Archive
Myths & Misconceptions About Grid Systems
November 30th, 2009A few myths and misconceptions about grids exist in the design community that can be detrimental, especially to designers who are new to the subject. I recently read an article, which is no longer online, claiming that grids have disadvantages and it listed the reasons why. As you can guess, I very much disagreed with the entire article and felt that it was providing a lot of bad information on grid systems. All of the listed “disadvantages” were distortions derived from the lack of understanding on how a grid works and functions.
In response to that article, here’s my attempt at clearing up this mess.
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David Barath
November 30th, 2009Excellent collection of work by Budapest based creative director, David Barath.
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15 Uses for Newsprint
November 24th, 2009A bunch of illustrators and designers occupying The Pencil Factory in Brooklyn have put together 15 Uses for Newsprint, a promotional newsprint poster zine featuring their own work.
My good friend Alex Eben Meyer is one of the included illustrators and his piece (pictured here) is by far my favorite of them all. Not to say the others stink, there’s a bunch of great pieces included.
The zine includes pieces by Kim Bost, Josh Cochran, Jennifer Daniel, Gilbert Ford, Jessica Hische, Grady McFerrin, Ted McGrath, Alex Eben Meyer, Chris Silas Neal, Zacharia O’Hora, Leif Parsons, Rachel Salomon, Joel Speasmaker, Jillian Tamaki, or Sam Weber.
You can order 15 Uses for Newsprint for $10 and the first 100 orders get an original drawing by one of the artists.
You can peak at some more photos over at The Pencil Factory Flickr page.
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Arthur Erickson & Japan Poster
November 22nd, 2009Category: Architecture, Design, Events, Grid Systems, International Typographic Style, Typography
Comments: 6
Love this poster for an event called Arthur Erickson & Japan that focuses on modernist architect Arthur Erickson’s journey to Japan in 1961. Not sure who designed it but the big bold type, white text on black, two-column grid and the uneven horizontal strips of color make for a beautiful design.
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Hey Ho
November 20th, 2009I wrote about France based studio Hey Ho back in the day and since then they’ve filled their portfolio with drool-inducing work. Like this piece for Éditions Galaade. So yummy and full of grid goodness.
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Basic Maths Wordpress Theme
November 18th, 2009Khoi Vinh and Allan Cole have created Basic Maths, an excellent grid-based theme for Wordpress that includes features like microformats, color-scheme control, full widget support and a key shortcut to display the grid. Not to mention it’s beautifully designed.
You can purchase it for $45. Well worth the price.
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Herbert W. Kapitzki
November 17th, 2009My jaw dropped when I saw the work of Herbert W. Kapitzki over at Grain Edit this morning. Never heard of him before today but I’m glad I stumbled upon his work.
Kapitzki was a former student of Willi Baumeister, conceived and designed exhibitions for the state industrial inspection board (Landesgewerbeamt) in Stuttgart in the 1950s and the early 1960s. He later invited by Otl Aicher to teach at the Academy of Design in Ulm.
His poster work is exceptional and I also love his logo and pictograms. What an excellent collection of work but unfortunately the quality of the images are poor. I really wish all of this classic work was better archived. Too many great pieces from great designers are getting lost.
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Carl B. Graf
November 13th, 2009Carl Bernhard Graf (1926 – 1968) was a Zürich based graphic designer that not many people know about. But the work that he left behind is just as good as the well-known designers of his time.
There isn’t much information on Graf (hence the terrible quality of the photo above) but Jonathan Turner has put together a Flickr set comprised of his work. You can also see more of Graf’s work in the classic design books “Graphic Design in Swiss Industry” and “Publicity and Graphic Design in the Chemical Industry”.
If you have any extra cash laying around, you can pick up an original Graf poster for $350.
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Experimental Jetset Shirts Reissued
November 10th, 2009After a year of being out-of-print, the excellent collection of t-shirts by Experimental Jetset are being reissued by Yoshi Kawasaki’s new label, Publik.
The first designs available are John & Paul & Ringo & George, New Wave/Neue Welle/Nouvelle Vague, Cu Vi Estas Esperantisto?, Flag/Sabbath/Big and Grow Your Hair. All are available in several color combinations.
I personally have the New Wave/Neue Welle/Nouvelle Vague and Cu Vi Estas Esperantisto? tee’s and they’re awesome. Might have to get these new color combos.
You can get more info on the designs here, here and here.
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Hofstede Design
November 9th, 2009I love this double-sided A2 poster, by Australia based Hofstede Design, to promote Tobias Frere-Jones’ visit to Melbourne for a conference. Simple and works both folded and opened.
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2010 Calendar Wallpaper
November 6th, 2009Category: Design, Grid Systems, International Typographic Style, Typography, Wallpapers
Comments: 7
I’ve been working on a 2010 calendar poster that I plan to have letterpressed and figured that it would also work well as a wallpaper. So I put some wallpapers together based on the poster design that features a 2010 calendar and the year written out in English, Italian, French and German. Available in pink and white at 1920x1200.
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Studio Von Birken
November 4th, 2009Studio Von Birken’s work has already been written about on many blogs and I try not to write about work that’s been mentioned everywhere, but their work is too good to ignore. SvB is a New York based boutique studio founded by Katia Küthe & Philipp Müssigmann and their work is excellent. See for yourself.