Our Two Americas -The PInk States and the Chamo States

I couldn't help picking up a NEWSWEEK magazine, out of pure boredom perhaps, but since my 94 year old father gets at least 4 subscriptions ( hey, he can't say no!) I discoverd the fine writing within (as if I should ever comment of ones writing! um....spell check Matt?). I then discoverd journalist Evan Thomas' piece entitled THE CLOSING OF AMERICAS MIND; a work that examines partisian warrierism in America, and our sad polarized culture which clearly can be separated into two types of people - the whole red state -blue state thing.

"America is populated by ignorant,racist, fascist knuckle-dragging NASCAR-obsessed cousin-marrying road kill-eating tobacco-juice-dribbling gun-fondling religios fanatic rednecks" and then the "Godless unpatriotic pierced-nose Volvo-driving France-loving leftwing Communist latte-sucking tofu-chomping holistic-wacko neurotic vegan weenie perverts".


When I read this joke, quipped from collumnist Dave Berry, I can clearly see how design consumption clearly divides along the same path. Sadly, I can understand this division - religion may seem evil to many blue staters - even me, but deep inside, I want to beleive that there is some sort of religion - I don't believe that religion is fundamentally bad, just fundamental religionists are because of thier brainwashed closed mindness - generally speaking of course. I must believe that deep inside all humans is that very fundamental need to believe that they are doing GOOD. And religions of all types are still fundamentally based on doing GOOD, and what is RIGHT. As a gay male American, raised as a Catholic, attending Catholic college and even church- alter boy and Sunday mass, volunteering etc until I came "out of the closet" at 21 years old and painfully discovered how naive I was about trusting mass religion, and discovering that indeed I was not "loved' or even "good", I too lost faith in what I believed was "right".

Now, as a creative.....imagine our creative partisan culture.....it too divides in much the same way....right, wrong, White Bread Amrican/Eurotrash, Educated/Ignorant, but in the end, it's really all about fear. FEAR of 'different', FEAR of Originality, FEAR of not belonging. In a world fighting over beliefs more than borders, the idea of BELONGING, is suddenly becoming much more important than where one originally comes from. In the end, we are all wanting to belong to some sort of TRIBE. God forbid we stand alone, vulnerable, independant, for then, would we really "belong" to anything?

Ornament it.

2006 Target Back To School. Designed by OFFICE.

Dutch designer Tord Boontje Holiday theme for Target 2006.

I am frequently asked to either create, direct, or define the vector ornament style that has grown into the visual style of the moment. Thanks to early adopters like Target, the style which is composed of primarily vector silhouettes continues to evolve as more and more adopters and adapters craft the look that continues to feel fresh.


Coke bottles for European nightclub promotion.

Fancy, fanciful ornament is now expressed everywhere, in many styles. Sure, I wonder too, what designers might use next, but most likely, this movement of ornament will continue to evolve, as creative people use motion and different technology to continue this trend of visual design which hold the distinction of appealing to most everyone.


I personally beleive that the looks public exposure began in the mid 1990's with contemporary artist RYAN MCGUINESS whose installations of vector forms and sillo's inspired a generation of young artists who saw the style as a retaliation against a digital 1990's world of Photoshop photorealism, filters and solarflares. Oh yeah, it happens to be beautiful too.



"McGinness’s consumer-culture-inspired motifs have made their way from the corporate office to skateboards and coffee mugs to the image-heavy mandalalike painting and prints…. Moving from context to context, he has kept the concepts of marketing and branding as a launch pad for endless permutations of a consistent vision—simulacrums of the consumer environment." Excerpt from gallery guide.

Brands and Identity- Carhartt Crazy

I had a friend end a friendship over this. Brands can be very personal - again, it's the whole meaning thing. Isn't it funny how today a brand like Carhartt, a working class, blue collar, practical brand of work clothes can mean authenticity to one consumer, let's say an oil rig worker in Alaska, and a completely differenet thing to a skater punk in Berlin? Smart brands know this, and even smarter brands are able to exploit it, or maximize it. I think it's fascinating how far some brands can stretch, but not surprising in a world where identity is more easily defined by the brands one chooses, than by originality.


