Designer as obsessive horder of stuff

Sooner or later designers like to talk about their stuff. I don't mean their portfolios, but all the stuff they collect to inspire their design. It is a terrible affliction that we all share and it sometimes helps to discuss the various ways that the stuff is dealt with.

Here is just one of many bookshelves brimming with my stuff:

I also have a large flat file of my stuff and a large file cabinet. Some of my stuff sits around for years without even being noticed, but that doesn't stop me from picking up that great scrape of wall paper on the sidewalk, or beautifully illustrated postcard in an antique store. I have decided that it all mingles in my psyche somewhere to find it's way into my work which justifies the continuation of this activity.

Recently I started to go through an overflowing pile of paper samples, ribbon, corrugated cardboard, and scrapes I intended to get rid of. Here is my pile:

Like most collectors I couldn't bring myself to throw it out, so I started putting  these scrapes together to make cards. I make one card every day. When I get enough cards, I might sell them and donate the money to a worthy environmental group. I like the idea of moving some of my stuff out into the world and helping the environment. It is good for my karma.

Of course A few things make their way back into my folder for safe keeping, because after all I have to keep some of my stuff.

Here are a few of my new creations:

Let me know what you think? Until next time...keep collecting - that way I won't see it!

Contemplating The Universe

I was visiting some of my favorite design blogs today and came across this really wonderful little short created using clips from the Cassini Solstice Mission to Saturn.  You can read more at this link and view the video. Any time I see images from space, I am overwhelmed by how little we know about EVERYTHING. ( A thumbs up to Mike Wasilewski for noting the same site.)


If you want more info on the universe, Smithsonian has done some wonderful articles with stunning photos to boot. You can pour through their archives.


Anyway, take a look:


http://www.fastcodesign.com/1664011/filmmaker-captures-raw-beauty-of-nasas-mission-to-saturn

One, Two, Three with Ant and Bee

I haven't spoken much about books so far, so I would like to present One, Two, Three with Ant and Bee by Angela Banner. If you are a young-ish person, you probably didn't grow up with this book. I am not sure many old-ish people did either. I loved this small counting book as a young child. The story was rather odd about an ant that is injured and nursed back to health by his close friend Bee. Similar to the Dressed Cat postcards, I was fascinated by the illustrations in this book. The simple, graphic style of drawing and the pattern of objects has stayed in my imagination over the years.


Oddly enough I was thinking about Ant and Bee about a year ago while developing one of my own books, when my mother came to visit and pulled my old battered copy out of her bag. "Look what I found in the closet". This was eerie. 


My younger sister did a good job of adding her own illustrative adornments to the book which is missing its cover and a few key pages, but I have since purchased a bright new, (and more expensive) copy. The book is sadly out of print.


Here are a few illustrations:

Alfred Mainzer

Searching through a folder of old postcards, I came across a couple of lovely ones from my childhood by the Alfred Mainzer Company.

Here is a little information about Dressed Cat Postcard Series:

"These cards, known as the Humorous Dressed Cats postcards or Mainzer Dressed Cats postcards, were originally published from the 1940's through the 1960's by Alfred Mainzer Inc. in New York City, known worldwide for their postcards and greeting cards. The Mainzer company was founded by brothers Renate and Alfred Mainzer, who started the business in their New York City home in 1938. The early postcards had a rough finish, brilliant colors, and scalloped ("deckled") edges. The cards were printed in Switzerland, Belgium, Turkey, Thailand, and Spain. An additional series of Mainzer dressed cats were published as the "Kunzli edition" - these appear to be set in older European environments, and are typically not as brightly colored as the American editions. Mainzer also did a smaller series of "dressed dogs," "dressed mice," and "dressed hedgehogs."

     The artist was Eugen Hartung (or Hurtong), who lived from 1897-1973. His signature logo was a little heart with a loop or “tongue”  in the center. That symbol should appear in one of the bottom corners on the front of the postcards, though there are a few occasions when it was cut off during the printing process. (Both postcards above have this symbol). The Kunzli postcards will show "Copyright Max Kunzli, Zurich 6/35" or "Edition Max Künzli, Zurich 6" imprinted on the back either with or without an “Alfred Mainzer, Inc.” address. Some of the Mainzer and Kunzli postcards will show where they were printed. Most of them will be numbered.

     The charm of these anthropomorphic cats postcards is not just in the fact that the cats are in everyday "people" situations, but in the amount of detail in each picture - note the pickpocket on the train, for example, or the fact that most of the "better dressed" female cats have poodles as pets.

     The Alfred Mainzer Company still exists, doing much more reproduction work than postcards. Around 2005, the company had 100 of the postcards reprinted as a "collector edition." In 2009, the majority of the postcards were burned in a fire, and all of the remaining stock was sold out by the end of that year."

(from:http://www.mainzerdressedcats.com/)

If you happen to have any of these delightful cards, hang on to them because they will become rare according to the information above. I grew up with these cards and loved staring at all the detail. They are both strange and whimsical.

A little more Denmark

DESIGN AND COLOR
As a designer, I seem to always be thinking about color. Any nice sample of color I come across ends up in my file cabinet. One of the most memorable aspects of Copenhagen is COLOR. Rich, bold, simple, color creates a wonderful pattern along many of the streets. These beautiful buildings have been on my mind, so I would like to share a few examples. Another moment to be grateful for the invention of the camera.

Who isn't inspired to go out and create something when you look at the color palette on display here.

SO I BEGIN

This is the inauguration of my website and I thought a blog would be a fun way to keep everyone up to date on my work and my thoughts. I will attempt to address issues related to design/books/art/and more.


BOOKS
For those of you who are interested in my children's books, I am working on a new book for Henry Holt and Company. We are currently putting together a table of contents and I have developed a few preliminary layouts. Because I am a designer first, I write my books by designing them first. This is not the usual approach publishers expect, but my editor seems to accept this method. Once I create a few design layouts, then the publisher can decide if they are interested in pursuing the project further. My layouts seem to have the green light and I am looking forward to getting under way.


ART
I am trying to squeeze some drawing into each day over the summer. I have been developing a series called Monday Afternoons. Monday afternoons are meeting days in our department and I have spent many hours doodling on our meeting minutes. I began saving these doodles about two years ago and recently started composing them into drawings. Here is an example:

You can find a few more on my website. 

AND MORE

So here is a combination of design and more. I recently returned from Copenhagen, Denmark where my daughter has been living and studying for the past five months. As a designer I cannot help but love the simple, clean and smart design of the Danish. I have included a few examples below. I particularly love the toilet flushing mechanisms. "Big flush, little flush" So smart and so beautiful. Check it out.

big flush / little flush

big flush / little flush

big flush / little flush

 faucet

umbrella stand 

lastly, the airport cart. So efficient

I wanted to bring it on the plane with me.

Thank you for visiting. I will keep you posted!