SANFORD BROWN CHRONICLE
CREATIVE BRIEF The Sanford Brown Student Newsletter is a monthly publication. It is written and designed by the students for the students. It’s mission is to inform, educate and entertain. The Newsletter is here to inform students on what is happening in the school and to represent all the degree programs equally with pertinent content. It is also a platform to represent the student voice in expressing opinions and concerns about the school.
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AROUND THE SCHOOL Q&A: RON WADE...............................................................6-9 SANFORD BROWN HUH?.......................................10-13 THE DESIGN WORLD TRENDING FLAT DESIGN..........................................16-19 MACBOOK PRO VS ASUS ROG.....................20-21 SOCIAL MEDIA REVIEW: MOVIES/TV.......................................................24-27 OFF THE BEATEN TRACK.........................................28-29 CLOSING NOTES.................................................................30-31 3
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AROUND THE SCHOOL 5
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Q&A: RON WADE
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RON WAS TRAINED AS A YOUTH TO RIDE WESTERN SHOW HORSES FOR THE RODEO. A DESTINY THAT DIDN’T QUITE PAN OUT IN FACT IT INSTILLED A LIFELONG DISTASTE FOR HORSES INSTEAD.
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I got the chance to sit down and speak with Ron Wade the head of Viscom here at Sanford Brown. Ron was briefly subbing for Zena Sakowski in our Graphic Design 3 class. I had prepared a list of questions and intended to conduct a very formal Q&A style interview, however since it was an open class atmosphere it quickly turned into a conversation.
an associates in arts through the local community college begfore going on to complete a B.A. in illustration from Columbia. Ron’s illustration background comes from a lifelong love of comics and animation. He sites artists such as Frank Frazetta, Jack Kirby and Jim Steranko as influences from the early fantasy and comic book genre.
Shannon Pounds an alumni as of the printing of this newsletter was present and the three of us ended up mostly sharing opinions on nerdy topics such as The Matrix and it’s impact on film or the attitude and importance of some of the more eccentric personalities in the comics industry. Ron was born in Lenox, IL. He initially earned
From there Ron studied Animation and Video. As an animator he is a fan of the works of Ray Harryhausen, Ralph Bakshi and Flesisher Studios, some of the greatest creative innovators in the animation world. Ron is partial to the early more radical works of Bakshi, in particular Street Fight, a controversial film that confronted racism and
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attacked stereotypes. Other favorites of Ron’s include the Star Wars Trilogy and the Godfather Trilogy minus the third installation, as well as the Lord of The Rings and The Matrix. Everything is a trilogy these days. There was a lot of discussion between the three of us about The Matrix, with the conclusion being: it revolutionized cinema but the second and third movies were just riding on the steam of the first and in many ways were not sufficient to carry the name of that first great movie. This brings us to the comic discussion. Grant Morrison, Alan Moore and Frank Miller. What do they all have in common? They write brilliant revolutionary comics, but you wouldn’t have them over for dinner. We covered alot of ground in our conversation. I also found out Ron was trained as a youth to ride western show horses for the rodeo. A destiny that didn’t quite pan out in fact it instilled a lifelong distaste for horses instead. Ron also is a motorcycle enthusiast and ‘91 Harley lowrid-
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er. He has two cats named Spidey and Lucifer Aloysius Beelzebub Devil-Kitty. Like myself he is a huge fan of Frank Langella’s performance of Skeletor in the 1987 classic Masters of The Universe. He is a huge fan of country’s greatest and 80’s hair metal like Yngwie Malmsteen and Quiet Riot. Is a fan of Agents from Shield and Game of Thrones. I asked Ron if he had some advise to give young people today and his answer was. “Keep an open mind. Things will change, how you are affected by change is determined by your attitude.” Wise words from our Head of Viscom. Thanks Ron!
