Pictures of stuff AND the idea of books, cont’d.

Randy Ludacer/Box Vox points to the work of Brock Davis, which includes some really great pictures of stuff taken from below. (“In designing packages,” Ludacer writes, “we usually think in terms of how a product will look “on the shelf” — but this is surely an unforeseen angle.”)

By Brock Davis; click pic for more.

Apparently Davis set out to do “One piece of creative work made every day for 365 consecutive days,” cataloging the results here. A mini-series of shots-from-underneath is just one of many ideas he explored; if you check out the full results search for “under” to see more of these. But check it all out while you’re there.

By Brock Davis. Click pic for more.

I had to include coffee mugs. And of course I have to throw in one more, since it involves books.

By Brock Davis. Click pic for more.

The idea of the book, cont’d: DIY book-page wallpaper

Click for more details

This series of posts started with book wallpaper; now Design*Sponge notes this DIY tutorial on how to make your own. Ruche explains: “We picked up some used cheap paper back books at the thrift store. You don’t necessary need old antique books, just books with pages with a yellow tint. (If you’re wondering, we used Secret Garden, 3 Ninjas, and some other one. haha) We used a paint roller to roll “Sta-Fold” (liquid starch that use for iron clothes) all over the wall, stuck old book papers on wall, and rolled another coat of “Sta-fold”. Work one section at a time. Wait for it to dry..and TADA!”

The D*S post notes the use of this look in a fashion shoot for a clothing brand (below).

By Stephanie Williams. Click for more details.

The idea of the cassette: A gallery with musings

[ 3-24-10 Note:Below the jump, there are extensive updates to this post based on comments and other feedback.]

By Kate Bingaman-Burt. Throughout this post, click image for additional details.

In a recent essay for a museum show about music and objects, I made the following rash assertion: “The poor old cassette – cheap, plastic, fragile— enjoys none of the romance associated with vinyl culture.” In retrospect this was a silly thing to say; at the least, I wish I’d said it differently. It’s a different kind of romance, and it certainly isn’t creating anything like the unlikely resurgence in sales of vinyl that’s occurred in the last couple of (https://lakesidepethospitalfolsom.com/tramadol-100mg/) years. But it was flat wrong of me to imply that nobody cares about the idea of the cassette.

I brooded about this for a few weeks and started collecting links and images relating to the various ways that the idea of the cassette persists. I’ve compiled much of that in this massive post, and welcome your (valium) suggestions about examples or useful reading that I’ve missed. Unlike my series of posts on the idea of the book, this will be more of a one-stop approach, like the earlier gallery of default anonymity. That is, I’ll add stuff to this post as I find it, or you tell me about it.

What follows, then, is a bit of a hodgepodge, but I’d really love to hear your thoughts. Do you still have a box of old cassettes somewhere? Do the images here do anything for you? Do you feel any cassette nostalgia?

“All My Tapes, Part 1,” by Bughouse

It so happens that smack in the middle of my brooding and link-collecting, Pitchfork published a huge essay setting out to explain the “underground resurgence” of cassettes, citing “a confluence of cultural trends.”

Instant access to almost any recording has left some of us over-stimulated, endlessly consuming without really digesting what we hear. Many children of the 1980s first owned their music on cassette, so for them the format represents a nostalgia for simpler times; younger kids probably never owned cassettes in the first place, so for them tapes don’t have any negative associations. The spread of Internet-enabled smart phones and 24/7 social networking has made work and pleasure increasingly intertwined in our digital existences. Like records, cassettes offer listeners a tangible experience at a time when our jobs, our social lives, and our popular culture are becoming more and more ephemeral.

Noted in the Pitchfork piece is the British cassette-only label The Tapeworm (“No barcodes,” the label’s site announces almost immediately, and that strikes me as a pretty interesting thing to tout as a selling point) and this roundup of 101 Cassette Labels. Wieden + Kennedy’s WKE site recently had a short video feature on a couple of cassette-only labels in Portland.

From Andy Sawyer’s “Signs of Use.”

That said, the idea of the cassette, so far as I know, doesn’t have all that much to do with with nostalgia for or connection to the sounds it produced; you can find somebody to tell you vinyl sounds better, but are there advocates of the audio quality of cassettes? Read more

Stand by, continued

For those who recall this earlier post about my interest in color-bar test pattern riffs:

Via Craftzine. Click pic for details.

The idea of the book, cont’d.

In all cases, you can click on the image for more info:

This Etsy seller, as I understand it, uses the virtual remains of books that are crumbling into nothingness as material to create new, hand-bound notebooks. In other words, the material nature of the book is redeemed, and extended.

Abstract Beeswax Book,” from Tocornal Design. It’s made from thread, beeswax, and “pages from 7 different sources.” Via Design*Sponge.

Garth reminds me of the work of Thomas Allen — I think I’ve highlighted it in the past, for different reasons, but I’m definitely a fan.

And Zeke points me toward the work of Quebecois artist Guy Laramée, “who sandblasts encyclopedias and then gives them evocative names.”

