5:57 PM 
illustration by nick simson
Some interesting things about the headline-grabbing weather this week:
Estimated productivity lost (in taxpayer dollars) for closing the federal government for one day: $100 million (Washington Post)
No one freaks out about snow more than D.C. Twitterers freak out
10:52 AM Its almost February, meaning that it is almost too late to create a retrospective of last year. I don’t do this kind of thing very often, but as someone who gets most of his news and content from the internet, I wanted to share some of the bright spots online for me. A few things this list is not: For the most part this list is noncommercial. Some of the sites use advertising, but in most cases it is to cover costs. This is no way an authoritative list, and not all of these were new launches or new ideas in 2009, but stellar examples of online content. Finally this list is not a resource of sites specifically about design or illustration, although I have included a few that fall into that category. Here it is, in alphabetical order:
And The Pursuit of Happiness: an idiosyncratic illustrated history of the United States on the New York Times website by the artist Maira Kalman.
The Big Picture is not brand new, but still remains relevant. This Boston Globe site continued to demonstrate itself as one of the most expressive venues for photojournalism today. And the big pictures themselves are just magnificent. See Scenes of the Recession, The Inauguration, China Celebrates 60 years, and Hubble Telescope Advent Calendar
Daily Serving is one of the better contemporary art web sites I’ve come across, with a focus on international artists. Its worth checking every 2 weeks or so.
Design Observer is a 5 year old weblog, but in 2009 it launched a 3.0 version with about three times the content as before, and became much, much more than a design blog. Its founders William Drenttel and Jessica Helfand recieved a NEA grant, aquired the architecture/environmental design journal Places, and created an audio/visual component for the site. Smart, relevant commentary and investigations of the world we live in (we being the whole human population, and not just a narrow group of designers), and a force to watch in this brave new decade of New Media.
The Frontal Cortex is one of those reading comforts I would have a hard time giving up. Its a blog by the science writer Jonah Lehrer, author of How We Decide and Proust Was a Neuroscientist.
idsgn is growing on me. At first I thought it was covering territory already covered by other design or advertising blogs, and I try to avoid the design reporting that starts to sound like a circular conversation. But I couldn’t ignore great write-ups on things like the ubiquity of “precision” razors, the invention of vending machines, a 99 cent store-inspired architecture studio and the history of Clarendons.
Nerdboyfriend is a blog about menswear, eyewear, and hats with an interesting retro take. Its a very postmodern approach to shopping (I wouldn’t reccommend it).
The Old, Weird America is a blog that delves into Harry Smith’s Folkways Anthology of American Song. The author takes a look at the artist who wrote and recorded each song on the Anthology. He includes other known recordings of the artist in the public domain, as well as other versions of these songs. Because it is about discovery and rediscovery, this wins my vote as music blog of the year.
Put This On is a “web series about dressing like a grown-up”. Its kind of a more practical Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, explaining clothing for us young men who are ready to move beyond the dorm room uniform of ripped jeans and sweatshirts, but are not yet ready for waistcoats and ascot ties. It also has some excellent wedding advice for guys. Wired magazine has already picked up on the momentum this month.
Read Between the Leading is two students in Savannah, Georgia discussing design on a well-informed and intellectual level. There are some great interviews and discussions from behind the scenes people like Scott Thomas who designed for the Obama campaign, and Jos Buivenga, a typeface designer. Its a bit more technical and narrower than most podcasts, but nonetheless a good way to stay informed in the graphic design world. These guys are graduating this semester, and I’m sure we will continue to see great work from them in the future.
The Sound of Young America is an interview show, featuring lots of comedians, actors, and other interesting people working in media, self described as Fresh Air hosted by Conan O’Brien. It started as a student broadcast on college radio and has been going strong for years, but I only discovered it this year. The show is distributed by Public Radio International, and broadcasts on XM and some HD affiliates (including Knoxville’s WUOT-2) but is still technically a podcast (and proud of the fact as well) and is still conducted in the host’s living room. Low-tech, but high quality. The host, Jesse Thorn also runs Put This On.
Via Frank is the blog of a brilliant illustrator and designer. Unlike the 70 percent of design blogs that are self-promotion, his writing is mostly about the creative process, and ideas themselves. And its substantial, well written, and completely transparent in its approach, which lets face it, is the best form of self promotion.
WDVX is a radio station that plays bluegrass, blues and roots music old and new. I didn’t know anything about until moving to Tennessee this year. Its one of those great noncommercial community stations that actually feels like a community station. Now that I live in Knoxville proper, I don’t have to listen to it on iTunes, but you can, and should!
5:30 PM Hilarious. The best part is hearing O’Brien audibly losing it himself.
9:16 AM The late 80s was a Renaissance for Walt Disney Animation, with The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? becoming blockbuster successes. For children of the 80s and 90s like me, these are beloved films. But none of them even come near my favorite Disney production of all time.
In the mid 1950s animator and director Ward Kimball produced three hour-long specials on space exploration for primetime television. This was long before we had the term “infotainment” enter the popular lexicon, 14 years before the moon landing, 2 years before the creation of NASA, and even shortly before Sputnik was launched!
On the surface this stuff may look like Postwar Americana kitsch, especially to those of us born decades after the space age. But I would encourage you to take off your cynical lenses and step into the slippers and sofa of the average television viewer of the era. In the 40s and 50s, Physics was the science that dominated the news and the American mindset, in theory and practice, similar to what Neuroscience is for us today. Rockets, missiles and atomic weapons captured the collective imagination and probed us to ask deeper questions about human might and ability.
