Watch the first few minutes of the anti-D&D-movie based on Jack Chick's "Dark Dungeons" comic. How did this not get snapped up by SyFy?![]()
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Dark Dungeons
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Reviewed: Friday Likes 97: From Another Collective, Made by Molloy, and Anagrama
From Another Collective, Made by Molloy, and Anagrama
A colorful balance of patterns, interesting typography, and color palettes in today's Friday Likes with work from Porto, Asbury Park, and Mexico.
Baldoria by Another Collective
Located in the historic center of Porto, Portugal, Baldoria is a new wine cellar and bar with an eclectic identity by local firm Another Collective. A hard-edged, mono weight script — that could have used a little more breathing room between each character or a slightly thinner weight — anchors large cropped elements set in Neutraface that give the rustic cellar an interesting contemporary edge. The interior graphics make for a cellar I wouldn't mind being locked in for a while. See full project
Assemblism by Made by Molloy
New York, NY-based Assemblism specializes in "Enhancing, recommending, and building technology strategies for a better customer experience" and does so in a highly festive, modular identity designed by Made by Molloy in Asbury Park, NJ. Through a Mondrian-esque grid, the applications feature a handful of exchangeable patterns in a fresh color palette of baby blue and orange while a wireframe "A" can rotate the patterns in different combinations. Even the choice of the somewhat forgotten Insignia font by Neville Brody pays off. See full project here.
Violeta by Anagrama
Currently operating in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Violeta is a bakery preparing to enter the U.S. market in Miami, FL. In contrast to the romantically dowdy identity it currently functions with, Anagrama has designed one of their signature identities that combine a striking color palette (muted purple, dark blue, and gold) with a pattern, a deceivingly simple wordmark, and foil stamping. The three-bird icon, inspired by the Buenos Aires' coat of arms, makes for a beautiful simple graphic. Overall, the identity has been baked to perfection for a Miami debut. See full project.
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My Obsession With Field Notes
"This is the initial blog post I have written first in a memo book before typing it up." The Story Behind My Obsession With Field Notes, by Andy Johnson III. Thanks for that.![]()
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Noted: New Logo and Identity for Sudiksha by Siegel+Gale
Treeburst
Sudiksha Knowledge Solutions Pvt Ltd was founded in 2010 by Mr Naveen Kumar and Ms Nimisha Mittal in Hyderabad. Sudiksha has been creating low-cost, high quality schooling system in rural areas. The goal here is Access to education and Excellence in delivery to the remotest areas of the country.
Design by: Siegel+Gale
Opinion/Notes: The old logo could have been worse I guess but, still, the thick tree growing in place of the "i" and the all lowercase approach just weren't too pleasant. The new logo is a nice ambiguous combination of close-up of a leaf and/or tree trunk with heavy foliage. I'm undecided about the wobbly, hand-drawn wordmark approach — it's a bit of a cliché for kid schools (or kid-anything) — yet it does work well in unison with the mark. (Although I'm not sure why the contour of the leaf is smooth and not scribbly like the rest of the logo). The applications using the custom, matching font are pretty solid and some of the iconography is interesting. Overall, a definite improvement.
Related Links: Siegel+Gale project page
Logo detail. 
Identity elements. 
Stationery. 
Brochure covers. 
Pattern. ↧
Linked: Climate Change Icon
Link
Milton Glaser has launched a campaign for climate change, "It's not warming, it's dying", with a simple graphic. Glow-in-the-dark buttons have been created by Busy Beaver Buttons.
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The Influence of Paul Rand’s Thoughts on Design
This article has been contributed by John Clifford.
Paul Rand said, “Visual communications of any kind, whether persuasive or informative, from billboards to birth announcements, should be seen as the embodiment of form and function: the integration of the beautiful and the useful.” It’s not only about how it looks, or how it works, but about how it looks and works together.
Paul Rand: Thoughts on Design book cover, 1947
The American master of corporate identity, advertising, and editorial design codified his approach and methodology in the classic 1947 book Thoughts on Design. Out of print for nearly 40 years, the book is now being reissued, with a new foreword by Pentagram’s Michael Bierut, to commemorate what would have been Rand’s 100th birthday.
Bringing the book back to life was a labor of love for Michael Carabetta, the creative director at Chronicle Books. “My affinity for Paul Rand goes back to design school. You can’t study design history without being struck by his singular vision. IBM, ABC, (the original) UPS and other 20th century marks of his have withstood the test of time and set the standard for what has become known as branding. Rand’s work is always something you measure yourself against.”
