Live and Let Never Die

Now that I've moved back into the home I was born in ( yikes), and the house my 96 year old dad was born in ( yikes), I've been living in a sort-of time warp. Cleaning out attic's and cellar, sheds and barns, has been rather cathartic, and healing. As a designer, I am also finding the venture less of an exercise in nostalgia than I had expected. It's been a bit surprising to see how relevant many of the magazine covers, advertisements ( not the tech one or auto ads, but the food ad's!) have been. In a time when I am constantly pitching against "I hate circus type" and " That ad feels, so......1970's" or :" I love it but change the sixties feeling image", it's been just plain old fun, to see some of the pure, vintage type and styles. All fodder for helping others understand the differences, and the real reasons why we are currently revisiting the past. Surely, many of these images will be making their way into my presentations.

First, a bit of naughty. I admit that I am old enough to remember this sexy cover by Herb Alpert - for the famous and still rather edgy Whipped Cream cover, was the foundation of a "private club' I created in 1967 in a back cubby of our chicken coop, um..well, goat house actually, which makes the story better, if not creepier. our 'boy's club' was called the Bradford Boobies Club, after all, we we're 9 years old, and this is what 9 year old boys do in the 1960's, right? It was inspired by random clipping swiped from my Dad's Art In America circa 1967 magazines, which, well, had lots of black and white images of boobies and such, since hey, it was the 60's. Anyway, I found this album cover in our cellar last weekend, and three days later, I get this email from a design firm pal,( thanks Gabe!) who shares, out of frustration, the struggle and sometimes irony that surround the recent trend of using the past as inspiration for something modern, specifically - recycled type, mid-century images. For those of us who 'Get it', it's been a time of frustration and defense, and sometimes, the only way to sell through a vision is to defend it with proof-of-concept. People and business will 'get-it' soon enough, until then, check out this re-creation:




Reinvention is fab when executed perfectly. Which reminds me of this recent redesign of the Hilton identity for Hilton Honors, which pay's homage to the 1966 logo, but still, so elegant and daring. Isn't it amazing when such vision is confidently brought to fruition in a business world which is sensitive to change? One has to admire such feats. Go Hilton.




While on the subject of vintage inspired type, I can't help myself, and must share these cover designs for books created by artist Michael Gillette for Penguin UK. Michael's work continues to show up on my radar, and on others, as I've noticed on a recent binge researching for another project. Surely, this won't be the last we see of him.

Behance Brilliance. Go ffffffFFFFFAT Face

Lately, I am loving the work of Montreal graphic artist Stefan Dukaczewski. Seems like others are too, after the buzz online at Freelance network Behance, as well as FFFOUND. Look how sweet his work is here - hint* it's the color!

The World Economic Forum, Nussbaum and the Design Manifesto at Davos

©2009, WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

Design is finally a discussion point and creative intellects deep-dive at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week.

Many of us creatives, who sit behind out Macs, and spend our days selecting fonts, or choosing color palettes rarely think about the greater scope of design, it's role in culture, or how the many product we create or invent affect other people. It might come as a surprise then, that not only did Hillary Clinton and the scuffle between world leader make world headlines last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, but that Bruce Nussbaum and his Global Agenda Council (GAC), presented thier analysis and observations, as well as some suggestions about the future and impact of design in our global community.

The idea of Global Agenda Councils is interesting in itself. According to the World Economic Forum website, "Global Agenda Councils represent transformational innovation in global governance, creating multistakeholder groups composed of the most innovative and influential minds for the purpose of advancing knowledge as well as collaboratively developing solutions for the most crucial issues on the global agenda." Read more here.

These GAC's met earlier, and then reported thier findings at the larger World Economic Forum in Davos. To anyone who is interested in design theory, or the future of design, be certain to visit the related links, and snoop around. It is fascinating and quite interesting to see our world leaders considering such TED conference-like issues. Joy, in the design world, all hail Nussbaum.


Also, Harvard's IdeasLab was a new session format presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week with a weekend of events and interesting speakers, presentations and programs.

Design is stepping to the forefront, and as the worlds leading intellectuals, universities and business leaders join forces, the future of design is suddenly looking brighter. ( hence, the "light bulbs"). Baby steps.......baby steps....


Bruce Nussbaum is our contemporary hero. Last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, he presented again, the Creative Manifesto, which he shares a bit here gathered from his Innovation article on Business Week:

"My own thoughts on our troubles are simple. We are in a sustained period of ambiguity, with traditional institutions no longer working and established leaders failing us. This fog of uncertainty requires new pilots and piloting methods. Designers and design thinking methodologies are the best we have to guide us through uncertainty and ambiguity today."


Mr. Nussbaums "manifesto" which his Global Agenda Council/Design group crafted was inspired by and was the product of a discussion his team had in Dubai where 68 Global Agenda Councils met, and were asked to focus on answering two questions:
1. What is the state of the world on this issue and how is the economic crisis impacting this issue? and
2. What should be done to improve the state of the world on this issue/region/industry, and by whom?

Mr. Nussbaum has posted the Design teams' GAC response on the Business Week.com site, and I share part of it here, since it is relevant to both my book ( Beyond Trend) premise, and it provides some context to all of us in the creative field, seeking guidance and leadership towards a future which may seem unclear.

“ON DESIGN

Throughout history, design has been an agent of change. It helps us to understand the changes in the world around us, and to turn them to our advantage by translating them into things that can make our lives better. Now, at a time of crisis and unprecedented change in every area of our lives – economic, political, environmental, societal and in science and technology – design is more valuable than ever.

