January 7, 2018
In
Graphic Design, Inspiration
Inspiration
Design can be art. Design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple, that’s why it is so complicated.
— Paul Rand
January 20, 2013
In
Chartreuse, Graphic Design
studiochartreuse
Branding studiochartreuse has been a project in the making for many years now. After 16 years in the design industry, it was definitely past due to put an identity and web presence together.
I choose ‘chartreuse’ because this colour has followed me for quite some time. For many years I’ve been drawn to its tranquility and vibrancy. Chartreuse manages to find itself in many places throughout my home. It is neither feminine nor masculine, and a little-known fact is that chartreuse is the most visible colour for humans.
Helvetica Neue is a recent favourite, and pairing the ultra lightweight with the stylized ‘S’ and ‘C’ fit well with the open and modern look I am drawn to when designing.
Venturing into ‘WordPress’ for my website has been both challenging and rewarding. Once I’d moved passed what seemed like an impossible learning curve, understanding the css, php and hex colours are now something I feel very comfortable with. For someone who is fearful of ‘math’ and especially ‘code’, it’s definitely a contrast to the visual realm I usually work in.
I’m looking forward to the interesting projects in years ahead with ‘studiochartreuse’. A brand that I finally settled into.
November 18, 2012
In
Graphic Design, Typography
Barbara Kruger
My latest Pinterest addiction has been all things Barbara Kruger. I rediscovered her work last week and immediately became nostalgic for an artist that has inspired so much for me in the past.
It started back many years ago during one of my Foundation classes at Emily Carr. Our assignment was to study an artist picked at random for us, and then create you’re own piece in their style. The artist assigned to me was Barbar Kruger. I was immediately drawn to Kruger’s strong use of typography mixed with images of feminism and her critique of consumerism. I found it fascinating that she had started as a graphic designer at Mademoiselle magazine before moving into the art world.
I was newly vegetarian and had just finished reading John Robin’s Book ‘Diet for a New America’. I was pretty taken back by the images of factory farming and chose this as my subject matter combining it with some recent MacDonald’s ad slogans. During the class critique, many controversial topics were discussed — which was the goal of the piece.
It’s still one of my favorite projects. I learned a lot about typography, the impact of the image and how to combine them in a simple way to convey a message. To this day, I still design using the principles I learned from that long ago Barbara Kruger project.
October 30, 2012
In
Graphic Design, Inspiration
Why Design?
Since grade 9 art class I’ve known that I wanted to become a graphic designer. My teacher Mr. Petrasko gave me a ‘Graphis’ magazine to go through as inspiration for our latest project. I asked him, ‘What type of art is this?’ He then went on to describe to me all the things that graphic designers work on. I was sold. From then on I made it my goal to somehow find a way to do this every day.
Find something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it. — JULIA CHILD
ART + DESIGN THAT HAS LEFT THE BIGGEST IMPRESSION:
Bauhaus Movement, everything by Ray and Charles Eames, Alexander Calder’s kinetic art (mobiles), Helvetica, all work by Mondrian (I am especially attracted to anything white and grid-like).
VICE: Anything Mac related / Tequila / Modern furniture that is white
DESIGN HERO/HEROINE: Barbara Kruger
FAVORITE PROJECT: SSTC Science Centre in Saudi Arabia. By far the biggest challenge in my career so far. It was like going back to school for science and cultural studies. I learned so much and met so many great people during this project. It was a phenomenal 2 & 1/2 years…
Article // 30% of people end up working in the careers they dreamed of as kids
September 30, 2012
In
Graphic Design, IDSwest
IDSwest 2012
On Friday I checked out the 8th annual Interior Design Show West with my friend, Tanya Tweten (Promoter at Heart). With over 350 exhibitors it was a lot to take in, but there were certainly quite a few booths that caught my eye.
My fix for interiors and amazing design was satisfied by Inform Interiors, Bocci and the latest pieces by Brent Comber, including his new artwork and the incredible large polished tree trunk. You can see how tall it is with 5′ 10″ me standing beside it. Contexture Design introduced their latest project, a cedar and ceramic birdhouse called ‘The Chickadee’. A very inspiring day!
