Monkeyama

Monkeyama Has Moved!!!

2008-05-27T23:04:00.003-05:00

I built a new home for monkeyama.

From now on new posts will be on www.monkeyama.com

Blogger has been great, but it is time to move on.

German Alternatives to Helvetica

2008-05-02T08:58:00.003-05:00

There’s no doubt that Helvetica is a great typeface. It’s one of the few all-star fonts that has become somewhat of a household name. In fact, I think that my grandmother uses helvetica (ok...maybe she uses Times New Roman.)
And if you have seen the documentary, Helvetica, then you have seen how ubiquitous it really is. It literally appears in millions of logos worldwide.

So what other fonts are out there that are helvetica-ish?
Glad you asked.

My personal favorite alty is Akzidenz Grotesk, an German typeface that was released in 1896. Helvetica (developed 60 years later) was actually based on this typeface.

Which actually brings me to my 2nd favorite alternative, Univers, which also used Akzidenz Grotesk as a model. Ironically, Univers was developed the same year as Helvetica (1957) by Adrian Fruitiger who also developed another great alternative called Fruitiger.

My 3rd favorite is DIN, which is an acronym that translates as “The German Industrial Standard.” DIN (developed in 1923) was also influenced by, you guessed it, Akzidenz Grotesk.

These three (four counting Fruitiger) German sans serif typefaces are beautiful (maybe even more beautiful) than the Swiss latecomer, Helvetica. Give them a chance next time you find yourself thinking, “I guess Helvetica looks fine. I’ll just be lazy and use it.”

When technology accidentally makes things beautiful.

2008-04-28T20:59:00.004-05:00

Last week I put my portfolio on my website as a PDF.
Today I discovered that Google had somehow scanned the PDF for words (even if they were in a JPEG) to make them searchable. Thank you, Google.
I clicked on my PDF from Google and selected "view as HTML" - because I was curious as to how it could take a PDF and convert it to HTML.
My discovery was that it had taken the text and placed it in seemingly random order and placement.
The result was something I thought was almost more pleasing to look at than the original work I had put in the PDF.
It makes me wonder what other kind of art is sitting out there on google, just waiting to be discovered.

Julien Pacaud

2008-04-16T20:50:00.003-05:00

Here is some work from French illustrator, Julien Pacaud.
Inspiring.

Photos courtesy of Julien Pacaud. Thanks!

Beautiful Losers

2008-04-03T17:43:00.004-05:00

I am really excited about this film, Beautiful Losers.

Here is the synopsis (courtesy of the BL website):

Beautiful Losers celebrates the spirit behind one of the most influential cultural movements of a generation. In the early 1990's a loose-knit group of likeminded outsiders found common ground at a little NYC storefront gallery. Rooted in the DIY (do-it-yourself) subcultures of skateboarding, surf, punk, hip hop & graffiti, they made art that reflected the lifestyles they led. Developing their craft with almost no influence from the "establishment" art world, this group, and the subcultures they sprang from, have now become a movement that has been transforming pop culture. Starring a selection of artists who are considered leaders within this culture, Beautiful Losers focuses on the telling of personal stories...speaking to themes of what happens when the outside becomes "in" as it explores the creative ethos connecting these artists and today's youth.

Creativity magazine wrote a nice article here.

Words for Tuesday

2008-03-24T21:11:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Kerri Smith for this.

Casa no Geres

2008-03-19T10:12:00.004-05:00

I realized that this blog had lacked any architectural design posts.
Lately, I have reading a lot more Metropolis and Dwell and a lot less Adage.

I know...that probably outrages a lot of the people who read this.
"But what about getting updated on who in the industry is going interactive?!!"

Don't worry. I still read the email updates. And yes, Hal Riney's new site is pretty sweet...even though I couldn't get it to work right.

Check out this design from architects Graca Correia and Roberto Ragazzi. The best thing, besides it being beautiful, is that they made sure not to obstruct the environment which surrounded it. Even during its construction, they managed to avoid cutting down any trees. I love it when designers show grace to the details.

Wine Bottle Design

2008-02-28T22:01:00.002-06:00

Yesterday my wife Kate came home with this bottle of wine.
It made my entire week. Not because it was a good wine, in fact we haven't even opened it up yet...but because the label art was so inspiring.

