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Artem Terekhov ICQ 284-323-118
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Hello! You are viewing the 1st ussie of Dsign magazine. It covers a wide variety of modern illustrative and design works, including web, prints, typography and industrial. Dsign magazine differs from a large amount of other magazines. The feature is that editorial staff makes a conversation with designer, choses one nice work from his portfolio and considers, examines it together with author. The main question we answer is WHY design has been made this way. E.g. designer had a task, maybe he was given a full freedom of creativity, or, vise versa, faced some limitations. But each one of them had solved the task in their own unique way, appreciated the true value of each new idea and fited it to the main design concept. In our opinion, this magazine is quite good for a personal progress. While we were watching portfolios, we became wondering about what influences these people in their work, what are they interested in, what estimates their individual style and why had they chosen design as their job after all. We hope, reading this magazine will help you to answer urgent questions and remove any doubts; to learn something new and to make something special, different, unique.
Sergey Goncharoff ICQ 295-456-592
Please, send all you responses, advices for magazine development, cooperation and advertisement offers to e-mail below: artemt@dsign-mag.ru
Includes:
Francois Clerc Diant Romain Chris Palmieri Ingrid Ruegemer Alain Leclerc von Bonin Tom Lane Fabien Barral Kukula Delphine Dupont Benoît Deneufbourg
4–8 10–14 16–20 21–24 25–30 32–37 39–46 48–54 56–57 59–61
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Francois Clerc
Thirty two years old french designer working in Paris, London and Taipei. He specializes in graphic, interior and product design. He had travelled a lot in Russia and spent nearly a year in Central Asia. Francois`s most cherished dream is to make a project in Russia.
homepage http://www.clercdesign.com/ design company http://www.sentou.fr
5 Francois, where and when have you been born? 20 August 2008, Le Mans, France. Where have you been studying? Study in Paris, ENSCI (Ecole Nationnale de Création Industrielle) Founded in 1982, ENSCI is the only national higher education establishment in France dedicated to design and industrial design with a particularly contemporary vision of the ‘industry’. It is under the authority of the ministries responsible for culture and enterprise. In what age have you understand, that design is your future choice? Till nineteen years old I didn't know anything about design. I studied math first and art during one year and realized that it was possible to mix technical and art with product design.
‘What i like about design is that i work in lots of different fields.’
What do you love besides design? How do you relax, how do you rest? What I like about design is that I work in lots of different fields. It's always different, one day I work on a project of jug made of glass, the next day mirrors made of plastic… each time I learn a lot. That's very exciting! To relax, I like to see Art exhibitions, modern dance, concerts… London is an amazing place for that. But I also enjoy traveling a lot, hiking in the Alps… and cooking! Where do you take inspiration, who are your favorite designers/ artists? I'm not very interested in designers, I find my inspiration in other fields like Art, Architecture or even Cooking. At the moment I'm working with a great chef (http://www.lefavredanne.fr/ Pascal Favre d'Anne), his creation process is not so far from mine, we have very good discussions.
Tv director`s business card. Just connect all the dots and you will remember it`s owner for shure.
6 About you world traveling and visiting Russia. Why did you travel, for what porpose? What did you like most and least? I studied Russian at school and I first went to Russia (was USSR) in August 1991, I was fifteen years old. I was in a family in Rostov-na-Donu and I was stuck there because of the putsch. Great experience, it was fun. Then I traveled to Moscow, St Petersbourg, Archangelsk and all Central Asia. I traveled for fun and sometimes to organize design project (like felt in Bishkek with craftman and students from Almata). I like Russian culture and really like people in general! Gotta admit, that my favorite writer is Tolstoi. Have you travelled somewhere else? For work, I often go to Taiwan, I have clients there. Last year I spent six months in Taiwan. For work i also went to Tokyo, Hong Kong, Ethiopia… all Europe.
‘…listen to people you are working with, listen carefully to your client but also the people working in factories, people using your products… I think the designer have to be humble,when he is working with a team…’ What is the most important for designer? Another words , in your opinion, who is good designer and who is not? What is your advice to beginner designers? I think to be a good designer it's very important to listen! First, listen to people you are working with, listen carefully to your client but also the people working in factories, people using your products… I think the designer have to be humble, he is working with a team all the time (client, factory, marketing and so on). It's also very important to listen to everything happening in our society, new trends, new technologies, political events... All this will impact your design. Then you have to ‘digest’ all this information to make your own design. Listen to yourself and trust yourself.
