I was hoping to publish a post about some of the recent projects we’ve embarked on, but I decided to steer clear of that for the moment, because something more important has caught our attention. Yes, it is none other than spam; only not the spam in the can, but the appropriated name that refers to e-mail blasts that you receive from soliciting bots, companies, and other unlikely characters that fill up your inbox with junk messages about VIAGRA, PARIS HILTON, GAINING A FEW INCHES, LOSING A FEW POUNDS, and any other ridiculous message that has nothing to do with who you are as an individual.
Now, let’s take it a step further. Why is it that people who are bent on being unsociable are so quick, and inclined to join the ranks of the so called “socially elite” or in other words “social networking sites?”
Christy and I decided to take a day trip to Seattle with our friends Liz and Angie. While we were there we decided to drop in on the Seattle Central Library. Turns out it was everyone’s first time in the library, and it was AMAZING! We had such a great time. I got a lot of really great shots inside & out, and am hoping to go back again soon to get more. The architectural design of the library is reason enough to spend a day exploring all eleven stories of the building. Unfortunately we only had about an hour and a half left in our day before we had to head back to Portland. Anyway, I thought it would be dope to post the photos I got from our trip. These aren’t all of them, but I’ve only had time to edit these few. I’ll be sure to post more later. BTW, the principle architect responsible for this beautiful library is Rem Koolhaas, and the general contractor responsible for building the library is Hoffman Construction Company from our very own Portland, Oregon.
Well, I’m sure there are by now hundreds of definitions, but ultimately it comes down to the social responsibility of the industry designer. In saying that, I suppose I have to shed light on what those responsibilities would be. Well, like I said, social responsibilities, in which designers do, in fact, have an impact on the economy, or developing countries, or the everyday product consumer, and can make social changes, such as; influencing tyrannical governments to give it’s people back their freedom, or shedding light on certain corporations who steer far from running socially responsible businesses (whose bulk success derives from the employment of children, or pays out their employees in ridiculously low wages, undermines fair trade agreements, or whose actions are detrimental to anyone and everyone who buys into their bullshit propaganda campaigns).
Let’s come up with an example, like… Unilever. Wait, what the hell is Unilever? Well, Unilever is Dove. Yes, Dove soap. Now here’s a company thats main campaign is about promoting natural beauty by exploiting semi overweight women who use dove, and by using dove, makes them comfortable in their lifestyle, and of course, gives their skin a beautiful sleek sheen that can only be achieved by exfoliating with Dove, (apparently).
Hmmm, so why is Dove / Unilever so bad? They’re seen as promoting natural beauty in its purist form, and they actually go so far as to peddle out a video called “Evolution“, depicting the industry process for transforming a girl off the street into a billboard model for some generic makeup ad campaign, resulting in a closing conclusion that the public’s sense of beauty is horribly distorted (which it is, in fact), all while (indirectly) excluding themselves from such accusations .
That’s great, right? Of course it is, but not if the whistle blower is just as corrupt as the instigator, like Unilever is. That’s right. Unilever / Dove is just as bad, if not, worse than what is depicted in the “Evolution” video. Why are they just as bad? Well, for example, Dove’s Parent company “Unilever” is responsible for all of Dove’s supposed “natural beauty” campaigns, that generally depict women overweight, or elderly women posing nude, to show that beauty is all in the eye of the beholder, and that everyone is beautiful, and (subliminally) anyone who cares about their self-esteem regarding beauty should use Dove soap, because Dove actually cares about YOU. I’m sorry, but hearing that come from Dove is absolute bologna, especially if Unilever, (reiterating that Unilever is Dove’s parent company, and is responsible for promoting this natural beautify campaign), is also Axe body spray’s parent company. You know, Axe body spray, the same body spray that usually produces videos depicting “young, and attractive” men and women in sexually explicit situations. That’s right, it’s the same damn company.
Hmmm, so what is their stance on natural beauty exactly, and how can they peddle a video like “Evolution”, and then turn around and create an Axe Body spray commercial? I’m sorry, but that is really confusing to me. These are the same people dishing this crap out, and not until recently are people actually beginning to catch on. Maybe you’ll get a better idea of just how phony this “Unilever / Dove / Axe Body spray” company is if you just watch their commercials back to back. How about it?
or
Well, I don’t know about you, but I feel those are some pretty contradicting videos, especially with the fact that those messages are all coming from the same source, UNILEVER.