The idea of the book, cont’d

[Update: Some clarity on the credits thanks to a just-received comment.]

Robert The

Via this site.

Robert The (for Tobias Wong — see comments)

Via me.

Robert The (for Tobias Wong see comments) 

Via this site.

Artist unknown. Unless you know. In which case speak up.

Via Hilobrow.

Pictures of stuff, cont’d

Flowers In May (click pic for more info)

Kate Bingaman-Burt's book. (Click pic for details.)

Objectified Poster. (Click pic for details.)

Winterhouse Writing Awards taking entries

The awards will be given for writing that demonstrates the greatest evidence of eloquence, analysis, perspective, insight and original thinking to further a public understanding of design in contemporary culture. Writing that advances the visual expression of a design program, argument or thesis is also eligible. Entries may address any design discipline or form, including, but not limited to: architectural, environmental, fashion, graphic, industrial, information, interactive, product and strategic.

More details here. Deadline June 1. Top award $10,000.

$10,000!

The jury is Jessica Helfand, Paola Antonelli, Steven Heller, and … um, me.

Insane pants update

So: The Norwegian curlers’ pants, which I praised here, now have more half a million Facebook fans. The guy who made the Facebook page has some kind of deal with insane-pants-maker Loudmouth Golf, and is siphoning some of the dough to a charity; details here.

Also, the Norwegian curlers won a silver.

Lastly: Today I learn that Loudmouth Golf pants are infiltrating the culture in a new way: Via the below 20X200 print!

"Nice Pants," by Landon Nordeman. Click the image for more info.

[Thx: Jen T.]

FB anonymity riff

If you recall the earlier Gallery of Default Anonymity, you may enjoy this. Above: Anton Mircea’s No Profile Pictures Gone Famous: Facebook Edition. Click for more info.

Thx: Max!

The worst Olympic uniform

I can’t claim to be thoroughly versed in the Olympics, but having weighed in on what I think is the most compelling uniform development of the games, I may as well say this. From what I’ve (https://www.pawsgistclinic.org.uk/priligy-dapoxetine/) seen, the absolute worst and dumbest uniform, hands down, is this:

This is what members of the U.S. snowboarding team — men and women — are wearing. Back in December ESPN dubbed this lame grunge getup an “(anti) uniform.” Riiiiight. Super-“anti.” It’s as transgressive, subversive, threatening, and spectacular as, um, stuff half the kids at the mall have been wearing for ten years, and that nobody really notices https://drbarletta.com/retin-a-tretinoin/ anymore.

The mission statement for this supposedly radical outfit comes from the “vice president of creative” at snowboarding megabrand Burton:

The inspiration behind the U.S. Snowboarding Team outerwear for the 2010 Olympics is classic Americana, Although we are creating a uniform, our first objective is to express the individuality of snowboarding.  As such, we are taking vintage American looks and interpreting them in a very unique and unexpected fashion. Finally, we will ensure that all of the highest technical attributes are maintained in the pieces, so that performance and function are not jeopardized.  The result will be a progressive and fresh look that challenges the former conservatism of the Olympics.

Oh really? A challenge to conservatism? Via”classic Americana”? Yes, nothing challenges conservatism like classic-ness. I look forward to the overthrow of reactionary footwear by way of penny loafers. Burton penny loafers.

Anyway, I could go on about this at some length, but I’ll  restrict myself to a couple of points. First, note that the hood is completely superfluous, and in fact probably counterfunctional. Far from bucking the dictates of socially derived aesthetics, it imposes a completely unneeded design element for the sole purpose of signaling. It about as “progressive” as having speed skaters wear bow ties. If there’s a more pure example of conformity trumping practicality, I can’t think of it.

Oh, wait, sure I can: Phony-holed jeans. For years the hollow claims of every marketing guru who insists that consumers “demand authenticity” has been neatly debunked by the success of the high-end “distressed” denim phenomenon. Buying jeans whose wear-and-tear is implemented by far-flung factory workers and machinery, according to specific standards devised and overseen by layers of corporate design-management — and in fact paying extra for such jeans, and pretending that this somehow signals rebel style — is a capitulation to simulacra-culture so Xtreme it would make Debord giggle and Baudrillard weep. Or vice versa. Whatevs.

The point is that characterizing these monotonous garments as “a uniform” is an essentially redundant act. Nothing here “expresses the individuality” of the wearer. That rather simple assignment could be fulfilled by simply letting the individuals wear whatever they wanted to! Instead, what is being “expressed” is the market research and trend forecasting of a large retail brand.

All of which just makes me appreciate those Norwegian curlers even more. They didn’t commission some company to cook their (https://conciergedentalgroup.com/propecia-finasteride/) look. They just found some insane pants on an online golfer store, and assembled their own Olympic uniforms with a few clicks. No “vice president of creative” required.

Do you remember “dogpiling”?

