State Motto Illustrations

Mikey Burton - Ohio

Luke Bott - Kansas

Matt Harris - Alabama

50 and 50 is a curated collective effort amongst 50 invited designers from 50 different states to create illustrated versions of each state motto. The color template is limited to the good old red, white, and blue and a new design is posted every weekday.

The Phraseology Project

Started in January of this year, Drew Melton started The Phraseology Project as a way for him to practice his craft within a communal setting. This typographic experiment allows participants to submit a letter, word, or phrase of less then 20 characters, which Melton will then transform into a beautiful, unexpected, and creative design.

The Phraseology Project now features new creatives every month whom will also lend a hand in designing the submitted phrases. This exciting participation dependent project gives us an exciting look into the creative process, and the unexpected outcomes that are reached by different creative minds with unique processes.

Within its first week The Phraseology Project received 90 entries, and its global community is growing daily. Submit your own phrase at phraseologyproject.com

The Valorised Designer: Finding Value in What We Design

"A sophisticated society needs sophisticated designers who need to be informed and critical as well as practically creative." -Nigel Whiteley

The definition of a “Designer” is becoming more broad and nebulous everyday. Advancements in culture and technology have shattered the lines between disciplines and are constantly changing the way we approach our profession. With this higher calling for constant evolvement and progress within our field we must be constantly redefining what it means to be a “designer.”

As this definition of design changes, so must design education. The Valorised Designer, a critique on design education written by Nigel Whiteley, perfectly illustrates how a new diverse but cohesive approach to design education is needed in order to produce critical, sophisticated, and responsible designers.

Whiteley identifies and outlines the five main types of design education that students are exposed to within their schooling. Highlighting extreme examples in order to more clearly illustrate the gaps amongst each type of design education.

Type 1: The Formalised Designer

Suspicious of grand ideas and profound concepts, the formalised designer holds a utilitarian approach to design and focuses on creating a critical eye in terms of aesthetic understanding. Derived from the Bauhaus methodology, formalised designers focus on the creation behind their design. Concentrating on materials, and simple form & function this type of design education lacks any focus on design theory or value.

Type 2: The Theorised Designer

The Theorised designer is the flipside of the formalized designer. The theorised education forgoes actually creation in exchange for a deep theorized understanding of design. Deconstructing the power, and vested interests behind design, this education lacks practical knowledge and commercial knowledge. Often limited and somewhat irrelevant outside of the classroom, the theorised approach can often leave students with an elitist outlook on design. Making it difficult for them to design anything that communicates to the common majority.

Type 3: The Politicised Designer

The politicised model is not as widespread in its practice as the previous two educational models. Gaining popularity in the 70’s & 80’s, politicised design is an ethical designer whom tries to influence people’s actions through their social conscience. This method is fairly weak, as it demands a rational reaction to design. Assuming that ethically correct design will produce “correct” or “sensible” choices. Ultimately, the politicised approach to design education is very simplistic, idealist and incomplete.

Type 4: The Consumerised Designer

Focusing on consumerist priorities, the consumerised design education trains students how to create successful campaigns for commercial success in a simple conformist way. This approach does not critically view designs influence on society and produce design work that simply adds to the visual industrial clutter within our society.

Type 5: The Technologised Designer

Focuses primarily on new media and “cutting edge” technology. They create a superficial value out of the works technological relevance. Holding to the “latest & greatest” mentality, the technologized design education relies on visual impact and shock value.

All of these five basic types of education lack certain pieces of the design spectrum and have fundamental limitations. Whiteley expresses that we must develop a new model for design education that combines characteristics amongst the classic five models with an outlook on the consequences and value of design. This new model which Whiteley presents is known as the Valorised Designer.

The Valorised Designer:

The valorised designer is aware of the interdisciplinary nature of design in today’s society. Recognizing numerous outlooks: cultural, social, political, environmental, etc. the valorised designer finds their role amongst these social outlooks (issues) so that they can create design with a value. Valurised designers connect the theory and practice aspects of design and are able to look at design as a tool for change.

When designers view design as a tool that can spark change and influence aspects of society, they are able to better understand the ethical consequences of their work. When a designer better understand the world around them, and their place amongst the many social outlooks (issues) they can most effectively create design with purpose and value.

Embracing the Illogical in a Logical Profession

Frank Chimero - The Shape of Design from Build on Vimeo.

In his Build conference lecture, designer Frank Chimero searches for the function behind design and how we as designers must approach its function in order to make it successful.

Chimero discusses that as designers we ask questions. Are answers to these questions solve a clients problems or needs. These questions we answer are approached from the point of view of both the client and its customer. So in a sense our goal as the designer is to please, inform, persuade, etc. a large and diverse group of individuals.

Naturally this goal is unattainable because the word ‘Individual’ directly contradicts our goal. We must accept that we work with and for people. All of these people whom with which we work and serve are illogical simply because all humans are inconsistent due to many physical, geographical, emotional, cultural, etc. differences.

Thus we cannot look at design with a purely logical and systematic outlook. We must embrace the breaks in logical, statistical outlooks and accept that we have very little control over the viewers/users take on our design. We can do our best to create jurisdiction over the reactions of the viewer through design, but we must acknowledge and embrace the illogical reaction in order to further our knowledge of designs function and place in society.

The Year of the Rabbit

Year of the Rabbit from Frater on Vimeo.

Erik Spiekermann- the Silence in Between

Erik Spiekermann - Putting Back the Face into Typography from Gestalten on Vimeo.

Legendary typographer and graphic designer Erik Spiekermann is undoubtedly one of the best type designers of our time. In this interview with Gestalten, Spiekermann discusses the importance of rhythm in type forms and draws connections between music and type.

Characterizing the negative space between type forms as the rhythm between the notes within a music piece, Spiekermann remarks that the rhythm or “silence in between” the black letter forms, is what puts the face within the typeface.

"Just as in music. That makes it exciting. If it was just the notes without any timing, every tune would sound the same. my role is to put rhythm into it."