Debbie Ladas Portfolio by debbie ladas

PAL IM P SEST

ÂŠ 2011 Debbie Ladas. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written consent of Debbie Ladas. All respective work shown has been appropriately identified and credited. Any omissions found will be noted and corrected in subsequent editions. Written, designed, and produced by Debbie Ladas. Academy of Art University, School of Graphic Design, Department Chair, Mary Scott. Contact details: 79 New Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. (800) 544 2787. Contact information to reach Debbie Ladas 650.283.0475 email:debbieladas@mac.com, website www.debbieladasdesign.com

Palimpsest is for Finn and Moss, my best works.

(fore wor d) A palimpsest is something reused or altered that still bears visible traces of its earlier form. It is a manuscript page from a scroll or book from which the PALIMPSEST_DEBBIE LADAS text has been scraped off and which can be used again. Re-purposed. Âś This book is a collection of works by Debbie Ladas, completed at the Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA, and Chen Design Associates, San Francisco, CA between 2007-2011.

FO R E WO R D

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There is something special about a book. The physical weight in your hands; (pælˇmpˇs˜st) the touch, feel, and smell of the paper. How it fans out from the spine as you DESIGN IS A SERIES OF PATHS flick through it with your thumb. We are read to as children, and books weave into the fabric of our lives. Books with pictures, books with words, books you can scratch and sniff. ¶ I grew up in a house full of books. I buy my two young children more books than we know what to do with. I remember the delight I felt when first reading Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar’s, “Watching Words Move” and marvelling at the fun one can have with simple wit and typography. ¶ Alan Fletcher’s spirited and witty design compelled me to, “give it a go.” So you could say that books led me to typography and graphic design. Love of reading became a love of the format in which the words are printed, love of the type that becomes these words, of the paper that carries them, of the page layouts that give form to words and image, and ultimately the overarching craft that becomes a book’s essential nature. ¶ Designer Tibor Kalman said that design is about, “making something different from what it truly is.” Graphic design is a coded visual language, with multiple layers of meaning that we manipulate. Design is distilling a thing to its core and rebuilding it in new and unexpected ways. Creating new connections, new meanings, and new ways to set someone’s attention on fire. ¶ Graphic design is a living palimpsest, a journey, a collection of ideas superimposed on one another to create something unique, a history of layers that resonate through time and through us, ultimately changing us as we change it.

for the love of books / (my) defn: 1

Love of reading became love of the format in which the words are printed, of the type that become these words, of the paper that carries them, of the page layouts that give form to words and image, of

(pælˇmpˇs˜st) DESIGN IS A SERIES OF PATHS palimpsest / pálimpsest (n) defn: 1

Design is a living palimpsest, a collection of ideas superimposed on one another to create something unique, a history of layers that resonate through time and through us, ultimately changing us as we change it. Re-present.

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FOR E WO R D

l et us take o u r j o u r n e y

let us go and I will go before you

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subjects covered in a book or document

SUB JECTS COVERED IN A BOOK

SOMETHING THAT IS CONTAINED

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t.o.c. (abr)

A list of the parts of a book organized in the order in which the parts appear. t.o.c. (abr) TABLE OF CONTENTS Something that is contained. A variety of different flavors that add up to one. A monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author. It may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself. An author may therefore declare her or his own work to be a monograph by intent, or a reader or critic might define a given text as a monograph for the purpose of review or analysis. The following monograph is a selection of projects completed at the Academy of Art University between 2007-2010 and Chen Design Associates between 2010-2011 in San Francisco, CA. Âś Here is the table of contents 01 spaghetti grows on trees p13 02 tell tale preserve company p33 03 you can tell a lot by a man's shoes p49 04 despedida de soltera p73 05 cinema is truth, 24 frames per second p85 06 little bauhaus on the prairie p105 07 know thyself, the enlightenment show p125 08 A440: from primal scream to swan song p137 09 logo, web and poster gallery p157.

The Edible School Yard, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, Berkeley, CA

(chapter one) School was invented to arm us with tools to make us creative, to do wonderful SPAGHET TI GROWS ON TREES things, to care for us. However it hasn’t evolved to deal with the escalating health catastrophes facing children today. Children aren’t being taught about food, nutrition and the importance of healthy eating in school. Children have little idea of where food comes from and sadly, cooking and eating around the family dinner table isn’t happening in the home anymore either. This could be the generation of children that needs to teach their parents how to cook. ¶ School should be the place where an edible education occurs, as a child spends on average 180 days per year there. Do you know what’s on the menu? Chefs Alice Waters and Jamie Oliver have both made this cause a driving force in their lives and this book highlights some of their key strategies in addressing this issue. ¶ Project type advocacy, print class print 1 instructor Max Spector format bound book concept food education as a universal ideal, a manifesto for children’s health, a new food revolution gathering pace inspiration war-time cook books, 1940s ration books and coupons, the Dig For Victory campaign, Future Farmers of America.

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(chapter two) Tell Tale Preserve Company— a nod to both Edgar Allen Poe's, “Tell Tale TELL TALE PRESERVE COMPANY Heart” and the preservation of culinary craftsmanship is the latest venture from pastry chef William Werner, who has worked at Quince, Spruce, and the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay. Werner is modeling his enterprise after refined European pâtisseries, melding his classic technique with the best product available. Tell Tale is an old fashioned bake shop for modern times. ¶ Project type identity, branding, print class internship, Chen Design Associates, San Francisco, Joshua Chen, creative director, Laurie Carrigan, art director, Max Spector, art director, designer, society bag tags, stationery, Debbie Ladas, logo design and trunk show visual toolbox elements concept nature plus science, unique blends, rock'n'roll meets formal Parisian baking traditions, rebel craftsman breaking the mold inspiration apothecary, turn of the century curiosities, Paxton Gate, vintage Parisian signage, Joseph Cornell, Piero Fornasetti, victorian medical plates awards Type Director's Club Award 2010, Typography 32, Communication Arts magazine online exhibit for Tell Tale Heart Valentine's day packaging, February 2011, HOW International Design Annual 2011. Graphis Branding USA 4 for the brand development.

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y ou h ave to start somewh ere

better now than a year from now

DO. UNDO. DO. UNDO. DO UNDO.

(chapter three) Welcome to our first issue of Paul Smith World. Despite lots of “doom and YOU CAN TELL A LOT BY A MA N’S SHOES gloom” messages in the media, design is very much alive and this magazine is an introduction to showcase what inspires the folks at Paul Smith. We wanted a quarterly magazine to send out and have available for sale in our stores as a beautiful collector's item that will supplement our blog and offer a hand-crafted, more long lasting piece of Paul Smith design. All of the stores showcase art and design as well as clothing collections and this first issue looks at the connections between our London base and our store recently opened in Los Angeles. In conjunction with the launch of the magazine, we launched a travel collection of healthy botanical drinks and beauty products that you can pack in hand-luggage. ¶ Project type editorial, print, packaging class print 2 instructor Ezster Clark format magazine with poster dust jacket and pull-out printed acetates as a visual pun to invite the readers to look into a “Paul Smith World” concept ‘classic with a twist’, pinstriped grid precision, punctuated with unexpected elements. Eclectic. A hand-luggage friendly botanicals collection, “+8” soothes the jet set as they migrate between LHR and LAX inspiration Paul Smith collections, David Hockney, LA sunset color scheme of pinks and turquoise, pop art, Dieter Rams, Ed Ruscha.

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