loading: please wait by deryn joy

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the story of a semester of self-discovery and graphic design by deryn joy

contents

project 3

project 2

project 1

what the heck this is

week 1 the $5 toy project

week 2 meaningless design

week 3 artificial constraints

week 4 all about the process

week 5 practical solutions

week 6 what matters and why

week 7 the world it is a-changing

week 8 doodling

week 9 depression

week 10 all art is conceptual

week 11 temporary & permanent

week 12 living real

yeah, I haven't been super clear. this is a book covering my fall semester 2016, specifically the first three projects my bookforms class did (this journal is the fourth project, so it won’t be included. that would be a little too droste-effect). I’m recording my process work and thoughts—which during the semester were kept on tumblr—in chronological order. week one will contain the things that I did in, guess what, week one, and so on through the end of the book; although I might incude some content that isn’t 100% accurate timewise because in real life its creation spanned a few weeks or a weekend—just to keep the book moving. (you won’t know. it won’t hurt you.) this whole semester was that, actually: constant movement and change, a lot of confusing and some really strange times. but this book is hopefully the bright side of everything, as I sort through it and come up with something concrete from the chaos. so if you get some of all that looking through this bookform, I’m sorry and you’re welcome.

dedicated to my heroes, the einstein brothers. like I always say: bros before crit. 5

project 1 the $5 toy

first assignment! take $5 to the hardware store and buy things out of which to make an original toy. seriously, a toy. bring it to next class, and it better be awesome. we were then going to develop a whole promotional system around this toy: copy, packaging, booklet, and poster. call us "the little cohort that could".

sketches, as I decided what I wanted to make with my precious $5.

week 1

$5 toy project design matters: chris ware

99pi: holdout

I went to the hardware store late

in this exalted state of thinking, I moved

tuesday afternoon to get a jump-

on to the 99pi podcast on edith macefield

start on the $5-toy project.

and that prompted only nail houses. like,

that was sarcastic. one cannot jumpstart a project due in two days. I was behind schedule from the moment this project was assigned. well, by yesterday morning I had already cried once, so I was sitting in our beautiful laminate-and-exposed-concrete humanities building, drawing my ideas on illustrator because I have about zero talent in illustrator and needed to make myself feel worse. I was also listening to the DM podcast with chris ware, because I wanted to hear about someone who has “more awards than work” and is apparently a certifiable genius at what he does just like me, but really because it was a school assignment. I found myself thinking about my work in

what if I drilled four literal nails into a block of wood and somehow made an assembleable house with that? (which also appeals to some deep, primal longing in you, right? I’m just full of ideas. …I’m full of something.) yeah, well, I ended up doing neither the zomboctopus or the nail house. my tinyTree is going to be the last word in human experience; it’s going to ring true for those privileged and those underprivileged, for the ordinary and the unusual, for those who work with their minds and for those who work with their hands, for those who love the world and the people in it and for those who sit up at night watching the stars alone. it’s a frickin' toy for pete’s sake. we all played with those.

the light of his comments. chris ware is a cartoonist, so he needs to produce what resonates with the most people to be successful in any way—and he has been successful. amazingly so. he’s created characters that speak to his readers because those readers see themselves in the story; and I thought, how can my toy do that? to sell as a toy it has to appeal to a broad range of people (even within a target audience: all 5-year-olds are not alike). how can I make it pertinent to even one aspect of many lives? like the zomboctopus. doesn’t that just speak to you?

introducing the tinyTree I got the stuff to build my tree at lowe’s by thursday night; by friday night, I had trimmed the dowels, inseted them into the trunk, and drilled the hole in the base (which I got for free from the wood scraps of a downtown hardware store. kentucky locals, man). I glued the trunk right before going to bed and let it dry. over the next few days, I worked on season decorations. winter was I think my favorite—a light blue thread with tiny little puffballs. it was actually ribbon left over from present-wrapping last year, so all I did was cut it short enough; but that’s not why I liked it. it’s just so tiny! I did spend a lot of time on the other seasons, though. spring was six tissue-paper flowers (multiple layers of paper, sewn together with three-bead centers and an attached loop to hang)—paper is hard to sew, especially when it’s less than an inch in diameter. summer was a length of embroidery thread with leaves slid on at different points (also requiring needle and thread and a painstaking time of cutting out the little pieces of paper); and fall was the same leaf shapes but cut out of paint samples in autumnal colors, hung separately—so you can have the tree covered in changing leaves and slowly have them fall until the tree is bare, all poetic and circle-of-life-y.

* and mama helped me make a pattern and sew the little tiny canvas bags. so yeah, it's all handmade. this would cost waaay more than $5 irl.

top: tinyTree in all its glory, accompanied by burlap packaging, tag, & artsy-fartsy bags. middle, clockwise from left: summer. autumn. spring. winter. immediately above: canvas bags, ready for their closeups.

gratuitous tree illustration >

figuring out my logo. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m terrible at logos.

week 2

meaningless design design matters: massimo vignelli

99pi: structural integrity

on day one of the design program at UofL,

in this week’s assigned 99pi podcast, there

every young, scared student is taken

was another thread of “good”: the old story

advantage of in their vulnerable state by

of the citicorp building in new york with a

having the most important mantras of the

dangerous structural flaw, fixed during a

field impressed in their trembling minds.

succession of nights – after the architect

about every day after that, these mantras are repeated, so that once the children more confident and not as susceptible, they’ll now be brainwashed. eventually stockholm syndrome sets in, and now we all know what to say and how to say it and we’re so glad to be alphas. it has thus become my turn to

was humble enough to look into the possibility when an intern drew his attention to it. if you’re never too good to mess up, you’re never too good to take criticism. constructive criticism is something I have trouble with but something I always need. most of the time I can take it. maybe with a bad attitude, but I am working on that.

impress on the young up-and-comers: design should never be meaningless. according to massimo vignelli, “meaningless design” is anything not pertinent to the

the logomark

situation. he speaks of his own work as being

I tried. I really tried. as much as I love type,

decorated with subtraction, and bemoans

I am terrible at capturing logo kinds of

the fact that many decorate by addition.

concepts in a wordmark. words are still

I have nothing to say to this. it’s true, and I do it. oops.

easier for me than images as far as design goes (so forget the logo image altogether!!) and I still struggled with getting a wordmark

vignelli continued, in the same interview

for my little toy. in the end, I used a version

with debbie millman, “producing visual

of the top central image and drew it on a

pollution that is degrading our environment

tag with wood grain decorations, like the

is just like all other types of pollution.” I

woody T above. and in the end, nobody

would have illustrated that quote, but it

really noticed it anyway. c’est la vie.

was a lot longer and a lot of people could call me out on it. if I say I can always get better, one can’t argue with that. take home: good things will have permanence. good things will last.

sometimes it's important to just put your busy-ness down for a minute and breathe fresh air.

so one day this autumn I closed my computer and walked out into our woods. I took my shoes off and walked high over the creek on a fallen tree, and when I reached the middle I looked around. no houses. no cars. no people. and I reached up and I breathed in as the sun hit the leaves and the wind blew them down onto my hair. after going back in to get a camera because millennials must record every moment of their lives, I went up to my room and got back to work. it was good.

week 3

artificial constraints 99pi: broadcast clock three years ago, I went to a design talk

moving on to last semester: the final,

at the VIA design studio. in the corner

“oomph” project in letterforms I was making

of the room was a quote: “the absence

a blurb book about our progress through

of limitations is the enemy of art.”

the design program. leslie assigned it

cut to our first semester in the design program. we were taking steve’s now-you’rein intro class (”class” in the loosest possible interpretation of the term) and he introduced

and it was due on our final exam day (last week of april), because she wanted these to be portfolio-day quality.

us to grids. that’s where it got interesting

leslie has high expectations.

and actually really, really good. we learned

we try to meet them.

