the Blue Dog

I would like to show you something that has really caught my attention this weekend- the art of George Rodrigue. An acquaintance of mine had bought one of his paintings. He collects pop-art (among other things) and he just recently had this delivered. At first glance I thought was quite nice, but the more I saw of it the more I was drawn into the painting. It was a painting of the most peculiar little Blue Dog I've ever seen. His eyes had the most sad, frighten and sometimes slightly scary look and his colour was the most virbant blue.

I've read about the artist and seen a lot of his work lately. I just have grown to love the comedy and the sadness of the Blue Dog. The way the dog can look so lost in it's surroundings yet be so at home. Apprently Rodrigue had a dog callled Tiffany, who died. He started to feel that the dog was trying to communicate to him from 'the other side' and therefore he started to include it in his paintings. At first he wasn't sure how to tackle this but as he continued to paint he also got closer and closer to his beloved Blue Dog. Today, they both fetch a nice amount of money in the galleries and his paintings are more popular than ever...

So, maybe You have a hamster or rabbit from your childhood that you can revive in your work? Who knows - it might be the greatest work you've ever done.

You should visit this website for more of that wonderful Blue Dog: http://www.georgerodrigue.com/.

These are my favourites:

Halloween blues 2001
City slicker 1999
Big apple blues 1995
The other borthers 1997
Hurricane romance 2001

(Not shown below)

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Mass produced design – Good or Bad?

This blog entry is written by a guest blogger; Karin Tobiasson.

Most of us today own something from IKEA, be it 'Billy' the bookshelf or 'Hej' tealight holders. IKEA has always been about cheap furniture and, well, a lot of swearing and cursing over the fact that some parts are missing or that the instructions make no sense at all. But today IKEA is also to a great extent about design. They are the high street store of furnishing where we mere mortals can buy look-alikes of expensive designs to a reasonable price.

For example, take the classic Arne Jacobsen Ant or Series 7 chairs, price tag: £165. Then we have IKEA’s chair Gilbert, clearly inspired by the Arne Jacobsen chairs, price tag: £30. IKEA make great designs affordable. However, some might say that Gilbert the chair will loose his charm as a desirable design since his price mean that he will be found in many homes and he is a bit of a rip-off. He is not exclusive like an Arne Jacobsen chair is. But the question is if design should be exclusive and produced in limited numbers with a high price tag?

As a customer, I guess I would argue that there is always something special about owning something rare, something in limited edition. However, if I can’t afford the design I want, I would be quite happy to buy something similar in IKEA for four times less the price. But as a designer, would you rather want everyone to own what you design or just the lucky few who can afford what you make? Would you feel more successful if you knew that the masses adored and bought your designs or that what you made came in limited numbers?

There is clearly a current trend in mass produced design, as haute couture designer are lining up to make clothes for H&M and other high street fashion stores. So I personally hope to see this trend carried on to furniture design and see a number of famous designers selling affordable collections at IKEA!


Arne Jacobsen chair; Series 7:

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

An inspiration fix

Check this site out... SUBAQUATICA is the secret underwater hideout for the visionary archivillain Karl Stromberg.

SUBAQUATICA is an art space where we exhibit and sell original artwork by local and international artists as well as books, designer toys, magazines, T-Shirts and assorted items around the concept of young contemporary urban culture with a special focus on Street art.

SUBAQUATICA is a platform for the development of different projects and art items in collaboration with different artists, brands and institutions.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Democratic design

The designer is the child of industrialism. The production was carried out in factories where the workers, just like in McDonalds today, should be skilful enough to handle one task, but have enough lack of knowledge to be paid minimum wages. The same products were made over and over again. Until someone realised that the consumers were pleased with the products as long as they lasted. Function and usability were the most important factors to the consumer. Then someone else came to the conclusion that another aspect of the products could increase its saleability, looks and aesthetics. And the designer as we know it was born.

Design has started to become democratised in our modern day. People in general become more and more aware of design, they develop a taste and an understanding of the area (even if it is limited).

