Thinking for
a Living™

Type Trumps

Just in time for Christmas, Face37 has released Type Trumps. Type Trumps, a play on Top Trumps, is a game in which different typefaces are attributed numerical values. These figures are then used to enable the cards to be won or lost using some of the tried and tested Top Trumps rules. Available via Face37 and Magma Books.

British Design Classics

Pictured here is a set of stamps to be issued in January that commemorate ten icons of British design. The new series from the Royal Mail pictures a curated selection of design classics that represent some of the highlights of British design heritage.

Designed by HGV and photographed by Jason Tozer, some objects were shot in studio, but in many cases, permission had to be obtained to photograph examples in museums or institutions. In addition, each object was photographed with permission from each designer or their estates.

Source: CR Blog

Happy Thanksgiving

Today is a day of thanks here in the States and as of such, it’s only appropriate to thank everyone who has made Thinking for a Living™ possible. We’ve only been around for a little over four months and already this project has grown beyond our expectations thanks to the support of our friends, family, and most importantly, you, our reader. Happy Thanksgiving!

Very ELLE

The French edition of Elle magazine is getting serious about their creative. Very ELLE is a special biannual edition of French ELLE, art directed and designed by Non-Format for Hachette Filipacchi Associés. Features and editorial spreads employ the typeface Heroine, which was created specially for the magazine.

The Design You Deserve

The client designer dynamic within the field of graphic design has a lot of parallels to the tattoo artist and tattoo recipient. One of my good friends, who I have been tattooed by many, many times, has always said, “You get the tattoo you deserve.”

What does this phase mean exactly? Not unlike a design project, a person getting tattooed is paying money to receive a visual solution to a desired need. If, for example, a person needs a logo created, a designer will work with that person to determine the form the logo will take so that it best reflects the client’s need. Similarly, a person may want a tattoo of say an anchor with roses or a Tasmanian devil in a rasta hat. The tattoo artist will use other reference to determine the attitude and style the tattoo will take and will then make a sketch.

Both the designer and tattoo artist are going to take in what the person is saying and it is their job to interpret these desires into a visual solution. Now, the next step is where tattooing and design are identical. Now that the “client” has seen the “solution” to their desired need several things can occur. Ideally, for all involved the creative solution is to the client’s liking and we can move forward. This is not often the case. Clients always provide “feedback” – some of which may be valid and some that may not be appropriate.

I have found that the more a client messes with a design solution or a tattoo solution, the final product will often become compromised and have less impact or in the end may just plain look bad. The more you override the professional solution that the designer or tattoo artist has delivered and the more it’s modified, the end result will inevitably be less a reflection of the best solution possible and be more of an inherent compromise. From my experience, no one wants a compromise tattooed on their body forever nor would they want a janky looking logo to reflect their company.

A good tattoo or a good design solution is a matter of trust. The more you trust the person to do their very best to interpret your ideas and to let them have a degree of ownership over the final product, the happier you will both be. The person will get a great tattoo/design and the tattooist/designer will have a piece they can show.

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Matt Owens is a designer based in Brooklyn, NY. He is a founding member of Athletics, an art and design collective comprised of some of today’s best and brightest.

Advanced Beauty

Advanced Beauty is an ongoing exploration of digital artworks born and influenced by sound, an ever-growing collaboration between programmers, artists, musicians, animators and architects.

The first collection is a series of audio-reactive ‘video sound sculptures’. Inspired by synasthesia, the rare, sensory experience of seeing sound or tasting colours, these videos are physical manifestations of sound, sculpted by volume, pitch or structure of the soundtrack.

The films embrace unusual video making processes, the visual programming language Processing, high-end audio analysis and fluid dynamic simulations alongside intuitive responses in traditional cell animation. Each artist was given the same set of parameters to work within; to start, finish and exist within a white space, creating a seamless coherence, all sculptures sharing the same white environment.

Using 5:1 surround sound, the films transform the screen into a digital canvas, how the minimalism of a single, floating pixel can be as engaging as the maximalism of an intense multicoloured explosion.

Curated by design studio Universal Everything, with a soundtrack by Freefarm, the music studio of Simon Pyke (formerly recording as Freeform on Warp, Nonplace and Skam) Advanced Beauty is an international collaboration, taking in a family of artists from London, Russia, New York, Japan, Buenos Aires, Glasgow to San Francisco.

This collection of films in the first in a series of exhibitions, with upcoming commissions for the Victoria & Albert Museum, London and galleries in Europe, USA and Japan.