Carabetta’s not alone: many legendary designers cite Rand and Thoughts on Design as major influences.
Tom Geismar
Design firm Chermayeff, Geismar & Haviv have designed more than 100 corporate identities for clients such as Chase, PBS, Mobil, and Pan Am. For them, design is solving problems, and they pursue the best solution, regardless of form. Partner Tom Geismar recently spoke of studying at Yale “at a time when even the term ‘graphic design’ was just coming into use. Among the visiting teachers were Lester Beall, Alexey Brodovitch, Leo Lionni, Alvin Lustig, and Herbert Matter. They are all rightful heroes to us, along with, and especially, Paul Rand, whose influence continues to evoke wonder.”
Chermayeff, Geismar & Haviv: Chase logo, 1961; PBS logo, 1983
George Lois
“Cantankerous, irascible, loving–bristling with talent, brimming over with taste, and endowed with invincible personal conviction–the original and badass Rand showed the way,” said legendary advertising man George Lois. Well-known for his Esquire magazine covers from the 1960s, Lois believes in “the Big Idea” that cuts through the clutter and reaches people. His goal for Esquire was to create covers so compelling they would stop people on the street and make them buy the magazine. “Thoughts on Design takes an honored place in my extensive library. Now a tattered bible, I read and reread it a thousand times in my early teens. Rand’s talent and instinct created an absolutely supreme standard for the rest of my life.” When asked for tips for young designers, Lois answered, “My advice is to read Damn Good Advice (by George Lois) and then read it again, and again, just as I read Thoughts on Design by Paul Rand when I was 14 years old.”
George Lois: Esquire covers, 1968 and 1966
John Maeda
John Maeda was a computer science grad student at MIT on his way to becoming a user interface designer. Then he read Rand’s Thoughts on Design—an experience that shifted the course of his career. He took a humbling message from Rand’s book: Understanding the computer did not necessarily make one a good designer. As a result, Maeda decided to study graphic design, where he added traditional design skills and concepts to his knowledge of computers. Since then, Maeda has explored the area where design and technology meet, and thinks of the computer as a tool and a medium. In his quest to educate, Maeda writes books, too. The Laws of Simplicity outlines his hopes that technology will simplify, rather than complicate, our lives.
John Maeda: Time Paint software for Macintosh, 1994; MIT Math Department poster, 1998
Paul Rand taught at Pratt Institute and Cooper Union before becoming a professor at Yale, where he spent 25 years. He worked hard up until the day he died, at age 82, and once said, “Design is a way of life.” Now that Thoughts on Design is readily available again, the rest of us can learn directly from the master.
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John Clifford is the author of Graphic Icons: Visionaries Who Shaped Modern Graphic Design, and the creative director of NYC design firm Think Studio, focusing on identity, digital, publishing, and print design. He teaches graphic design history at Parsons School of Design. You can follow him on Twitter.
Portions excerpted from Graphic Icons: Visionaries who Shaped Modern Graphic Design by John Clifford. Copyright © 2014. Used with permission of Pearson Education, Inc. and Peachpit Press.
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Nora Luther
Nora Luther's "Recipes" series. Assemble all the ingredients and toss.![]()
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Desert Courtyard House
Scottsdale Desert Courtyard House, by Wendell Burnette Architects.![]()
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Moebius' Dune
Moebius created over 1000 storyboards for the Alejandro Jodorowsky adaptation of Dune. Via Matt Fraction.![]()
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The Camera in the Mirror
"Screen shots from Google Art Project, where the Google robot reflects itself in the mirrors of the Paris Opera (Palais Garnier)."![]()
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Kilobot Swarm
Kilobot Swarm, from the Self-Organizing Systems Research Group at Harvard.![]()
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Perseid in Moonlight
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LYT
There's no live Layer Tennis today but we're gearing up for a new season presented by our pals at Adobe Creative Cloud. Check last week's Exhibition Matches and, if you want to play, in front of God and everyone else, you might want to get busy.![]()
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Sanford & Son Dubbed in Italian
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RC Cola and Chicago Pizza
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The Beer Bottle Dictator
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Friday Link Pack
CreativeMornings/SF talk by Josh Higgins.
- LEGO Ruler, all kinds of cute.
- There are only a few spots left at this year’s Do Lectures in California. I attended last year and can say it was the best three days of 2013. I am still in touch with many of the attendees. You have apply quickly if you want to go.
- After nearly 10 years + over 200 episodes, Design Matters finally has its own Facebook page!