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I ASKED RON IF HE HAD SOME ADVISE TO GIVE YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY AND HIS ANSWER WAS. “KEEP AN OPEN MIND. THINGS WILL CHANGE, HOW YOU ARE AFFECTED BY CHANGE IS DETERMINED BY YOUR ATTITUDE.”
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WITH THE ECONOMY THE WAY IT IS COMPETITION IS FIERCE AND THE ARTS ARE NOT GOING TO BE APPRECIATED QUITE AS MUCH AS THEY WOULD BE IN A MORE PROSPEROUS AND FOCUSED ECONOMY. So, I signed up to go to The International Academy of Design Technology, and I’m going to end up with a degree from Sanford Brown. At first I did not like the sound of that. However, no need to have a bad attitude, so I decided to carry on and get the most out of my education. I can think of this as a new beginning and this Newsletter is a way to put that into effect. To help form and enforce my attitude I did some research and put some thought into the situation. This is my conclusion. This merger is the result of the slump in the economy hitting the education sector, which as all things in America falls under the umbrella of what Einstein called “a predatory phase of hu-
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man development”. (That’s right I’m looking at the bigger picture.) I assume you all agree with me and Einstein, since we go to an art school. Decadent, bohemian, socialist sympathizing artists that we are. With the economy the way it is competition is fierce and the arts are not going to be appreciated quite as much as they would be in a more prosperous and focused economy. So a larger more successful franchise has taken over our art school. Whatever. I say to my comrades here at the ground level, know the fight, and stick to your guns, were all gonna get hit. If you’re serious about your art, which I know you all are, you aren’t going to let a little bump in the road of the global economy get in your way. There is still plenty of opportunity. Modern tech-
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nology and culture makes it more exciting then ever to be an artist in any media. A little history on Sanford Brown. Sanford Brown provides career training programs in health care, criminal justice, and computer-related fields. The school traces its history back to the 1860s as a successor to a St. Louis location of Brown’s Business College owned by George W. Brown (1845-1918). Although the schools are not regionally accredited, they are nationally accredited by either the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) or the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC). Additionally, over 60 academic programs at Sanford–Brown are individually accredited. - So that is what wikipedia has to say. From Sanford Brown’s web site about the IADT School of Design. Being creative makes you unique. With the right education, your creativity could lead to an excit-
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ing future. Named for its predecessor, the International Academy of Design & Technology, Sanford-Brown’s IADT School of Design combines traditional design training with technology, conceptual thinking and marketing to help create well-rounded and business-savvy design professionals. Whether you’re into graphic design, interior design, fashion, or one of a diverse mix of media arts such as photography and animation, Sanford-Brown can help channel your creativity for your future.
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SANFORD-BROWN’S IADT SCHOOL OF DESIGN COMBINES TRADITIONAL DESIGN TRAINING WITH TECHNOLOGY, CONCEPTUAL THINKING AND MARKETING TO HELP CREATE WELL-ROUNDED AND BUSINESSSAVVY DESIGN PROFESSIONALS.
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So after reading that I feel much better. The school has historic precedence, it has an accreditation, and it is getting behind the art program, and still honoring the I.A.D.T. name. Which alleviates my fears that they would dismantle the art program to make way for degrees in business forensics, and dental hygination and other non-art related malarkey. I still don’t like their logo. Which I would describe as visually redundant, Brown on Brown. The name brown is written in brown because it’s brown, not particularly creative. So to wrap this up. I am perfectly fine with this change. I may have come off as anti-business but that isn’t the case. In today’s world every artist must be his own business man, and spend some time away from the ecstasy of creation and find a way to entice others into the clutches of his/her artistic dimension. We call that marketing. Having an on-hand business program offers the opportunity to seek counsel on that aspect
of the art world from professionals. Ultimately I feel that Sanford Brown will return prosperity and new opportunities to a somewhat declining institution.
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IN TODAY’S WORLD EVERY ARTIST MUST BE HIS OWN BUSINESS MAN, AND SPEND SOME TIME AWAY FROM THE ECSTASY OF CREATION AND FIND A WAY TO ENTICE OTHERS INTO THE CLUTCHES OF HIS/ HER ARTISTIC DIMENSION.
