Design Archives

What's the Problem?

APRIL 21, 2008

Wednesday of last week I went to see three partners from Pentagram — Paula Scher, Michael Bierut and Michael Gericke — present "Designing New York’s Visual Identity" at the Museum of the City of New York. Most of the pieces weren't new to me, but the discussion portion got my mind stirring.

One of the Michaels, I believe it was Bierut, mentioned his preference for redesigns over creating new branding. Responding to a question about how to deal with poorly received design, Scher explained that this is actually a failure in understanding the client's needs. Together, these points got me thinking about the anxiety that comes with new design projects.

I enjoy design work, but I often get frustrated when there isn't a clearly defined set of problems. Redesigns tend to be easier because the questions are clearer. Not only do you have an existing model for reference, but the client has a better sense of what's missing in the current setup.

The key to keeping frustrations at bay is defining as many questions and answers as possible before putting pen to paper. If you don't have all the questions, go back to the client. If you don't have all the answers, go to your coworkers or peers. It sounds simple, but it's something I rarely remember to do when I'm feeling stressed.

Posted in Design at 9:26 pm.
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Britain's Beautiful New Coins

APRIL 8, 2008

I'm floored by Britain's new coinage, designed by Matthew Dent, a 26 year-old graphic design student. They're based on the British Royal Arms and all form a piece of the whole. For a little more explanation and some history, be sure to watch the video.

On the other hand, the MySpace-ification of U.S. money continues with the new five dollar bill. Technically impressive, completely uninspired and totally American.

Posted in Design at 12:41 am.
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Panic PIN for ATMs

SEPTEMBER 11, 2007

At 11pm last night I remembered my laundry was ready to be picked up from good ole Mr. Wash-n-Fold. Despite being cashless, I had to venture out since I'm leaving town and need some clothes. As I walked down the desolate streets of downtown Brooklyn, a crazy garbageman thought it would be funny to gun his engine at me while I crossed the street. I shook my head, he yelled obscenities and I walked away mildly paranoid that he was coming after me with a broken bottle and a tire iron.

Thankfully he wasn't, but as I took out more than my usual ATM bounty, I realized a panic PIN number would be terribly useful. If someone had followed me at bottle-point, I could have entered my bank's panic PIN. The ATM would then say it's out of cash and alert the police. Maybe, in a distant more connected future, it would stream the video from the ATM camera straight to the police station. Since this doesn't yet exist, I took solace in my spry legs and knowledge of convenient hiding spots.

Unsurprisingly, I'm not the the first think of this, but it's still a great idea.

Posted in Design, Technology\Web at 5:50 pm.
1 Comment |

A Font-astic Calendar

AUGUST 15, 2007

I saw this calendar on Swiss Miss and immediately wished I could buy it. I have a slight love of fonty calendars though, as my wall is currently adorned by the Stendig Calendar and I previously had the Pentagram Calendar, which was equally elegant. Hopefully Noa Bembibre will eventually let me add to my collection.

Posted in Design at 11:49 pm.
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An Easy-Open Plastic Case

AUGUST 1, 2007

I'm sure you're like me in that you hate trying to crack into these things. They're impossible to open at best and lead to profuse bleeding at worst.

Sony got smart and made a perforated edge along the backside of the packaging and it made my day. Sony has dropped the ball on a lot of big things (e.g. PS3, MP3 players) but seems to do some small things right.

Click the image to see a big version on flickr.

Posted in Design at 8:19 am.
2 Comments |