Karen Horton’s Inspiration on design:related

Karen Horton’s inspiration

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Cover design for "The Book of Fathers" by John Gall

Add to Folder | Comments (0) | October 14, 2009

I spotted John Gall's new book cover design for The Book of Fathers (published by Other Press on October 13, 2009). From browsing the shelves at Posman Books in Grand Central, the cover instantly caught my attention from a distance. Up close the subtle special effects help to make this design truly unique. The collage illustrations (which are embossed) are by Nicole Natri. (cover image via n a k n)

Link: more collages by Nicole Natri

My Favorite 12inch Records Exhibition in Gunma

Add to Folder | Comments (0) | September 26, 2009

Thanks to the flickr pages of Maniackers Design, I found out about the 33RPM | My Favorite 12inch Records Exhibition in Gunma Vol.01, which is visual eye candy for any fans of vintage vinyl covers. Maniackers Design art directed and designed the show. The exhibition runs from September 26th—October 25th, 2009 in Gunma, Japan. Unfortunately, Google translate wasn't too helpful in furthering my understanding about the creation of this exhibition. But by looking at the photos alone, I hope this exhibition travels to NYC. Or maybe there will be an exhibition catalog available.

Link: 33 RPM gallery page

Knoll Kids, modern furniture designs for children

Add to Folder | Comments (1) | July 26, 2009

My first reaction when I saw KnollStudio's new furniture line, Knoll Kids, was "how adorable"
(and how lucky the children are whose parents can afford this).

"Launched in May 2009, Knoll kids consists of modern mid-century classics that have been scaled for a younger generation, while maintaining the standards of the designers and affirming the Knoll belief in the power and utility of modern design. Like all Knoll products, the pieces are finely crafted using the highest quality materials, finishes and textiles to create one-of-a-kind pieces that appeal to the unique taste of the Knoll customer. The initial offering includes new chairs and tables as well as select items already available in the KnollStudio line..." —Knoll press release
The new pint-sized line includes furniture designs modeled after classic originals by Harry Bertoia, Maya Lin, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Isamu Noguchi, Jens Risom, Eero Saarinen, and Kazuhide Takahama.

Left: vintage poster for the Diamond Chair designed by Harry Bertoia, original chair design c. 1952
Right: Child's Bertoia Diamond Chair: "The child's Diamond chair is 75% of the original
and only available with a chrome frame."

Left: vintage poster for the Barcelona Chair designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, original chair design c. 1929
Right: Child's Barcelona® Chair and Stool:"A companion-sized Barcelona chair and stool have been developed to accompany the tried-and-true classic. The child's Barcelona chair and stool are 80% scale of the original and only available with a chrome frame."

Left: vintage image of Noguchi Tables installation, original design by Isamu Noguchi c. 1955
Right: Cyclone Side Table: "The Cyclone Table is a great companion piece to the Child’s Bertoia Diamond Chair."

Left: vintage image of Risom Collection Amoeba and Round tables, original design by Jens Risom c. 1941
Right: Child's Risom Amoeba Table and Side Chair: "Jens Risom’s original 1941 collection for Knoll incorporates a natural aesthetic characteristic of understated Scandinavian design."

Left: vintage image of Womb chair, original design by Eero Saarinen c. 1948
Right: Child's Womb Chair: "The Womb chair is available in three sizes: The standard and medium size have an accompanying ottoman...The medium chair and ottoman is at 85% scale of the original and the small is at 75% scale."

(diagram from Knoll Kids brochure, click here for larger image)

While looking through the Knoll image archives, I came across the above advertisement which I couldn't help but include as the conclusion for this post. The above ad was designed by Herbert Matter, featuring the Bertoia Diamond Chair designed by Harry Bertoia.

all images © Knoll, Inc.

Link: knoll kids: live. learn. play.

Oded Ezer: The Typographer's Guide to the Galaxy book

Add to Folder | Comments (0) | July 18, 2009

This first monograph for graphic designer and typographer Oded Ezer explores the rich fusion of historic research, Israeli culture, calligraphy, classic typography, experimentation, story-telling, and science which come into play within his unique body of work. Ezer breaks conventions of traditional typography and often explores letterforms within a 3-dimensional space, sometimes with scientific precision.

forword by Paola Antonelli

Marian Bantjes

(above spread shows Homage to Milton Glaser)

Born in Ramat Gan, growing up and living in Israel was very influential to who Oded Ezer is as a person and as a graphic designer. It is interesting to read how serving in the Israeli Army helped cultivate his creativity and begin his career as a designer.

Bezalel Academy for Arts and Design

A Conversation between Oded Ezer and Kitty Bolhöfer

Oded Ezer: The Typographer's Guide to the Galaxy

Another inspiring aspect of Oded Ezer is how he balances his day-time commercial work that pays the bills, with the self-initiated experimental projects reserved for the late evening. (a highlight was reading that his childhood home was near the Elite chocolate factory and how this inspired him to appropriate the original Elite logo to form a logo stamp for his "nocturnal" designs).

Oded Ezer: The Typographer's Guide to the Galaxy provides thought provoking text sprinkled throughout, shining light on Ezer's thought processes while putting an emphasis on examining the environment from which he draws inspiration and flourishes. The monograph published by Gestalten gives heavy focus to Oded Ezer's portfolio, from early student projects to commercial client work to experimental studies. It also provides a fascinating glimpse into the evolution of the modern Hebrew alphabet and the challenges of shaping Israel's early graphic identity. Oded Ezer's designs are often a delicate balance of honoring the religious and cultural heritage of the Hebrew language, and at the same time pushing boundaries by injecting life and imagination into the letterforms.

Fonts: Evolution vs. Revolution

Oded Ezer: The Typographer's Guide to the Galaxy

After reviewing this book, there are many aspects of Oded Ezer's background, process and ideologies that have peaked my interest. It isn't until reading this monograph that one can fully appreciate the complexities behind Oded Ezer's thinking and designs, and begin to understand the challenges for a typographer designing with a language so ingrained in a country's religious and cultural history.

I'll leave off with a video interview with Oded Ezer from Gestalten.tv:

Link: Oded Ezer: The Typographer's Guide to the Galaxy

Michael Jackson and The Simpsons: "Do the Bartman"

Add to Folder | Comments (0) | June 26, 2009

Michael Jackson co-wrote the first hit single "Do The Bartman" from The Simpsons Sing the Blues music album. The album was released almost 20 years ago, back in 1990. Bart Simpson sings the song, with voice provided by none other than Nancy Cartwright. Before Iron Giant, and Pixar's Ratatouille and The Incredibles, Brad Bird directed this memorable music video.