about page canons and practiced making layouts and using vertical and horizontal grids—all that good stuff—and steve began the last half of the semester with a project that became infamous among the class of 2018 as “mayonnaise.” that’s rather immaterial, but I thought I’d mention it anyway, because it’s an equally immaterial part of my next point. so this project of steve’s: it began with a generated noun (mine was “mayonnaise”) and a found image (mine was a dreamy little

anyway, this book (“mayonnaise: keep on dreaming”) was a wonder of grid-ness and I grew to love those tight, somewhat arbitrary restraints—because why x number of columns as opposed to y? but they made my book ridiculously better and ridiculously easy. you already know where to put the content. I even had a spread dedicated to that orson welles quote from VIA: “the absence of limitations is the enemy of art.”

girl). we had to come up with I believe 30

if you can believe it, ^that^ was all a

iterations of combinations, and we could

setup for the real short lesson I took away

only use helvetica, and only black and

from the 99pi podcast on the broadcast

white, and no word rotation. we could crop

clock: artificial restraints make us better;

the image, but no rotation there, either. …

the lack of constraints make for boring

aaaand go! (mine was eventually a dreamy

work. I 100p agree. I also loved the idea

little girl gazing lovingly at “mayonnaise.”)

of the clock making you take stock of your

that project impressed on me how much more creative people are when they’re given tight restraints—fewer options make it easier to choose, I guess (which is why I hate the “oh, whatever” of well-meaning clients because then I sit for hours staring at a blank canvas, and usually my first couple tries are exactly that: whatever).

the day before spring break (mid-march)

content: “stop. right. there. and figure out what really matters.” that’s exactly what grids do, and that’s why I use them.

definitely

stories and

would

songs and

doing*

...so many

this well.

what she’s

inspirational?

waiting for you

words to do

*doesn’t know

of anything

grown tired of

like I need my

not two?

can’t I think

yeah but I’ve

text... I feel

here, maybe?

seasons. why

change

need more

one column

things about

seasons

for all seasons grids: setting up I also read several pages from beth tondreau’s layout essentials on creating grids. Text over

occabor

here about

iberrore

tinyTree and

sequatiae

its worthiness.

vellandaeped

Organic!

quia peria

on go the

cream, but I

Natural! All

num sequis

words “away

feel obligated

quaerchiciis ex et laut alitatiam ersperae.

if you don’t know how this post ties into the pages I read on grids, I’m sorry.

vollabo. Ita im

away down the hill”

santiscia plat

soloria eum,

all I really

et, officae

sit et qui. And

want is ice

atem volore et faccum hillitio occat molSum nonseque volorum accullitat il eaqui derum hilitem ipsaeptat fuga. Ex eatiunt dolor seniet dis delignihitas platem.

well. UGH SO MUCH WORK TO DO x|

Harum eseque sim corum ipsant volore

orent, conseru ptatis quiae od elestrum

quidi omniae

voluptaque sitiusd antiatem doluptis quia

Olorionseque

to finish this

Ommodit

stuff. Yeah.

erorestibus a niet quatem fuga. Ut etum ipit res mo mos

evel in re si te perunt.

down the river

qui qui nos eari archilit-

apissundae

simaxim vit accaest, soluptur ab in pore cum doluptate net

the great

Sum nonseque volorum accullitat il eaqui derum hilitemipsaeptiunt dolor seniet dis delignihita

three different versions of one spread. when I talk about "a process," I'm not messing around. this is A Process, painfully long and involved.

week 4

all about the process design matters: jessica hische jessica hische is all that these days, but I remember when I first heard of her. it was way back, before she was The Jessica Hische (although she was getting there) and, just getting started myself (in a much smaller way), I was struggling to figure out how to break into the design community. at this one LGDA event, I ended up talking to matt stevens. and I said, “I have no idea even where to start looking for good design work. who are designers you’d recommend?” he pulled a napkin out of his pocket and said, “you’re interested in lettering? look these two up,” and he wrote down erik marinovich and jessica hische. it’s funny, they’re still two of my favorites to this day. (like WHO DOESN’T LOVE HIS TYPE TREATMENT FOR 'IN A LONELY PLACE') (AND ALSO HUMPHREY BOGART COME ON) I was pretty excited to hear debbie millman’s podcast with JH because of my perceived history with her (admittedly, a relationship can’t get much more onetype inspiration, by erik marinovich. © erik marinovich.

sided than ours, unless it’s my relationship with, say, a fictional andrei bolkonsky. I adore from afar and remain a nonevent). JH is super down-to-earth and really funny and just fun to listen to. she’s proof you don’t need to go to RISD to succeed at life (this from a second-generation shouldhave-applied regretter)—since I’m always looking to confirmation bias my life choices, I was of course delighted to hear this. “you want to work with people you like, who are curious and exuberant,” she sort of said, which was also encouraging, because everyone knows I am curious, exuberant, and universally liked hahahaha.

her big point was specialty, though, which is funny for someone who is so interested in so many things and so creative in so many areas. but JH was insistent that a designer can’t be good at everything, so be good at one thing. right now, I’m working on being competent at one thing anything (…anything? bueller?) but whatever that thing is and please please please let it be type I’m going to have to do a heck of a lot more practicing. —which, as JH also pointed out, is what school is for, not just a portfolio. hallelujah. (continued on next page)

quaerum dolorumquiae lis dolestist, optatios pero conest, se nos qui natiure iunt od ea cus quam excessum facepel idundantur magnimeniant aut istrupt atium, sin erionse res doluptas a sit, seque mo cuptiur aut aut od mos as doles alibusa ectempos ullaut arum dolo.

Hentione rehent endunt voles dolore rem voles doluptur aborpor ehent, suntistio. Onsequo digent quibuscimin re, con porporrum quos dolupient as pe omnis dici tectus moluptat et lab illandant. Omniscid maximusandia sequam, at inctota spedipsae ventur sae. Volenim quo ex eum es dolor abo. Et plam quaerum dolorumquiae lis dolestist, optatios pero conest, se nos qui natiure iunt od ea cus quam excessum facepel idundantur m.

I continued tweaking my spreads this week. I got rid of the butt-ugly green rectangle around the words, fortunately. yuck.

that “specialize” comment reminded me in a strange, looping, möbius-strip way of an interview I read a while back with, guess who, matt stevens: pursue your interests, he said, and create your own momentum. what do I love to do? am I practicing that? —am I practicing anything? am I learning all I can about what I love to do and spending my time wisely? sure, jessica hische is proof that you don’t need to know everything before earning a living, but then again so is everyone else. I have the rest of my life to learn how much is left to know. so I read about the golden ratio, and I apply it to my book designs. I practice drawing baskerville and memorizing its proportions. I apply design principles to school presentations on “what is gothic literature?”—including speaking clearly and making eye contact, like I’m pitching them my latest work. it’s all practice so that when, in the words of the immortal brian faust, “you have to throw yourself into the universe and say ‘JUDGE ME,’” I’ll maybe have a job waiting for me somewhere. maybe. somewhere.

grids: space most of the grid chapters this week focused on space usage—efficiency, luxury, proportions on the page. I love space, so this is really exciting; in theory. I never seem to be able to execute the way I want to. you can see the result of my balancing efforts in my gothic presentation slide (it was a fabulous system, actually. I really enjoyed making it!). balancing the text and images in my booklet was tough, though. I'm still trying to get the hang of mixing those two.

what is

GOTHIC LITERATURE?

slide #1 of my gothic literature presentation for english class (95/100 on the presentation, 100/100 on the accompanying essay. I happen to be an oldlit freak, so this was a lucky assignment, although I won't say my design skillz had nothing to do with it).

Harum eseque sim corum

atem volore et faccum hillitio

section header?

