Coming soon and thoughts on the current madness of web design.
Coming soon - at some point - new work for So/Paris, Latch&Stowe/London, Youngjets/LA, Sybarisa NY and more - including some really nice work with our friends over at TTC for AstraZeneca.
As far as web design, my view on the current state of affairs is that it is much like standing next to a rushing river after a storm. If you jump in, you will be swept away. There is really no way of controlling this monster. To clarify, I love the web, the utility is mind boggling - and I am fairly certain that my 2 sons (10 and 13) have more collective knowledge from the web than the combined intelligence of many third world countries. Staggering intelligence.
Regarding web design, over the years (I have been designing for the web since around 1995 or 96) I can't even fucking remember. Similar nonsense occurred back then - only on a more primitive scale.
To wit:
The standardization of browser sizes and monitor sizes seemed to be coming to a point of stasis over the past year. Designing for 1000px wide seemed "safe" although there are many, many nihilists with smaller screens.
Now, Apple is releasing a MacBook pro with high resolution display. This will make designing for the web even more challenging as a design will have to look good on a high res display, as well as an older monitor - say 1024x768.
The "responsive design" movement is not design in my opinion, it is letting the medium design you. Designers are really just filling boxes with images. This is not true design in my opinion. It is geometry and a creative version of scrabble.
Standardize now.
If there was a - gasp - standardization of screen sizes, it would allow designers and creative people truly focus on design - not worrying if their design will work across browser sizes. For brands and clients, it would be a much less embarrassing situation in terms of your website. For example, your website might look amazing on a Mac, but looks positively squashed on an older PC. (I won't even go into how PC's are utterly piss-poor when it comes to rendering type. It is a travesty)....or it might look super tiny on a huge Apple Cinema Display.
Responsive design is not the answer, as many clients to not have boxes, or images, and don't want a site that behaves differently on different machines.
Truth be told, I like many responsive design examples, but it is a fad. I have seen fads come and go over the years and this is another one. The tipping point will be when clients start to see site after site on an agencies portfolio that all look the same. Also, I am happy that we don't have to design for 640x480 anymore. It was horrifying. Clement Mok (remember him?) and his teams excelled at this - this was the responsive design of the day. Seems pretty stupid now, cross hatching drop-shadows, little hockey stick nav websites.
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Cologne ghost.
I am coining the phrase cologne ghost. You may be wondering what it is, why it is relevant, and why it impacts design and creativity.
The ghost has messed with me before, and I am sure it has messed with you.
The ghost is this: the scent left on objects such as doorknobs, phones, paper towel dispenser handles, etc of cheap, very strong cologne that quickly becomes part of your life once you touch those objects.
Once you touch them and have the ghost on you - it is too late - there is little you can do. If you try and wash your hands well, the ghost rests on the spigot/handle and follows you more. Anything you touch you infect, and soon, you are surrounded, Your steering wheel. Your chair armrest. Your coffee cup.
I offer no help with avoiding this. You just need to be super careful. I lost hours last week being surrounded by some Eastern European disco ghost last week. It drove me crazy. I am OK now. I will exact revenge. Watch out Hugo Boss, watch out Old Spice!
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Racialist.
Ignorance breeds racism and hatred.
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I am guilty of this as well.
I hated the big trees behind my house, but I researched them and found out they are shipmast locust and were used in my town in the 1800's and early 1900's to make ship's masts. That is amazing. I now love the trees.
I could not stand this one bird I would hear all the time. I thought the sound was of a nasty swamp bird. It sounds like a frog and I only imagined what a ugly fucking bird it was. Turns out - it is a woodpecker call. I now love that sound.
If you take this general construct - apply it to people all over the world - you get racism, hatred - general stupidity. It all stems from ignorance, jealousy or whatever. Let it go. If you come across something/someone you hate - walk a mile in their shoes - if you still hate it/them - look inward as to why you are so filled with bitterness.
MAMUS SAY BOOK.
Signature Theatre in The New York Times.
We just finished these environmental graphics for Signature Theatre. We partnered with pop in Seattle, who did the interactive installations. Wow. See the article here.
Credit: Joshua Bright for The New York Times
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New stuff, Micks, Dagos. Polocks, Jew boys and an award.