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THE DESIGN WORLD 15
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TRENDING FLAT DESIGN
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MINIMALISM ITSELF HAS A LONG HISTORY OF INFLUENCES INCLUDING THE DESTILJ MOVEMENT, MIES VAN DER ROHE, BUCKMINSTER FULLER, MONDRIAN AND TRADITIONAL JAPANESE DESIGN.. With the mass proliferation of mobile devices, minimalism in the form of the flat style has arisen as an extremely popular trend for UI, app and web design. Minimalism itself has a long history of influences including the DeStilj movement, Mies Van Der Rohe, Buckminster Fuller, Mondrian and traditional Japanese design. In design and architecture the emphasis is on functionality. It is about doing the most with the least. Simple geometric forms that don’t intersect, highly controlled or limited color schemes, clear readability in type and simple materials. In web some basic rules to abide by are as follows. Less is more – use only elements that are necessary for your web design; the end effect is
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greater than the sum of its parts. Omit needless things – don’t include unnecessary elements in your designs; include only what’s necessary to the content and function of your website (including certain design and graphical elements that directly affect readability and usability). Subtract until it breaks – remove elements until your design stops working the way it should (stops being user-friendly or stops delivering your intent experience); the point right before that is when you’ve achieved the most minimalist design possible. Every detail counts – what you choose to leave in is vital, so think of the feeling you want visitors to have, then include only the details that
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will create that feeling (funky, modern, clean, sophisticated, and so forth). Color minimally – use only the colors that interact well with each other and create the feeling you want visitors to have. White space is vital – don’t try to fill every space, instead use white space to emphasize certain elements over others. Typography – choose clean, simple fonts with a high level of readability. Strong grid alignments – a readable and pleasing arrangement of content; our eyes are familiar with this pattern, and we want items to line up in a predictable manner. Contrast – increased contrast can drastically improve your design’s readability and user-friendliness. White space – emphasize where you want viewers to look while making them feel comfortable and less claustrophobic.
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Similar to the way in which DeStilj arose in painting as a reaction to abstract expressionism, flat style is a polar reaction to skeuomorphism. Skeuomorphism is the trend of creating UI elements that resemble real world control elements, such as buttons on a music app that
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FLAT STYLE IS A POLAR REACTION TO SKEUOMORPHISM. SKEUOMORPHISM IS THE TREND OF CREATING UI ELEMENTS THAT RESEMBLE REAL WORLD CONTROL ELEMENTS, SUCH AS BUTTONS ON A MUSIC APP THAT LOOK LIKE REAL KNOBS FROM A STEREO.
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look like real knobs from a stereo. Although this can be a visually appealing design, it uses complex images that take up more space. As well as the practical concerns, the visual metaphor invoked by skeuomorphism doesn’t apply to many younger users who are no longer familiar with the devices being emulated. Flat style on the other hand draws inspiration from minimalism and fine tunes the design and aesthetic in web and UI towards efficiency and simplicity. In 2006 Microsoft introduced the Zune which featured the first flat design interface. This was the first appearance of the style from a major software developer, and although the Zune was a commercial failure, flat style persisted. Today flat style is as ubiquitous in UI and Web as modernism is in architecture. It can be seen on the windows 8 “metro UI” and many elements of the Mac OS. Flat style icons have been continuously replacing previously beveled, and shadowed
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FLAT STYLE ON THE OTHER HAND DRAWS INSPIRATION FROM MINIMALISM AND FINE TUNES THE DESIGN AND AESTHETIC IN WEB AND UI TOWARDS EFFICIENCY AND SIMPLICITY.
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icons. It is a clearly defined technique that can be applied to any project. The web offers countless resources and guides to apply this solution. It is a style that all designers should be familiar with. This is not to say that flat style is the final solution for all design projects, like minimalism it is clean and efficient, but it does not necessarily fit all projects. For apps usability is always more important then looks.
