walmart. In the days past, people would try to look good when they went out in public. They would do things like put on shoes, pants, a dress, overall, they wanted to look good, not go out in a robe or their pjs. Now, based upon these photos from the People of Walmart site, we have gone to hell in a handbag.

Oh how I miss Paris where fashion is a staple of life and if you can not afford the high end you at least try the best you can to look good. Enjoy your holiday shopping and your next trip to Walmart, take some photos for this People of Walmart site and don't look for me, I am a snob and would not be caught dead in Walmart.

Holiday Shopping for Designers - Core77

One of the best holiday shopping guides for designers can again be found over at Core77. This year's shopping guide is filled is 77 gifts for under $77 (mostly). The selection ranges from t-shirts and books to items for the home and everyday use. Check it out and find that special and unique gift for the designer on you list. I am digging the t-shirt above myself.

Identify Your Clients

As a designer we face numerous different types of clients on a daily basis. One key to getting the project complete is being able to identify your clients so you know how to work with them. Smashingmagazine.com has a great article that can help with the identification of different styles of clients and how to deal with them. The article cover typical clients from the Nit-Picker to the "I Could Do This Myselfer" to the Control Freak. Read the complete article to help you identify and deal with your clients over at smashingmagazine.com.