can a logo be honest
Viktor Hertz a Swedish designer has created a series of honest logos that represent his take on big corporations. I love the Apple one.
have some respect
When someone offers you a project and wants you to work for free, or for the exposure that the project will bring you, watch this video. Harlan Ellison has the best advice.
via Mark Brautigam
best job ever
Today I got a confirmation that one of my illustrations will be included as a winner in the Illustration and Photography Awards Annual of Applied Arts Magazine. My boss was so impressed, I got another award (oh, lucky day!). Does my head look big to you??
reading test
How fast a reader are you? I scored 98% faster than average on Staples test, and could read War and Peace in 18 hours, try it out.
Source: Staples eReader Department
wildlife
My pal, Mike Kerr is having an opening, the second Annual Illustrative Pattern Show, the theme–Wildlife. It’s to open up the new studio for random collective.
2013 retrospective
2013, what a year! Kim Jong Un did in his uncle, and then (reports say) his uncle’s entire family. Miley made twerking cool again (it’s not just for drunks at weddings anymore). Pope Francis took over after Benedict handed in his walking papers. Assad became the queen of denial, and Edward Snowden (if that IS his real name) decided the jig was up, and pulled back the curtain. There’s a new prince–George, I wonder if he’ll get a chance to check out his namesake town in BC (bring an umbrella, wot). The biggest hit of 2013 (Justin Bieber is really jealous) was Rob Ford. you just can’t unhear the things he said.
free graphic design
It’s called spec work, or maybe it’s a company deciding to have a “design contest”. But no matter what you call it–it’s bad for business. No matter the promises, Spec work is working for free. Clients want to try you out to see if you’re a good fit, but they don’t want to pay for the privilege or for your time.
Some studios don’t even mind going into a Spec situation, the argument is that you can land some pretty big fish working this way. In this day and age, when we’re appalled that some factory owner in a third-world country will pay his workers fifty cents a day, it amazes me that companies in Canada can ask for free work from freelancers and studios without batting an eye. Really?
If you’re a designer, you’ve got to say no to Spec, it hurts your industry. If you’re a client, are you willing to work for free, because my driveway is all snowy and I’d like to see how creative you can be?
nelson mandela
Every now and then a human comes along that knows what is right and follows it, no matter the consequence.
design and photography
At Alberta College of Art and Design, the school I teach at, the Photography students earn a Bachelor of Design degree. So they are forced to take design classes (that’s one I teach). I can see on the first day of the semester, the pain in the faces of the students who really don’t want to consider design as part of their practice. This Design Taxi article on photographer Jens Lennartsson is a great example of how design skills help a photographer in his/her practice.
taxidermy gone bad
This doesn’t really have anything to do with design and illustration, it’s just weird. From death and taxes via imgur