It also made me think of an important litmus test for creating branding and communications: "Does this Inspire?"

If the answer is no, then you are wasting your time.

Found Type in Unexpected Places

2008-02-25T11:53:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I was about to hop into my car when I saw a this flyer in my windshield.

At first I was annoyed by it, but then I looked at the type. Beautiful!!!

After a little research, I found out that it is Monotype Broadway.

So there you have it. If you must take part in Religious solicitation, good typography wins over the bullhorn every time.

Typography:1
Bullhorn: 0

Daniel Case Buttons!!!

2008-02-21T19:30:00.003-06:00

I designed branded buttons this week! Pretty geeked about them.

words of wisdom

2008-02-17T12:03:00.002-06:00

On Fridays at school we have this thing called Culture Crash. It used to be called "The Friday Speaker Series."
The latter is a little more descriptive.
Anyway, last Friday we had the guys from Stick & Move speak to us.

Something Steve O'Connel said really stuck out to me:

"If you're not enjoying your job, you're probably not doing it right."

Image from The Serif

Minimalism Inspiration

2008-02-15T08:09:00.002-06:00

Man vs Machine, a design firm in London, did these posters.
Sorry I haven't been posting much lately.
I got a little busy with school.

Sister Corita Kent

2008-02-03T15:17:00.000-06:00

This might not be the most visual stimulating post in the world, but I found this the other day on FFFOUND (imagine that) and was inspired by its honesty and truth. It comes from Sister Corita Kent. Enjoy!

Thank You Project

2008-01-24T13:15:00.000-06:00

I love this idea called the Thank You Project.

"A small business-card sized booklet with 30 cards.
These small cards can be taken out and put anywhere someone
might find them. In a book in the library or a bookstore, in a bag of
an unknown passenger, in the mailbox of your neighbor."

Happy MLK Day

2008-01-20T22:31:00.000-06:00

This can be purchased at Blanka.
The only problem is, you might have to be from Europe.
So if you are, lucky you.

Click on the title of this post to find out how you can make a pledge of nonviolence.

James Joyce

2008-01-20T16:09:00.000-06:00

James Joyce is brilliant. He has done work for brands like Nike, Levi's, Creative Review, Carhartt, and Penguin Books.
He is such a now artist. Love it.

New findings from Art Dorks Collective

2008-01-15T10:03:00.000-06:00

Katie Ridley

Jason Murphy

David Chung

I was browsing Art Dorks Collective today and found some inspiring work.

Adam Juresko

2008-01-09T20:20:00.000-06:00

I was able to get a hold of Adam Juresko, a local artist who lives in Oregon Hill. His work is refreshing, especially when you consider that there is an ocean of digital art out there. He told me that "all images are made with xeroxed images, scissors, glue sticks, and paper. no computers."
He actually just did some work for Mountain Dew on their green label art project. Here is a video for that.
Thanks Adam!

Arial or Helvetica?

2008-01-07T19:08:00.000-06:00

We all love helvetica. Then there is the Zune of helvetica, arial. Now, before you get all angry because I compared arial to a Microsoft product, consider the fact that it was Microsoft who borrowed helvetica for its operating systems and called its impostor version arial.
Check out this article on how to tell the differences between the two.
If you think you are a helvetica genius, try this quiz.

Irving Harper

2008-01-04T09:58:00.000-06:00

You may not know his name but you have seen his work. Designer Irving Harper created many memorable pieces for furniture company, Herman Miller. Specifically, the Marshmallow sofa (1956) and the Herman Miller Logo (1940's).
Metropolis Magazine did an article on Harper writing about the ads shown here: "When Harper began working on this advertising campaign in the 1940s no furniture photographs were available, so he designed the M graphic (left) in Herman Miller that the company still uses as its logo. Later ads featured furniture but retained the M. "It was probably the cheapest logo campaign in history," Harper says.