The crisis comes at a time when design has evolved. Once a tool of consumption chiefly involved in the production of objects and images, design is now also engaged with developing and building systems and
strategies, and in changing behaviour often in collaboration with different disciplines.

Design is being used to:
· Gain insight about people’s needs and desires
· Build strategic foresight to discover new opportunities
· Generate creative possibilities
· Invent, prototype and test novel solutions of value
· Deliver solutions into the world as innovations adopted at scale

In the current climate, the biggest challenges for design and also its greatest opportunities are:

· Well-being – Design can make an important contribution to the redefinition and delivery of social services by addressing acute problems such as ageing, youth crime, housing and health. Many
designers are striving to enable people all over the world to lead their lives with dignity, especially the deprived majority of the global population - “the other 90%” who have the greatest need of
design innovation.

· Sustainability – Designers can play a critical role in ensuring that products, systems and services
are developed, produced, shipped, sold and will eventually be disposed of in an ethically and environmentally responsible manner. Thereby meeting - and surpassing - consumers’ expectations.

· Learning – Design can help to rebuild the education system to ensure that it is fit for purpose in the
21st Century. Another challenge is to redefine or reorient the design education system at a time of unprecedented demand when thousands of new design schools are being built worldwide and design is increasingly being integrated into other curricula. Designers are also deploying their skill at communication and visualization to explain and interpret the overwhelming volume of extraordinary
complex information.

. Innovation – Designers are continuing to develop and deliver innovative new products at a turbulent time when consumer attitudes are changing dramatically thereby creating new and exciting
entrepreneurial opportunities in the current crisis. They are increasingly using their expertise to innovate in new areas such as the creation of new business models and adoption of a strategic and
systemic role in both the public and the private sector.”

Mr. Nussbaum credits his collegues here:

"I was fortunate to be able to work with an amazing group of people in the Design GAC: Chris Luebkeman, director of global foresight and innovation for ARUP, was our chairman. Paola Antonelli, senior curator of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Brian Collins who now runs his own ad/marketing company in his own name, Tim Brown of IDEO, Toshiko Mori of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Chris Jordan, a photographic artist, Alice Rawsthorn, design critic at the International Herald Tribune, Milton Tan, Executive Director of DesignSingapore Council, Ministry of Informatin, Communications and the Arts and Arnold Wasserman, chairman of The Idea Factory in Singapore."

My addition is this. The idea that there is a global group of world leaders who look at design is most encouraging. Especially when I look at the esteemed list of active participants, the collective intellect is impressive. This make me very hopeful that culturally at least, our human society is moving towards a deeper appreciation of the arts and sciences, of creativity and design, and of humanity and the greater collective spirit of invention.

Transforming the ordinary

I am smitten by this new Japanese Masking tape available at DWR. I don't know how I missed it, but I must have it ( Thanks Jessicle for turning me on to it). The above image is from Jordan Ferney's awesome site, decor8 (see below for link). This tape exemplifies how something so simple, can be reinvented just by adding the emotional shift of color ( not any color Mr. 3M company - the perfectly right palette of color). No one is running out to by cobalt blue masking tape to create art with. No matter what you believe, color itself, is a powerful emotional driver, but like anything emotional, getting it right requires a sensitive understanding of what your consumer desires, this is not something that can be forced. Taste and style evolves phenomenally, not by dictation.

Apparently, artists wrote a letter to the President of Kamoi, the Japanese manufacter of a particular brand of crepe masking tape, to inform him that they desired more choice, more color, etc, since many designers in Japan were using their brand of tape for artwork. The company decided to release this set of 'designer colors' and now, nothing is the same.


Kamoi is an old company with an interesting heritage, they made sticky flypaper in rolls, which alone could be another opportunity in our 'green' world -even if they never redesigned the vintage packaging. Boy, I would love to get some of these authentic designs of Japanese fly paper, surely it would do well in the states, if released in both the vintage packaging, as well as in a stylish refreshed model. Again, more possibilities.

From the Kamoi Kokoshi Co. website, where there is an art gallery of work that designers have made with Japanese Masking Tape.

It's worth snooping around their website, even if you cannot read Japanese. See Kamoi Kakoshi LTD for more ideas.

Made from Washi paper, a Japanese rice paper, which is flat and tears nicely, this tape was first 'discovered' by some savvy trend hunters and creatives last year, such as on Jordan Ferney's blog Oh Happy Day, and the design blog decor8. Now the tape is available at Design Within Reach, and one size is already sold out so hurry!








The manufacturer in Japan, has a website too, but apparently the links are not working, so I will not post it for now. Imagine the opportunities this simple color shift makes. I find it so inspiring, because now I want to walk through a Home Depot and look for other missed opportunities. There are so many places where one can still factor in design, to make the ordinary, extraordinary and desirable. Who would have thunk that a year ago,the idea the by simply changing the color of tape to a series of thoughtfully stylish palettes, could take something as banal as a roll of masking tape, and make it so desirable that it could become sold out on a global website.

Total Hydrocity - HYDRO74

I am continually impressed with the work of Hydro74, especially with their diversity - type, print, modern, classic, rough and tough, cute, edge, macho, feminine, but most of all, beyond trend. It's just one of those sites where on a Friday afternoon, I like to go and snoop around, to get stimulated. I mean, come on....how many firms can you name whose work actually looks more modern than what you could find at your local mall. Just check out the range of work here, then check their site.









THe design firm Hydro74, exists for one simple reason. They are extraordinarily talented, and continually impress clients, of which, they have many of the best ( NIke, Coke, Hasbro, XGAMES/ESPN, etc). Simple said, they do more than skulls.

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