For example: this blog entry could not have been written as accurately without the help of certain software. This software corrects my spelling, my grammar and can even handle the layout of the page. More and more we see software that can do design. They have templates and graphic design elements that can easily be applied by almost anyone. The software and the machine can also be acquired rather easily and without paying a fortune.

So, in three years, what then can the software perform for its user? Can it suggest certain layouts and designs for certain jobs? Can it calculate and advise you concerning colour choices? Will this then lead to a downward spiral regarding the quality of design? I’m not so sure. You see, the technology will advance with time as well.

But this is not really the question You, as a designer, should be asking yourself when we progress to a more democratised design world. You should be asking yourself:

“What role will I play in this future?”

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

The mentality of football fans.

I went to a football game last evening. My team lost. 1-2. But the fans weren't as frustrated and angry as you would think. Well, I know a few who were pretty upset but on the whole the spirit wasn't all negative. Even if it was, when the next game is to be played, the fans will be there singing their football chants as strong as ever. It will be as if the last game wasn't played and the hope for a victory in the cup will be rekindled.

Since it's time for the grades from the Univeristy to be released, I couldn't help to think about the let downs and the set backs we get in life and work. We let it drag us down and we loose countless nights of sleep over it. But what's the point? Wouldn't it be great if we could have the same mentality of football fans?

Picture this:
You go into the meeting room psyched, waving your banner as high as you can. You stand strong and fast and you sing your chants with pride. For some reason, maybe because of the 'referee', you loose the brief to another agency. Life sucks. But not very long. The next day you are already planning and getting psyched for the next brief. And when you go into that meeting room the next time, you sing your chants with even more pride.

There's always a lesson to be learned. Everything and nothing can teach us something (especially if you think about it as much as I do...).

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

The Drunk Britney Prank

I would think a lot of people have seen this, if not, nevermind. Why did I post this? Well, I thought about how easy it would be to add a brand to this viral videoclip. It could be for a haristylist, shampoo. Maybe a *Do Not Drink TOO much' ad? What would you guys & gals add to this clip if you had the choice to give it maximum impact?

Maybe a branded video clip would suggest it wasn't real (though it seems to be)? Lets ignore that, and just live in a fantasy world for a while.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Blizzard - 'Cool' Trailers

I thought that I would talk about something that some of you designers (and the rest of the world) might have missed, especially if you are not interested in PC-games and these particular genres of PC-games.

I would like to show you the work of Blizzard Entertainment. They are an American based game developer and publisher. They are the Einsteins within the gaming world and they have since their first release of the PC-game ‘Warcraft : Orc and Humans’ released best seller games on a regular basis. Their games are very much appreciated by a wide audience and more often than not are considered ‘classics’ by the gaming community. Their most recent project is the ‘World of Warcraft’ which is a massive online role-playing game based in a fantasy world.

But it’s not the games I would like to talk about; it’s the animated trailers which Blizzard creates prior to the game release. You could compare it to the ‘teaser trailers’ made by the film industry to create a buzz around their films.

What is special about these trailers? Well, it’s a number of things. First of all they usually contain no actual pictures of what it would be like to play the game. It’s usually completely cinematic – a word which really defines what they do. They create an atmosphere and a special feeling they want to have associated with their game. People do not have to even see the game before they start queuing up to buy a copy.

With excellent animation and first class sound they succeed themselves each time (in my opinion). I have always admired what they do and you can always tell what’s a Blizzard game/ trailer, just by taking a look at the campaign surrounding the actual game. The artwork and the graphics are always perfect. This is what has defined them to other game developers - the hype they can generate around the game. Today it seems like more and more are trying to do what Blizzard have been doing for the last 10 years.

