The Crisis of Credit Visualized by Jonathan Jarvis

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.Still confused on why the recession we are going through got to where it is? Watch this fabulous video by Jonathan Jarvis of The Crisis of Credit Visualized. Jonathan is studying in the Graduate Media Design Program at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. This video breaks down this complex problem into easy to understand visual terms that we can all understand. Now we need Jonathan to make us a video on how to get out of this mess. Great job Jonathan on this project!!

(via FontFeed)

Jack's Getting Out of The Box

Saw this over at Brand New that Jack in the Box is getting a new logo. See the complete write up at Brand New. Not sure if I am crazy about the change. Its loosing some of that playfulness with the prior logomark. Your thoughts?

Ten Commandments of Design

The Ten Commandments of Design by Dieter Rams. Dieter was the head of design at Braun from 1961 until 1995. During his tenure as Design Director he wrote these Ten Commandments for good design in the early 1980s. The list of ten is as follows:
1. Good design is innovative.
2. Good design makes a product useful.
3. Good design is aesthetic.
4. Good design helps a product to be understood.
5. Good design is unobtrusive.
6. Good design is honest.
7. Good design is durable.
8. Good design is thorough to the last detail.
9. Good design is concerned with the environment.
10. Good design is as little design as possible.
To read Dieter Rams complete explanations for these Ten Commandments visit the Vitsoe site at this link.

I say "AMEN" to all. Now if we can only get the clients to understand and go along.

(via Design Observer, via Kottke)

Wide Load - Panoramic Photographs

I just love photographs, new and old, little and large, narrow and wide. For large wide panoramic photographs, the Library of Congress has a great collection. The Panoramic Photographs Collection contains around 4000 images from all fifty states and many foreign countries. The collection is composed of images from 1851 to 1991 and covers landscapes, cities, bridges, fairs, military activities, transportation, sports and schools. These panoramas average between twenty-eight inches and an amazing six feet in length, with an average width of ten inches. The images are available in jpeg format and as high resolution tiffs. The images are wonderful with details of times past with blimps, horses, old planes and more. Review the images and see the craft of those before us in the art of panoramic photographs. To view the collection follow this link to the Library of Congress.

Arne Jacobsen

Designs that seem like they where created yesterday. Read more about Arne Jacobsen (1902-1971) at the Design Museum.

Vintage Industrial Ads - 1930s

During the end of the great 1929 era depression, cities and states began to promote themselves. Workers where needed and job needed to be filled. These are a few ads from the 1930s as things shifted around. We can hope to see more of this type of advertising in our near future.

Majestic Mountains

I took this image today of the mountains that surround Los Angeles. They really are majestic when the snow layers on top.

Tilt-Shift Video

Fire (Jimmy Edgar Remix) from Erik West on Vimeo.
There is something cool about Tilt-Shift Photos or Videos. This "cool" music video for the band Codebreaker, featuring vocalist Kathy Diamond. The piece was shot, directed, and edited by Erik West, who says, "None of the snow in this piece is simulated. I went out and show on the snowiest days of winter. The last scenes in the video were shot during a blizzard.

Tilt-Shift images remind me of building model train sets as a kid. I like it.
(via BoingBoing)

Rock, Paper, Scissor

Rock, Paper, Scissor - The rules are simple-
1. The Game is played where the players substitute the three elements of Rock, Paper and Scissors with representative hand signals.

2. These hand signals are delivered simultaniously by the players

3. The Outcome of play is determined by the following

Rock wins against Scissors,
Scissors wins against Paper
Paper wins against Rock

These are are official rules from the World RPS Society. Yes, there is a society for Rock, Paper, Scissor. The World RPS Society hosts a world championship contest, you can learn advance techniques in RPS, and order the above posters or a t-shirt on the site. The graphics for the RPS are wonderful Constructivism with a modern twist.
And if that was not enough fun, there is a film being released Rock Paper Scissors: The Documentary. It will be shown at an upcoming film festival in the San Jose area. To learn more about film check out the website and watch the trailer below.