Graine de pot is a wholly biodegradable object which lasts about nine months. The seed is planted in the spring so the plant can be enjoyed all summer. In october everything can be thrown away in an organic rubbish tip to be turned into compost.
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Francois and his candlestick ‘Ghost’
First render.
For me as a designer there are two different ways of working; I receive an order from a client with a precise brief or I imagine something that I will propose to one of my client or a factory, that's much more personal and for me more interesting. Nobody asked me to design a candlestick, I had an idea, worked on it and proposed it to Sentou (They have three design shops in Paris and sell there products in hundreds shops around the world). They were interested.
The idea at the beginning is very simple. I was thinking. that tea lights (little candles) are now used by everybody, nobody uses normal candles anymore (the size is always changing, you don't have the right candlestick‌). Tea lights are very convenient, but most of the time they are used in a cheap way. So my aim was to give this little candle the image of a big candle, I wanted to design a proper candlestick, something you can be proud to put on the table for a very nice dinner.
At the beginning, as you can see on the drawings, I wanted the candlestick to be used with a bottle of wine. But it was to complicate and we would have another problem of size (all the bottles are a bit different).
Trying to elegantly combine the candlestick and a bottle.
8 With Sentou I worked on all the technical problems. I knew that the volumes won't be very big but that Sentou can afford luxurious product. That's the reason why we decided to work with Bone China. Then I organized production in Taiwan. (Usually Sentou is in charge of production, but I also have good contacts in taiwanese's factories). This part of the work is very long, you have to be very patient! Seams simple, but there are always problems… A product is like a baby, you need at least nine months!
Porcelain blank before firing…
and after…
I called this candlestick ‘Ghost’, because it reminds the old candlesticks, that used to melt. The product speaks about his past.
Packaging.
Complete candlestick.
10
Diant Romain
Perhaps, even just thinking about the fact, that his house is anigh the sea, about fifty metres to be exact, takes of habitual tiredness and stimulates his creative impulse. Diant can afford himself to make about thirty percents of work, lying on a beach chair, because, as he estimates, initial ideas and primary work plan both should be done in pencil. Just after finishing this work stage you can go to PC and make something really essential.
homepage http://www.asenso.fr/
11 Tell about yourself, where do you live, work? I am a young A.D. / graphic designer, and i live in the South of France, in fifty metres of the sea between Toulouse and Montpelier, two cultural big cities which move, more précisemment just in quoted by Béziers where life is enjoyable and where the graphic designers are very very rare. I work as freelance since 2005 after some passages in communication agencies which were not very spreading for me. I thus created my graphic design studio Asensò in which I can work with fewer constraints and experiment many more things (manage a command(order) from A to Z, collaborate with the other graphic designers). When have you understand that design is what you want to make? I was pulling time to understand, what I want to make, but I always have was to attract by the universe of the design, the graphics and even of the styling via the small mark of street-wear which I conceived in 2000 with some friends ‘341 CREW CLOTHING’. After my high school diploma I continued thus logically my studies in the design and the visual communication. It taught me a great deal of thing and especially the good bases to start my activity and my passion.
‘I was pulling time to understand, what i want to make…’ Do you have special design education? Do you think that design education is really important to become a real professional? I have certainly an education that I acquired according to my experience and also as self-taught but it is indispensable to pass by a school of art or a true school programme where we discover people, universes and teaches it bases: the art history and a necessary passage for every graphic designer who respects himself quite as the use of the typography. This education is essential so that we can have a really constructive and interesting step but also to answer the constraints much more easily.