So if you ever get a brief to design the launch of a game, take a look at what Blizzard is doing first…

StarCraft -1998


Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos -2002


Diablo 2 -2000

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Risking your life for the ‘art’

When riding the tube in Paris, you can’t help to wonder about the vast quantity of graffiti along all the tunnel walls. I have become very puzzled about this and each time I sat down on one of the trains, riding through the youth’s gallery in the darkness, I couldn’t help but to admire these artists. They must be risking their lives going down there to paint, and it can’t be legal for them to do so. How do they do it?

Do I ever go to those lengths when I try to make myself noticed in my work? Not really. Should I? Maybe not to that great extent. But surely we should all make more sacrifices when creating and designing our work. Blood, tears and sweat DO make a difference – at least to the satisfaction and the admiration you would receive from others.

On a side note, I would like to note that Paris has a great and inspiring urban culture that thrives in this wonderfully diverse city. (Who can't love Paris?) That is why I have included a picture I took of a - to me at least - typical house wall in the backstreets of Paris.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Midsummer!

The swedish midsummer. Life is good.
More information click here.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Le Paris Bizarre.

Is there something wrong with the French? Are they trying to top off the English when it comes to cloning and gene-manipulation? Seriously – there’s something positively wrong with the person who came up with this. Is there anyone who feel they have the cultural knowledge to explain this piece of art to me?

I came up with a ‘funny’ title for it: “My dear swan”. Hah! Did you get it? Sometimes I wonder what is worse – the fact that I actually thought that was funny or that I insist on trying to convince other people that my humour is great.

Paris offered a lot of surreal art that captured my attention. But I don’t want to tell you about that.

EDIT: Check this link provided by Missy, contains similar oddities.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

A surreal artist.

Salvador Dalí was an artist. I visited a museum dedicated to him in Paris -amazing. His work, mostly his sculptures, keeps affecting me in some way, both emotionally and on an artistic level. I remember things I had forgotten, and I come up with ideas and thoughts I didn’t have before.

This is information for you who are not educated enough to know who Salvador Dalí is, thank you Wikipedia for providing this information for the masses.

Salvador Domingo Marquis of Pubol (May 11, 1904 – January 23, 1989).
Dalí was a skilled draftsman, best known for the striking, bizarre, and beautiful images in his surrealist work. His painterly skills are often attributed to the influence of Renaissance masters. Salvador Dalí's artistic repertoire also included film, sculpture, and photography. Born in Catalonia, Spain, Dalí insisted on his "Arab lineage", claiming that his ancestors were descended from the Moors who invaded Spain in the year 711, and attributed to these origins, "my love of everything that is gilded and excessive, my passion for luxury and my love of oriental clothes.”

Widely considered to be highly imaginative, Dalí had an affinity for doing unusual things to draw attention to himself. This sometimes irked those who loved his art as much as it annoyed his critics, since his eccentric manner sometimes drew more public attention than his artwork. The purposefully sought notoriety led to broad public recognition and many purchases of his works by people from all walks of life.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Pixelmania!

I went to Paris for a few days just before I got back to Sweden. I’ve been there before and therefore I could actually SEE things around me. The new mini digital camera I had bought really showed itself useful. I took hundreds of photos, of everything and nothing, as any designer would.

This time I would like to tell you about a phenomenon I discovered, which I still haven’t figured out. If anyone of you out there know what it is, please e-mail or comment and I will include your information in my post.

On some of the walls around Paris, mostly on non-conspicuous places where people might not necessarily look or pay any attention, these permanently pixelated figures from old retro videogames, made out of mosaic tiles, could be found. Not really making a statement or saying anything in particular, just being very peculiar. After I had seen two or three and captured a few of them on camera I started looking for them. I couldn’t find as many as I would have liked to. Here is one I found on the web.

I got curious and confused. Why were they there? Why did it fascinate me? Was it because it was ‘permanent’ and innovative graffiti? It raises the question about what is graphic design – is it just pixels in a computer or is it mosaic tiles arranged on a wall?

EDIT: Thanks to Claire Broadhurst (comment), the riddle is closer to being solved. Visit http://www.space-invaders.com/ for more pixel mosaics, and who knows, maybe even an answer?

