Vintage Ad: “Show Her it’s a Man’s World…
…and make her so happy that it is”
My how our society has changed. Check out this vintage sexist Van Heusen ad. The smug little husband propped up in bed with his white shirt and tie. The submissive wife kneeling before him (still in her robe) with outstretched arms serving a tray of food she no doubt cooked, almost shrinking away from him.
And then there’s the copy. My oh my. Cause I am sure that right now there are many women who would read this and exclaim, “Yes!! It’s about time.” Actually my wife said it makes her want to throw up and caused another woman to want to go punch something. But then a friend of mine chimed in and said the only think missing is a large palm leaf being waved to keep him cool (tongue-in-cheek, of course).
Is this a case of design reflecting society or helping form society?
Something makes me think that the next ad shows her strangling him with his little “manly” tie. Care to offer a Tag Line for that one?
Solving Problems or Telling Stories?
So it just hit me while laying in bed tonight. Maybe graphic design is less about problem solving than it is about story telling. That maybe the question becomes less about the problem and more about the story. Instead of asking, What is the problem? Maybe we should be asking, What is the story? I hear and read a lot about providing design solutions for problems and not much about providing a design platform for the story.
An engaging design needs a strong story not a strong solution. That ultimately it is a well designed idea and story that causes people to have that ahh-hah moment and look deeper into the design. Without it, even good design is just fluff. I think that it is this very idea of designing around a story that helps make good design, great. And with that story, everything needs to support it. If it doesn’t, then it is at best un-needed, at worst, horribly distracting. Remove anything that does not serve the idea or story, regardless how “cool” it might be.
I feel this is an important aspect that I’d like to learn to ingrain into my design. What it the story? Is it engaging? Then design around the story. I think this might be a life-long journey exploring this idea.
Sprung Grid, By Lian Ng
Often times it is the simplest of designs and ideas that are the most powerful. This design, by Lian Ng (a professor I had at Academy of Art University), fits the bill. Fantastic. And this with only three strings broken:
I think what gets me is its personal meaning. The obvious meaning is a design grid that has been broken. The orderly disrupted by the disorderly. But the deeper meaning to me is very personal. It speaks of my old desire to keep my life clean, neat, orderly, simple, pure…square. And then all of a sudden it breaks. Order snaps. My neat, clean life and mindset gets sprung.
But isn’t it the broken pieces that create the beauty? Isn’t that were life is found? In acknowledging and accepting my brokenness and humanity.
You can see and buy a copy of this and other works by Lian here.
Cigarette Branding Banned in Australia
“The new law will ban the use of tobacco industry logos, colors and any type of brand imagery or promotional text on cigarette packaging. Brand names and product names will be required to be displayed in a standard color, font and position.” {source}
I wonder if this will really have any impact on sales. Or will it simply make it harder for cigarette consumers to find their favorite brand? I mean, are people smoking and buying cigarettes because of the packaging? I think this is more to punish and control the makers of cigarettes than it is to stem the tide of smoking.
Hmmmm. Is this the future of cigarette branding?
Imogen Cunningham: Masters of the Camera, Book Design
This book design publishing mockup is for museum-goers and the cultured elite. They buy this book for their coffee table because the images make a good conversation piece. They are interested in how unusual and elegant these photos are. I chose Imogen Cunningham for my photographer because of her focus on shape, form, texture, as well as her ability to make everyday objects seem extraordinary. My goal was to highlight the elegant and unique nature of Cunningham’s photography, comparing the graceful lines of her floral and body imagery. I also included some of her more unique and atypical portraits.
Viewing her work, it is sometimes hard to see the difference from her floral and body shots. They share similar texture, form, and lighting. I want to highlight this as museums tend to be about form, shape, lines and comparing/contrasting works of art. I think the target audience will appreciate this unique look and juxtaposition of similar, yet different images side-by-side.
The typefaces I chose were Bickham Script, Mrs Eaves OT and Mr Eaves San. I feel these three help provide the softness and humanity that is evident in Cunningham’s work. I felt they were a perfect compliment to the photographer who was both masterful and a bit quirky.
You can view the full size Imogen Cunningham: Masters of the Camera PDF (recommended). Or take a gander at the below images.
Even in a Fire, Do Not Disturb Christy!
Ok. This was fun. The first stage of the design task was to find a poorly designed sign. The only requirements were that it had to be hand-made with three levels of hierarchy. After looking at many, I found this photo of a humorous sign:
Then, using the exact same materials and content (no more, no less) we were to hand-design a new sign using form, balance, hierarchy, space and other graphic design skills. But we could not introduce anything new to the sign…only what existed. The main goal was to design it well and emphasize the intended message. So I got my 6×12 piece of cardboard and a thin black pen and set off to redesign this bland, but humorous sign.
My first thought was this sign’s primary message was about not disturbing Christie. I mean, she was serious about this. Even if a 3-alarm fire breaks out, leave me be; I am not to be disturbed. I set out with various sketches and ideas, laying out grids, experimenting with type. I new I had to get this right in the preliminary rounds because when inking cardboard, there is no command-z. Once a design, grid, typeface, and hierarchy was decided the tedious task of hand designing a sign commenced. After many hours with ruler, pencil and pen in hand, here is the final redesign and final replacement:
What a Great Monday Morning Song
The Michael Gungor Band “White Man”. God is Love. God is Good. And, yes, God does love everyone!