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Where do you get inspiration? What helps you generate new ideas? There is really neither magic formula nor secret, but there are all the same things to make as read books, which deal with the graphics, with the art or with the communication and to follow media (press, internet). I find a great deal of inspiration in him talks about customers, they have keywords which sometimes weave a road towards an idea or a universe. However, if he do not know too much where he goes, I then examine which will enrich me and will drive me inevitably in my creation. What are you hobbies? How do you relax or spend free-of-work time? My life is mainly given rhythm by the graphics and what is similar to it. My passion became my profession and I am delighted, so I returns me as often as possible to expos or in festival where it is possible to meet numbers of people interessant (Festa del graphisme, Chaumont). I publish very often on my blog www. asenso.fr/blog the events in which and moves me weekend. What software does you studio use? Do you use digital tablets e.g. Wacom? Since the beginning I am faithful to the continuation Adobe (Creative Suite 2) whom I discovered as studying, and continue to use him even if it remains rather expensive the main investment of a graphic designer with the computer hardware. Within the studio, and for the most part of the projects which I elaborate, I use a computer what it of more classic there. PC are much more interesting in term of value for money than Mac, but they are also more and more reliable and more attractive with a finer design. We can moreover notice that numbers of agencies pass more and more to the PC, the Mac being much more expensive.
13 What characteristics are required to become a designer? It's a profession which asks for a heavy investment, it is necessary to be creative but also very reagent, it is thus necessary to be in time and in the meeting to every command, that maybe a rather tiring and binding rhythm. It is also necessary to be openminded and to interesser in what takes place around us, in the others and like sharing.
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‘PushIt’ Packaging Let`s speak about one of my last projects «Push It» about an atypical and original album which I realized for 341 Crew and Dj Ozzir who was rewarded by the web site Design and Design. I had to conceive the totality of the communication (Poster, flyer, banners) and the pictures of the album. The subject of the project (Musical Petrol Finger) was defined before the creation, the objective was to create a coherent and universal set. It was necessary to create a universe in connection with the dexterity of the DJ and the oil(petroleum), the noble and more and more rare material with which the DJ enjoys himself in some of his musics and bands — sounds and opts for the provocation (the oil (petroleum) is very too dear, it makes dégats and not enrechi that the rich countries).
The fingerprints were made naturally. It is not brushes or clipart, it is simply fingerprints of real fingers, made with black paint on a paper.
The idea thus was to highlight the touch, the delicacy and DJ Ozzir's action by its imprints and highly-rated dirty and negative of the oil. The black and the white is simply thus to turn out indispensable and to reveal very quickly. Also, I carried out a work on the typography with the use of Helvetica, modern police and loaded with history, by playing on the fat of this one and the contrasts. I have make several searches and models that I proposed to the artist and to the house of production before arriving at the final project. I began by painting various spots then black droplets to arrive at the imprint, the strong and universal symbol. It was for me a special command because very free, on the verge of the white card , into whom I put a lot and to leave more time than most of the other projects.
16
Chris Palmieri
After finisning design University of Illinois, he moved to Tokyo with a couple of friends, where AQ Works studio was established some time later. Nobody knows how could his life turn out if he wasn`t obsessed by a japanese culture, ikebana in the first place. There is native japanise woman in their studio — Eiko, which Chris had fallen in love with at his very first arrival and then married.
homepage http://www.aqworks.com/ http://tokyoartbeat.com/ http://hitotoki.org/
17 Where have you been studying? I studied graphic design at the University of Illinois in UrbanaChampaign from 1996 to 2001. While there, I also studied traditional Japanese aesthetics like ikebana (Japanese flower arrangement) at Japan House, a Japanese cultural learning center at the university. In 2000 I did a short study abroad in Tokyo at Nihon University. In what age have you understand that design is your future choice? It was during my freshman year at Urbana of I, I was nineteen.
AQ Works: Chris Palmieri, Eiko Nagase. Not Pictured: Ryo Ishida and Paul Baron
What do you love besides design? How do you relax, how do you rest? I've been in various bands on and off since I was sixteen. For the last five years I've been playing keyboards in a Dryfishbutterfly band. I also keep a blog, cook when I can, and take photos of design oddities I find around Tokyo.
‘I also keep a blog, cook when I can and take photos of design oddities I find around Tokyo.’ Why is your studio named ‘AQ’. I suggest it means Awesome Quality, am i right? Actually there's no official reason, just a handful of apocryphal stories, but my current fav is that it's a homonym for the Japanese word for eternity or permanence (永久). A funny choice for people who make websites huh? Where do you take inspiration, who are your favorite designers\artists? Our primary source of inspiration in the content we're designing for. We really try to get to know our clients and create something that fits who they are and who they want to be. Visually speaking, we are all cultural omnivores. We're always checking out art exhibitions, film festivals, concerts, and the occassional trashy TV series, and that all probably influences our design more than what other designers are up to.