Therese Vandling

2007-12-31T11:22:00.000-06:00

UK designer Therese Vandling has some incredible and thought provoking work.
Here is her description of the first one shown below:
"A heavily research based project that investigates our ideas and concept of beauty and ugliness. Inspired by Immanuel Kant’s idea that beauty is what promotes life. I asked the counter question if ugliness is what promotes death. I challenged myself to find subjects that symbolise death and to find beauty in it. "
Thanks for the link, Charles!

Alexander Calder

2007-12-18T23:03:00.000-06:00

Calder has been my favorite artist for a long time. I don't think I have ever seen his work and not been inspired.
The thing I love is that when everybody said that eveything had already been done with sculpture, he turned around and invented the mobile and opened an entirely new door of creativity.

Make Your Own T-shirt

2007-12-18T22:39:00.000-06:00

I saw this T-Shirt Kit on thepostfamily.com
Fun stuff. I love the idea.

Mario Wagner

2007-12-14T12:29:00.000-06:00

Lately I have been looking at a lot of great collage artists like Chad Kouri, whom I interviewed in a previous post.
Check out the work of Mario Wagner
He recently did some incredible work for Sony Playstation 3 (seen first). A great example of a nice collision of art and advertising.

The Persuit of Design, Marian Bantjes

2007-12-08T11:46:00.000-06:00

CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEO

In an earlier post, I talked about the work of designer, Marian Bantjes. After working many years as a traditional graphic designer, she decided to risk it all, quit her job, and pursue something that was reflective of who she truly was as an artist.
I share this because I think there is an important distinction and message in her story: you have to be true to your own creative spirit. I think that it is possible to have a career as an artist, whether art director, designer, or illustrator, and not voice your unique creative point of view. Even if your work is good, and clients are happy, you have to be the artist you are.

The Italic Poster

2007-12-05T23:06:00.000-06:00

I found this on swisslegacy.com.
Probably the coolest thing I have seen this week.

Troika Design

2007-11-19T11:56:00.000-06:00

Troika is a multidisciplinary art and design firm in London.

Grid and Pixel

2007-11-10T16:02:00.000-06:00

This is an installation that I recently did for Quirk gallery with a great artist by the name of Brian Tibodeau.
Check it out at www.gridandpixel.com

Otl Aicher

2007-11-07T20:34:00.000-06:00

In Metropolis, Elisabeth Evitts wrote a great article on graphic designer Otl Aicher (who's work for the 72 Olympics is on display at Vitsoe in London). She said,

"Otl Aicher may not be a household name, but chances are the work of this German designer has grabbed your attention or entered your home. Pioneering brands for companies like Braun and Bulthaup, Aicher was an influential graphic designer, urban planner, photographer, and the mastermind behind the imagery for the 1972 Munich Olympics and the Rotis typeface. A child of Nazi Germany, Aicher, along with his friends Hans and Sophie Scholl, organized the anti-Nazi political organization Die Weisse Rose (the White Rose). In 1943, the Scholls and Aicher were arrested by the Nazi party. While Aicher was released, the Scholls went to trial where they were found guilty of treason and executed. After the war Aicher went on to help rebuild his ravaged city of Ulm and to found the influential international school of design, Hochschule für Gestaltung (HfG). The first comprehensive monograph of Aicher’s life and work, Otl Aicher, written by Markus Rathgeb, comes out this month from Phaidon. Recently we talked with the author—a professor of graphic design at the University of Cooperate Education, Ravensburg—about the influence that Aicher’s work has had on contemporary design."

I love what she wrote. And I love Otl Aicher.

New Findings in Design

2007-11-05T09:29:00.000-06:00

From www.swisslegacy.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/st23_a1.jpg

From www.blanka.co.uk/i/products/2200.jpg

From www.aestheticapparatus.com/productsdev/productimages/artprints/lg/doomdrip_bigdrop_lg.gif

Grids (Stefan Lucut)

2007-10-30T13:23:00.000-05:00

“For me, graphic design in no more than expressing life as I feel it.” Free, colorful and in huge daily
doses."

Chad Kouri

2007-10-15T08:47:00.000-05:00

Lately I have been enamored with the work of Chicago artist, Chad Kouri. He was kind enough to answer a few questions for me. Also, he sent me some photos of new work that he hasn't even posted yet so that you guys could get a first look. It is the two photos of the phone book. He actually took a regular phone book and chopped it up and made a small one that he used as a glue book. I think that's cool.

