Archive
Out Sick
December 31st, 2007I’ve been sick the last few days that’s why the posts have been limited but I’ll start posting again full time later this week. Happy New Year to everyone.
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An Exhibition In Mono
December 28th, 2007Blanka and Image Now hosted an exhibit of work by 28 designers, each of which produced a black and white A1 poster representing one of the 28 essential graphic design terms.
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Pistilli Roman
December 27th, 2007Here’s a nice little write up by Ryan Nelson about the history behind an unavailable typeface named Pistilli Roman.
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Happy Holidays
December 23rd, 2007It’s that time of the year again and I want to wish everyone a safe and happy holidays. The posts are going to slow down during the next few days but I’ll be back in full swing towards the end of the week. Have a wonderful week.
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Another New Theme
December 22nd, 2007So I thought about it for a while and I was growing tired of the look of the site. The theme was based on an Upstart Blogger theme that is great, but I was in a rush and it really didn’t come out looking how I envisioned it. So once I decided that it needed to change my initial thought was to create a whole new theme from scratch using Sandbox. I designed the theme is Photoshop and started to implement it into the Sandbox platform but I ran into the same problems as I did on my last theme quest. After some frustrating hours, I came to the conclusion that it would take too long for me to create a theme from scratch, I just don’t have that kind of patience. So I ended that and began focusing on finding a theme that was very simple, easy to customize and was built on some kind of grid system. Let me tell you, it wasn’t easy.
After some searching I finally found Marber by Apt Studio. It’s based on Romek Marber’s 1961 grid for Penguin Books, which is a huge plus, and when I looked at the CSS it was all clean and easy to understand. In no time I was on my way to creating a theme that I think represents my style as well as the content of this blog. I wanted a simple, clean design that payed homage to the modernist era and I think I accomplished. What ya think?
I’m going to be tweaking it in the next few days so pardon me if the site is down for quick changes. I haven’t tested how it looks on a PC so if those of you who do use a PC could give me some feedback that would be great.
I want to thank the folks at Apt Studio for creating such a wonderful theme. It might not be a theme with the most “eye candy” but it sure has a lot of underlining meaning to the form and structure that makes it so valuable. You can read a bit of the background to the theme here.
Here are some features:
- A simple, two-column theme.
- Six colour schemes, easily changed via the backend.
- Three layouts, for 800px width, 1000px width, and fully fluid, again easily switched via the admin panel.
- Widgetized sidebar.
- WP 2.3+ only — includes tags.
- Typographically set to a baseline grid.
- Author comment highlighting.
- Cross-browser compatible, with subtly different layouts for Mozilla, Webkit and IE browsers.
- Integrated microformats.
- Fully valid XHTML and CSS.
- Integrated Wordpress.com stats (with no smiley!).
- Custom 404 page.
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I Love Typography Wallpaper
December 22nd, 2007Here’s an early holiday present for all readers out there. I initially made this for the superb type blog, I Love Typography, but I ended up making a different one for them. I still love how this came out so I wanted to share it with everyone. It’s sort of a homage to typography, with meanings of some familiar type terms at the bottom, and I initially used the grid as a design tool but then decided to make it part of the design itself. It’s only available in 1920x1200 because if I resize it, the grid gets funky. Head over to the Wallpaper section to download this dope ass wallpaper.
Hope you guys enjoy it. Happy holidays.
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Lowman
December 21st, 2007Jonathan sent in a link to his portfolio and I just love this fingerprint type.
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Robin Uleman
December 20th, 2007Outstanding work by Dutchman, Robin Uleman. His works makes me want to design, which is a good thing.
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Wim Crouwel Flickr Group
December 20th, 2007If you enjoy Wim Crouwel’s work as much as I do then head over to the new Wim Crouwel Flickr Group I created and join up! The group was created to bring all of his work together in one place for everyone to enjoy. So if you have any work of his or photos of any publications that feature his work, add them to already growing collection. The group is only a day old and we already have an excellent collection.
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Intervista: Xavier Encinas
December 19th, 2007peter&wendy is a graphic design studio based in Paris that was founded by Xavier Encinas and Cécilia Michaud. They value close relationships with their clients and approach each project with a unique process. The studio produces a mixture of graphic projects in print, publishing and identity. Xavier Encinas took a moment to answer a few questions for AisleOne.
How long have you been designing?
Who or what turned you on to graphic design?
