My friend and colleague Leo Obstbaum, the creative mastermind behind the designs of the Vancouver Olympic Games, died suddenly in his home of natural causes in the early hours of Friday, August 21st. He left behind his beautiful wife Monice [...]
Posted by: Mark Busse on Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
Categories: Articles | No Comments »
Spec competitions create unique opportunities which bring out the best in people and can lead to terrific solutions. Just think about how wonderful the freedom of spec work is. There are no restrictions of a creative brief or the hindrances of planning, client research, rationales, or even contracts. Spec opens up tremendous opportunities for creativity!
And as has been demonstrated by the superb results of various spec design contests, where anyone—regardless of qualifications—can participate, spec work is an equal opportunity situation! Without spec opportunities, how else would self-taught amateurs be able to demonstrate their new-found abilities?
Another advantage of spec is that the client gets so much input, and has so many options, from numerous sources. Options from which they can pick and choose aspects from their favourites and combine into one fantastic solution. Some amazing discoveries can be made in this manner, wouldn't you agree?
Some argue that engaging in spec work is a waste of time and disrespectful of our time and craft, but I say no! Spec is awesome practice! If you frequently engage in spec projects, imagine how good you will eventually become! In time you would get so good at it you might even win some paying clients who value your eagerness and willingness to earn their business.
A wise master artist once said "We all have at least 100,000 bad drawings inside of us. The sooner we get them out and onto paper, the sooner we'll get to the good ones buried deep within." Think of spec design competitions as a way to expunge bad work, bringing us all closer to being great masters!
Design is art, right? Isn't it? And art is expression, so any medium that allows pure freedom of expression without the constraints of client demands is a terrific opportunity for growth as a creative person. How many artists do you know that get paid well? Exactly! If you love it, you'll do it regardless! So don't get hung up on pay or respect for your profession!
Beyond the tremendous exposure it could provide for you, think of the untold wealth you could earn by doing spec design! iPods! Computers! $500. Maybe even $5000! That's some serious cake up for grabs!
Let's not forget those poor customers suffering during the recession. It's hard times friends. And spec provides terrific value for the business community, providing an army of designers working on their behalf for next to nothing without the headache of doing research or hassle of giving long explanations about goals and objectives. There's a reason why hunters use shotguns—a wide spread works! And what better way to make a client happy that pepper them with a myriad of solutions—they'll know what they like when they see it, won't they?
So what if all those terrific logos you designed on your own time don't get chosen in a spec contest? No problem! Put them into your portfolio anyways! It's still killer design, right? Or recycle them! Go online and find websites like logotournament.com and toss them in the mix—someone's bound to like it! Remember, one man's trash is another man's treasure—unless of course the contest stipulated that ownership and intellectual property rights were forfeited by participating—but even then, that's what makes it so much fun and exciting! Who knows what could happen!
In the end, do you really want design associations (AKA "the type cops") who forbid their members from participating in spec contests to tell you what to do or who to work for? Of course not! Another reason to participate in spec! What do they know? They act like this is a profession that should follow a code of ethics or something! They're clearly out of touch with reality.
There are no guarantees in life—it's filled with risk, also known as speculation. Life is speculation friends! So dive in and participate—spec work is awesome.
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A design student asked me to rant on video for a project she was working on and asked me to speak about the topic of speculative design work. So I agreed and showed up to present the following diatribe on camera—you should have seen their [...]
Posted by: Mark Busse on Thursday, July 9th, 2009
Categories: Articles | 10 Comments »
I recently learnt about this company whilst watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition. The e-log has a foam core skinned in real wood. Compared to regular log homes, e-log is cheaper, better for the environment and better insulates your home. [...]
Posted by: Matt SamyciaWood on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009
Categories: Architecture, Design, Sustainability | No Comments »
His book, Sketching User Experiences: Getting The Design Right and the Right Design, argues that sketching, prototyping, and iteration are essential parts of the design process itself. And I must say I agree—especially these days where the complex marriage of increased media with information appliances and reactive environments makes the convoluted behaviors of the devices we use as important as human behaviour itself.
In 2007 Buxton presented an excellent lecture about his thinking in this area at the Stanford University Human-Computer Interaction Program where he discussed the design process itself, from the perspective of methods, organization, and composition. See Bill Buxton's Stanford lecture about sketching interactions on YouTube.
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Bill Buxton is so cool. He’s Canadian, a massively talented designer, and arguably the world authority on interaction and usability design. What’s not to like? Oh, Buxton does work at Microsoft as their Principal Researcher, but [...]
Posted by: Mark Busse on Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
Categories: Design, Inspiration, Interaction, Learning, Technology, Video, We love | No Comments »
Designed by Vancouver-based Karacters DDB—in fact the entire brand and integrated marketing program has been developed and rolled out by DDB Canada, with their local partners Tribal DBB creating the website component—the logo is meant to represent "the inspiring play of light and water one experiences" when in the nearly all glass building surrounded by mountains and water, according to Karacter's Creative Director James Bateman.
While I understand that the design team wanted to avoid any literal references to the city, mountains, or even the building itself—which I think could have been done quite subtly actually—I found my initial reaction kind of mixed, feeling that the graphic language was rather busy and not entirely feeling the connection to the inspiration of nature. Either way, it's certainly a brave use of visual language to use dynamism in an attempt to capture and communicate the inspirational feeling of the location of the conference centre.
I've already heard various opinions being bandied about—some positive, saying they think it is a fresh expression of the Vancouver experience not seen previously. Others have been more critical, claiming it looks sloppy and already dated—my favourite being the comparison to a blood splatter pattern (which seems almost apros pos these days). But what I'd really like to know is what the public think—they are the target audience, not a bunch of design wonks.