1) Where do you get inspiration from?

Mostly from digging through the trash! A majority of my canvases come from drawers and other materials found while poking around the alleys by my apartment. Some other stuff I really enjoy snagging from the allies include children's books, old windows, hard cover books and magazines. I also really enjoy looking through my dad's old photos in the basement of my parents house.

2) Where did you study?

Well... I am going/went/ dropped/going back/owe money to Columbia College Chicago but most of my studying is done with friends and my own curiosity.

3) What do you want people to get out of your art?

I do artwork for my own enjoyment. Any positive or negative reaction from other people is just a nice bonus. I guess I am narcissistic like that.

4) What is the one piece of advice you can give to aspiring and current artists?

Hummus is good. Oh... and pawn shops are your friend. Just don't pawn anything that isn't yours. That's stealing.

Tamara Shopsin

2007-10-09T11:54:00.000-05:00

Tamara Shopsin is a New York based illustrator. I first encountered her work in Print magazine and fell in love with her use of classic typeface and style. Here are a few of her pieces.

Tim Schmitt & Johannes Spitzer

2007-10-01T11:33:00.000-05:00

These guys have a collaborative design site called coolmix. I found this booklet in there and was amazed by it. Another great, simple, European design.

The Polaroids of Grant Hamilton

2007-09-26T16:31:00.000-05:00

Grant Hamilton is a photographer who has an incredible eye for color and space. I love the honesty of a polaroid camera.

Misaki Kawai

2007-09-23T15:30:00.000-05:00

This Japanese artist does these handmade installation/craft/assemblage-ish things. She is either insane or has attained a new level of creative genius. If you check out any of my links, click on her name at the title and check out her site. It really is something great. I was hooked when I saw the guy in the handmade Delorian.

Surf Inspired

2007-09-23T14:53:00.000-05:00

Surf culture seems to breed art that has such a vibe to it. The first two pieces are from Andy Davis, a silk-screen artist out of Huntington Beach, CA.
The photos are from LeRoy Grannis, Jeff Divine and Tom Adler, respectively. Tom is a great Art Director and designer whose books have achieved cult status.

Lisa Congdon

2007-09-17T15:08:00.000-05:00

If you like mixed media artists, here you go.
I think she has a sweet look. I would love to write more, but I am literally swamped with my Adcenter projects. Regardless, I was inspired by her work the other day and thought it would be a shame not to share.
To see her home page, click on her name (the title of this post). If you haven't figured it out, that is pretty much how most of my posts go. Awesome.

So what font is it?

2007-09-02T11:08:00.000-05:00

If you look at the last post you will probably look at that amazing type painting and think, "I wonder what font that is similar too...I love the K. I think I need to find that font." I know how you feel.
I did a little research. Turns out, it is almost exactly the same as an all caps Maple Regular, a Process Type Family font.
Myfonts.com has it for about $40 (8 styles). Not bad.

Tauba Auerbach

2007-09-01T16:20:00.000-05:00

Every once in a while I come across an artist that completely blows me away. I mean, there are a lot of artists out there that I really think are great and do fun work, but Tauba Auerbach is on an entirely different level. She is a 23 year old painter that works out of San Fransisco. Click on her name at the top of this post to see her web page.

Jeremiah Ketner

2007-08-23T21:55:00.000-05:00

I found these incredible stationary cards at Rotofugi in Chicago that were done by Chicago based artist Jeremiah Ketner. According to his bio, (Click on title for link) "Ketner draws inspiration from Japanese aesthetics, packaging design, magazine ads and urban graffiti."

Oh My Cavalier

2007-08-14T22:14:00.000-05:00

I found this artist that does incredible drawings and embrodery. I don't know of many artists doing great emrodery, so I thought this one was blog worthy. She does draw on a tan paper background, so...Brian, sorry.

This is brilliant.

2007-08-13T21:14:00.000-05:00

This couple in New York paints the things they want, charge the price of the thing for the painting, and then uses the money to buy the thing when they sell the work. I love it! They also sell boxed up garbage from New York City.