The work of Michael C. Place and The Designers Republic really gave the inspiration to go on designing for print. I was very attracted by the modern and shiny way of TDR’s design and also the power of the simplicity in Build’s work.
Who or what are your influences?
My early print work was really influenced by Build and TDR. Now my design is very grid and type oriented. I admire the swiss graphic design and pioneers like Müller-Brockmann, Max Bill, Max Hubert, Wim Crouwel… today I try to get rid off all this history to find my own way.
What is your favorite typeface?
Helvetica
What is your favorite color palette to work with?
Black & white, sometimes grey and pink.
Can you explain your creative process from brief to completion?
When a new project comes to us, the first step, of course, is to understand the brief but then try to conceptualize the project as a whole. I take the time to try all of the ideas I have and experiment with different ways of executing them, before I put them on paper. Sometimes my first idea is the good one, sometimes it is not… our design is very grid-oriented so the grid helps to organize all of the elements of the design, in a way that is easy to understand.
Do you use a grid system when designing and how do you feel about them?
Grid is my way of design. For me it’s a fundamental basis for all my design from poster to business card and books. In a sense it’s a very safe environment but also very rough path. It’s always challenging to design using a grid because the need to accept to be free. For me form needs to serve the message.
Who do you feel is currently doing innovative work?
What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on several projects for a UK film maker CS Leigh (http://www.myspace.com/museumfilm): Limited CD packaging, 1 posters, 2 books. Also working on my wedding invitation: A1 poster + A5 invitation.
What is your favorite color?
Black and pink.
What is your favorite album?
There are so many album I love… Can’t say anyone in particular. I listen to jazz, hip-hop and some electro. These days my playlist included:
Patricia Baber – Verse
Stacey Kent – Breakfast on the morning tram
Jaocb Young – Evening falls
Common – Fiding Forever
Kanye West – Graduation
Nils Peter Molvaer – Khmer
Arve Henriksen — Strjon
What is your favorite movie?
Lost in translation from Sofia Coppola. This movie is just perfect. I never went to Japan (I will next year) but the feelings the 2 actors shares are so authentic and pure. It’s beautiful. The direction of photography is perfect too. I could watch this movie hundred times… I did it, anyway.
Intervista is a series of interviews conducted for AisleOne with some of todays top talents in graphic design.
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AisleOne BookShelf 2nd Edition
December 19th, 2007For this second edition of AisleOne BookShelf I have some real goodies. The hard to find IDEA Number 323 which is entirely dedicated to Wim Crouwel, the new Peter Seitz: Designing a Life book and The ABCs of Bauhaus. I was actually blown away by the content of the IDEA issue. There is a ton of stuff in there, a lot of which I’ve never seen. It also includes Crouwel’s New Alphabet in full detail. This one is definitely a keeper. I recommended going over to You Work For Them and picking one up before they are all gone. The Seitz book is full of design goodness as well and the Bauhaus book is definitely a reader. I have to sit down and soak that one in.
On a side note, I still haven’t be able to figure out how to take good pictures of these books. The biggest problem I’m having is keeping them open without damaging them and without getting my dumb hand in the picture. If anyone can give me some advice on how to do this well that would be great. There has to be a way cause I see it done well all the time.
IDEA Number 323: Wim Crouwel
Special Feature: Wim Crouewel’s adventures into the experimental worlds. This issue of Idea specially devoted its 190 pages to Wim Crouwel’s representative design works, including posters, book designs, logotypes, stamps, typefaces and others. His legendary New Alphabet is also introduced with full details. Two historical essay’s by Crouwel and comments from imporatant design figures are also featured.
Peter Seitz: Designing a Life
Peter Seitz: Designing of a Life is the first in-depth documentation of Seitz’s unique story and influential work. Containing new historical research and never-before-published images, the book includes essays by Andrew Blauvelt, Kolean Pitner, and Bruce N. Wright that survey the compass of his prolific and influential life.
The ABCs of Bauhaus
The ABC’s of Bauhaus traces the origins and impact of the Bauhaus in relation to design, graphic design, and typography. The book, designed by the authors, invokes the Bauhaus ideal of synthesizing editorial concept, typography, and format. The essays address such issues as modernist design theory in relation to the nineteenth-century kindergarden movement and Bauhaus graphic design in relation to the idea of a universal “language” of vision. Additional essays address psychoanalysis, fractal geometry, and Weimar culture. This book includes two essays by Mike Mills.
That’s it for this edition. You can view more photos of the books on the AisleOne Flickr page.