This invitation set uses Japanese handmade paper as a touch of softness to balance out the bold, black letterpress type. The magenta ribbon connects the piece to the couple’s overall wedding theme color.
18 What are relationships between studio members? Are you real friends? Do you spend freetime togheter, relaxing, or you just co-workers? Actually, Eiko and I are married, so yes we spend quite a bit of time together ;) Seriously though, our interest in design, visual culture, and exploring new things was a big part of how we got to know each other, so as crazy as it sounds, starting a business together was quite natural. In 2004, we met up with Paul, who was starting Tokyo Art Beat at the time. Since then, we've gotten pretty intimately involved in each others various projects, as advisors, collaborators, and devil's advocates. In the meantime, we make time for good conversation over leisurely meals at least a few days a week, along with the occasional weekend afternoon in the park for a birthday, concert, or exhibition outing. So yes, I'd say we're pretty good friends; ‘just co-workers’ probably doesn't work at a company this small. How do you understand each other? I mean not only language, but also cultural differences? One old cliche about foreigners in Japan is that we're here for a reason, that we didn't quite fit in wherever we came from. I don't know if I agree with that, but those of us who have stuck around in Japan for a few years probably share a natural openness to other ways of thinking. Of course there are still misunderstandings and conflicting viewpoints, but we're usually able to overcome these through honesty and a little determination. I think the conflicts actually help us become more aware of our own cultural. As for language, everyone at AQ speaks pretty decent Japanese and English, so we usually find a way to get our point across in one language or another.
AQ has proudly donated design and user experience consulting to Tokyo Art Beat since 2004, helping it organize its comprehensive exhibition and venue information, event reviews and creative job listings for the Tokyo area.
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The site hitotoki.org Hitotoki.org was born out of a conversation among friends about those special places you find in a city that you've spent any amount of time in, those places that have special personal meaning, because of something you enjoy doing there, or a strange occurrence long ago. Paul, Craig and I (Hitotoki's co-founders and designers) realized, that everyone has a list of these places, and they can be more interesting than anything that you find in a guidebook for tourists. We especially felt this way about Tokyo, because all three of us came here from somewhere else and have since developed a strong attachment with the city.
Early sketch for the Hitotoki logo by Paul Baron. A combination of hiragana ひととき and roman letters.
‘Numb & Arrived’. Illustration for Hitotoki NYC #9.
Our next step was to try writing one ourselves. We each brought a laptop to a cheap diner in central Tokyo, and sat for fifteen minutes, silently writing our stories. We then traded laptops and read each others, commenting on what parts of it were interesting and what parts weren't. This process helped us to shape out our submission form, which is really the gateway for new Hitotoki writers. Along the way, we realized that although the text of the story should stay as the emphasis of the site, a few small additions would be necessary to draw people in. We started by adding a short author bio at the beginning of each story, done in the style of ‘Mad Libs’, a popular game American children play on the school bus. We also decided to add a single image per story.
We have these ‘wouldn't it be great if there was a site for…’ ideas all the time, but in spring of 2007 we lost a client project we had been negotiating for over a month. We were at the same time relieved (the client was probably going to be difficult to work with anyway), and exausted, and looking to do something for ourselves with the free time. We also knew that the window of opportunity for this was going to be very narrow, since new clients come eventually. We decided on a deadline of May 1, and started refining the concept right away. First we had to understand the DNA of the site, the content itself. We realized that places alone are not interesting, but a place combined with a moment and a person experiencing something at that place at that moment is the makings of an interesting story. We also knew that people don't have a lot of time to read long stories online, so we decided to limit stories to five hundred words. Also, although ‘user generated content’ was popular at the time, we realized that not everyone had an interesting story, so we decided to screen submissions to keep the quality high.
Early Hitotoki Logo sketch by Chris Palmieri.