I'm Tired of Hitting opt+apple+esc

2007-08-01T13:52:00.000-05:00

If I have to force quit my unsaved work in Illustrator one more time, I swear my computer will fly the 3 stories from this window to that street.

James Datz

2007-07-27T16:19:00.000-05:00

James Datz is a freelance designer/ art director who used to work on the Urban Outfitters account.
He is pretty much the coolest ever and I thought I should share him with you.
Even though, Brian, I think you are the only one who reads this blog.
But who knows.

Found Type

2007-07-25T08:56:00.000-05:00

So I was browsing the Cold War Kids webpage and thought, "Their logo has a sweet typface. I wonder what it is?"
Turns out, it's in the Bodoni family of fonts called Bodoni Poster Itallic. It's not a common one though, so if you wanted it you would probably have to buy it from myfonts.com (I think it was $24).
As you can see from what CWKs did with it, it looks nice with black and white treatments.
Awesome.

Alvin Lustig - the lost ad man

2007-07-23T09:28:00.000-05:00

In Issue 44 of Baseline, Setven Heller wrote, "Advertising may be the mother of graphic design, but during the early 20th century graphic design in the United States was an unwanted child and remained that way until the late 1930's when Paul Rand became art director of the Weintraub Advertising Agency in New York." He went on to say, "nonetheless not every designer in his place could have employed modern graphic forms as successfully, even with all the freedom in the world."
It's easy to look at the work of Paul Rand, Milton Glaser, or Tibor Kalman and find inspiration from the greats. When you study Lustig's work, it makes you wonder why you haven't seen it before.
Oh, and you can buy limited prints of his work from the website linked at the title.

Christopher Silas Neal

2007-07-22T15:20:00.000-05:00

This is one of my favorite illustrators lately. He's popular...so I am sure I am not his only fan.

Design of the Day

2007-07-21T07:50:00.000-05:00

I found this blog of another designer who also blogs for visual inspiration. Not only did she have some great links, but she also did this little design.

Mopa Design Studio

2007-07-21T07:36:00.000-05:00

Mopa is an eviromentally and socially conscious design studio in Brazil. Some of thier illustration work is incredible and bold.

Think Smaller

2007-07-17T10:06:00.000-05:00

There is this street artist in London that is doing some amazing things with photography and small objects. So refreshing! In a world of "let's make the biggest, most obtrusive, loudest thing out there!" it is nice when the tiniest art gets noticed.
Thanks Andrea for the link!

What I learned at AdSchool...

2007-07-17T09:10:00.000-05:00

Last year, in school, an Art Direction instructor reminded us of something that I feel has lasting significance in the creative industry and life in general. He said, "If you take anything away with you from this class, it's this: Don't forget to be generous."
It is one of those things that stuck in my head because it holds so much truth. The thing about generosity is that it goes beyond kindess. Generosity is like kindness + selflessness. Both can be powerful and can make life easier for everyone.
It's not about giving money or things; often it is so much more practicle. If someone has a good idea and you use it, giving them the credit for that is being generous. When someone does some really good work, telling them you admire their work and thing they did a great job is a simple but lost form of generosity. Trying to make time for people, instead of rushing around like you are the busiest person on Earth, being friendly, saying hi, smiling, being honest, caring for the enviroment: Generosity.

New Projects

2007-07-16T15:50:00.000-05:00

So, I just got a new project. It seems simple: design a promo folder for the client, make it look great.
I started by making a layout so I can organize my thoughts.
This is the worst part. Sweaty palms, blank white space, a deadline.

A good font.

2007-07-16T14:31:00.000-05:00

Anisa Suthayalai is a prolific New York based designer who has been in the industry since 1998. She designed this font that is similar to Futura, but sits low on the baseline. If a font could smile, it would be this one.

Also, check out some of her other works.

Marian Bantjes

2007-07-06T12:40:00.000-05:00

A photo rep turned me on to this designer the other day. Bantjes is also a very good type designer, but has a scripty feel to her work. A is a fun comparison to Eduardo's type work.

Designer of the day

2007-07-05T11:30:00.000-05:00

I love this guys work. I am sure you all have seen or been to www.misprintedtype.com (it is a great place to pick up a few well designed fonts and inspiration). Eduardo Recife is the guy behind it all.