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MACBOOK PRO VS. ASUS ROG SANFORD BROWN CHRONICLE
MACBOOK PRO - $2599
ASUS ROG G750JH - $1200 - $2000
Processor 2.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz) with 3MB shared L3 cache Configurable to 2.8GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz) with 4MB shared L3 cache.
Processor Intel® Core™ i7 4700HQ Processor 3.4 GHz
RAM 16GB of 1600MHz DDR3L onboard memory Display Retina display: 15.4-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2880-by-1800 resolution at 220 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors Intel Iris Pro Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M with 2GB of GDDR5 memory and automatic graphics switching Storage 512GB 512GB PCIe-based flash storage Configurable to 1TB flash storage.
RAM DDR3L 1600 MHz SDRAM, up to 32 GB Display 17.3” 16:9 FHD EWV LED Backlight/Full HD 3D(1920x1080 120Hz) Non-Glare LCD Panel (Optional) Graphic NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 780M 4GB GDDR5 VRAM Storage 2.5” 9.5mm SATA 1TB HDD 5400 RPM With 512 GB SSD 1TB HDD 5400 RPM With 256 GB SSD 750GB 5400/7200 RPM With 256 GB SSD 500GB 7200 RPM 500GB 5400 With 8 GB SSD SSH Dual HDD Support RAID0 Support Optical Drive Blu-Ray DVD Combo Super-Multi DVD Blue-ray Writer Card Reader 2 -in-1 card reader ( SD/ MMC)
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SOCIAL MEDIA 23
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REVIEW: MOVIES/TV
ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE Director: Jim Jarmusch, Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Tilda Swanson, Mia Wasikowska, John Hurt, Anton Yelchin This movie is a dream come true for me. I love Vampire fiction when it is done well, and it rarely is. The Twilight series was an all time low for the horror subgenre, it was in desperate need of a savior. When I heard about “Only Lovers Left Alive” I was elated to hear that Jim Jarmusch had taken on a Vampire story. Jarmusch’s style, characterized by an extreme attention to detail with more emphasis on mood and character development then action or excitement seemed perfect for an encounter with timeless beings such as Vampires. I was not disappointed. “Only Lovers Left Alive” tells the tale of a couple, married and in love for centuries, with experiences, insights and abilities beyond that of any mere mortal. They embody an ultimate ideal of beauty and refinement, talent and feeling. Although it is a Vampire movie, it is not a horror film, except
in the sense that the monsters are more human than humanity. Set in the distant desolations of Detroit and Tangiers, the settings are as beautiful, somber and troubled as the characters. This is a film for the romantic at heart. Jarmusch’s vampires express the potential of human accomplishment and empathy, they are what we could be and what we should be. Go see the movie. TRUE DETECTIVE Writer: Nic Pizzolatto Director: Cary Fukunaga Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Monaghan True Detective was the tale of two police officers tracking a serial killer over the course of 17 years. It is an exploration of two very different personalities. This is not merely a crime drama, this is a horror story in the darkest sense. It is an exploration of Evil, the kind that seems as if it could only be supernatural. True Detective draws direct influence from Robert Chambers, Lovecraft, Thomas
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Ligotti, Lovecraft and Nitzche all authors I am familiar with and enjoy. In fact some dialogue had been directly lifted from Ligotti and Nietzche. It was thrilling for me to hear this level of Nihilistic/ Pessimistic thought delivered by Matthew McConaughey on HBO. So this like Only Lover’s Left Alive, was a welcome revival of my favorite aspects of horror fiction. And the influences don’t end there, I could also make direct connections between this series and the comics Neonomicon by Alan Moore, and The Invisibles by Grant Morrison. The director, Cary Fukunaga also cited David Lynch’s direction of Twin Peaks as an influence, also a favorite of mine. So now I’m pretty invested in this show. This story is a much welcome edition to the weird fiction genre. The acting and direction truly make it exceptional beyond the quality of the stroy. True detective is about an ancient cosmic horror, in this sense it is reminiscent of Lovecraft. It is an evil that is inherited through blood, as a lineage, and has infected our social structure. It is an evil that comes deeply from within us and from the cosmic void, because they are one in the same. This is where
