RegardingDesign

Grim beauty

There is something beautiful about old cemeteries. There is so much personal history engraved on the rough granite, the dessicated bouquets, the knocked-over-by-the-seasons headstones.

I was recently directed to this old graveyard as a good dog-walking spot. Most newer ones don't like dogs wandering amongst the dead, but the abandoned ones are more forgiving of the needs of the living, I suppose. It's a beautiful spot to look over the valley for sure. But the writer in me is of course intrigued by the untold stories implied by the slim information available on the headstones. Like this one. Three children didn't make it out of infancy. So perhaps no one was left to mark the grave when the father finally passed away....

Or these. Whose father and mother do these stones mark??

I hope you don't find my sharing these things morbid. If nothing else, enjoy the simplicity and elegance of the type engraved on stones....

Boo!

I'm not much of a dresser-upper, not a huge fan of taking on alternative identies through costumes, never quite got the whole Rocky Horror Picture show toast-throwing obsession, but it is a lovely fall day here, the sun crisp and bright on the acid yellow and pumpkin orange leaves that drift down from the sleeping trees, so let me just say Happy Halloween to everyone. And BOO!

Changing of the Signs

In this northeast part of the world, the minute things thaw, contractors, carpenters, painters, masons, handymen, and other guys in a wide array of toolbelts and trucks come out of the woodwork in a flurry of activity to repair, refresh, and update our built environment before everything freezes up again. And in September, the activity seems especially frantic as everyone tries to get stuff done before the snow flies again.

Here in our little Capital District the Empire State Plaza is a particular bee-hive of cranes, contractors, and improvements. Architecture buffs may know this as one of the most highly ridiculed architectural escapades in the country, a series of enormous marble behemouths rising from a 17-acre plain of ponds, fountains, and bizarely squared off trees that once contained a vibrant Italian neighborhood of seen-better-days row houses that Rockefeller took possesion of in order to build his vision. While it was quite controversial when constructed back in the 1960s and 1970s, it now functions as a wonderful place to go for a run, walk the dog, visit the farmer's market, see any of the numerous summer concerts and special events, and to work: tens of thousands of government employees occupy these buildings. It's also houses the largest collection of modern art outside a museum in the world. Sculptures are on the exterior plaza; paintings in the concourse below The more classic structure in the distance is our Capital Building where the legislature meets; one spectacular building with great examples of incredible stone carving, among other things.

Anyway, I noticed that some directional signs around the Plaza are getting a face lift. They're moving from 80s-ish pure utility to something a bit more post modern, it seems. While I like the dual-level asymmetry and the more natural coloring of the burnt peach backdrop, I do regret that they're, well, just darn harder to read! What do you think? Why is wayfinding such a challenge, with the endless frustration of functionality versus aesthetics? I think which signs are before and after should be pretty obvious.

   

Artist Unknown

Well, everyone seems to be cutting out of town and trying to squeeze in one last long weekend at this tail end of summer. I don't know about you, but I can already feel the back-to-school panic starting to infect my clients -- after a blissfully quiet week or two, the phone has been ringing like crazy these past few days and my calendar is filling with meetings and conference calls and business trips and interviews.

So I'll end the week and thereby start the long weekend with this image of a piece of street art that I pass on my way to the gym. The wall it graces faces a parking lot behind a building that now houses a barber shop. Who knows what was there before, who knows who painted it, or why. It's fading and chipping and while it won't be there forever, the weathering makes it all the more beautiful for now I think. And it kinda represents what we're all ready to do today -- get outta the office and have one last ride before the season changes. Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Stencil Street Art

I have been fortunate to have found some really wonderful -- and not too expensive -- artwork in various little galleries and at "art nights" here in Albany. Some of my favorites are from a street artist named Chris Stain, who currently resides in Brooklyn. He does incredible stencil work, inspired by his family's working class roots and growing-up environs in Baltimore. While buildings are clearly a preferred medium, he also does stuff on old signs, wood, and other materials. The pieces I own are stencil on pieces of metal that are framed out in wood. I wanted to share his work with all of you because I think it's wonderfully nuanced and powerful.

Through Chris, I've also learned about an interesting artist's collective, Just Seeds. "Justseeds/Visual Resistance Artists' Cooperative is a decentralized community of artists who have banded together to both sell their work online in a central location and to collaborate with and support each other and social movements. Our website is not just a place to shop, but also a destination to find out about current events in radical art and culture. Our blog covers political printmaking, socially engaged street art, and culture related to social movements. We believe in the power of personal expression in concert with collective action to transform society."

Wow. Sounds so positively 60s radical! Seriously, the various members have been involved in some interesting activities you can find out about on their site, but regardless of the political content, there's some wonderfully graphic and colorful and bold artwork there, especially for fans of stencils, blockprinted, and silkscreened stuff. Check it out.

It's been a long week

Phew, finally Friday. This week, I've handed in a book manuscript, a magazine article, a set of write-ups for ten design contest winners, an advertisement, and will probably be finishing up a brochure revision today...as well as the usual blog posts. Since, I'm a wee bit brain dead today, I'm just going to give you a pretty picture to send you off into the weekend.

Nope, this isn't a bouquet of fresh flowers. It's spun sugar. A new, high end, European bakery opened recently in my little city and this display was in their window. Edible art. Pretty cool, isn't it? Have a great weekend.

For a Monday

To start the week off on a bright note, here's another image from my recent trip west...just love the colors and patterns of the hats in the sunshine. File this under "found and kept, just because."

The Left Coast

So, last week I was out in California -- hubby was on his way to the Apple WorldWide Developers Conference -- and we took a few days to drive from LA to SF. I both sought out and happened upon a few interesting things, design-wise. Of course, there's LOTS to discover in LA design-wise, but this was ostensibly a mini-vacation, so I didn't look too hard and simply enjoyed what I stumbled across.

This post comes squarely from the nostalgia-masked-as-design-observations department. In a city where most things are in a constant state of change and reinvention, it's nice to see at least one thing that has not changed not only since my childhood in the 60s and 70s -- a lot of which was spent at Santa Monica beach -- but apparently since it's opening in 1946:

In spite of othe questionable grammar, I love the simplicity of the type, the clarity of the communication, the straighforwardness of the brand identity (!!).  The Hot Dog on a Stick company has apparently made a few concessions to modernity -- hot dogs are made with turkey, and veggie dogs are also available -- but uniforms are firmly 60s retro. Love the color combos and bold stripes, along with the jockey-inspired hats:

If you've ever suffered through a soggy, over-coated, carnival corn-dog, believe me, it's NOTHING like the delicious combo of slightly sweet cornbread layered lovingly over a moist meat filling washed down with a perfectly balanced tangy-sugary lemonade you'll find here, nestled right next to the Santa Monica pier. You too can eat bad 4 U food and pretend you're scouting for cool design ideas.....