Ommodit erorestibus a niet quatem fuga. Ut etum ipit res mo mos simaxim vit accaest, soluptur ab in pore cum doluptate net quaerchiciis ex et laut alitatiam ersperae.

put the tinyTree! customizable decoration for that empty flat surface in

all the seasons come in little bags, so it’s perfect for your little

shake it up a little.

your house.

apartment where you have little space but want to be able to

come on, I don’t know.

or something.

audipicate vel

dolor seniet

hitas platem

Ex eatiunt

dis deligni-

comes with all four

Ex eatiunt dolor seniet

velesti as dolorit, tem hilligent.

seasons, but of course we’ll never stop you from buying the extra accessories we are

ipsaeptat fuga. eos ea voluptate derum hilitem nient molorro

volorum acvitiur? Qui vocullitat il eaqui luptateOvideleof course going to produce. cha-ching.

saeptat fuga. eaqui derum hilitem ipaccullitat il Sum nonseque volorum

dis delignihitas platem

eari archilitdoluptis quia qui qui nos tiusd antiatem

Sum nonseque magnat voles

voluptaque sisim corum ipsant volore Harum eseque Ommodit erorestibus a niet quatem fuga. Ut etum ipit res mo mos

Sum nonseque volorum accullitat il eaqui derum hilitemipsaeptiunt dolor seniet dis delignihita

ab in pore cum doluptate net quaerchiciis ex et laut alitatiam ersperae.

Ommodit erorestibus a niet quatem fuga. Ut etum ipit res mo mos simaxim vit accaest, soluptur ab in pore cum doluptate net quaerchiciis ex et laut alitatiam ersperae.

moar process!!! on the far left are versions (on grids, of course) of single tree vs. four trees, and whether they should go on the cover, or inside spreads, or what. here immediately left are more four-combinations. without wanting to lean too heavily towards any one season, I wanted to accurately portray all four and not be too repetitive. ...but, as you can see by even my first poster draft (next page), repetition was bound to happen. also, please notice the many versions of grid I tried using for this project. it was overwhelming for everyone involved.

Harum eseque sim corum ipsant volore voluptaque sitiusd antiatem doluptis quia qui qui nos eari archilit-

Sum nonseque volorum accullitat il eaqui derum hilitem ipsaeptat fuga. Ex eatiunt dolor seniet dis delignihitas platem.

simaxim vit accaest, soluptur

atem volore et faccum hillitio occat molorent, conseru ptatis quiae od elestrum evel in re si te perunt.

week 5

practical solutions 99pi: revolving doors every design project has been beginning the

a good idea is great, but it needs to be

same way for me recently: pour bad ideas

executed well, because there is no point

on a page, select one, tweak and adjust,

to a good idea if it stays floating around in

frustration eat, come back and reevaluate;

Theoretical Land and never does anything.

et cetera. usually the tough spots smooth out eventually and I actually accomplish something—although my overall enthusiasm and drive varies depending largely how much sleep I got the night before. I really do start out with bad ideas, though. leslie and steve have always told us it’s better to have 15 bad ideas than one good one; because if you have a good idea right off the bat, it’s easy to stop there and never explore further. (though I’m lazy and tend to have one bad idea but just try my darnedest to make it freaking work already!!! I often work the proverbial twice.)

the picture is of notes I took on what was wrong with my booklet, every idea of what I might be able to do, and sketches of what might actually work—since it’s the best ideas that mix “ideal” with “practical,” the best-case scenario with a real-life solution. (which reminds me of grids, because grids allow such flexibility and possibilities but also provide the necessary structure to keep it all organized. there’s the ideal arrangement of a perfectly rhythmic, minimal layout, sans information; and then there’s the information, all of it, all at once, too much to take in; combine the two and you have

this is a terrible introduction to what I was

the ideal + the real which = the acme of

thinking about with this week’s design

design. if only that inimitable combination

podcast, 99pi’s ‘revolving doors’, but

could leave Theoretical Land and visit me.)

whatever. I found it incredibly interesting that the issue with revolving doors was not the idea but the application. it wasn’t that people looked at doors that went in a circle and said, “oh, that’s a door? I didn’t realize” or “but I

for all my theoretical talk about practical solutions, I’m still at a loss as to actually applying ‘create practical solutions’ to my life. what a conclusion.

don’t get how it works” or “but I don’t want to save energy.” it’s that people looked at the door and saw all of the other things that came along with the typical revolving door and that’s what they didn’t want: the claustrophobic space, the unpredictability of pushing, the undignified scuttling through, the general

grids: I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake grids can get boring if you do the same thing with them every time, so this week the chapters covered doing it with style.

discomfort and possible embarrassment.

I love keeping it clean with blank space, but I

deal with those secondary issues, and the

know places where switching those spaces up

idea (a great one) is finally able to work—and,

can basically make your spread's wildest dreams

says roman mars, at a swanky hotel in new

come true. ...or, rather, the grid book knows

york the design achieved just that success

places. I'm not quite out of the woods yet.

after they enlarged the door’s compartments and installed an automated rotation.

while my love of layouts hasn't quite turned

how can I do that with my designs?

incorporate these directives into my projects—

into total mastery on my part, I'm trying to that's how you get the girl. gird. grid. whatever.

I always sketch, even in the middle of projects. because even if they don't end up looking like what I'm trying to make, they help me sort through my thoughtsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;more like notes than sketches, I suppose. this is one of those pages. I have a lot of thoughts. and I finally started printing my pages out (in color, at full size) and seeing how different elements were working together. this is one of my favorite stages of the process: it's all finally starting to feel concrete. I can see where I'm going. well, hopefully.

in its natural habitat.

our revels are now ended tinyTree has been conceived, created,

1. because I listened too much to

advertised, released into the universe, and

other people for too long (trying to

it’s time to move on. moving on is hard.

please them meant I did what didn’t

I am exhausted and stressed and

feel right to me, so it never flowed)

discouraged and full of emptiness. this

2. because I wasted my time on trying ideas

project has sucked me dry and vomited all

I couldn’t execute (by the time I was able to

of my inward hopes and ideas and attempts

say, “you know what, no. I’m going to do

back out in a horrible, disgusting mess.

something different” I was so out of time

I’m sick of looking at my materials; I’m not

neither idea direction was well-developed) and

proud of what I’ve done; and I’m tired of not caring because I’m not able to produce. my skill level has a long way to go. what did I learn from this project?

3. because I constantly put off the elements I knew I’d need to fix that were hard— which included using photoshop, which I don’t understand and am not good at, making the eventual down-to-the-wire

as I re-realize with most projects, I am

edits a stressful, panicky pain in the butt.

not as good as I think I am. I don’t think

which in turn made my book crappy.

of myself as thinking of myself as good, but it creeps in and when I get lazy or too comfortable I step back from my final result and “TERRIBLE” comes out and smacks me in the face—I see so many places where I majorly screwed up, and I realize, girl, your head is swole. I don’t push myself when I don’t think I have to. things is, I always have to. one must to grow at all. I also learned to do what I want. this sounds bad. sometimes what I want needs

so I also need to do what I don’t want. this comes in many forms: opening photoshop. doing a tutorial to learn a new skill. taking criticism from a classmate, even if this is a classmate who makes me feel patron- and antagonized. a person’s attitude doesn’t change the quality of their content, and I need to be able to get past that. what do I want to have learned from this project?

to change, and I need to want something

how to generate a lot of ideas. how

different. however: this can go too far.

to look critically at my own work even

personal preference is a thing, and in class,

when my eyeballs are crying tears of

I am creating partly for myself and I need

loathing at being forced to. not to cut

to be excited and invested in my project—

corners. listen to criticism. make my own

which I cannot be if I dislike my work. this

decisions. work hard—work harder—

booklet was tough because I never liked

work hardest. be eager to learn. be

it. I dreaded opening the file and looking

willing to let go. be able to move on.

at all of everything. I think this was

opposite, clockwise from left: first page of booklet. tree?! whoa, crazy. second page, accoutrement bags, courtesy of mom. third page, feat. my hand. and here on the right, as I predicted, the four seasons made a tiled appearance. all outside! in front of a real tree! in autumn! so artsy fartsy I can't even!

