December 2007 Archives

I am going to extend this discussion/platform to discuss food on occasion. Why? Well, to be honest, life is too short to eat bad food. I also feel that true happiness always has a food component - as does great design.

happiness + great food + health + clarity of mind = platform for great design

Subtract any of these elements and .....well, it is possible to do great work, but it certainly helps to have them all in place. There are many more, but this is a very simplified version.

My great hero right now in the food world is Gordon Ramsay, he preaches really simple food, done really well. I like that. Catch his show on BBC America (the US version on of the Fox Network is a little "fox-like".)

I generally do not enjoy food that is labored over and fussy -  it has to be exceptional - it usually isn't. High concept, poor execution is fucked in gastronomy as much as it is in design/advertising.

As promised, this is a detail of the restaurant identity that we are creating that is meant to look as if it was designed in 1939. The clients loved it. As mentioned in my earlier post, we stripped away precepts and ego - and were left with the appropriate solution that will last another 70 years.

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This is a constant battle with oneself. At least with myself. If you are a designer and do not interrogate your internal compass on a design project or brand, you may be doing yourself and the project/brand a disservice.

How do you turn off the ego and use the remnants to apply to a solution that is at once appropriate, effective and beautiful?

It is much easier to paint the world in your color than to listen to your rational self and paint it in the color that may be right for that "place." Make sense?

We are working on a brand that needs to look like it is from 1939. We do not want to mock authenticity, we want to make it as truly authentic as possible - although this ID never existed in this way. Imagine if you found a bunch of business cards in a basement that have not been touched in 70 years. What would they look like? Sound like fun? Try it. It has been and can be done well, but mostly it is a fucking horror show.....I have seen it in ID, design and to the most grotesque degree in architecture. I will post our proposal to the client - but he needs to see it first!

There is a group in Europe that has awards for the best plagiarism. It is common practice in the design field to "borrow" designs and ideas. I feel it is particularly loathsome - for graphic design, product design - any intellectual property. OSNOVA is starting a campaign to help publicize fraud and plagiarism - we will launch it with the KYO New York website. In the meantime, please take a look at the recent award winners at Aktion Plagiarius!

OSNOVA is offering 3D rendering now. This is Bloom so far. I am amazed with our 3D designer. We are very busy until February. The famous LA person (to be announced) is lighting it up!
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