Still the wholesome brand of the working class, construction workers in the US now have to share thier 'non-brand' attitude with fashionable youth who are adopting thier garb, but with a different statement to make. Should anyone be angry?


A Flickr Photo of the Alaska State fair's crusty Carhartt contest


A Carhart retail store in Berlin, Germany, catering to a street/punk/skater culture, where the brand allows customization across all of its retail stores.

Planet Brand

Any designer who is chartered with creating a brand identity has to consider the impact as well as the reach that global brands make. Our non-designing earthings forget, or never think about how deep some of our brands reach on this planet. Sure, it's sad, and yeah, I understand that it is business....and, maybe it really dosn't make a difference to the individual...but we also all know that this depth comes at a cost - this samness comes with a loss of individuality.

While traveling in Europe or the middle east, it's interesting to see Americans search for what they find familiar. Are we just fearful of anything which we claim as 'different'? I can't imagine why one would want McDonald's while skiing in the Alps.


As this Tibeten wine ad shows, branding is spreading through even third world countries. But it sure is a nice ad!


One can;t blame the rest of the world when it comes the the design excellence that Disney delivers....but somehow, it just seems odd in Chinese.....yet, maybe not.

Multitouch monitors - Future excecise?

Cool, yes. Realistic? who knows. Perhaps for presentation purposes, but cal me old school, mouse in hand seems more imediate.


http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid533361602/bctid422563006

Pop Customization - Design Pepsi can contest

Go Pesi, Go!
The trend of customization continues, and though this isn't exactly a new concept given Cokes ambitious Coke Challenge




which includes poster design, music and more, as well as Cokes metal can design, which features the planets leading design firms, this Pepsi contest is simple, and sounds fun. It begins April 1 and run until May 10. Check it out. http://www.pepsigallery.com/

Documenta 12 leitmotifs

documenta theme 1

Is Modernity our Antiquity?

The worlds most influencial art show, Documenta, held every 5 years in Kassel, Germany opens June 16, and rund through the summer. Three themes (ok......"leitmotifs) ( those Germans!) have been anounced, and the first confirms a premise that I ponder frequently in my articles, lectures and book, that of defining modernity. The Lietmotif of modernity as being the same as out antiquity is a reality that all of us creative face. Come on, visit any trendy boutique, furniture show or even Target, and the newest of the new looks more like 1967 than 2007.

We all know that modernity peaked in 1972, that there is nothin more modern than minimalism, but what about the future? If we have been recycling everything over the past two decades, what will happen once we recycle everything?

More disturbing...if creatives get much of thier inspiration from the worlds leading contemporary art exhibitions like Documenta, or the Venice Biennale, or the Whitney Biennial.....let's look at what the curators of these shows are saying. For instance, if Documenta's theme isn't proof enought that we've seen it all before......what about this......


" Today's artistic situation is highly complex, contradictory, and confusing. It's an environment that few can make sense of. Despite the proliferation of large scale, comprehensive international exhibitions-triennials, biennials, and the like-that aspire to reveal trends and meaning, the current state of affairs seems more complicated than ever given the sheer number of working artists and the morass of seemingly conflicting styles, conceptions and directions."
Alan Wienbergm Director
The Whitney Museum
(from the foreward of the 2006 Whitney Biennial)

Welcome to Beyond Trend

A book submission for BEYOND TREND from UK design firm, Vault 49

Beyond Trend will simply be a creatives blog about the challenges and passions experienced by those creatives who are obsessed with design (you know who you are, and what I mean by this) and for anyone who is continually on a mission to search for the new, to create the new, to invent the future.

My new book, BEYOND TREND, deals with this subject, look for it later in 2006 or early 2007 coming from HOW Books.