Edna St. Vincent Millay

I breathed my soul back into me.

I know not how such things can be!â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

Of orchard-breath, and with the smell,â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

Into my face a miracle

Of wind blew up to me and thrust

And as I looked a quickening gust

turn book sideways for

appropriate view.

my final poster, with words

by edna st. vincent millay, my

fave. or, well, one of them.

project 2 dutch design spreads

new assignment! make three spreads on three different dutch designersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;designers in every version of the career but graphic. ...I had no idea what I was in for.

week 6

what matters & why design matters: maria popova maria popova changed my life. for several

I want to be like my mom, one semester

years I would stumble across something on

short of a master’s degree in linguistics,

brain pickings and read it, but it wasn’t until

who tutors my sister in college calculus,

about a year ago that I finally subscribed

can explain how anything works (anything.

and got it all “delivered to my inbox” once a

seriously), is homeschooling six children

week. the impetus for this was actually that

at once, and who makes art in her spare

I got to know a guy who blew my mind with

time. also takes an herbalism course. and

his intelligence and interest in the world,

makes her own tinctures. and bakes bread

and I realized, I want to be like that. but

every week, from scratch (sourdough and

how does it happen—is that an attitude or

yeast. including grinding the wheat). is

an aptitude, something you’re born with or

currently “refreshing” her organic chemistry

something you cultivate? as a side note,

skillz with an online ochem class at UC

I’ve come to firmly believe that these several

irvine and differential equations at MIT. who

characteristics are linked: that curiosity and

also gets up at 6 every morning to work

interest will foster intelligence, which will

out. …I want to be that organized and

increase curiosity and interest, fostering

knowledgeable—and driven to be so.

greater intelligence, which will increase… and so on. all of the smartest people I know have been avid information-seekers and they’ve been interested in everything and everyone. so I wanted to be that.

I want to be like my dad, who may not be functional in 3+ languages anymore but knows a heck of a lot more of each of them than I do, the most articulate person I have ever known, who has read a book in nearly every genre and can ask the most insightful, educated questions about anything. because he happens to have known someone—read something—heard about—experienced a pertinent fact related to what you just mentioned and wants to know more, because you and your knowledge are fascinating to him. also one semester short of an MA in linguistics. he has the largest network of brain connections than anyone I’ve ever known: everything connects to something else, and he makes it interesting. …I want to make those connections. I want to be like this guy I mentioned: a civil engineer who asked, when I said I was a designer interested in type, “have you seen the movie ‘helvetica’?” okay: how many people on this terrestrial ball have any clue what helvetica is in the first place??? but he’s familiar with that much of everything. I want to have that wide of an experience, and that broad of an interest in the world around me. but how does one get there? enter maria

top: notes as the new assignment came in.

popova. her own huge interest pool and

above: many layout sketches.

intake of a wide variety of subjects was a great place to start for directions of knowledge to pursue. < what a lot of passive prepositions. to rephrase: the wide variety of subjects MP is interested in gave me direction to pursue those subjects further on my own. I appreciated this so much I actually sent her an email (just the subject line, as per her “how to send me an email” request) and she took the time to send me a thank-you note back (which made me a fan forever). (continued on next page)

I read her articles and they began to seep into

is a form of design—it’s the architecture

my life—I talked about her ‘fixed vs. growth’

of thought, essentially. organizing is not

article (on carol dweck's book) with everyone

just cataloging. … ‘curation’ is really about

I talked to, for about a month in there; brian

creating a framework for what matters and

faust actually tracked down and read dweck’s

why.” (28.37) this is what I want to remember.

book we had so many conversations about it.

I have a vast pool of resources available to

that was another huge turning point for me: I

me, and I want to collect what will increase

am surrounded by a lot of smart people, and

the quality of my creativity and expand my

I’ve sort of unconsciously come to accept my

mind. I want to focus on those things that

role as being not. for example: my 18-year-

matter most to me and become a better

old sister is finishing her sophomore year as

designer (and a better person) the older I

a chemical engineer at speed school; she

grow and the more experienced I get.

taught herself calculus at 15 and CLEP’d out of it at 16. well, I did one semester of calc at 18 and barely looked back. she tracked with me in school all our growing-up years and got 24 college credits to prepare for the career she knew she wanted (I took a year off between high school and college to figure that out). I love the joke about “schroedinger’s cat: wanted dead and alive” but I couldn’t explain how schroedinger’s cat even works because it just doesn’t make sense to me.

one of the most grid-like of the grid chapters, this was about being organized in what you're doing. it doesn't make sense to tackle the world at random: you have to have a plan, if you want to do it well.

I’ve gone my whole life accepting that “I’m

like life. you have to know where you're

just not that smart; that’s fine”: but it wasn’t

going before you can figure out how to

until I read about malleability of intelligence

get there. grids (and my parents and

that I realized I can change that. I can

maria popova and all my lists) are sort of

pursue knowledge and expand my world.

a road map for heading in that direction.

(also, mom says I can stop comparing myself negatively to other people, that too. ha.) maria popova’s interview on design matters really resonated with me for all those reasons, and encouraged me to keep trying. I want that amazing spectrum of experience, to know about all the things there are out there to know about, and because she so impresses me. one particular thing she said: “organizing

grids: #goals

things MP said that I want to remember: 1 creativity is recombining parts of preexisting input. 2 every idea builds on one that came before. 3 …so get a broad, vast pool of creative resources. 4 intuition is pattern recognition at some fundamental level (and probably born of ~10,000 hours’ struggle with it). 5 what’s grounding for you? find a routine and put it in. (I’ll be that much more productive, because again GRIDS Y’ALL < gratuitous grid-book mention woot) 6 organizing is the architecture of thought. I cry tears at the truth of this.

we had a pretty short deadline on our spread execution, so I took my sketches to the computer rather quickly; and then I started option + clicking. so much option + clicking.

week 7

the world it is a-changing 99pi: guerrilla public service everybody wants to change the world, and designers are always saying ‘and we’re the ones who can and we’re the ones who do’—and exciting, unlimited, idealistic, thrilling things like that. the entire situation is like those ristupidiculous inspirational quotes on pinterest, that sound so possible until you try to figure out what they’re really saying; and then you realize it’s all nebulous and utterly impractical and that’s what kills me. I could use inspiration as much as the next guy, but “ask yourself if what you are doing today is getting you closer to where you want to be tomorrow” is way too vague. I mean, tomorrow I want to be at school with all my necessary homework completed; does that count? or should I think of “tomorrow” as “sometime in my future”—in which case, what the heck should I be doing today? for which of those things I want my future to contain should I be preparing? …and again, does homework count? because I really have no time for anything else. yeah, so I listened to 99pi’s episode on guerrilla public service, and like, changing grids: ;) grids are all about doing things in a logical system, until all of a sudden the confetti is everywhere and something crazy is going down. the predictability keeps the reader assured and the occasional crazy keeps them interested. nothing could be more postmodern. I tend to be all of either: too much same,

the world can be small things—that to some people are actually big things. I know, mind blown, right. right. another point I can make now: changing the world takes time. I suppose changing anything takes time because improvement is a process. actually, it’s all a process. everything. always. everywhere. world without end amen.

too much different. I did try to break out

so my spreads are a process! already knew

of that with these spreads...a little bit. but

that, though. working all the elements out has

just like changing the world takes time,

been quite the process of endless tweaking.

changing your habits, go-to color schemes,

unfortunately this will not change the world,

and indesign shortcuts does too.

beyond merely making the world different.

no, indesign shortcuts have nothing to

that’s me! making the world different,

do with the rest of this discussion.

one difference at a time!

