Tag Archives: design

Last Minute: Scott Stowell at Parsons tonight!

design, Events, Inspiration, Talks/Lectures, , , , , , ,

SCOTT STOWELL: PAY ATTENTION

Thursday 28 January 2010
6:30–8:30PM
Tishman Auditorium
66 West 12TH Street
New York, NY 10016

6:30PM Check-in
7:00-8:30PM Presentation

Presented by AIGA NY and Hosted by Parsons School of Art, Media, and Technology.

Since 1998, designer Scott Stowell has been doing business as Open–and as such has survived by staying small, specialized in not really specializing in anything in particular, and (as described in the Cooper-Hewitt’s DesignUSA show) embraced “an open notion of the term ‘office,’ inviting different participants to every project.”

As it turns out, everything is connected and everything is an opportunity–if you’re paying attention. Please join Scott for a new, never-before-seen talk full of new (and old) stories about new (and old) work from over ten years of making “design for people.” There may also be prizes and there will surely be distractions.

Scott is the proprietor of Open, an independent design studio that has made a lot of things, including the editorial design of Good magazine, short films for Google and Jazz at Lincoln Center, signage for the Yale University Art Gallery and the new AIGA membership cards. In 2008, Scott was the winner of the National Design Award for Communication Design.

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If you are a New School student, faculty, or staff member, you can reserve a complimentary ticket (one per person) here:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dGQzbTZTZmR1VW5rZmJOZF93UHhkckE6MA

(If the link doesn’t work, try copying and pasting it into your browser)

Reservations will go to the first 50 people to sign up. Please note that the last 4 digits of your N# are required to reserve a space and that you will need to present your New School ID at the door. ONLY ONE REQUEST MAY BE MADE PER PERSON. You will be notified of reservation confirmation via email.

Call for Entries: Buckminster Fuller Challange

Call for Entries, Competitions, Current Students, design, Inspiration, News, , , ,

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The Buckminster Fuller Institute announces the call for entries to the 2010 Buckminster Fuller Challenge, an annual $100,000 prize program to support the development and implementation of a solution that has significant potential to solve humanity’s most pressing problems.  Here’s the official press release:

We all understand in part or whole the magnitude of the complex challenges facing humanity today; from climate change, energy and resource management, to keeping the ever-increasing human population fed for generations to come. Challenges of this magnitude require bold, visionary strategies; they require what Buckminster Fuller called “a design revolution”. Pieces of the complex puzzle to create an enduringly sustainable future for all are out there, but it will take more than an innovative gadget, isolated technological breakthrough, policy or process development to tackle the problems of our complex and interconnected world.

“We’re looking for comprehensive anticipatory design solutions that address multiple problems without creating new ones down the road – integrated strategies dealing with key social, economic, environmental, policy and cultural issues. Our entry criteria is deeply inspired by what Fuller termed comprehensive anticipatory design science – a methodological approach to solving complex problems that we feel holds an important key to how innovators need to be thinking about the design of strategies if they are to have a transformative effect on the system as a whole.” explains Elizabeth Thompson, Executive Director of the Buckminster Fuller Institute.

After decades of tracking world resources, innovations in science and technology, and human needs, Fuller asserted that options exist to successfully surmount the crises of unprecedented scope and complexity facing all humanity – he issued an urgent call for a design science revolution to make the world work for all.

ANSWERING THIS CALL IS WHAT THE BUCKMINSTER FULLER CHALLENGE IS ALL ABOUT!

-The deadline for entries is midnight (Eastern time) on OCTOBER 30, 2009.

-For the call for entries, instructions for how to enter, reference materials, and much more, visit: http://challenge.bfi.org

Mark Your Calendars: Understanding Dutch & Flemish Comics event

cartoons, comics, Current Students, Education, Events, Illustration Dept. Events, Illustration Faculty, Illustration Industry, News, Talks/Lectures, , , , , , , , , ,

gert jan pos

Understanding Dutch & Flemish Comics

A slideshow presentation by comic-strip promotor Gert Jan Pos from The Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture and Els Aerts, Grants Manager for Graphic Novels at the Flemish Literature Fund.

