Oy vay, AIGA! Wake me when it’s over.

Those of you who know me, know that I am no fan of the AIGA. Their recent announcement to do a digital talk show called “A Day For Design” where designers talk to designers about design via twitter seemed to be the ultimate act of design self-mutilation. I did this poster to express my feelings about this organization.

Needless to say, I will not be attending.

A model for peaceful revolt

“Be careful for what you wish for, you may get it.” Now we wait and see what will happen.

Unrest in Egypt, again

Having parents from Egypt makes this subject a bit more meaningful for me. On the other hand, if it weren’t for corrupt Egyptian politicians during the early 50’s, I wouldn’t be an American today.

40 years of New York Times Op-Ed Illustration

A great retrospective of illustration from the pages of the New York Times. The Op-Ed page is 40 years old and with it this look back at some of the best political illustration ever done.

What if you could print a 3D object. Amazing!

Maybe one day we will be able to print an actual pair of shoes. Why not?

Throwing good money after bad

In an earlier post, I had written about the careless re-design of the quarter. I’ve, since, found these interesting pieces of U.S. currency designed by Dowling Duncan merely as an exploration. I think they’re terrific, even though they tend to be a bit like the Swiss notes that were done back in the nineties.

What do you think?

My talented neighborhood

Recently, my friend and neighbor Kenn Berry invited me into his wife Judy’s floral design studio, Sahana, to see a project that she was working on. It was a series of centerpieces for a young ladie’s Bat Mitzvah. Her assignment was to do something cool with shoes. I was stunned by the creations and struck that when the flowers died, so would these lovely pieces of art. I suggested that we shoot them quickly and do a poster or blurb book. So, Kenn, retired superstar photographer, rigged a make shift seamless set and soon we had the images. A little time in Photoshop and we had some very terrific images. Shortly after that, we had this poster.

But back to my talented neighborhood. In addition to a photographer, Kenn is an expert illustrator of historical objects, specifically WW2 fighters and weaponry. Across the street from Kenn and Judy lives Arie Van Selm, an internationally acclaimed painter and delightful human. His wife Jutta is a professor of languages and equally fascinating. A couple of doors down from Kenn lives Chris Thurman, collector and dealer of extraordinary mid-century modern furniture and objects. And, of course my very talented wife Shari who is a couture quilt designer and blogger extraordinaire. She lives really close to me.

And that’s just what’s going on two houses away from me. Lucky, don’t you think?

Blow the spots off the ball

The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa introduced Americans to the vuvuzela, a noisy little plastic horn, that is traditionally blown continuously by fans throughout the game. The noise levels in the stadium were so loud it was said, that it was effecting the quality of play on the field. To the foreign fans the outcry against the vuvuzela was equally as loud. To me, it sounded like a good poster. You can check out all the posters at The Spirit of FIFA: poster design contest.

Quarter horsepower

My friends, the McMullens, raise quarter horses. Those are the ones that run really fast. For a city boy like me, horses always meant how many fit under the hood of your car. Rule of thumb, you need at least 300 to get the job done.

This is a logo I did for their quarter horse farm.

Ultimate typography thrown to the curb

Seeing Milton Glaser’s classic stencil typeface, Glaser Stencil, thrown to the curb makes me wonder if that is the ultimate achievement of the designer’s art or a death sentence for a great face.