20 Since none of us is illustrator and we had enough work to do already, we started with Creative Commons photos from Flickr, but once the site got going, we started asking illustrators to volunteer their talents, which really brought a lot of new energy to the stories. Finally, all throughout the development process, every time we tried to explai the concept to friends, they said: ‘Oh so it's like a map’, and we replied: ‘No, not really…’ But after hearing this enough times, we realized that a map would be a great way to navigate the stories, and this ended up becoming a key part of the home page. Hitotoki Stone Stamp hand-carved by Eiko Nagase.
Finally we were ready to design. We receive a lot of compliments on the design, but believe it or not, we spent very little time in Photoshop pushing pixels around. The first few designs were done directly in HTML/CSS, and we still make many design changes directly in the code. We did know that we wanted it to feel more analog, less slick than most websites, so we made an early decision to use serif typefaces at large sizes, with hand-drawn lines, and just a few colors. It took us a while actually to decide on a name, and we went through some really bad ones. Finally we decided on the word Hitotoki, a Japanese noun comprised of two components: hito or ‘one’ and toki or ‘time’, often translated as ‘a moment’. In common it can be used to describe any brief, singular stretch of time (if we share a meal someday, you can call that a hitotoki). A few days later, Paul was sitting at a party, and started doodling a logo with alphabet letters embedded in Japanese Katakana. We went through a few more pencil sketches, but soon realized it'd be really cool to make Japanese stamps. Eiko bought some from a local ‘Hanko’ store, carved them, and stamped them on a tissue, to get the logo you see on the site. Although Hitotoki still shows its Japanese roots, the site has since expanded into New York, Shanghai, London, Sofia, and New York, with each city bringing its own flavor.
Final logo. Tissue stamp
21
Ingrid Ruegemer
German Born Ingrid Ruegemer graduated in communication design in 1991 and started her career as a graphic designer and illustator for advertising agencies, publishers and record companies in Germany and Switzerland. In 1997, grabbed by wanderlust, Ingrid left Germany to gather work experience abroad. Her design journey took her to various places such as Cape Town, London and Barcelona. In 2001 Ingrid returned to London and co-founded Absolute Appetite studio.
homepage http://www.absolute-appetite.com
22 Tell us about yourself. In was born in 1966 in Augsburg, Germany. I studied Communication Design in Augsburg, Germany and at Preston, UK, I did an MA at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, UK. In what age have you understand that design is your future choice? I would say that I started to be seriously interested in design when I was twenty. What do you love besides design? How do you relax, how do you rest? I love to go for very long walks, I love to explore new things, new exhibitions, new areas… I love London, I love to travel! What helps you generate new ideas? My inspirations come from everyday life and nature. One of my favourite artists is James Turrell, one of my favourite designers is Marcel Wanders.
‘You are what you think about. You can make all you dreams come true.’ What is the most important thing for designer in his work? Fresh thinking. What is your advice to beginner designers? Experiment and allow mistakes. You are what you think about. You can make all your dreams come true. Just do, waht you like, work hard, believe into your dream and into yourself.
With it`s shapes Frooty reminds you about fruits. This image features raspberries (above) and peach (below).
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‘FROOTY’ — Sensual Smoothie Cups Smoothies are the ideal solution for quick breaks in today’s hectic world. Smoothies are not only tasty and healthy but also convenient and energy boosting. For many they have become the modern way to consume fruit. But of course fruit offers more, fruit touches more than just the taste buds. Fruit is seductive and playful, it comes in all sorts of colours, shapes and textures. Eating fruit is a real sensual experience. I wanted to design playful drinking vessels that make the magic of sensual fruit tangible. Feel a taste. I started to experiment with a variety of fruit shapes. I carved numerous plaster models before I found my favourite shapes. The tactile quality of each cup was very important to me, but also the visual appearance as a group needed to be addressed. I worked with coloured plaster because the beginning I wanted the cups in a range of colours.After numerous test and glazing experiments I wasn’t that fond of the colours any more. In the end I preferred the pure white cups which presented the deliciously coloured smoothies in the most appetizing way.
Frooty comfortly lies in a hand. Even if you put this lemon shaped vessel onto the table just like it`s being held in this image, it wouldn`t overturn.
Fresh Frooty.