Followed by a discussion with Ben Katchor, Associate Professor, Illustration Program, Parsons The New School for Design.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at 6 pm
Parsons The New School for Design
2 West 13th Street, NYC
in the Orientation Room (“the bark room”)
Lobby of the Sheila Johnson Design Center

Facebook Event page: http://tinyurl.com/dutchflemishcomics

Plethora of Pinocchio-related items!

Class Projects, Current Students, design, Education, Illustration Dept. Events, Illustration Faculty, Inspiration, , , , , ,

Via Les Kanturek, here’s a cornucopia of Pinocchio-related goodies to keep all of our summer readers inspired as they read.

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From “Pinocchio–1001 Uses,”we have a set of cards available to teachers to be used as a measuring exercise for elementary school.

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From the Cooper-Hewitt art/design collection, we have a delightful pop-up version of the Pinocchio book.

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From “Pinocchio/The Dark Side,” we have a giant (Pinocchio-inspired?) skeleton at The Palazzo Reale in Milan by artist Gino De Dominicus  titled  “Calamita Cosmica.”

Keep up with Les’s research as the summer progresses–check out his Sophomore concepts blog!

Thanks, Les and keep reading everyone!

Frank Olinsky and his work with the Smashing Pumpkins

design, History, Illustration Faculty, Illustration Industry, Interviews, , , , , ,

FO Aeroplane Flies High

Illustration Adjunct Faculty Frank Olinsky was recently interviewed about his extensive design work for Smashing Pumpkins.  He talked about his interactions with the band, his influences, and the outcomes.  There are also some really great sketches included that show the creative process.  Here’s a little snippet:

You’ve been involved over the years in several Smashing Pumpkins projects, the first of which was under the role of art director for the band’s double album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. For those of us who aren’t very familiar with the graphic design world, what exactly does that entail?

FO: The art director is responsible for the overall “look” of a project. The process begins with an initial concept and proceeds in stages to completion. Sometimes the concept comes from the art director, sometimes from the client, and sometimes out of a dialog between them. The art director may seek out appropriate pre-existing images or suggest creative talent to execute new images. He or she then orchestrates the creative process through final production, working with photographers, illustrators, designers, or other visual artists to achieve the desired result.

How did you come to be involved with the band? Did you work alongside the band on the art, or was it mostly through their record label at the time?

FO: The band had creative control over the package. That basically meant that I interacted directly with Billy and passed the results on to the record company. I was first contacted by someone who worked closely with the Pumpkins. They called me up and asked if I would be interested in designing the band’s forthcoming album package. I was already a Smashing Pumpkins fan – in fact, I was listening to Siamese Dream when I received that preliminary phone call. Of course I said yes.

A short while later, I got a call from Billy. He described the music on the album Mellon Collie as ‘psychedelic music played by a heavy metal band from the 1920s’. Pretty good description don’t you think? I figured that if I were going to be working with him closely over a long period of time, it would be helpful to know why he had chosen me for the project. He said he owned quite a few CDs that I had art directed/designed and he liked that I didn’t have one style that I imposed on all my projects. Rather, he felt that each was a good design that fit the particular recording. Besides being flattered I thought that here was someone with a keen eye who knew exactly what he wanted. I felt we could collaborate on some great things, and that turned out to be true.

Make sure you peruse the whole thing here.  You can see more of Frank’s work on his blog and his official website!

Follow-up: Camden Dunning wins the Geneva Sound System design contest

Class Projects, Competitions, Current Students, design, Follow Up, Illustration Industry, News, , , , ,

dunning tape
Awhile back we got the official results of the Illustrated Sound contest that Illustration students from Noel Claro’s Beyond the Page class took part in earlier this year:

There were 1395 voters. The most popular design as decided by the voters is:

Tape, by Camden Dunning

The illustration students should be proud of their work – there were many positive comments left and lots of compliments. One of our favorite comments came from an executive at Bowers&Wilkins, a legendary audio manufacturer, who manages a product, the Zeppelin, that is a direct competitor of the GenevaSound Medium:

“You don’t need to enter me in the contest. I already have a Medium and we are competitors. They are all great and I thought the artist would appreciate a vote of confidence.”

Thanks to everyone who helped to make this happen.

As a reminder, here’s the official description of the project:

Design Within Reach pairs sound with color as Parsons illustration students move “beyond the page” to illustrate a one-of-a-kind vinyl skin created for the Geneva Sound System, a modern “hi-fi” with a CD player, FM radio and iPod dock all encased in a piano-lacquered wooden box. Experience the intersection of music, illustration and design, and enter to win the medium Geneva with its unique Gelaskin.