The research, design, and theories presented in these productions were the best available knowledge of space and man’s conquest of it. Wernher von Braun even appears in each episode to explain rocket science and space station design to the audience. The wheel space station in the below segment is reminiscent of Stanley Kubrik’s 2001 A Space Odyssey (again, 12 years ahead of its time), and a conceptual interior that would make Wes Anderson green with envy.
As a designer and illustration fan, I’m especially drawn to the art direction of these shows. Kimball was a lead character designer on Midcentury cartoons like Alice in Wonderland, but also an Academy Award Winner for short subjects. His talent shines in the opening segments to the different programs. Kimball digests the folklore and prehistory of man’s conquest of space into colorful shorts full of art history references, hilarious caricature and even some gentle satire. Each little 30-60 seconds is visually distinct from the previous, but it all works on a stylistic level, and never feels jumbled together. I especially delight in this clip below, featuring bizarre alien life forms from long before the phrase “acid trip” was invented and a wonderful parody of science fiction B-movies that were all the rage back then:
The stylistic parameters of limited animation are pushed even further in this conceptual rendering of a manned space mission. I love the WPA poster/Art Deco character and environment designs, coupled with narration by the Robot from Lost in Space. Graphic storytelling at its finest:
I know many will beg to differ, but I think this body of work is the finest thing the Walt Disney Company produced. It might not be the most charming or appealing film, or great even in terms of animation quality. But as an idiosyncratic feat of design and imagination, I think it is worth revisiting again and again. If you are a fan of the Mid-century aesthetic, or if I succeeded in converting you into a fan, I highly suggest looking at more of the work of Ward Kimball.
disney, inspiration, space in humor, observations 3:04 AM I fell short of my goal of having my images indexed in a cleaner html-friendly portfolio by the end of this year (one year after my last portfolio update), but it will be coming soon. Promise. Work can still be viewed via pdf and case studies. Besides that, I am also waiting on some product samples held up in Chinese customs for far too long.
I did meet my goal of finally updating the other sections of the site with a consistent look and voice more indicative of me. I think that is the most esential part of developing a personal brand: that it actually be personalized. A lot of my thought process has been very word-driven lately, and I think that has definitely found its way into the presentation of myself on this site.
I also added a new section, Play, which is where I will post present and future experiments or self-assignmnets (including my Illustration Friday participation), because, let’s face it, play is part of work. Other things to look forward to in 2010: I’m working on prints and maybe t-shirts to sell, maybe health care?, and I’m kicking around a monthly calendar feature since I couldn’t buy my clients and readers christmas gifts this year, and no graphic designer can’t afford too many calendars in his portfolio…right?
I am so completely ready for 2009 to be over with. Anyone else out there?
4:19 PM theme is unbalanced.
Liberal books = shelf leans left, Conservative books = shelf leans right
click to view larger
The irony of this image is that the composition itself is pretty balanced.
3:41 PM free: (fri), adjective.
1. provided without, or not subject to, a charge or payment: free parking; a free sample.
2. given without consideration of a return or reward: a free offer of legal advice.
lance: (læns), noun.
1. A long wooden shaft with a pointed metal head, used as a weapon by knights and cavalry soldiers in charging.
2. an implement resembling the weapon, as a spear for killing a harpooned whale.
No discredit to the hundreds of thousands of talented people calling themselves freelancers, I’m just having fun with words. Although I do prefer describing myself as an independent contractor to avoid a term with the word “free” in it.
12:46 PM 
The Exploration of the Inner World cover design by Milton GlaserI actually got it for free at the local library. I initially picked it up for the cover, but ultimately brought it home based on the author’s thesis. This particular copy was a re-issue from 1952. Originally written in 1936, Boisen’s research is somewhat dated, based on the very little I know about psychology, the classification of mental illness (once a very encompassing and today somewhat politically incorrect term), and religious experiences. But in the context of when it was written, the book is very ahead of its time. When I’m finished, I’d like to read something a little more current on the subject, illuminated by recent discoveries in modern neuroscience, which was not nearly an advanced science as it is today (comments are enabled for this post if you have any suggestions).
This cover was designed by Milton Glaser (which I didn’t even notice until the book came home with me), but it is so of its period and context it looks like it could be a handful of different artists (no disrespect to Mr. Glaser, of course). Lesser known designers and illustrators from that era are finally getting their due thanks to the internet. If you spend enough time on the internet, you’ll discover that there is a lot of interest in the thrift store mid-century paperback aesthetic. Check out Book Worship, Julian Montague’s Daily Book Graphics, and the insane Pengiun Paperback Spotter’s Flickr Pool. While midcentury modernism never really went away, the resurgence of its popularity is yielding interesting results in the field of book design and illustration.
Postscript: One More related link: Absolute Sellout
design, inspiration, midcentury modern, milton glaser 10:52 AM 
4”x 6” card designed by meEleanor Aldrich’s first solo exhibition outside of the United States will be opening next week in Prague. I’ve been managing most of Eleanor’s design needs since 2007. These cards I designed for the upcoming show arrived in the mail last week. If you can’t make it to the Czech Republic in November, you can preview the show digitally via the gallery rep here.
Congratulations, Eleanor!
10:14 AM After dormant participation on my part, I’m getting involved with Illustration Friday again. The site works like this: every friday a new topic is posted, and anyone illustrating that theme can contibute their illustrations. Anyone can participate.
Flying, acrylic paint and digital pen
This one was for the theme “flying”. I always thought the phrase “when pigs fly” was funny, and this was kind of a revisitation of a cartoon doodle I would draw often when I was a kid. I think I can still push this concept further, and I think it has T-shirt potential. Spending a few hours a week to practice creative thinking and drawing can’t be a bad thing, right?
