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I was on a train this weekend and I saw an old building with the words "GENERAL DYNAMICS" emblazoned on the side. It reminded me about these posters I had seen for the company with beautiful scientific illustrations. After a quick Google search, I came across Erik Nitsche (1908-1998), a designer for (among other clients), General Dynamics. He has a loyal fan base, who have compiled an image library on Flickr. Also, our own Steven Heller has written an article about "The Reluctant Modernist", featured in Print magazine and also on Typotheque. His obituary, also written by Steve, can be found in the New York Times (sign-up may be necessary).
Attention All MFA 2008 Design Applicants:
We will be having an exclusive orientation just for YOU! Once you've sent your application in click here to reserve your place at our special February 23 event.
Deadline for Applications:
Friday, February 1, 2008.
Stefan Sagmeister presents Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far, an exhibition showcasing the now infamous kernels of wisdom taken from his personal diary. The opening reception and book presentation will take place on Thursday, January 31st at Deitch Projects on 76 Grand Street in Soho from 6:00pm - 9:00pm. The exhibition will run through February 23rd.
Happy new year- is everyone sufficiently greened out? I know, we all still care about the environment; in fact, aren't we on a roll, carrying our groceries in sacks, buying the eco-friendly MacBook Air, eying the newest hybrid cars? So if we're so busy trying to take care of the environment, why am I starting to feel nauseated about every company and product still pushing their green-ness? What does it mean to be green, anyway? This year might mark the over-saturation of the green brand. Ecology and recycling are in, but is "green" becoming too ubiquitous?
Just in time for the holidays is Pitchforks annual 20 worst album covers. Kudos for the staff at Pitchfork for forgoing the usual cast of suspects and digging up some pretty awful picks. My favorite worst pic has to be Super Furry Animals Hey Venus!. It's so very bad, you gotta respect it for taking it all the way.
"We don't need design anymore—the public's had enough. They're media saturated and too savvy for it. We don't need to undesign our designs. We need NO design."
Last Thursday night I heard Kenya Hara speak about his book Designing Design and about some of the exhibitions and concepts he has been exploring. Couple that with the fact that I promised myself no more epic blog posts (ala "be the change you want to see in the world"), having my mind blown by what I've read in his book so far, and the fact that I should be writing me thesis proposal right now, I'll just present a few short key points that have made an impression on me...
If the internet is essential to modern life, the lower-case phenomenon in logos embodies that direction. Next month, Bon Appétit Magazine will unfurl a new logo, and a willingness to complete with successful and more youthful brands like Real Simple and Martha Stewart Living. The logo has been stripped of it's severe capitals, and replaced by a softened Baskerville-ish font, looking to skew younger than the magazine's typical 50-something reader. In fact, using lower-case type to redefine an established brand might suggest something more specific for the 21st century: a deference towards the web.
We are thrilled to see the launch of Supermarket, a retail web site which allows buyers to purchase directly from designers. SVA MFA Design Alumni Randy J. Hunt is on the team at Supercorp which developed the site. (GO RANDY!) The items for sale on the site are pretty darn snazzy, good thing there is this whole holiday season thing going on soon that's so conducive to lots of shopping! What you should also know is that there's a special promotion going on with Design Within Reach right now, so if you sign up at Supermarket by December 5th, you'll have a chance to win something really cool from ModernMart3.
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