So I’m not sure how long this has been around, but we went upstate this weekend and on the way back passed a Burlington Coat Factory. I have bought a coat there in the past and have no particular feelings for them. They have redesigned their logo since I was last there though and this logo is awful. What does a heart have to do with a coat? I see no connection at all. Had I not known the company, I would have thought it said urlington anyways. Then there is the cooper black or something like it for the typeface. Who is this appealing to? And does that crazy legal disclaimer really need to be locked up with the logo at all times? Yikes.
Sometimes you have to go back to the basics when looking for inspiration. I have been looking for that inspiration lately and I finely found some by going back and studying one of my original design heros, Paul Rand. His best work is beyond timeless and designs he did from the 40′s, 50′s and 60′s are still as relevant and perfect today. The curiosity and playfulness in his work is something that I personally want to pay more attention to in mine. It is easy to take the easy way out, and I find myself doing it more often than I would like. I also found he has an official website dedicated to his life and work and it is full of great examples, quotes, interviews and more. I recommend anyone with any interest in design to visit it. Here are some of my faves.
UPDATE: Funny enough the day I discover the site on my own Comm Arts highlights it on their home page and writes a brief story about it. Interesting
I have only been a Mets fan for a relatively short amount of time (4-5 years) but Shea always was a special place to me before that being a huge Beatles fan. The first time I went to a game at Shea was 2001 my first summer here in NYC. I was more excited seeing the stadium that I had seen in the Beatles concert footage than the Mets or any baseball there. Each summer in the city though, I became more and more interested in baseball and the Mets, and my last game there last fall was a sad experience (although great game, Mets won it in the 9th against the Cubs). So now it’s truly gone and Citi Field is taking it’s place. The new park looks to be really nice, but I’m sure some of the magic will be gone, priced out by corporate box seats and high ticket prices.
I have been doing Rosetta Stone for almost 3 weeks now in my effort to learn French. I have wanted to learn French since I was about 10 or 11 but never followed through with it. So far it has been a really fun, cool way to learn a language. After doing it for almost 21 straight days I feel I am picking things up pretty well and more and more can pick out things through my day that I am able to convey in French or English. Tonight on LOST there was a group of Frenchies and I was able to decipher key words and phrases throughout their lines, which was pretty exciting. My end goal after all this is to go to either Paris or Montreal and speak it for a week or so. C’est Bon!
Over the weekend I helped out some friends with a logo for their new podcast “Cinema Café Podcast” in which hosts Penny and Josh review the latest movie releases as well as discuss current film news. The logo was inspired by Josh’s love of old film noir movies and is a modernish take on the old posters but run through a modern filter with a nod to über designer/illustrator and personal hero Michael Schwab. Every time I sit down to do an illustration I study his work. He has such a brilliant way simplifying things to their very essence with minimal lines shapes and colors. So good. Anyway, back to the point, go subscribe and listen to Cinema Café Podcast if you want to hear some good honest reviews “by the fans for the fans”.
One of our clients at Courtney & Co, buildOn, is an organization that “empowers people and transforms lives by partnering our after-school service programs in the U.S. with communities in developing countries to build schools.” So that means kids in underprivileged neighborhoods in the U.S. volunteer time and efforts to do outreach work in their own communities and as they do this they raise money to build schools in impoverished countries around the world. Jim Ziolkowski, buildOn’s founder was interviewed on the Today Show this morning so we went out early this morning with buildOn shirts and signs we printed up to stand in the outside audience with some of the program kids and get some more exposure. Even though my logo wasn’t chosen in the end, it was cool to have our work broadcast to millions of viewers across America. On a related note Courtney & Company is building our own school in Mali, Africa and Mark, Suzi and I are scheduled to go over there this fall to help build it for a week. I will post more details on that when it is closer, but you can read more information on that at the Courtney & Company website under & initiative.
I have been having fun with my new camera and lens lately, going around town and taking some pictures. Well, actually I have been taking them all within the route from my office to the subway. I also have been shooting in RAW and playing around with Adobe Lightroom lately and really loving that. Doing that makes me really think about each shot and color correct, crop and perfect each individual one. My current project is going back to my pics from Japan and retouching the best of them for a new Redux photo album. Already some of them are looking tons better and I am excited to see how it turns out. NYC Pics
There is a great exhibit at the Museum of Arts and Design called “Second Lives” which is artwork that are “objects and installations comprised of ordinary and everyday manufactured articles, most originally made for another functional purpose.” So they take some ordinary things like spools of thread, eyeglasses, old vinyls, and make new artwork from them. It is definitely worth the trip to Columbus circle to see this and the newly redesigned building. The permanent collection of the museum was less impressive to me. A bunch of jewelry stuff and a few interesting fiber pieces and pottery. Still its definitely worth the trip especially if you go on Thursday nights, which is pay what you want night. The “Second Lives” exhibit runs through April 18. Also worth a visit is their website which was, along with the rest of their new identity designed by Pentagram. The website itself isn’t great, but you can browse through the museums entire collection online which is pretty cool.
Sometimes you have to go back to the basics when looking for inspiration. I have been looking for that inspiration lately and I finely found some by going back and studying one of my original design heros, Paul Rand. His best work is beyond timeless and designs he did from the 40′s, 50′s and 60′s are still as relevant and perfect today. The curiosity and playfulness in his work is something that I personally want to pay more attention to in mine. It is easy to take the easy way out, and I find myself doing it more often than I would like. I also found he has an official website dedicated to his life and work and it is full of great examples, quotes, interviews and more. 
I have been doing Rosetta Stone for almost 3 weeks now in my effort to learn French. I have wanted to learn French since I was about 10 or 11 but never followed through with it. So far it has been a really fun, cool way to learn a language. After doing it for almost 21 straight days I feel I am picking things up pretty well and more and more can pick out things through my day that I am able to convey in French or English. Tonight on LOST there was a group of Frenchies and I was able to decipher key words and phrases throughout their lines, which was pretty exciting. My end goal after all this is to go to either Paris or Montreal and speak it for a week or so. C’est Bon!
Over the weekend I helped out some friends with a logo for their new podcast “Cinema Café Podcast” in which hosts Penny and Josh review the latest movie releases as well as discuss current film news. The logo was inspired by Josh’s love of old film noir movies and is a modernish take on the old posters but run through a modern filter with a nod to über designer/illustrator and personal hero 