Sometimes I think that some of us with designers' eyes get distracted by issues like complexity of a graphic (ie. a logo made with photographic elements) and the difficulty of its application when flat vector shapes are commonplace, rather than enjoying the clever underlying layers of meaning. I will say that struggling for words as I did trying to explain the identity might be OK. Doesn't that happen sometimes when we're awe-struck by nature's beauty, the very thing that inspired the logo in the first place? I'm just saying.
So? What do you think of the new Vancouver Convention Centre identity? We'd love to receive your thoughts as comments below.
PS - Readers of this blog seldom agree on all things design, but I think we can all agree that this was a huge project for the team at Karacters and we offer our congratulations on its launch and offer our best wishes of luck that it becomes an enormous success for them!
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Last night I visited the the brand new Vancouver Convention Centre for the first time. While there I took special notice of the convention centre’s new identity and its applications. At first I must admit the logo baffled me a bit as [...]
Posted by: Mark Busse on Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
Categories: Branding, Design, Inspiration, Vancouver | 6 Comments »
What do you get when you cross LED technology, sheep and guys with a lot of time on their hands? How about one of the coolest campaigns by Samsung. Check it out here. Thanks to my buddy Steve for the link.
Posted by: Alex Leynes on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009
Categories: Advertising, Art, Fun, Technology | No Comments »
The base of the house is fixed but has a ‘second skin’ that slides to expose more sunlight to the glass section of the house or exposes the interior courtroom to the open sky. Simple, elegant and intelligent. Watch the movie tha [...]
Posted by: Matt SamyciaWood on Friday, February 27th, 2009
Categories: Architecture, Sustainability | No Comments »
I have just learnt of the company Future Systems. The founder Jan Kaplický died earlier this month but leaves behind a most impressive portfolio of both architecture and product design. Two pieces of work that are well worth a mention are [...]
Posted by: Matt SamyciaWood on Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
Categories: Architecture, Design, Uncategorized | No Comments »
It’s like Communication Design class all over again. Take a peek at these sexy pieces for the Grammy’s “Celebrate the Music That Made Us” campaign. The portraits of select artists (Rihanna, Stevie Wonder, Coldplay, [...]
Posted by: Steph Co on Wednesday, January 14th, 2009
Categories: Art, Design, Inspiration, Music, Typography | No Comments »
As the “Big 3″ automakers scramble to stay a float, one company is rethinking the electric automobile. XP Vehicles Inc. have developed an electric car based on the Mars Lander technology that would make it the first inflatable c [...]
Posted by: Alex Leynes on Sunday, January 4th, 2009
Categories: Design, Sustainability | No Comments »
Almost a month ago, we launched our new identity: new logo, new website and blog, door sign, nice t-shirts and jackets, a big paaarty….and when you think it’s all over, here it comes: an amazingly long list of financial document [...]
Posted by: Mathilde Salvert on Friday, December 12th, 2008
Categories: Design, Fun, Interactive, Music, Pop Culture | No Comments »
Readers who watch Friends, you might know what my title means. For the past few weeks Todd and I have been working on furnishing his new place. Not only has this move given me an opportunity to fuel my interest in interior design, but also [...]
Posted by: Steph Co on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008
Categories: Design, Fun, Inspiration, Tips | No Comments »
The LA Auto Show is home to the largest west coast display of cutting edge vehicular design and engineering. Every year the show opens its design challenge to any automaker that feels like they are up for flexing their creative muscle. This [...]
Posted by: Alex Leynes on Sunday, November 23rd, 2008
Categories: Design, Events, Illustration, Sustainability, Technology | No Comments »
The album is called A Night Remembered, featuring the trumpet stylings of Chris Davis. It's a beautiful album and he's a wonderful, soft-spoken, genuine jazz man. I began the project as we do most, by sitting down with the client to ask a bunch of questions.
I listened to his numerous answers as he told me the story of how the album came to be and why it was special. That story is actually recounted on the liner notes on the album and well worth the read. Of course I also listened intently to this collection of soulful jazz tunes seeking inspiration—and there was plenty to be found.
In the end, I asked him to summarize all we had discussed into one single sentence that would describe what he wanted the album design to express. What was the one message that would impart the special aspect of this particular album and serve as the creative brief guiding my design of the project. That sentence was:
When people listen to this album, I want them to experience a celebration of raw, honest, musical joy—devoid of any deep symbolism or intimidating jazz attitude—like I did when I played that special night.While still influenced by some of the classic jazz album covers from Blue Note Records, I tried to capture elements of memory in a simple, informal layout design without it seeming too "jazz-like". I hope my design adequately meets the challenge of that eloquently expressed brief and beautifully performed music. Thanks for the chance to work on this important project Cory and Chris. And thanks Steve Mynett for the terrific photography. Chris Davis can be found on myspace.com and his newest album can be purchased online at cellarlive.com or in person at The Cellar Restaurant & Jazz Club in Vancouver, BC. [post_title] => Chris Davis: An Album Cover Remembered [post_category] => 0 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => chris_davis_an_album_cover_remembered [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2008-10-31 18:53:49 [post_modified_gmt] => 2008-11-01 02:53:49 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://industrialbrand.com/?p=1980 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 1 [filter] => raw ) -->
As a Partner and Design Director at a thriving studio, I tend to spend more time bringing in new business, dealing with clients or taking care of administrative duties more than actual design and production these days. Par for the course I [...]
Posted by: Mark Busse on Friday, October 31st, 2008
Categories: Design, Industrial Brand, Music | 1 Comment »
Smashing Magazine has posted their latest picks for 50 Beautiful Blog Designs. In their words: In the showcase below we present 50 beautiful blog designs that literally stand out — either through their layout or through their design or th [...]
Posted by: Ben Garfinkel on Friday, October 24th, 2008
Categories: Design, Websites | No Comments »