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the story draws the influences together. It is not only about the external cosmic horrors, the harsh scientific horrors of the outer void; Lovecraft’s terrain, expressed largely through Rust, but also the horrors that come from within, that each of us as individuals hides from, as expressed by Woody Harrelson’s character. Ultimately I don’t believe that “True Detective” itself was so much about the story it depicted, but more about the weird fiction it was birthed from. There was little new here as far as storyline goes, a serial killer, a secret society, a supernatural invader or possessor, all common tropes in the horror genre, What is different here is the constant philisophical dialogue. There were many layers to “True Detective”. The end of the series was met with much dispute. It left us with more questions then answers. I believe that the story is more about the nature of horror itself rather thenan audience safe narrative. The ending is perfectly effective if you believe both characters, even the horror hardened Rust Cohle come out of it believing in a delusion of the supernatural to give their lives any meaning. This brings me to Robert Chambers : “Yellow King” which features
a fictitious play of the same name, a story that if read drives the reader mad due to the truths contained within, and Lovecraft’s opening line in “The Call of Cthulhu”; ”The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents.” In the end Rust accepts Marty’s delusion, because the truth is simply too horrific. So the horror of the story is that Rust was sane up until the ending. Well I definitely recomment “True Detective” as well as all the reading I’ve connected it to. SPACE DANDY BANDAI FUNIMATION
which Space Dandy and his robot sidekick go to the booby breastaurant to hunt aliens. Mistakenly they capture a beetlegeusian who looks much like an earth cat, nickname him meow and take him on their bizarre and random adventures. The show is incredibly immature, obsessed with boobs, booty, ramen, puns and one liners. Nothing wrong with that, it’s funny, it’s stylish and it delivers. Space battles crazy alien designs, martial arts fight scenes, gun fights, and all the cliches anime is known for taken to the next dimension. Although Space Dandy doesn’t have the depth or cool of Cowboy Bepop, it makes up for it in fun and boobies.
ADULT SWIM From the creators of Cowboy Bebop, posibly the best anime series of all time comes Space Dandy. 13 episodes, Space Dandy is a dandy, in space, he combs the galaxy like he combs his pompadour. hunting aliens The series opens with a monologue on boobies and booties, after
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THIS WEEK’S CHOICE VALHALL - GHOSTS OF ANTIQUITY
Music for Cyber Vikings. Epic dirges of civilizations ruin. This is some of the most awfully beautiful music I’ve ever heard. Beat or percussion is minimal, synths range from orchestral melody to crunchy dissonance, the vocals are either subtle distorted growls or enchanting melody, there is even some rap from guest artists such as ZEEKs.. It is a bonding of fiercly contradictory sounds. Often the underlying atmosphere of samples is a subtle filter of growling mechanical and biological churning. Very dark, romantic, epic, grave wave. Valhall represents a fiercly independant movement in music of (non-genre specific artists, however most tend to be very dark and gloomy) that refuse to allow their art
to be commercialized and offer it free on bandcamp, soundcloud and other non-profit generating music networks.
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CLOSING NOTES FROM THE EDITORS We want to take some time to personally thank all the students and staff that supported us in the development of this newsletter. We want to take this project further and develop it into something that will become an icon of Sanford Brown in the years to come. Any students that are interested in participating are more than welcome too. In the next editions we will also include student work, interactive elements, and much more, so make sure you submit work, article, and suggestions. Thank You
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SUBMISSION/CONTACT INFORMATION EMAIL: SANFORD.BROWN.NEWSLETTER@GMAIL.COM STUDENT CONTACT: DEMETRIUS KORBAKIS STAFF CONTACT: AARON ESSMANN
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