The new MAMUS site is live. There is new work from FILA, MadAthlete, USTA and more. I am very proud of the work and of the people I collaborate with. Some of the best in the business for sure.
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I was watching a WWI movie called "The Lost Battalion" last night before the NY Giants' victorious game. One scene stuck out in my mind. A captured American soldier was told by the German commander that he must save lives and have his comrades surrender. The American soldier replies "Major, you know who you are fighting? Micks, Dagos, Polocks and Jew boys from New York City. New York gangsters, we will never surrender." OOH RAH! Watch this clip.
Later in the movie, unable to defeat the inglorious bastards, the German commander utters in his German accent - "New York gangsters."
Finally, we just found out we won a Graphic Design USA design award for the zx Kitchen Ceramica packaging. The package is beautiful, with magnetic closures, dull coat finish - and amazing photography by my good friend Satoshi - another New York gangster.
Song of the Day: December 7, 2011
We won third place in the International Web Font competition for the e-commerce website we designed for SAM. We are mentioned in the Wall Street Journal, Bradenton Times and more. Very cool. We love accolades but do not seek them out like some abandoned, wounded child.
Just completed some really innovative HTML 5 design on behalf of SS+K for Crystal Light - our first packaged goods work ever. The difference with ours is - unlike most - it looks sick, not stupid.
Aerosmith
Back in the Saddle
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MAMUS creative new FW2011
We have not been able to find the time to finish the website yet - it is in development and looks sick. In the meantime, I wanted to share some sneak previews of new work and things that we are doing. Identity, campaigns, web development, interior graphics, packaging and more. Some new brands and some repositioning of tired ones.
How does your work look?
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zx kitchen site live.
The knives are amazing. They are made from black ceramic - they stay sharp for years, and are quite beautiful. Buy them on Amazon - but see the site here first.
Song of the Day: August 30, 2011
One of my favorite things in the world is dubstep by artist Burial. This new release is beautiful. This is future music. Do you live in the future, the past or the now? It should be obvious.
Burial
Street Halo
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Burial
Street Halo
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I am the Principal and Chief Creative Officer of MAMUS in New York. We work with clients in Canada, Switzerland, England and here in the US. A new-generation agency, we offer services from strategy to creative execution. We do more than "ads" or "logos" or "websites." We understand all media, and are sensitive to the needs of brands and clients in a media/medium agnostic way.
Please visit mamuscreative.com
ID, branding, print advertising and collateral, signage, architectural and interior spatial and graphic design, web design and front-end web development.
I have more than 20 years of experience developing brands — from print to web — all strategically informed. My last staff director position was Global Creative Director for FILA — previous to that I was Founder and Creative Director of Merkley ID in New York. Before Merkley and Partners, I held positions at Ogilvy and Young & Rubicam in New York. I have worked on the launch of jetBlue Airways in the USA, as well as brands like BMW, Starwood Hotels & resorts Worldwide, Richemont, Mercedes-Benz, and many more.
To see my personal portfolio website, please visit mamuscreative.com
Email me: john@mamuscreative.com
We are not affiliated with ALLOY NORTH AMERICA in any way.
- G2 visualization and web design. New section of www.g2.com
Global - USTA playtennis.com brand development, postioning.
New York - SAM-NYC.com updates. New print collateral and redesign website
New York - Branding and packaging for accessory startup.
New York, Boston - 2012 advertising and book design for ICON.
Los Angeles - Titleist. Brand book/apparel identity system/tagging.
Boston - MAdAthlete. Brand development, print, identity, web design, broadcast.
Boston - Repositioning for VIVOX.
Boston - Brand development,visual positioning, web design for C3.A groundbreaking new VoIP for gamers.
New York - Repositioning for Drync. An amazing wine-centric startup.
Boston - Brand development, naming, positioning, web design for new ceramic knife company.
New York - Brand development, positioning, interface for groundbreaking technology startup.
New York - New advertising and positioning for Cancer Center of Sarasota for Dr. Mamus.
Sarasota - Web design and development for new e-commerce startup.
Salt Lake City - Rebrand and web design for one of NY's top literary agencies.
New York - Our book now available: ACTA NON VERBA. 310 pages, hardcover.
- Ongoing proposals. Amazing brands in New York, Toronto, Paris, Montréal, Tokyo, Miami and Los Angeles. Look for us in LE BOOK FALL 2011