Congratulations to Camden and to all the students who participated. Also, a big thanks to Gordon and Geneva for involving our students and sponsoring the contest!

Lindsey Balbierz’s plates at Fishs Eddy!

design, Illustration Alumni, , , , ,

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Parsons Illustration Alum Lindsey Balbierz recently sent this email to us:

Yep,  my plates are finally being sampled at FISHS EDDY in Union Square tucked away in the north west corner (East 19th and Broadway) across from  ABC Carpet. I worked on them last summer and they have long been in the works. Please go in and ask to see them! They are trying to see how much interest it gets, so please ask for it if you don’t see it right away!! Just tell them they are the aerial traffic series, one is yellow another is blue. There might just be a few of the two (of 4) designs that I created on the floor.

Thanks so much! I hope that it will be a big success and that the line of 4 pieces will be produced by summer and marketed online.

traffic-round-plate

Amazing work, Lindsay.  Thanks for letting us pass the word along to everyone else!  Speaking of everyone else, you should all check out Lindsey’s website and her blog to keep up with all the fantastic and interesting work she’s got in progress.

Call for entries: MINI design competition

Call for Entries, Competitions, Current Students, Illustration Industry, Randomly Intriguing, , ,

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Creative Briefing/Some Tips For You
Reinterpret the topic “MINIMALISM” in an artistic and philosophical way by designing a sheet for the MINI Wall Calendar 2010.

Twelve winning jury-picked designs will become part of the MINI Wall Calendar 2010 that will be available worldwide to celebrate MINIMALISM, MINI environmental initiative.

MINIMALISM is the communicative umbrella for all activities of the MINI Brand, which contribute to reducing CO2 emission and fuel consumption. MINI has made several new advancements designed to reduce environmental impact and increase fuel efficiency. MINIMALISM includes features such as aerodynamically enhanced bodies, low rolling resistant tires, light weight engines, engine stop-start features, brake energy regeneration systems, optimal shift time indicators and electronic power steering systems.

The inspiration for the name came from the Minimalism movement in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is stripped down to its most fundamental features.

For this special competition your designs do not have to work as a background for MINI Space, and they should not include the MINI logo. We will, however, be providing you with official MINI artwork that must be incorporated into every design. You MUST use at least one of the provided images from the “Required Silhouettes” folder. You can tease, stretch, crop, copy, colour, and otherwise alter the artwork image as long as it finds it’s way into your design in some way. It is there to serve as the foundation of your design. We have provided some other design elements that you can use as you like, they are in the “Optional Forms” folder.

Remember to use your space creatively, but this time, think about how your design could work as a stand-alone printed image. Please do not include the month name or numbers in your design. MINI will do that for you after the winners have been chosen.

The MINI Space Team and MINI Design Team will act as the jury and select the twelve winning designs. Only published designs will be awarded.

We are accepting all forms of still media, but for this competition unaltered photos will not be accepted as final designs.

Your name, country of origin, and the title of your design and description of your motive, along with a link to your MINI Space profile will be mentioned in the calendar.

To sum up:
– Create a page for the MINI Wall Calendar 2010 by interpreting the topic MINIMALISM.
– The design can be made out of any type of still media (photographic, illustration, graphic, etc.) as long as you have the rights to all design elements that you use. Remember, unaltered photographs will not be accepted as final designs.
– Designs should work as stand alone designs.
– Check out a sample of what we are looking for here.
– You must include at least one piece of official MINI artwork in your design.
– Do NOT include: Logos, Calendar numbers, Days or months

Technical Specs:
– Your first upload image should be 1280×1075 pixels in size and JPG format.
– If your design gets selected by the MINI Design Team we need your artwork in the following printable format: 500mm × 420mm, 300dpi, eps or psd files.

Prizes:
Top twelve jury prizes: Apple aluminum 13-inch Mac Book 2.0Ghz AND Your Design and credits in print in the MINI Wall Calendar 2010 with a print run of planned 30.000 calendars worldwide.

Deadline:
Upload at least one (and up to 9) designs until the 8th of May 2009, 11:59am GMT.

Go here for ALL the details.