xBlog: The visual thinking weblog
19th January 2008

SVA MFA IN DESIGN CRITICISM OPENS FALL 2008

“The new MFA in Design Criticism at the School of Visual Arts is now accepting applications for Fall 2008. This innovative two-year program trains students to research, analyze, and evaluate design and its social and environmental implications. Study with some of the best design writers and thinkers of our time, including: ‘Studio 360′ host and author Kurt Andersen; MoMA’s design curator Paola Antonelli; Pentagram partner and co-founder of Design Observer, Michael Bierut; former editor of I.D. Magazine Ralph Caplan; Metropolis contributing editor Karrie Jacobs; and architecture critic Philip Nobel.”

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18th January 2008

The CD Album Cover Game

Do all of this in 10 minutes:

“1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random The first article title on the page is the name of your band.
2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3 The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.
3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/ The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
4. Tag it on flickr “CD Cover Meme”

posted in Graphic design, Music | Permalink | Comments Off

17th January 2008

Jen Bilik of Knock Knock

“The gifts and paper goods of Knock Knock tap into the vernacular with their dead-on vintage aesthetic and thoroughly modern wit. Each snarky piece is lovingly concepted and written by founder Jen Bilik, who oversees Knock Knock’s design studio in Venice Beach. Bilik talks with Alissa Walker about answering her creative calling, reality TV and the beauty of overdue correspondence.”

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16th January 2008

Design Police | Bring bad design to justice.

A downloadable PDF you can use to call out bad design. Pretty funny. (Thanks Dave!)

posted in Graphic design | Permalink | Comments Off

15th January 2008

The 2007 Feltron Annual Report

“After 54 weeks of gestating, the 2007 annual report has finally hatched. It was a typical year that saw me entering my 30th year, tasting a few new things, drinking a bit less and learning more about feline dentistry than I had expected. I hope you will enjoy it.”

posted in Graphic design, Information design, Information graphics | Permalink | Comments Off

2nd January 2008

David A. Bontrager Vintage Letterhead Collection

“This collection contains letters that I received from trucking companies, private carriers, manufacturers, and suppliers during the time period between the late Fifties and early Sixties. A few were letters that my dad received. After that time frame I didn’t maintain my correspondence with trucking companies other than pertaining to my later career in the industry.”

posted in Branding, Graphic design, Old media | Permalink | Comments Off

20th December 2007

Exceptional Command: An Interview with Nichelle Narcisi

“This past October, the design community gathered in Denver for the 2007 AIGA Design Conference to talk about the future of design. What could be more ‘Next’ than the bright young talent of tomorrow? By now most everyone has heard about the wildly successful Command X, graphic design’s first ‘reality show,’ in which seven designers under 26 competed in daily design challenges, presenting their solutions on the conference main stage to be judged by an esteemed panel. All were impressive but one especially talented designer emerged: 24-year-old Nichelle Narcisi, whose youth-targeted voter awareness campaign, with the tagline ‘Except You,’ garnered a standing ovation and even tears from one of the jurors. Here, we spoke with this up-and-comer about her rise to AIGA stardom and why there’s no more room in her life for voter apathy.”

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20th November 2007

CATS LET NOTHING DARKEN THEIR ROAR

Check out this wonderful calendar design by Noa Bembibre.

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5th November 2007

Ametrica!: An Interview With Amy Wang

“Amy Wang’s graduate thesis project, Ametrica!, was recently honored as a winner in the Adobe Design Achievement Awards. Amy is a recent graduate from the School of Visual Arts MFA Designer as Author program. She discusses her process of discover and her intention to spread the message that the U.S. should adopt the metric system.” (Thanks On Paper Wings!)

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23rd October 2007

Sim Daltonism

“Sim Daltonism is a color blindness simulator for Mac OS X. It filters in real-time the area around the mouse pointer and displays the result — as seen by a color blind person — in a floating palette.

Since there are many types of color blindness, Sim Daltonism allow you to choose the one you want to see.”

posted in Accessibility, Apple/Macintosh, Color, Graphic design, Software/Hardware, Web design | Permalink | Comments Off

12th October 2007

‘The Little Know-It-All’ book report

“Although some of the topics are universal to all fields of design, this book is designed for the graphic designer. It’s well-suited for students and emerging professionals as a
handy reference guide. It would be perfect for a freelance designer working on their own, providing them with information that will benefit their designs and business.”

posted in Books, Business of design, Graphic design, Old media | Permalink | Comments Off

12th October 2007

Design Business and Ethics

“AIGA has published a series of brochures outlining the critical ethical and professional issues encountered by designers and their clients. The series, entitled “Design Business and Ethics,” examines the key concerns a designer faces in maintaining a successful practice and speaks directly to the protection of individual rights.

Authored by industry leaders from across the country, each brochure offers clear and concise information, as well as practical and specific directions for approaching design issues. “

posted in Business of design, Graphic design | Permalink | Comments Off

8th October 2007

Covering Photography

“Covering Photography is a web-based archive and resource for the study of the relationship between the history of photography and book cover design. The images / book covers contained in our database may be accessed via a number of categories including by Photographer, Author, Publisher, Publication Date and Designer.” (Thanks Coudal Partners!)

posted in Books, Graphic design, Photography | Permalink | Comments Off

24th September 2007

Graphicology Blog

“Graphicology is the continuing education of a mulitdisciplinary designer. Here, you’ll find resources, inspiration, current events and material that challenges what it means to be a strategic & creative communicator in today’s world. Art directors, graphic designers, engineers, photographers, typographers, writers, producers, cinematographers and others are encouraged to comment and check in regularly.”

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20th September 2007

50 MANIFESTOS

“For our special 50th issue we asked 50 of the most influential architects, designers and thinkers to tell us what they believe in.”

posted in Architecture, Business of design, Graphic design, Industrial design | Permalink | Comments Off