August31st
Cheeming Boey makes art. It just so happens that he does it on coffee cups with a Sharpie. He sat down to draw some people one day in a coffee shop and realized he had no paper so he grabbed a discarded cup and a new medium was born. You can read more about him here and check out some of his drawings here.
August26th
I just saw a trailer for a new documentary coming out called Art & Copy. Here’s a synopsis from the site:
ART & COPY is a powerful new film about advertising and inspiration. Directed by Doug Pray (SURFWISE, SCRATCH, HYPE!), it reveals the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time — people who’ve profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry. Exploding forth from advertising’s “creative revolution” of the 1960s, these artists and writers all brought a surprisingly rebellious spirit to their work in a business more often associated with mediocrity or manipulation: George Lois, Mary Wells, Dan Wieden, Lee Clow, Hal Riney and others featured in ART & COPY were responsible for “Just Do It,” “I Love NY,” “Where’s the Beef?,” “Got Milk,” “Think Different,” and brilliant campaigns for everything from cars to presidents. They managed to grab the attention of millions and truly move them. Visually interwoven with their stories, TV satellites are launched, billboards are erected, and the social and cultural impact of their ads are brought to light in this dynamic exploration of art, commerce, and human emotion.
I’ll definitely be seeing this one—albeit on DVD since it’s not coming to the Kansas City metro. Hop over to Yahoo! Movies for the HD trailer.
August22nd
If you’re a fan of short films and science fiction, take a visit to spyfilms.com and check out Terminus by Trevor Cawood. The animation is amazing, the art direction is original and the story is creepy. What more can I say?
August21st
Dmitry over at the Usability Post has made some interesting observations about Apple’s deceptive design elements and how they’ve made subtle changes in their new laptop designs to make you think that they are thinner and the displays are larger.
I do take issue with his claims that they are being deceptive. I just think it’s good design.
August20th
Now, it’s no secret I’m an Apple fanboy but I think they are a long way from perfect. I just think they are light years closer to perfection than any other hardware/software maker in existence. I stumbled across a very thorough profile of Mr. Jobs which I believe does an excellent job of describing how driven he is and why Apple has been so successful. But it also points out Apple’s (and by Apple I mean Jobs) shortcomings.
One of my favorite parts of the profile talks about how Jobs molds his customer relations motto after Henry Ford quote.
“If I’d asked my customers what they wanted, they’d have said a faster horse.”
To me, that is why Apple is superior. In an industry that can be be really reactive and just add customer-demanded features, Apple sets itself apart by telling its’ customers what it wants, not waiting for them to ask for it. It’s risky, no doubt and the odds of failing are great (Can you say G4 cube? How about QuickTake?). But why try for a single every time at bat? Why not swing for the fences?
I am a husband, a son, a brother, an uncle, a friend, a dog lover, a graphic designer, an illustrator, a photographer, a writer, a painter, a Jayhawk, a veteran, a movie-buff, a lover of music and most importantly, I am a father to two beautiful little girls.
