“Like a cop, a designer is on duty 24/7/365. Only instead of eating donuts we like croissants and other fancy crap.” -Angry Paul Rand

Paul Rand Retrospective from Jeremy Cox on Vimeo.

via Swiss Miss

This one is from the vaults. It was my last day of work at my first job out of school. My co-worker and I had always talked about throwing down together, so we had a little friendly battle. No worries, that’s one of my bosses there in the foreground. You really have to appreciate his holding it down on the beats.

Good times.

Saw this young lady open for Tune Yards last night. She has a powerful voice and presence. Definitely the sound of the day.

In this 1993 interview, Steve Jobs discusses what it was like to work with Paul Rand. In it Steve says of Paul, “I asked him if he would come up with a few options, and he said, ‘No, I will solve your problem for you and you will pay me. You don’t have to use the solution. If you want options go talk to other people.’”

The quote seems to resonate with a lot of designers, as a quick search of ‘Paul Rand’s Next Logo’ yields quite a few results that reference it. While some would say it’s a stunning example of the confidence of a master, I’d say, instead, that it’s the natural wisdom of a master. Paul’s response left no room for misunderstanding about what his job was as a designer. The client not only understood but also respected him for the clarity, thus allowing for what must have been a great working experience.

Also, there’s a great thread on LogoDesignLove about this video and the designer/client relationship. Check it here.

Richie Jackson from ian on Vimeo.

Skating videos always get me inspired. I have very little desire to actually skate, but damnit if I could have skate videos on all day, I would.

Also, this dude is ILL. He’s like the second-coming of Natas. Naaaasty.

via Unttld

I’m all kinds of busy lately. So, I offer you this little piece of magic by Soul Sister Lyn Collins. Sleep not.

Prizes if you can tell me what hip hop song samples this.

Not since reading Miles: The Autobiography of Miles Davis (perhaps my favorite book of all time) have I been so moved by the story of someone’s life. Last night, I watched Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson. To say I was blown away would be an understatement. I felt like I had stepped into the ring with Johnson and the whole American history of The Black Man. To put it in terms of emotion, I was completely overwhelmed.

The American dream — this idea that in America, one can achieve anything, in so far as he is capable and willing to do the work required may or may not be true. There are many stories that support it. The American hero has never been of privilege. That The American hero fought for his/her place in history cannot be denied. But what and whom was he/she fighting against? The story of the successful Black American, especially at the beginning of the twentieth century, is remarkable by any standard. It’s the story of a person, who wasn’t merely discriminated against, but someone whom, despite the whole of society (or those in power) telling them they are less than human, somehow managing to succeed.

And still, even after their success, they cannot transcend the world in which they live. They are still subject to its law. Though they may appear to soar, the gravity of their world cannot be denied. It can only be suspended. This is the story of Jack Johnson.

I can’t stress how powerful this film is. So much of it resonates. Yes, we do have a black president. Yes, my last however many girlfriends haven’t been black and very few people have had anything to say about it. Yes, we have come a long way since the beginning of the twentieth century, but there is a history so repulsive that it must never be forgotten. Fact: There are systems in place to ensure that those in power stay in power. Fact: It is possible to circumvent the system. Fact: If you manage to do so, remember, you are now a target. Nevertheless, resolve to do what it is you set out to do.

Go watch the film already!

This is the first in what I hope will be an ongoing series in which I take a work of design that I like and explain why I like it. Not too hard, right? We’ll see. The goal is to remember to not only notice things, but to continually exercise the ability to articulate why I notice things.

This is a cover for the Czech magazine Zijeme by the visionary and information design pioneer, Ladislav Sutnar.

There are so many things to love about this cover. The first thing to grab my attention was the use of photomontage. The interplay between photography, typography and simple graphic elements creates such a paired down aesthetic that is relatively stark yet immensely arresting. This is not a piece of art the eye can ignore. The simple palette, the angled type, and the perfectly balanced, yet asymmetric, composition all make this a work of design that, although representative of a specific style, still appears fresh and exciting today. Of course that has a lot to do with designers knowingly or unknowingly being influenced by his work. I know some of my early work was influenced by this style.

Here’s a poster I designed while at Pratt.

Obviously, I was influenced by Constructivist design, but there’s also a bit of the 90’s type aesthetic happening in there, which I’m sure we’ll get to eventually.

Anyhow, if you haven’t heard of Ladislav Sutnar, definitely look him up. Not only is his work amazing, he’s responsible for a lot of ideas that are now essential to modern life and design. Fact: He was the man responsible for putting the parentheses around American telephone area-code numbers when they were first introduced.

Links:
-AIGA on Sutnar
-A Czech site on Sutnar. Features a chronology of his life and work
-A Sutnar Flickr Set

Occasionally, I go through these periods in which the only films I want to watch are documentaries. I’m in one of those periods right now, and guess what — It’s freaking awesome! I love noticing the various speaking styles of the people interviewed. How is their posture? What are their eyes doing? Do they speak in a dry monotone or are they expressive and energetic? More importantly, do they know what they are talking about?

The people interviewed in docs are often experts in their respective field, and it’s wonderful to listen to them go on about Ancient Mayan glyphs or the Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels (my Netflix thinks I’m an anti-Semite). Although these interviews are probably scripted or rehearsed, the ease at which the interviewees are able to speak on the topics at hand are remarkable. So much so, that it has inspired me to try to attain the same level of clarity in my daily conversations.

Like many designers, I have a folder on my computer filled with images of design work that I find inspirational. It’s an ever-growing archive of stuff that I like to browse from time to time. Most of the work has been downloaded from sites like FFFFound, Flickr, The NY Times website or the portfolios of other designers.

In the spirit of trying to become a potential documentary interviewee, I started looking through my inspirations folder and trying to determine what it is that I like about specific pieces and figuring out how to articulate it. Surprisingly, it was harder than I remembered. Many of us can determine why it is we like something, but making someone else understand why it is we like something is a bit of a challenge. It’s one of the first lessons they teach you in art school. However, as with figure drawing and mounting a double-page spread on foam core, once we graduate, we fall woefully out of practice.

As a graphic designer (and a human being), your ability to communicate is arguably your most valuable asset. This is why I’m asking you, dear reader, to take a moment out of every day to look at a piece of art and figure out why you like it. Afterward, write a few short sentences to explain to someone else why you like it.

Tomorrow I will begin logging my favorite pieces and writing about why I like them. Hopefully it’ll be an insight into my rationale as a designer and artist, as well as a valuable exercise in communication.