Links: Patterns, Dharma & Holi

• March 26, 2009
  2 Comments // Links

The biggest blessing and curse of the internet is the limitless opportunity it gives us to indulge in any fetish we have. This week I’m letting you peek in on my whips and chains, so to speak. There’s beautiful floral patterns, grit, editorial design, Moleskines and some messages from the Dharma Initiative.

The Sketches of Leonardo

• March 23, 2009
  6 Comments // Creativity

It’s not uncommon for anyone even remotely interested in art to have an interest in the life and work of Leonardo Da Vinci. Nor is it uncommon for creatives to have a thing for peering into the sketch books of others to satisfy a creative curiosity as to how someone thinks and develops their ideas. I know I fall hard into both camps, so I thought I might bring the two together. Let’s have a look at the brilliant sketchbooks of the old master.

The power of Leonardo’s works is undeniable. While he may have only produced a handful of finished pieces, the impact he left is second to none. Below are the sketches for two of the most well known and renowned pieces of creative work the world has ever known.

These illustrations move me. Not because of what they are depicting, but because of the quality and care and craft that was put into them.

As a graphic designer, I have a love for seeing the sketch books of creatives, as I’m sure you do too. There’s something to looking into the development of a piece of work you admire — to see how it was constructed, how the idea came to fruition—it’s interesting and exciting.

The notes are mostly observations or little tidbits I read while putting this all together, that make the imagery a little more interesting.

The Last Supper

Easily in the top two of Leonardo’s most renowned pieces, The Last Supper was commissioned by his employer of the time, the Duke of Milan, in 1495 and took three years to complete.

While the painting has deteriorated horribly over the years, what makes it so special is so easily seen — the emotion and expressions strewn across the faces of those at the table are stunning. The detail in their skin, hair and clothes are of such high quality and rich detail that it can be hard to easily understand the depth and complexity emotion and body language shown.

Let’s start with a good look at the finished product. This is the moment in the Biblical story that Jesus says that he will be betrayed by one of those sitting with him. Looking closely at the expressions, you’ll noticed surprise, anger, fear and sadness, which up to this point weren’t always shown in such legitimately human ways in previous representations of this scene by other artists.

Now moving on to the sketches! This was an initial draft done hastily to establish position and proportion, done as if he had excitedly realised how he was going to compose the image.

Links: Beautiful Blackletter & Script

• March 19, 2009
  Nil Comments // Links

I love the old, I love the new. I adore the editorial, I adore the illustration. I lust for the the grit and grime, I lust for the the cut and pasted. And the blackletter and script; I am infatuated. This week’s links!

Jan Tschichold – Typographic Genius

• March 15, 2009
  7 Comments // Artist Profiles

Jan Tschichold left an impression upon the world of graphic design and typography that few could compete against. From strongly advocating the beauty of sans serif fonts and clean, organised design 20 years before it took off, to strengthening the design of Penguin books to turn them into the something special that they are. Jan Tschichold spent a life learning and exploring and left us with much to do the same.

Early Life & Education

Jan Tschichold took his first gulp of air on the second of April, 1902 in Leipzig, Germany, when his parents Maria and Franz welcomed him into the world.

Sign-writer by trade, Franz gave his son an introduction to the world of lettering – although not seeing it as his future, Tschichold learned the ins-and-outs of sign writing while assisting his father.

His aspirations of becoming an artist were deflated when his parents thought otherwise. Not wanting their son to be an unfruitful artist, the family concluded that becoming an illustration teacher was a worthwhile option—it provided a creative outlet and a steady income. Tschichold as teacher began when he was 14 years of age and lasted a mere three years.

The wheels of calligraphy and script began to turn in the mind of Tschichold two years prior to the start of his teaching post. It was the 1914 World’s Fair for Books & Graphics that left an impression.

An interest in calligraphy formed, fueled by his personal studies of the books Tschichold poured himself into – especially those which covered calligraphy, ornamental script and writing.

At the age of 17, Tschichold threw his back against his life as a teacher and began his typographic studies. While he studied a range of creative endeavors, such as engraving, wood cutting and bookbinding, it seems as if his time of study didn’t involve a great deal of education. Simply, he knew it all.

Because of his personal studies and passion, there wasn’t much he didn’t have a strong understanding of.

Links: Through A Beautiful R

• March 13, 2009
  7 Comments // Links

This week’s links swing between the rusty, dilapidated scenes of abandoned gas stations, through to delicate collages of type and image. There’s also some amazing work form studio KXX, some images that will bring back memories for many, the original iPhone and some of the best newspaper design in the world.

These Things, I Wish To Have Known

• March 8, 2009
  8 Comments // Working Life

How many times have you thought to yourself that you might have avoided a whole field of mental-mines if you had just known that some clients are going to be the beasts of nightmares and that it’s not so bad when you make a mistake? I put together a list of fifty or so tips I wish I had known when I started my working life. I hope to help at least one student relax a little.

Links: Ceramic Letters & Flowers

• March 4, 2009
  5 Comments // Links

Grab yourself a cup of coffee, this weeks links post is a hum-dinger. We meet a snail named Victor, ceramics so cool that you’ll be happy if Granny gave them to you, beautiful illustrations, more beautiful illustraions, erotic awesome stairs that makes me wish I lived in 9 level house so I could have stairs EVERYWHERE, some type history, some delicate type and some heavy type. Oh, and the first lucky caller to ring in and give us the novelty word wins a trip to the Grand Canyon!

Letterpress Addict

• March 1, 2009
  13 Comments // Beautiful Things

We all have our addictions based in creativity. They keep us up at night. They loot and plunder the gold from our pockets and often don’t make sense to family and friends. We lose our selves for hours at a time in our obsessions, thinking and tinkering, pondering and playing. But the rush of joy and happiness and energy they give us can be the greatest high one could imagine. Hello, my name is Alex Charchar and I’m a letterpress addict.

I’m addicted to paper that has been kissed by metal type. And, sometimes.. sometimes it doesn’t even need to be metal type—it can be photopolymer plates, which is sort of like metal type but… different… it’s a whole Pepsi vs Coke thing… Even wood type will flame my passions. Oh, blissful wood type. However it’s pressed, I love paper that’s been squashed; that’s been impressed upon by inked letters and… ohhh… but… yes, yes, even on the dark, quiet nights, when I just need my fix, I’ll even go as far as to enjoy the sweet, naked bliss of a blind emboss. That’s right! I’m a print designer who loves the look of paper that’s been printed without ink! It just feels so good and I am not afraid to admit it so.

I’m not even sure when my story of addiction began. I don’t remember my first taste. I must have been 16 years of age the first time I got a sniff of it. Just a whisper. It was all I needed.

I was starting to look at graphic art and design and get excited about this new world of beauty. DesignIsKinky served as my gateway—showing me things I’d never seen before—expanding my mind into the little hours of the morning. Once in a while I would hear the voices talking to me. I would shake my head and accept them as background noise – I wasn’t here to see them. Not yet, anyway.

But… but they grew louder. “Who… who are you?” I once said aloud, realising I was talking to a computer screen and feeling a little ashamed. Then… “We are the letterpressed, come play with us.” I awoke the next morning in a pool of cold sweat. I had seen something the night before. And it was special. Beautiful.