Maxing Out Your Triangle

I find that most people take on new jobs, projects and hobbies for three reasons: To learn something new, to pay the bills, or because they love doing it. These three things fulfill some of our very basic needs—they give us stability, excitement, ways to contribute and opportunities to grow. If you’re with me so far, then allow me to present the love-growth-cash triangle.

Hot Chip by Wallzo

This poster is the second in a series of exclusive collaborations between Blanka, Wallzo and Hot Chip for their 2008 album ‘Made in the Dark.’ The campaign’s ‘artifact’ illustration has been specially redesigned for this laser cut edition. The poster also features hand embossed type. Produced with GF Smith Colorplan, Pristine White, 270gsm.

Pie

Toronto-based designer Alan Woo was curious to see if there were any stark similarities or contrasts within particular films. To that end, he created a project entitled Pie to illustrate an incredibly simple and concise baseline comparison of films through one particular trait: color.

The project was the result of Alan’s first explorations into Processing, an open source programming language and environment developed for those who want to program images, animation, and interactions. A program written in Processing captures each frame of each movie and essentially creates a ‘pie chart’ of the colors contained within each film producing a simplistic and abstracted representation.

The outcome is a number of triptychs comparing various films of particular trilogies, directors or genres. Each poster includes the film title, year, director, cinematographer, running time and occasionally, various surprising/unsurprising similarities. Pictured here are the charts generated for Citizen Kane, Bronenosets Potyomkin and Metropolis.

Running with the Beast

Running with the Beast is the latest album by zZz, a Dutch band from Amsterdam. Roel Wouters created a music video, the artwork and a series of posters that are mindblowingly cool. The project is about two artists who have created the conditions to capture rage in a systematic way – and capture it they did. Two colored cocks print their fight on a sheet of paper while making for an extremely satisfying visual in the video itself. Fantastic.

Optical Disc

I love these Optical Disc posters by Alex Broadhurst. Printed white on A1 240gsm holographic mirri in an edition of 50 posters, the design celebrates 50 years of the optical disc whilst paying homage to Gottlieb Soland’s 1957 grammo-grafik poster (pictured below). Printed by K2 Screen. Alas, UK only shipping!

How Very Tokyo

How Very Tokyo has invited a selection of progressive British graphic designers to express their relationship with Tokyo in poster form. Curated by Studio Kanna the exhibition will create a new multi-faceted portrait of the city, highlighting unexpected aspects of Tokyo from an outsider’s point of view.

The fourteen selected designers have collectively made England a more visually exciting place, and we hope that through this exhibition their energy and passion will similarly infect and inspire the Tokyo art and design scene.

Adam Hayes
Alexandre Bettler
Bibliothéque
Browns
Daniel Eatock
Europa
Graphic Thought Facility
James Goggin
North
OK-RM
Sanderson Bob
Spin
Value and Service

Oleg Dou

Russian artist and photographer Oleg Dou combines conventional photography with photo manipulation to produce portraits with an unsettling graphic consistency. Oleg is the winner of the International Photography Awards Professional Photographer of the Year award. Pictured above are images from his Toystory series.

Flat Bulb

The Flat Bulb is a concept by Korean designers Kim Joonhuyn and Minjoo Kwon of Joon & June. Unlike an ordinary bulb, its volume is a third smaller, reducing the cost of packaging and transport. Its slim shape also allows for stacking and prevents breakage as it does not roll. Joon & June’s work was on display at 100% Design Tokyo.

James Bond

James Bond talks about Undefeated.

The Arkitip Chronicles will focus on designers and artists that work and collaborate directly with Arkitip. You could call it our inside the artist’s studio if you like. We will aim to provide you with access to studios, behind the scenes looks at creative types and features on artists globally.

The Art of the Grid

Whether we admit it or not, grids are an essential part of our life. Without grids, our lives would be messier, uglier, and more confusing places to live in. The Art of the Grid products will keep your life in order! Write your shopping lists, practice your layouts, and keep your books and magazines on the shelves of grids that changed the history of design. Choose from Die neue Typographie, A Designer’s Art, Le Modulor, Raster Systeme Fur Die Visuele Gestaltung, Twen, The Gutenberg Bible and The Guardian. Concepted by Astrid Stavro.

The Reign in Spain

Hail to the King! Artist and designer Jaime Hayón was born in Madrid in 1974 and went on to train as an industrial designer in Madrid and Paris. In 1997, he began working as a researcher in Fabrica, Benetton Group’s communication research center in Treviso, Italy where he eventually was appointed head of the design department. Since 2006, Hayon has been the Art Director for Lladro, a prestigious porcelain manufacturing company in Valencia.