Lenneke Wispelwey

Sa nd c Lenneke Wispelwey is a Dutch

overarching system of pieces;

set in any one product form.

timeline

ceramic artist: she designs

this stems, says Lenneke, from

She gets inspiration from the

1979

everyday objects that function

the “desire for a bigger family”

vintage ephemera she collects

Lenneke Wispelwey born

but are also beautiful porcelain

as a child. Now her ceram-

(one of her favorite things,

2008

works of art. She established

ics are all part of one family.

among ‘the handmade,’ ‘black

Studio established in Arnhem

her Arnhem-based studio in

They resemble one another,

and white family pictures,’ and

2012

2008, and recently she’s been

but still differ in color—all

‘finding treasures’). Her pieces

Brand New World Milan

working on branching out into

gentle shades of pastels—and

are “honest and harmonious,”

exhibition

other materials. Her designs

proportion. Lenneke enjoys

rooted in her memories and

2014

are very simple and low-tech,

creating a contrast between

experiences and living day to

Belgrade Design Week,

uncomplicated in structure but

biscuit and glazed porcelain,

day, but she wants them to

collaboration with Ido Garini

complex in the mathematical

a matte versus a shine finish;

combine to form a bigger pic-

(Studio Appetit)

precision of their decora-

and she is always exploring

ture and “make people smile.”

2015

tive geometric designs. Her

further lines of design to

products all form parts of an

explore, rather than being

arp e

t, I sta nbu l

Des ig

n We

ek. 20 11. © des ignbloem.

Mise en Pl ace

SMUG gallery exhibition

Sm akke l

lenneke wispelwey // 12

muurbloem // 10

muurbloem

arsburcht

Muurbloem is a Dutch design studio focused mainly on “the realization of interior and exterior projects” that will benefit both the client and the environment. Founded in 2000 by their creative director Gonnette Smits, Muurbloem (which means “wallflower”) began as an exclusively walldecoration studio using “historical hand-printing techniques” for their papers. But with a strong sense of innovation and flexibility, they have grown into a company producing a wide variety of useful, decorative

products and projects— still based, however, on their historical research and proven craft techniques, creating contemporary solutions that satisfy the client and the environment.

Muurbloem’s philosophy is simple—“To inspire and be inspired: give and receive in a creative way.” They work closely with the client, emphasizing collaboration as they fuse vision with real-life solutions to create the best translation of the client’s identity in their interior decoration.

Wiel Arets Architects

Their work is airy and light, with interesting shapes and patterns and the frequent use of color. Although their work has a very modern feel (grids, white space), they mix in a softer, more organic style that makes their interiors feel friendly and approachable—not just wall-sized pieces of art. They offer wallpapers, carpets, and a temporary installation called “Sand Carpets” (painted sand art that is rubbed or blown away over the course of the day).

Hedge House, Limburg. 2001. 1955 Wiel Arets born

global architecture firm

1981 Coauthored ‘F.P.J. Peutz Architekt 1916-1966’ 1983 WAA established

Wiel Arets Architects is an international

curves; but this is balanced by the touches

architectural design firm founded in 1983

of texture interspersed between the

by Wiel Arets, an acclaimed designer

smooth modernity—a rectangle of bare

and educator from the Netherlands. A

concrete or exposed brick, up against

driven and precocious student, Arets

shiny glass or a smooth white wall. They

co-authored a definitive book on the

also include a lot of dark, contrastive

work of F.P.J. Peutz (an important Dutch

details like tile with black grout—surprising

architect) as a graduate student at

next to all the clean white—with indoor

the Technical University Eindhoven.

nature like trees, leafy plants, or flowers

He opened his own studio in the mid-

1989-93 First int’l. award 1994 Mies van der Rohe Award for European Architecture

(even chickens in one project).

1980s, winning several awards within the

They describe their architectural designs

first few years. WAA is now comprised

as balanced “hybrid-programming

of several studios in the Netherlands,

solutions, which adapt to and anticipate

Germany, and Switzerland; they employ

future contextual change.”

2004 Amsterdam office opened

2008 Zurich office opened

a team of “architects, designers, thinkers, and administrators” for their projects, Hotel Zenden, Maastricht. 2009.

2000 Founded 2011 -Featured at Istanbul Design

which are currently in process across 2012 Appointed Dean of IIT’s College of Architecture

four continents. The firm also produces educational and publishing materials. WAA designs are very clean; white, modern, stark, and almost unapproachably sterile, their architecture is rigidly gridded

Week

with lots of angles and very few organic

-SCIN Gallery (London-based Materials and Architecture Showroom)

Offce. 2015.

lo uurb

©M

. em

Hotel Zenden, Maastricht. 2009.

2014Floorfashion launched

waa // 2

final spreads for part one of assignment two. from left to right: lenneke wispelwey, ceramics designer. muurbloem, interior design and decoration. wiel arets architects. um, architects. more on WAA shortly. believe me, a lot more and then some. I didn't realize quite how consumed by WAA my life was about to get.

project 3 WAA folio

new assignment! part two: pick one of your spread's designers and create a folio for them. research the heck out of their company, and return with a 3-paged, 6-spreaded, image-full and text-rich bookform. I chose WAA (because their work makes me get teary) and jumped into making teeny little mockup books.

trying to come up with a creative, interactive fold-out page. I looked at paper-folding books at the art library and drew pages of sketches and visited barbara hanger (UofL's book- and papermaking professor) to get paper folding ideas.

week 8

doodling design matters: marian bantjes marian bantjes noted that “intricacy amazes

I guess my point is: doodling for me is

people.” in light of this new project—creating

more than just mindless pencil-pushing. for

a 3-spread folio—I really, really want to

me they’re an outlet of creativity, a way to

make an intricate, amazing project that

combine intricacy, cleverness, and thought.

evidences “deep intellectual rigor.” (it’s the same thing every time: I have big dreams that slowly dissipate until I have a very ordinary Thing on crit day and I have no idea how it happens. it’s getting toast out of a toaster: like, where did the bread go??) as I make my dummy books, I want to keep pushing them toward intricate, to give the viewer a moment to pause and appreciate the work and the visuals and the texture. and then she said something that really irritated me: “I’m not a doodler,” in her thin voice. she doesn’t doodle because

that’s what I want to do with this project, too. I want my spreads to be intricate, clever, and thoughtful; in fact, I want all of my work to be intricate, clever, and thoughtful. I want to be intricate, clever, and thoughtful. yeah, and those are my book dummies, hopefully on their way to being intricate and clever and thoughtful. like my grids. like my life. hahahaha. I have no concluding remarks. the end.

there’s nothing to it, she said. she prefers the more hefty intellectual products—as if “doodling is a good thing for you plebs with no brain, but I require more.”

grids: rernberz color. I love it. I hate it. I love it too much to

okay, so doodling isn’t for her, but that

use it well (add another hue! another tint!

doesn’t mean that what doodling is to her

another shade! yeah!!), but I also love how

is what doodling is to everyone. I dispute

classy plain black and white looks—in theory.

the claim that it’s always mindless.

I find I'm rarely able to restrain myself, just

I’m a self-identified doodler, so this is definitely a defensive response because

as my systems frequently start as [one way] as possible and slowly drift away from that.