Artifacts of “dogpiling”

Matt Brown, whose work I noted here the other day, has an interesting piece up at his site, in which he recalls “dogpiling,” and its various material artifacts, notably Waxy Fire Rods. He writes:

Sitting here in my cubicle I’m reminded somehow of one of the most memorable eras of my life, and I’m amazed to this day that it hasn’t been documented in any way.  In 1985 I was a teenager living in Saginaw, Michigan and like most others in the area I was bored.  I remember hearing rumors of a dogpiling movement going on in Flint and I knew at that moment that I wanted in. Dogpiling- it’s when a group of people spontaneously decide to form a pile of human bodies.  The “winner” is the one on top of the pile.  The kids over in Flint wanted to celebrate once they were on top of the pile, and they started doing that by lighting candles when they were on top.  Every teen in flint was carrying candles by the end of 1986.  During those two years there was a whole scene built around it- different candle makers, bands, posters, and by the end of it even the biggest corporation in the tri-cities, Dow Chemical, got into it.

This is the story of how it started and where it went…

Read the rest here.

What do you think?

Save

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What to wear with your Three Wolf Moon T-shirt

Well, I attempted to get an expert to weigh in on the Norwegian Olympic curling team’s pants, but that didn’t work. But somebody needs to step up and analyze the pants, and I guess it has to be me.

If you’re not up on this, here are the pants:

No, I’m not watching the Olympics. But these pants are a lot more interesting than the Olympics. And yes, those pants are the Norwegian curling team’s official uniform pants, not something they wore as a goof during practice.

Here’s the deal, as I understand it. There’s no crazy-pants tradition, or obnoxious apparel tradition, associated with curling. Normally, curling athletes, or curlers, or whatever they’re called, wear plain pants — black, gray, that sort of thing. The Norwegian team decided they wanted something more snazzy.

Why? Well: Why not?

So one guy on the team found these pants, and he simply bought them online. They are from a brand called Loudmouth — a brand that evidently sells mostly to golfers.

I’m going to take a wild guess that I was not the only person who read this item, which mentions that anybody can buy these pants online, and soon found myself on Loudmouth’s site, out of curiosity. The pants for sale — not just the ones the Norwegians chose — are kind of astounding. (Pix after the jump.) I’m also probably not the only person to immediately think: “You know, I could see these pants catching on.”

And in fact, just a few hours later (as I type this) the brand’s online store isn’t functioning –because its server is overloaded. Coincidence? I don’t think so. (The pants are also available at this site.)

Two things here. First, I think it’s pretty cool that these guys got their official uniforms just by picking some easily-available off-the-rack product from a golfing apparel website.

The second thing about these pants is, they’re kind of amazing. I’m not saying I would wear them, but I am saying that they could easily escape the confines of the golf course, which is where they’ve evidently been stuck before now. But check out the pants after the jump. How long before some celebrity turns up in a pair of these at an awards show or whatever? How long before some alpha ironic hipster strolls down Bedford in a pair of these? Not with the white belt of course, but maybe with a Three Wolf Moon T-shirt.

Maybe it won’t happen — these things are always at least slightly random — but I think it certainly could. See what you think: Read more

Facebook: The ‘burbs of social networking?

If you recall earlier posts here and here about MySpace aesthetics, you might be interested in the recent NYR piece about Facebook. There’s a lot in the piece I have trouble with, but there are also some things I found insightful. It is here.

Here’s one passage related to aesthetics:

While MySpace listed details similar to if less sophisticated than Facebook—”Education,” but also “Body Type” and “Zodiac Sign”—a MySpace page could otherwise look like almost anything else online. Every Facebook page, by contrast, was laid out in exactly the same way, painted in an inoffensive if antiseptic palette of pastel blues on bright white. Facebook’s engineers, much abler than their counterparts at MySpace, quickly stifled any attempts to break these rules. To call MySpace “ugly” would be roughly equivalent to categorically denouncing graffiti—to praise Facebook for its “clean” design, akin to celebrating tract housing.

The writer repeatedly compares Facebook to a “suburban” space. (My favorite instance is a bit talking about privacy settings: “One solution: set your privacy options so that no one could see your photos at all—a decision whose wisdom would be confirmed every time a drunken picture of a friend showed up on the News Feed, only to disappear a few hours later, like a Cheeveresque husband seen momentarily wandering, naked, down his front drive.” That’s funny.)

Rules and covers

I’m not sure if I’ve ever said so here, but I’m an advocate of the idea that rules and limits are things that spark creativity, rather than stifle it. I know I have said here that I wonder about how book design would be different if it were guided by thinking of the actual reader, actually reading, rather than the potential reader, theoretically considering a purchase at shelf.

This brief post is relevant to both thoughts, perhaps, in quoting an article from the Guardian:

Before his death, JD Salinger’s publisher, Hamish Hamilton, worked with him to produce jackets for reissues of his books … [said]Simon Prosser, publishing director, Hamish Hamilton: “There are strict rules about JD Salinger’s covers. The only copy allowed on the books, back or front, is the author name and the title. Nothing else at all: no quotes, no cover blurb, no biography.”

As you can see, the jacket looks great.

The only flaw is the little publisher logo in the corner. Why is that there?