Now, how does that tie into Designism, (The Designer’s social responsibility)? Well, let’s use Ogilvy and Mather as an agency for example, although they have been commissioned by Unilever to produce these “natural beauty” campaigns for Dove. With a company like Ogilvy and Mather, you’d think that they would catch such obvious contradictions, but apparently they’re either too slow, or could really care less. Either way, they’re a perfect example of what NOT to do as far as designism is concerned, although they haven’t really practiced designism at all in any case.
Now, if this were a “perfect” world, (that being very subjective, so I’ll rephrase that), or “my” perfect world, I would have to politely decline Unilever’s offer to work on their Dove campaign, solely on the grounds that their campaign is a contradiction, and ultimately misleading, which in turn may potentially have detrimental effects on our own brand equity, as well as theirs. Obviously someone overlooked that minute detail. Well, it’s not minute anymore. The cat’s out of the bag, and people are slowly but surely catching on.
To break it down for you, just think in terms of “cause and effect.” The world is obviously a pretty messed up place, and no matter where you live, there’s always some GIANT taking advantage of the everyday, rat racing, don’t have time to look at the label while shopping, consumer, hoping they’ll “OBEY.”
Well, to your own demise, because YOU as a consumer, and YOU as a designer are solely responsible for companies such as Unilever getting away with such contradictory campaigns. If you don’t care, well okay, keep telling yourself that when your son or daughter wind up bulimic, anorexic, or utterly lost and confused when they’re trying to fit into some social group / gathering, and they’re being denied left and right because they’re not “blond” enough, or “pretty” enough, or “tall” enough, or “skinny” enough, or they don’t come from the right background, or they don’t have a Louis Vuitton, Chanel, or Prada bag, sunglasses, purse, etc… Oh, but don’t worry, because we’ve got Dove to combat such distorted campaigns by companies like Axe Body spray. Dove will boost your self-esteem, all while revitalizing that natural inner beauty.
Ha! I don’t know about you, but this Unilever / Dove / Axe Body spray situation reminds me of Fight Club (in more ways than one), and the schizophrenic battle between Tyler Derdan (Brad Pitt), and the Narrator (Edward Norton).
Anyway, I’m sorry for all of you who believe that situations like these are blown out of proportion by people like me, and that they’re not as serious as people (like myself) would have you believe. On the contrary I’m afraid. The fact is that these are serious problems that affect the youth of the world everyday, and people in general I might add. I’m sorry, but there’s no divine intervention that is going to occur that’s going to fix all of humanities problems. Even if there were, it shouldn’t happen, because whether we like it or not, we’re responsible for how bad things have become. They’re so bad that people still believe there’s nothing wrong at all. If situations like this are going to stop from happening, we have to take a stance and say, “NO, I’m not going to support you, and ethics and morals don’t carry a price tag, PERIOD.”
Okay, well I think I’ve ranted enough. In closing I suppose this hints at Colorcubic’s manifesto, which is that our Moral, Ethical, and Social stance will not be bought. We don’t design to make a quick buck. We design because we care about the work we produce, and how that has an effect on the people who view it, use it, and ultimately live by it.
Oh, and to the cat on QBN who believes social changes come from signing up with some political party, and joining congress, and not by attacking the problem at the core (you know who you are). You’re living in a very naïve bubble. It’s the media that controls governments and it’s people (unfortunately), and not the other way around.
There is nothing better than designing on a Sunday evening in Portland, Oregon with the sun setting, all while listening to a down-tempo compilation that helps ease my day towards its expiration. This is one compilation I never grow tired of listening to. I can actually listen to this comp from start to finish, (and it’s a double disc, which is even more amazing to me). The compilation is titled: “Putting the Morr back in Morrissey“, and is released on the Morr Music label. Each track on this compilation was influenced in one way or another by an existing Morrissey song. One track that really stands out to me over all others on this compilation is a track titled: “Delc:R” by Arovane. I’ve always been a really big fan of Arovane, and how he manages to make any time of day beautiful when you listen to his work. I would highly suggest picking this up if you can find it. The design and layout are pretty dope as well. I really love how simple it is, and how it’s so complimentary to the music. The credit for the design direction goes to: Jan Kruse from o8 Design.