I feel my identity is under question. but

I do incorporate color into a lot of my

frankly, it’s doodling that got me in to

iife, though. my practice books were

graphic design. I did it all the time and

all different patterns and colors, on

the quality of those drawings made me

purpose, because I knew they'd all be

consider art > design > hite; developing

together at the end of the project and I

those doodles got me my accepted-into-

wanted my process to look interesting.

the-art-school portfolio, and have fueled many, many greeting cards over the years (so they’ve improved my relationships :D).

also, in the context of doodling, I usually let my colors run wild to get it out of my system before returning to more staid attempts at creating thoughtfully.

week 9

depression 99pi: awareness mama reminded me last night that

tasks at hand. right now all I can do is push

I always get mid-semester dismals

through the discouragement and know it will

around this time (halfway through, feeling

end at some point. although it’s hard to “just

overwhelmed and desperate) and I agree

push through” when I struggle to get out of

with her; but, like every time, I feel that

bed in the morning and cry getting ready.

this is the real thing, this is the worst.

I wish I had the direction, the drive, the

in some ways it is the worst. I’ve never felt like

impetus to change the world. this week’s

this much of a failure in design, this much of

podcast was on AIDS awareness, and

a disappointment to everyone in my life. no

I was insanely jealous of these artists

matter what I do, it’s at the cost of something

who got together and had fun while

else—got my schoolwork done? great.

ultimately creating an iconic symbol.

my grandparents flew out from california last week and I spent literally an hour with them over the whole week. they’re at the airport right now for the flight back; I left for school this morning before they were up.

you only get good by practice. like the citicorp + travelers group logo: a few seconds and 34 years of experience. it’s the practice I’m doing now; but I want to skip forward to success, to actually producing something worth

my sister josie loves exploring illustrator and

looking at. I’m that process image: fuzzy and

asks me regularly if she can play on it. I say

indistinct and rumpled and… in process.

yes and try to work on other homework, giving her occasional shortcut tips; great. but then I don’t get design work done. I finished a design project? that’s good, but I

which is frankly not that encouraging. it’s like, I don’t have to be famous. I don’t have to change the world. right now I’d be content to just change myself.

hate it. I love my design project? that’s good, but I forgot a required element that screws it all up and guess what! it’s due in 30 minutes! I’ve been living off of dan romanoski’s words lately:

these chapters covered using a little space for a lot of info. I did a lot of packing in and

1. allow for failure, disappointment,

making small margins work in many of

and flexibility within a process.

areas, though not necessarily in design.

2. confusion is an interesting place to work.

ultimately, efficient space usage boils

3. work with limitations instead

down to overlap, reduction of surrounding

of fighting them.

space, and/or angling the material.

4. the first version is usually bad.

since each approach feels a little different,

…and also trying to take time to drink tea,

see how they affect the project. with WAA, I

do some bible reading + meditation, read

did more overlap than anything else, I think.

a book to tabitha and josie, work out for 15 minutes, clean the stove for mama; something that I can do for a short amount of time before coming back to focus on the

grids: tetris

it's interesting to play with each of them and

this was a really, really cool idea and I wish it had worked better. first, I made a little experimental-type piece combining the letters 'w,' 'a,' and 'a'; then I printed it and cut shapes out with an xacto knife. finally, I taped it over the end of a flashlight and shone it on a textured surface and took a picture. if I'd had a better camera and better paper (so less light got through the not-cut parts), I think this would have worked better. the image is a little fuzzier than I'd like and more grayscale; but the end result is still kind of fabulous.

6 7

WIEL ARETS I spent a long time on the experimental type, figuring out what I wanted to express with it. I took inspiration from our initial exploration in letterforms I (resulting in images 1, 2, 4, 5, & 8) but I also tried fracturing the name (which is in helvetica, ironicallyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;fraktur, helvetica, get it? 7); and then, in a completely different direction, writing out concepts and related words, readably and unreadably, and further editing them on the computer (3 & 6).

really trying to think outside the box here. I have such a hard time letting myself go and just trying something new that I did my best for this experimental type assignment. these aren't super exciting, but they're different from one anotherâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;I wanted variety and I wanted different. the top image is the leftover ink, blotted from a sumi-ink writing of "wiel arets"; above is a scrawled charcoal version; and above right is what I eventually went with, "WAA" written with ink over a patterned stencil.

week 10

all art is conceptual design matters: stefan sagmeister still working on my experimental type,

working hard and working well but have

which is becoming so conceptual it

some time left over to relax. sagmeister

basically doesn’t exist anymore.

says he thinks better in the morning, so

stefan sagmeister puts a huge stress on thinking as a part of design. this is affirming to me—I spend most of my time on projects thinking about the next step. sometimes I think too long (imagining the possibilities and choosing one, without trying them all first; bad idea), but I like to have a reason

that’s when he does his client work; emails he saves for later, because if he does them first thing, they intrude into the rest of his day and become a distraction. I need to figure out what those areas are in my own life and how I can better use my time: think faster, use the limitations, organize my day.

for what I’m doing that gives me a certain

and “driving through the austrian alps with

amount of direction. thinking helps me

my brother’s motorcycle, listening to the

figure out where to go next, and when I get

police, without a helmet,“ sounds pretty

stuck, thinking is usually my first step. get

close to the definition of love to me.

away from the project and think it over. I also tend to get stuck when I struggle against the limitations: there’s one thing I really, really want to do, and I try to make that fit the project directives. sagmeister covered that in his interview—work with those limits. I have found that I’m more creative within limits, so why do I fight them?

grids: different but equal organization doesn't mean all things have

limitations come in lots of forms, but another

the same weight, but that the big picture

that the interview touched on were times of

is balanced. I really struggled with applying

day. know your own limitations and work

these chapters (on balance and pockets of

with those, as well, to be more efficient,

resting space) to my folio as it developed.

more productive; and I think happier. I’m

how do I balance it all?? I juggle better

always happiest and most fulfilled when I’m

than this. and I seriously don't juggle.

the insert gave me a lot of trouble. there were so many elements I was trying to incorporate folio-wise and overall that I kept

Wiel Arets Architects is an international

of several studios in the Netherlands,

architectural design firm founded in 1983

Germany, and Switzerland; they employ

by Wiel Arets, an acclaimed designer

a team of “architects, designers, thinkers,

and educator from the Netherlands. A

and administrators” for their projects,

those elements do I include here and which

driven and precocious student, Arets

which are currently in process across

co-authored a definitive book on the

four continents. The firm also produces

do relegate to the rest? getting overwhelmed

work of F.P.J. Peutz (an important Dutch

educational and publishing materials.

getting bogged down in this one part: what of

2004 2004 Amsterdam Amsterdam office opened office opened

architect) as a graduate student at the Technical University Eindhoven.

by the whole elephant* is a problem I'm trying

He opened his own studio in the mid1980s, winning several awards within the

to consciously notice and change—in all areas

first few years. WAA is now comprised

of my life, not just design. but a lot in design. *see last book. the list of "how to be a better designer" included "eat the elephant one bite at a time." I keep this list in the front of my binder so that every time I take notes—or review notes—or put away assignments for any class, ever, I see this list again. I need to always be reminded if I'm going to remember things.

from left to right: back of insert development.

from left to right: front of insert development.

Although Wiel Although Arets Architecture Wiel AretsisArchit

Although Wiel Arets Architecture is best known for their buildings,

best known forbest theirknown buildings, for their Arets buildin

Arets has also designed household and school-oriented items, beginning with his Stealth furniture

school-oriented school-oriented items, beginning items, beg

line in 1995. Since then he has designed mainly for the Italian company Alessi (a homegoods

for the Italian company for the Italian Alessi company (a Ale

has also designed has also household designed andhouseh

with his Stealth with furniture his Stealth line infurniture 1995. lin

Since then he Since has designed then he has mainly designe

homegoods store homegoods for the people store for who the p

spend $44 onspend a kitchen $44timer). on a kitchen tim

store for the people who spend $44 on a kitchen timer).

1989-93 Received first international award

1994 Mies van der Rohe Award for European Architecture

In classic WAA style, these pieces are wonders of modernism: smooth and sleek and man-made, cool and efficient, they feature sterile white, sharp contrasts, and a lot of empty space.