- There’s another Like Knows Like mini documentary out, giving us a glimpse into Geffen Refaeli’s life.
- I admit, I want one of these sleeping bags: Shark or Whale (via)
- Good job at still being alive!
- The shirt mock-up don’t do the awesomeness of these shirts justice. Kevin keeps wearing them around Studiomates and they’re fab.
- What Wikipedia’s recent changes feed sounds like. (via Liz)
- Excellent book recommendations by Debbie Millman.
- If designing for the internet is your world, I recommend you read Jason Santa Maria’s new book: On Web Typography.
- This bright red casserole is totally on my wish list.
- The original Monument Valley soundtrack is now available for streaming on Rdio and Spotify. If you haven’t tried this game yet, you should.
- 5 Questions for 100 designers.
- My cloud obsession continues: Cloud Garland
- Be Kind T-Shirt
- “Delight” and “delightful” have become all-purpose marketing words in the tech world…” What Silicon Valley’s Favorite Word Says About Tech Priorities
- Francis L. Thompson shares his strategy on how he will start talking to his kids when they turn 18
- So true: “The truth is, you don’t break a bad habit; you replace it with a good one.” – Denis Waitley
- I discovered Urban Camping last night. So much fun!
- Never wonder again if you should put on sunscreen.. (Thanks Jen)
- Psst… Team Tattly is looking to hire a Front-End Developer.
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Sleaford Mods at Beacons
"Punk with the rock surgically removed." A terribly perfect recording of Sleaford Mods at the Beacons Festival.![]()
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Hobbit Beer
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Reviewed: New Logo for World Trade Center by Landor
W Marks the Spot
Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, the road to recovery for New York's World Trade Center has been financially and emotionally costly, logistically and politically arduous, and all of it has been minutially publicized. The site, owned by real estate group Silverstein Properties since 1998 when the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey decided to privatize it, consists (or will consist) of five new skyscrapers (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 WTC), the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center, the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, 550,000 square feet of retail space at Westfield World Trade Center, and a performing arts center. While each building and entity has its own logo, the World Trade Center complex as a whole hasn't had one, until now. Last week The New York Times was first to report on the new logo designed by Landor.
Logo detail. One of the principal attractions of the story has been the $3.57 million price tag associated with the logo. As we all know, no logo is worth $3.57 million but even as the reported value of the contract awarded to Landor by the "authority board" — not really sure who that is — that is a pretty significant amount of money for even the most comprehensive branding project. But the point is: This is not a $3.57-million-logo.
The other appealing aspect of the story is that the logo is imbued with various meanings that perhaps no one will see. (Given the amount of press received so far I would argue that a large enough group of people now know the meanings and will probably pass it on to others — just like a limited few realized there was an arrow in FedEx's logo and now even your aunt knows about it).
The tridents that were a design element of the base of the Twin Towers. Source: Bloomberg Businessweek
The 17.76-degree angle represents the 1,776-foot height (with spire) of the new 1 World Trade Center. Source: Bloomberg Businessweek
The two light beams that were created as a tribute. Source: Bloomberg Businessweek
You know… it's a "W". Source: Bloomberg Businessweek
The below-ground reach of the two reflecting pools. Source: Bloomberg Businessweek
Each bar represents one of the buildings in the new World Trade Center. Source: Bloomberg BusinessweekThe six implied meanings are all relevant, none are gratuitous — well, perhaps the 17.76 angle thing is a bit of a stretch — and, more importantly, it's quite likely that each of those meanings helped the logo make it through the approval process. Each meaning speaks to a different constituency of the interested parties; from those who see the site as an emotionally charged place that needs to be remembered to those who see it as the next real estate and business frontier. There is something in that logo for everyone to approve. And that's what makes this actually a brilliant solution besides the arguable fact that this may be Landor's most successful and relevant logo since its late 1990s – early 2000s contemporary heyday.
WTC sign. Photo by Chester Higgins Jr. for The New York Times. The logo is almost absurdly minimal, five bars that make a "W". This alone is reason altogether to celebrate it. It could have easily been the most convoluted logo yet to come out of all the WTC buildings. It's a bold, graphic, daring logo with a really strong presence when it could have easily been a boring wordmark. It demands decoding, yes, but for anyone interested in doing so they are rewarded with numerous satisfying answers. Even without any explanation, the bars, shaped like abstract skyscrapers and joined together as a whole communicate the basic premise of the new World Trade Center site. Given all the emotion and cash riding on the site and, by extension, on this logo, this is a remarkably successful solution not to be taken lightly.
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