A few years ago I made a trip to Japan (Nihhon) to kick it with my buddy Toyohisa Kanno. While we were exploring the various parts of Roppongi (Gaijin) Tokyo we happened to stumble upon one of his favorite Japanese (Nihojin) electronic artists named: Organ-O-Rounge. I had never heard of them before this point, but the experience was amazing. Since then Toyo has been sending me their albums. I must say, I looked long and hard to find their albums in the states, but to no avail. I’m sure I could have just found their albums on “i-tunes”, but I’m not a fan of the whole “i-tunes” monopoly game that Apple is trying to push on everyone. Anyway… this is probably one of my favorite albums by Organ-O-Rounge titled: “Futron.” It just so happens that is also the name of one of my favorite tracks on the album.
If you’re like me, (still kicking it in record stores, and living in the USA), and you happen to stumble upon this album while digging, do yourself a favor and BUY IT. Not only is it extremely hard to find in the US, but it’s absolutely beautiful as well and a must own to anyone who wants to remain sane in this “America’s Next Top whatever…” age we’re living in.
This is another design we found featured in the 1985 /86 Graphis Annualâ„¢ that we were pretty impressed with, so we thought we would share. The design was produced by Rubên Fontana, and was the cover of a brochure for a non-destructive test centre. The treatment is very minimal, but at the same time very abstract. I really love the way he used the colors and arrows to produce the cube, and how it’s almost reminiscent of a halftone effect.
After relocating the Colorcubic office to Old Town in January, we had planned to outfit our environment with new decor and furnishings; specifically task chairs. I recently discovered that our old chairs were partially made of polyvinyl chloride, otherwise known as PVC or vinyl. Further research had determined that PVC products (more specifically flexible PVC) contains chemicals known as additives that slowly leach out, possibly resulting in health complications. I had also read on the FDA site that the additive DEHP has produced a range of adverse effects in male reproductive systems and production of normal sperm in animals. No tests have been done on human males, but my advice to kung-fu kicking males is to avoid the “Macho Sewn Vinyl Groin Guard“. Needless to say, all this information made it necessary to upgrade our seating pronto.
Like most modern and aesthetically-inclined design studios, we looked to Herman Miller as a viable solution. No, we didn’t want to be just another card-carrying member of the Aeron Chair club. While the Aeron is a fine chair indeed, it has lost its appeal over the years by being so common (in my opinion). I must admit that I only prefer the Executive Aeron with the polished aluminum frame. The other models just fall short of meeting my expectations. Another item that fell short of expectations was our chair budget—at well over a grand a pop, the aluminun Aeron wasn’t an option at the time; neither was the Silver Chair: my Unicorn, the mark of absolute perfection. I shudder as I write this. More on my love, the Silver Chair, in another post.
Chair criterion included ergonomics, aesthetics, sustainability, and price. After browsing through Design Within Reach, I came upon the Celle Chair (pronounced cella) designed by Jerome Caruso for Herman Miller. Made from 33% recycled content and 99% recyclable, this product immediately caught my eye. At a mid-price of $749 each ($629 on Amazon.com), the Celle was ergonomic, attractive, and Greenguard Certified.
I was initially worried about the comfort of a chair that is constructed mostly of polymer, but the system of cells and loops conforms to the sitter’s body and flexes with movement. Since the Portland DWR didn’t carry the chair in-store, I had to trust in the idea of the chair description and the reputation of Herman Miller. We placed an order and a month later (yes, it takes 4-6 weeks for this product to arrive), we received the pre-assembled chairs in Brownstone (looks brown in online photos but is more of a light graphite in real life) and it was everything as expected, except for the color which had worked out conveniently.