1989-93 Received first international award

1994 Mies van der Rohe Award for European 1989-93 Received first Architecture international award

1989-93 1989-93 ReceivedReceived first first international international award award

1989-93 Received first international award

Open forOpen more.for more.

Open for more. 2004 Amsterdam office opened

Il Bagno dOt sink, 2007.

Il Bagno dOt toilet, 2007.

spend $44 on a kitchen timer). homegoods store for the people who for the Italian company Alessi (a Since then he has designed mainly with his Stealth furniture line in 1995. school-oriented items, beginning has also designed household and best known for their buildings, Arets Although Wiel Arets Architecture is In classic WAA style, these pieces are

tecture is

wonders of modernism: smooth and

ngs, Arets

sleek and man-made, efficient and

hold and

angular, they feature sterile white, sharp

ginning

contrasts, and a lot of empty space.

ne in 1995.

ed mainly

essi (a

people who

mer).

1994 Mies van der Rohe Award for European In classic WAAInstyle, classic these WAA pieces style,are these pieces are Architecture

wonders of modernism: wonders ofsmooth modernism: and smooth and

1989-93 Received first international award

1994 Mies van der Rohe Award for European Architecture

1989-93 Received first international award

1994 Mies van der Rohe Award for European Architecture

sleek and man-made, sleek andefficient man-made, and efficient and angular, they feature angular,sterile they feature white, sharp sterile white, sharp contrasts, andcontrasts, a lot of empty and aspace. lot of empty space.

In classic WAA style, these pieces are wonders of modernism: smooth and sleek and man-made, efficient and angular, they feature sterile white, sharp contrasts, and a lot of empty space.

Above, Hot.it, 2009. Above, Hot.it, 2009. Left, Eat.it, 2014. Left, Eat.it, 2014.

Top, Eat.it, 2014. Above, Hot.it, 2009.

Above, Hot.it, 2009. Left, Eat.it, 2014.

week 11

temporary & permanent 99pi: ten thousand years the meaning of life seems to always come back to finding meaning in life—at least for me. just the fact that people through the ages have all asked the same questions of existence indicates to me a longing for some kind of reflexive knowledge: if we could only know why we’re here, then we’d know why we’re here—and finding that answer becomes its own answer. ‘why do we create’ (or, ‘what’s the point anyway’) is a microcosm of the existence question; in any case, ‘why do we’ anything ultimately leads to the subject of living. both questions, of creating and living, are answered frequently in terms of permanency. “change the world,” “make a difference,” “leave a mark,” and I suppose there’s nothing wrong with that attitude or desire personally, but I can’t imagine making that claim for everyone. is everyone’s ultimate purpose to make the world different by having been on it for a certain span of years? I doubt it. okay, so what about the lasting impression of your work? I’ve felt pressure from many parts of the design community to make something permanent, either the medium or the message. your sculpture can be ephemeral if that says something and if that something has staying power. is that necessary. must we make something because. is it okay for me to make something temporary? is it inherently lesser to make a, say, food label that gets redone in 15 years and is forever forgotten? “no! it gave people necessary information!” so does that count as adding value to someone’s life?

metaphorical image exploration.

just telling someone ‘hey, this is chocolate,

basically they all had to do with

that’s vanilla’ seems like a remarkably petty “value”—but we’ll go with that. a food label adds value for the purchaser.

nature, math, and contrasts.

what if there’s meaning for the artist, but not the viewer? I know the skull is there, hidden in the picture, but if no one else does, it’s not communicating anything to them beyond what they want to interpret from it. irl, my red stripes on the WAA folio cover: nobody would take the time to count them and find the fibonacci sequence, so is that inherently better than putting random numbers of stripes on the cover? some people say yes, because it’s reasoned, and reason is always better than arbitrariness. but if the viewer doesn’t get it, then really. what’s the point. I mean, half the time my “reason” is that the page looked unbalanced and I wanted something in the empty space. is that a better or worse reason than some deeply conceptual process resulting in the exact same space-taker-upper? because the viewer isn’t going to read it either way. in some cases, meaning is absolutely necessary: trying to prevent future generations from stumbling into radioactive waste requires a lot of thought and real, practical, applicable design. this has to work. but is meaning so necessary in metaphorical image? I doubt anyone will understand what I was thinking when I chose those images, but there’s reason there. still, when is conceptual too conceptual? grids: practicality

what about my folio itself: it won’t last, so

these chapters were much more focused

is there a point to it? just me getting better

on explicit techniques, as opposed to

at my craft (building up to…what?); or me

conceptual ideas to keep in mind. it

adding value to someone’s life (but whose?

was helpful to be given almost a starting

and how—just because it’s pretty)?

place when I got bogged down. I decided based on ch 80 ("use helvetica") to

and where’s the line between thinking and over-thinking?

use helvetica for my folio, so that was cool. sometimes there's no reason for it other than the grid book, like, told me to.

1955 Wiel Arets born

1981 Co-authored ‘F.P.J. Peutz Architekt 1916-1966’

In a post-modern twist, however, This is Wiel Arets, an acclaimed

After he earned an engineering

Dutch designer and educator. Born in the Netherlands to a printer and

degree, Arets went on to study architecture at the Technical

a fashion designer, Arets grew up

University Eindhoven, where he

surrounded by design and craft.

simultaneously co-authored the definitive work on Dutch architect F.P.J Peutz. He graduated

Arets always places these objects in a more organic environment, surrounding them with plants or color or messy children—a breaking of the grid that makes 1983 WAA established

these pieces immediately more natural and approachable.

TU/e in 1983 and soon after opened his own office. By 1989 Wiel Arets had

2012 Appointed Dean of IIT’s College of Architecture

2008 Zurich office opened

received his first international design award. That year he also took his second teaching position at the Architectural Association in London.

Wiel Arets Architects 1955 Wiel Arets born

1981 Co-authored ‘F.P.J. Peutz Architekt 1916-1966’

In a post-modern twist, however, Arets always places these objects in a more This is Wiel Arets, an acclaimed

After he earned an engineering degree,

Dutch designer and educator. Born

Arets went on to study architecture at

in the Netherlands to a printer and

the Technical University Eindhoven,

a fashion designer, Arets grew up

where he simultaneously co-authored

surrounded by design and craft.

the definitive work on Dutch architect F.P.J Peutz. He graduated TU/e in 1983 and soon after opened his own office.

By 1989 Wiel Arets had received his first international design award. That year he also took his second

organic environment, surrounding them with plants or color or messy children—a breaking of the grid that makes these pieces immediately 1983 WAA established

more natural and approachable.

2008 Zurich office opened

2012 Appointed Dean of IIT’s College of Architecture

teaching position at the Architectural Association in London.

working through the main folio spread.

"maybe if I add more elements it

it was tough because these two are never seen

will all look more cohesive!"

without the insert in the middle; but they're seen around the insert when it's folded up.

I wanted to include too many pictures and forgot that the insert could bear some weight as far as

first attempt. strong grid game, and that's

required elements went. though what you see

about it. very bottom-heavy; I thought I

here is a valiant effort and some very bad ideas.*

could fill in that empty top space later, but HA HA HA design doesn't work like that.

Wiel Arets Architects 1955 Wiel Arets born

1981 Co-authored ‘F.P.J. Peutz Architekt 1916-1966’

In a post-modern twist, however, Arets always places these objects in a more This is Wiel Arets, an acclaimed

After he earned an engineering degree,

Dutch designer and educator. Born

Arets went on to study architecture at

in the Netherlands to a printer and

the Technical University Eindhoven,

a fashion designer, Arets grew up

where he simultaneously co-authored

surrounded by design and craft.

the definitive work on Dutch architect F.P.J Peutz. He graduated TU/e in 1983 and soon after opened his own office.

organic environment, surrounding them with plants or color or messy children—a breaking of the grid that makes these pieces immediately 1983 WAA established

By 1989 Wiel Arets had received

more natural and approachable.