Daylight Savings Time

In anticipation of something new we’re working on at BBDK, we’ve reduced the price of the Thinking for a Living™ booklet to $4.95. Available exclusively at YouWorkForThem, this limited edition release is still available – and now at 45% off.

Fraktur mon Amour

Fraktur mon Amour reproduces 300 variations of Blackletter, ranging from historical fonts to contemporary reinventions, in a sensuous, beautifully crafted, hot-pink prayer-book style catalog that is destined to become a fetish object for designers and type enthusiasts. Fraktur mon Amour is the winner of several awards including the Type Directors Club of New York’s 2007 Award for Typographic Excellence. Created by Judith Schalansky, a graphic designer based in Berlin, Germany.

As Real as it Gets

Really nice concept for this poster for an online software company. Real world Photoshop!

Creative Director: Hendra Lesmono
Art Director: Andreas Junus & Irawandhani Kamarga
Copywriter: Darrick Subrata
Photographer: Anton Ismael

Happy Birthday, Hermann Zapf

Put a candle in your dingbat. November 8th will mark the 90th birthday of calligrapher and type designer, Hermann Zapf. Responsible for hugely popular typefaces such as Palatino, Optima and Zapf Dingbats, this German-born designer has made an indelible mark on the world of graphic design. Read Hermann Zapf’s life story in his own words and view his Hallmark-commissioned video, The Art of Hermann Zapf which shows the master calligrapher’s hand at work.

Zeitguised

Zeitguised made a wonderful piece in six acts for the opening exhibition at the Zirkel Gallery entitled ‘Peripetics or The installation of an irreversible axis on a dynamic timeline.’ The three minute piece entails six imaginations of disoriented systems that take a catastrophic turn, including the evolution of educational plant-body-machine models and liquid building materials.

Zeitguised was founded in 2001 in Germany with its members having a background in creative direction, architecture and art. Zeitguised’s high gloss artschool 3D punk blends complex geometries, surreal subjects, artificial behaviours and the recycling of digital readymades into their distinct hallucinatory narration style.

Sound design created by Zeitguised with Michael Fakesch.

Obama Hug

Illustration by Mark Owens at Life of the Mind.

Typotheque Sketchbook

Digging this limited edition, pocket-sized, no-nonsense calendar and sketchbook by Peter Biľak and Johanna Biľak that is available at Typotheque. The main features of the sketchbook are a weekly overview, year overview, and 12 different pre-printed grids. International holidays, design events and other days of interest are indicated on the index page, as well as on day overviews. The book is specially bound using the ‘Otastar’ method, which ensures that it lies flat when opened. Double crease in the flaps allows easy bookmarking of any page.

(Malin+Goetz)

As spotted on Blackbird, the always cutting-edge (Malin+Goetz) is opening a new store in the Upper West Side in an old Puerto Rican barber shop on 85th. I’m a bit obsessed with these guys thanks in part to their excellent branding work which was created by Anisa Suthayalai for 2×4. Make sure to check it out if you’re in town.

HunterGatherer

HunterGatherer is the studio and workshop of designer, animator and filmmaker Todd St. John. It was founded in New York in 2000 and works with a limited number of companies on a select range of outside projects.

In 1994, St. John co-founded the independent label Green Lady with designer Gary Benzel. Nylon Magazine described it as “to the designer T-shirt world what RunDMC is to hip-hop”. Benzel is a collaborator on various HunterGatherer projects, and also operates the Igloo store in San Diego.

This weekend, the 222gallery in Philadelphia will be presenting a selection of new works on paper and wooden sculptural work that St. John has been developing over the past 6 years.

Bastardised

Finally it’s here! Bastardised, is the culmination of the global identity project created by Bunch. Bunch decided that it was time to rework our corporate identity and base it around the overarching theme of Made in Bunch.

The book showcases the wealth of creativity, beauty and humor found within 289 of the Bunchisms specially selected from 750 contributions. The hardback, 208 page book was printed in Croatia by Kratis, with paper by Igepa and was self-published by Bunch.

Letters & Ligatures

House Industries presents Letters & Ligatures, a new exhibition of prints, patterns, installations and sculptures based on their 15-year excursion into the alphabetical world, at Shepard Fairey’s Subliminal Projects. The show opens on November 8th and runs until December 5, 2008.