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Ps. some more "pixel art" .Ds

Details, details.

This time I would like to praise the designers that really spend some time with their design. There are many out there, but when it comes to clothes there are only one guy that knows how to do it right - Paul Smith. I know the clothes are expensive and I'm well aware that they do charge more than they should. But that doesn't draw from the fact that he still create beautiful clothing designs. Most people reading this might know that I've fallen in love with the 'street shoes' he does. They look a bit like the Converse sneakers but they are a lot 'prettier'.

The sole has been given the famous stripe pattern which identifies Paul Smith. On the back of one of the shoes it says Paul, and on the other it says Smith. The metal rings around the lace are sometimes coloured accordingly to the colour of the shoe. The inside of the shoe has a pattern good enough to make a whole shirt out of it.
Paul Smith's designs just bursts with these kinds of wonderful details. He is a role model for all designers. Lets start to pay an immense amount of attention to details!

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Lack of imagination.

An alternative/rock band of international status. Five guys known to most people, as some of their singles have climbed high on the charts in a number of countries. All this thanks to a magnificent first album. When they then release their second album they have more money to spend since now the record labels really believe in them as a group. They have the funds to create a stunning second album - and not just musically. The cover art and the folder included inside CDs are becoming more and more important for a CD to sell. The people that actually buy an album (and don't download it), expect to get value for their money. I'm one of them. I just like to have a stack of CDs and I enjoy browsing through the folders inside, reading the lyrics and looking at the pictures. So, knowing this, why would they choose to have such an unimaginative cover art and album design? “Let’s put a picture of the group on the front and their name hanging over them - excellent!” I mean, their first album cover wasn't one of the greatest, but at least it was different and it showed that they tried. But this last one is so boring I'm not even sure I will buy their CD. Kaiser Chiefs - next time - give me a call.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Never underestimate anything (anyone?)

I and a few friends were walking into town after a lecture. We walked our usual way and we passed this old, overgrown and shady looking passage underneath the road just as we had done so many times before. But this time we noticed it and stopped to have a look at it. Someone had put a vast amount of yellow strings covering the place and creating some kind of grid or net - it all looked quite impressive. We were a bit puzzled with the phenomenon and couldn't really figure it out. Then something, to me, amazing happened. A half drunk, scruffy looking man came over to us. He said: "You know why they put that up?" and we answered "No…" and giggled a bit.” It’s to catch flying fish!!, HAhahahH". We all rolled our eyes and he walked past us. Then he stopped and turned to us and said: "No, but honestly, it is dead space. Have you ever noticed it before? Now, you notice it. It's making something out of nothing. That's what it is." I was stunned. We thanked him and moved on. Never underestimate anything, or anyone for that matter. He had made an observation which was quite clever and almost educated - though he looked like a hobo and smelled of alcohol. I can’t help but think of the lecture Jim Brogden gave us on his project "Terra Nullius", where he brought our attention to forgotten space in our surroundings. This is an important lesson when it comes to design and the choices we make as designers. That 'weird' idea or that strange piece of graphics may be the solution to your problem.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Ps. There is still a reward for the one who can crack the quote in Swedish. Ds

Dear diary,

Hah! I wouldn't think so. The day I start a diary, there is something wrong with me - I have probably been subjected to some kind of alien experimentation or something. I thought my first post should be a post explaining how I work when I set this blog up. So here goes: I do not write the posts in one go, I rather do it offline and a bit at the time. Even though the posts might not be brilliant essays they are at least my own thoughts, on design and everything that influences me in my work. Usually I make a note of what inspired or affected me and then I go back and write about it at a later point. This enables me to view my posts in a more objective way. Well, enough talk about nothing. I think I will end every post with a motto from an music artist who has influenced me a lot, (but it's in Swedish):

"Sluta sluta, börja börja"

Martin

Ps. There's a small reward for those who can provide an accurate translation. Ds