2008 Zurich office opened

his first international design award. That year he also took his second

2012 Appointed Dean of IIT’s College of Architecture

teaching position at the Architectural Association in London. Lower left & above, Hedge House, 2001. Upper left, Il Bagno dOt sink, 2007.

Wiel Arets Architects 1955 Wiel Arets born

1981 Co-authored ‘F.P.J. Peutz Architekt 1916-1966’

In a post-modern twist, however, Arets always places these objects in a more This is Wiel Arets, an acclaimed

After he earned an engineering degree,

Dutch designer and educator. Born

Arets went on to study architecture at

in the Netherlands to a printer and

the Technical University Eindhoven,

a fashion designer, Arets grew up

where he simultaneously co-authored

surrounded by design and craft.

the definitive work on Dutch architect F.P.J Peutz. He graduated TU/e in 1983 and soon after opened his own office.

By 1989 Wiel Arets had received his first international design award. That year he also took his second

organic environment, surrounding them with plants or color or messy children—a breaking of the grid that makes these pieces immediately 1983 WAA established

more natural and approachable.

2008 Zurich office opened

2012 Appointed Dean of IIT’s College of Architecture

teaching position at the Architectural Association in London. Lower left & above, Hedge House, 2001. Upper left, Il Bagno dOt sink, 2007.

*bad ideas: see red borders. at some point,

still trying to make fetch happen.

I got the idea that having the metaphorical image on the edges was the way to go.

at this point I was smart enough to get rid of the red (JUST NO) and scooch the images together

to relate them. but I was still struggling with experimental type, vector image, and how to keep

at least I got rid of the green Shape.

the folio body text from sticking out around the

my trouble at this point was honestly not being

insert (which is about a third of the height, all folded.

able to let go of the stair picture: I loved the

you can clearly see the edge lines in this version).

visual pun of the timeline exiting to the back.

my heartrending but ultimately most fulfilling page.

week 12

living real design matters: tina roth eisenberg I took a risk on my folio’s recto page. I

her teuxdieux app? also real-world. everyone

removed the variety of images that just

has things to do and a varying timeline for

weren’t working and dropped a single large

getting those done. (I SO LOVE that she gave

image. I have reasons for the image I chose

it away free at the beginning. what a great

and why it is where it is, but I was still scared:

example. people should love what they do

because the decision was last-minute,

and do so much of it that they can afford to

because I didn’t have a long time to consider.

give more away free. this is a subject I could

but I used a grid and I made the page

talk about for a long time, so I’ll stop now.)

elements work together—and I’m proud of the decision. I hate last-minute change, but I went for it because I wanted my design to work better. is this personal growth? am I becoming more flexible and more open to new things? am I getting more crazy? (wow, working within a grid. real crazy. but let’s hope.*) *see end for Life Lessons From the Grid Book abrupt subject change!

more reality (and what sparked my notice of this pattern of reality in her): finding beauty in everyday life. this was what got her swiss miss blog started, and it just reflects so much of the good I see in her work. she is so un-idealistic about life, and I don’t mean this as synonymous with pessimism or cynicism; but she recognizes that life is what it is, not something more. ms. eisenberg is encouraging people to live where they are,

tina roth eisenberg, apart from being a

rather than creating an imaginary existence

gloriously gridded designer, has marvelous

through instagram or tumblr or a blog—not

things to say. I hate how “real” has become

that any of those things is inherently wrong,

something of a buzzword these days,

but they’re imaginary and you can’t get away

because I want to use it legitimately right now:

from that. they’re all curated, no matter how

I love the emphasis she places on living real.

hard you try to present yourself realistically.

she is into reality, and I think that’s fantastic.

looking at other peoples’ imaginary existence,

in her DM interview, ms. eisenberg talks about beginning the whole creative mornings thing—because she wanted something affordable and quick but inspirational for creatives to take part in before continuing their workday. also connect with living people, not just online/un-face-to-face. this is realworld stuff she’s talking about. these are (here

too, can have a negative impact on your perception of your life: making a blownout-of-proportion idea of what, say, a creative career is (”supposed to be!!”) like. life, no matter how much you enjoy your job or your family or your dog, is rough sometimes. your job is work, and some days, it sucks. instagram would lie about this.

it goes again) real people with real jobs and a real life and she wanted to improve that.

(continued on next page)

so I love how ms. eisenberg encourages a realistic view of life. sometimes we need inspiration and personal connections. sometimes we need a wider lens on the creative fieldsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;or other fields in general (as in her link-dumping posts). sometimes we need to slow down and look at our own lives and treasure that beauty instead of always watching the imaginary lives of total strangers. tina roth eisenberg is an interested person. I love how interested people make things interesting and open my own world and help me grow.

grids: wrapping up or, Life Lessons from the Grid Book I finished the grid book today, and I just want to point out again that grids can be applied to real life (connections yo). design for function. control a variety of elements. use color to get attention. design a balanced viewpoint. pace yourself. plan for interruptions. use rules. use helvetica. think more broadly. observe the masters. make it clear. follow your heart. and just kern well. good kerning is important.

all folio images courtesy of meena khalili.

image ÂŠ meena khalili.

...so what next?

wrap-up delite on the very first day of the semester,

coming back from california this july, I felt

after going over all the assignments and

changed by one month on my own as

expectations for this class, meena closed

I forced myself to make uncomfortable

the period by saying, "if this seems like

decisions (driving 7 hours! on my own!

a lot, it is. I want you to reach the end

without a GPS! okay, the lack of GPS

and go whewâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;long breath out."

was fate, not choice)â&#x20AC;&#x201D;and coming home

I've done a lot of long breaths out throughout this semester, as I tried to quell the rising panic of short deadlines and felt inadequacy, but this is by far the best breathing-out. the past three months have changed me. of course, after any amount time has passed, one is going to be a different person just by virtue of time and age and any kind of experience; but this has been a stretching and bending and sometimes breaking of me that leaves me feeling exhausted and battered and somehow with a little more hope. it's all about the climb, right?

in august, I felt different. I'd had time to learn about myself over that month, and it was a quiet and slow awakening. then I started this semester, which was a trial by fire. I had no time for quiet reflection or stargazing at midnight (though I was definitely awake by gosh golly); and yet I've learned new things about myself even through the experience of blinking and realizing I've come to the last day of the semester. already. my life is flying past me.

it's incredible to realize, however, that I did it. and I can do it. and I will do it, in the future, because this is by no means the last hard, overwhelming time I'm going to face in my life, by gosh golly. it's nice to let my breath out in one little whoosh and know I have a brief respite before getting back into things. wow, look what I did. look how I pushed myself and look at the things I can do with those new skills. I don't have to know it all; I just have to be willing to run after knowing moreâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and then accept that I'll never really get there. because, as tennyson says, all experience is an arch wherethrough gleams that untraveled world whose margin fades forever and forever when I move. so if I just accept I'll never really "get there," it'll be easier to let go and enjoy the ride.

...welp, I'm all out of thoughtfully deep-thinking thoughts for the

image ÂŠ WAA.

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note to all intellectually outraged readers: I'm sorry about all the lame jokes and bad puns. they're emily braun's fault because she told me I was funny.

type set in helvetica neue LT std: 45 8/13, 46 10/16, 75 18/18, 75 8/13, 45 7/11. this book is a work of mostly non-fiction; any resemblance to persons, living or dead, won't be a problem at all if I'm careful about who gets to read this. © deryn joy 2016

photo credits In A Lonely Place: erikmarinovich.com. © erik marinovich. WAA folio images: © meena khalili. Sopopomo: tumblr / @avantgardeshit. © dan lam. Sunflower image: fineartamerica.com. © joseph desmond. Aeonium tabuliforme image: wikimedia commons. Exit stairs: © wiel arets architects.

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