Hebrew Block Fonts

Examples of early Hebrew Block Type from the days that Israel became a nation. These fonts are by Zvi Bregman, Wood Type, Tel Aviv, 1940.

Air France Gets Facelift

Air France, which has been flying the skies since 1933, has given its logo a face lift. The prior logo has been in use since 1975. The new logo combines the words Air and France and is presented with a red ribbon after the typeface. To read more about the change and the history of the Air France logo check out this article at Brand New.

TED shares the Love and Happiness

On this day where we celebrate love and happiness, enjoy this video of Stefan Sagmeister: Yes, design can make you happy from the TED conference. I had the pleasure of meeting Stefan while taking a course with Milton Glaser in NYC a year and a half ago. I found Stefan to be a incredibly nice person full of energy and passion. I hope you enjoy the video.
Also from the TED conference is this video below from Helen Fisher: Why do we crave love so much, even to the point that we would die for it? Helen took MRIs of people in love -- and people who had just been dumped.

New Lincoln Pennies

What cost 1.23 cents to make and is worth a cent? The Lincoln penny would be the right guess. Today to mark the 200th birthday of Lincoln, the US Mint is releasing the first of four new pennies. The other three will be released over the course of the year. The backside (reverse) design will be symbolic of various stages in Lincoln's life. I am looking forward to seeing these new coins in my change jar.

Helvetica Moleskine

Got to love it. It is available in a limited edition of 500 in a red and black version. Get it here from Hong Kong only. I have a red one shipping on a slow boat now.
(Thanks Ryan)

Earth Hour 2009

Join together with millions of others and turn off the lights for one hour to show your support to help stop global warming. March 28 at 8:30 pm, people around the world will turn their lights off for one hour – Earth Hour. Earth Hour was started in Sydney in 2007 and has grown since that year. Earth Hour is supported by the World Wildlife Fund and hoping to get one billion people to join in the global effort on March 28th. Below is a poster by Shepard Fairey that he designed for this years event. To learn more about this effort, go to the EarthHour.org website.

Getting There Fast

Love going fast on two wheels. Love great design both old and new. Then check out this great site, Bike EXIF, on all things Motorcycles.
(via the coolhunter.net)

Michael Bierut - Notebooks and T-Squares

Michael Bierut, partner at Pentagram and Design Observer editor, has written about 26 years of keeping notebooks. Over the years he has amassed 85 National Blank Book Company composition books. Read about it here.

I feel that all designers need to come up with a system to keep track of ideas and notes. I have been using Moleskines myself for the last several years and can't imagine leaving home without it. I use the 3.5" x 5.5" plain sketchbook version. The books are extremely well made and durable over time. My books are full of things I think would be great concepts (sometimes looking back they turn out not to be that great), books I see that I would like to pick up, sketches of ideas, websites that get my juices flowing, notes from client meetings, notes to remind me of what I should have or need to do, miscellaneous phone numbers or addresses, etc. Get yourself a system and use it, be it a National Blank Book Company composition book, a Moleskine or a sketchbook. You will find it illuminating with time. To see a collection of artist's sketchbooks check out this site. My friend Mike Tracy can also be found over at this link with his sketchbooks.
(photo via Chester Higgins Jr/New York Times)
Michael also has an article in the New York Times this last weekend talking about how design has changed from his early days of using a T-Square to get the work done until today's digital age. Read about it here.

Objectified: A Interview with Gary Hustwit

The director and filmmaker for the upcoming film "Objectified", Gary Hustwit has a nice interview over at DWELL. To learn more about "Objectified's" soon to be release check out the website for the film and its blog. To view a trailer go to this earlier posting. I am sure this film will be as well done as Gary Hustwit's production of "Helvetica". If you have some how missed or want to purchase a copy of "Helvetica" get it here or at iTUNES.