Durably constructed and highly adjustable, it was more comfortable than I had expected. Although the Celle chair is very flexible, it is still very firm. If your butt can’t stand some firmness, then I’d suggest a different chair, or purchase the optional fabric seat covering to alleviate your proctological issues. We did however receive a damaged chair, most likely cracked during the shipment process. I’m not surprised since the chair packaging was crappy as it was placed in a big-ass cardboard box with one small piece of styrofoam on the chair back, all strapped together with plastic strips. The way some UPS delivery guys throw packages around should be a liability. Luckily, DWR has a pretty good return policy and had scheduled to have the chair picked up while a replacement was ordered. Bad news was, we had to wait another several weeks for the sucker to arrive. Why so long, DWR? I wonder if this chair is made-to-order. Anyway, we have been enjoying our Celle chairs very much and have had no problems. The overall design is not too pretentious, the color Brownstone (or Graystone as I’d like to call it) is attractive, the ergonomics and comfort is copasetic, and the footprint, although wide, won’t domineer your workspace, as long as you’re not working in a cardboard box or anything like that. Oh yeah, and it’s super sustainable. The Celle chair earns our approval and an overall rating of 8.
First off let me say, this record is a MUST HAVE in any music library. Secondly, if you don’t know who Charles Atlas is than you’re doing something incredibly wrong. The great thing about this record is that it’s a Charles Atlas remix compilation of the album “Worsted Weights”, featuring local PDXers such as: *Strategy, and *Nudge, as well as international electronic artists and producers like: *Isan. The photographs and design direction are pretty dope as well and really compliment the sound of the record.
One of my favorite tracks on this entire compilation is a remix by Strategy (Paul Dickow) titled: “One Foot Under.”
If you follow any releases by Strategy than I’m sure you’ll know that he usually always hits the mark with emotional sound content. The “One Foot Under” remix is no exception. If none of what I’ve said means anything to you, than the only thing I have left to suggest is to give it a listen and judge for yourself.
Siggâ„¢ bottles are probably one of our favorite drinking bottles of all time. If you don’t already own one I would suggest picking one up. A few pros about why Siggâ„¢ is the way to go over most other drinking bottles: The Siggâ„¢ bottles are aluminum lined with an inner coating resistant to fruit acids and isotonic drinks, unlike most plastic drinking bottles that with excessive use begin to contaminate the beverage contained within it. Siggâ„¢ also spent some good time on their brand identity (which for me makes it more enjoyable to drink out of). They also have a pretty crispy option if you’re a company or a collective of individuals, and you want to stylize or personalize your Siggâ„¢ bottle. They give you the option to have your logo featured on their bottle. I believe it’s with a quantity of 20 or more ordered at a time, but don’t quote me on that as my memory doesn’t always serve me best.
We thought someone might find this piece from our archives amusing, so we decided to share this with whomever is interested. One of our good friends commissioned us to create one of their infamous holiday greeting cards last Christmas for their insanely long list of family and friends. We decided to illustrate them, and put them in a conventional busy mall setting with a line of people waiting to see Santa. If you notice, everyone has got their ideal gift already picked out in their minds, and they’re just waiting to spill the beans. I can’t tell you how long this took, but it was quite a while. Every element was intricately illustrated, from the mall backdrop and Christmas tree, to the family and Santa in the foreground. Although it was very detail oriented, it was extremely fun to work on. We’re looking forward to taking it on next year as well.
Christy and I found this dope article in Graphis Annualâ„¢ 85/86 about featured package design. This one in particular really stood out to us, so we thought we would feature it here. The package was designed by Yasuo Itou of the Tac Co. Agency for the Japanese gift company, Zeniyaâ„¢. I personally love the use of negative space. It’s very minimal, and the logo treatment is beautiful as well. Almost seems like something you would expect to see in Los Logos.
I found these rare gems when I went rummaging through my old photo album of when I was a kid from back in the day. The top one is of my mother back in the 1970s. If I’m not mistaken I believe that’s my oldest sister hobbling along beside her. This was way before I came into the picture. The second one was of my second oldest sister running around the beaches of Maui back in 1984. I believe I was present for this trip. The third was also taken in Maui in 84, same trip I believe. Unfortunately I don’t remember any of it, but it’s dope to see these photos in such a raw state. It’s also interesting how this whole warm, vintage, decaying theme has come to play such an important role in design today.
I’ll be sure to post more of these in the coming weeks.