24 In the original design FROOTY was meant to be served at events in blocks of solid ice. This idea turned out to be impractical, crushed ice would work much better and easier, although less impressive. Originally the design consisted of seven different cup shapes, for cost reasons we had to reduce the numbers of shapes. We therefore picked the four most popular shapes and went into production. The cups are now made by one of the oldest fine tableware manufacturers in Germany. Each cup is traditionally handcrafted in fine bone china. FROOTY has already been awarded by the Stoke-On-Trent Design.
Lemon and banana shaped vessels.
A complicated plaster mould.
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Alain Leclerc von Bonin
Alain Leclerc von Bonin is an independend art director and graphic designer. He is active in print and interaction design. His interdisciplinary projects bridge the gap between traditional and new media. Generative design and the playful use of technologies opens the door to new visual strategies. Alain has worked in Paris and London. Now his Zurich based studio Visualcontext realised projects with a network of agencies and specialists.
homepage http://www.visualcontext.net http://www.oskope.com/
26 Do you have specific design education? I studied graphic design in Paris, at the school ESAG. They made me work a lot, so I learned a lot. In what age have you understand that design is your future choice? I came to it more by chance. Before my studies I did a lot of illustrations for magazines, so it seemed the logical thing to start graphic design. But it was only after my second year of study that I knew, it was the perfect choice for me. What do you love besides design? How do you relax, how do you rest? Spending time with my loving wife is the most relaxing thing. She is a great support. In my free time, I like to do Kung-Fu (for relaxing), watch Japanese movies and enjoy contemporary art. A few years previously, I used to play a lot of video games. However, now I live out my playful side through design. Having your own graphic design studio is a two hundred percents job…
‘A few years previously, I used to play a lot of video games. However, now I live out my playful side through design.’ Where do you take inspiration, who are your favourite designers\artists? My inspirations are very varied and I try to look for inspirations outside the graphical world. This is the best way to find new and innovative ways of doing things. I am interested in contemporary art, science and technology and shapes produced by nature. People's reactions to design and technology are also very important to me. Text, images, sounds (information) are understood differently by every individual. Each one of us has his or her own version of reality. As a designer, you want to create things that are relevant to all those realties. So, I am also interested in why people reject design. Lastly, I am interested in design that is open enough so people can project their own reality into the object. I used to be a regular client in book design shops, but if you know where to look, the Web is just so much richer. My favorite sites are ffffound.com, infosthetics.com, qbn.com and vvork.com
Logotype.
27 How do you get new ideas? Do you make any sketches or perform brainstorming? The best ideas come up, when I am doing other tasks, doing something different than thinking about the project. Thinking too hard and focusing too much on the problem might block one’s instinctive reaction to what is in front of one, however these instinctive reactions are essential for good design. My research starts usually with a lot of sketching with pen and paper. And I collect various inspirations such as images or movies, to get a feel for the right tonality. The only rule I set for myself is, not to start working on the computer as long as I don’t have a clear idea of were the design is heading (otherwise it is a waste of time).
Online game. http://www.metropoly.ch/game/
When researching for a project, there are three main questions that I ask: 1) Does the topic that I am working on already produce shapes or meanings that can be used? 2) What will make the design relevant? 3) What would be a novel way of doing things that I have not tried yet? These questions help to prevent a meaningless style, which is out of place and time; they help to prevent that the design is just a purely decorative and interchangeable answer to a problem; furthermore, it helps not to repeat myself and thus I learn new things.
Origo presentation. http://www.origonet.ch/
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www.oskope.com oSkope is a project with a very interesting briefing: How to create a service that helps people to find visual data (images, videos, objects…) in a more intuitive way. The service should be a dynamic website that gathers all its data from another websites like amazon — a so called meshup. However, this setting removes nearly all classical elements a good visual design is made of. There is no control over text, as it is all dynamic. There is no control over image size or quality, as different sources are tapped. There no control over the format, as screen sizes vary. A nice challenge.
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This setting is comparable with images.google.com, which looks and feels very unrefined. Mainly the low image quality requires a good remedy. And, low quality prompted me of thinking of the rummage tables in department stores at the end of season sales. The disorderly arrangement helps with a dodgy image quality — all of a sudden, the bad quality seems to be on purpose. Furthermore, the rummage table is also an invitation to dig through the items with one's own hands. It is also a good concept to communicate the idea, that the user can drag all the objects. So, we randomly tilted all the images by some degrees. We took the concept of a digital rummage table one step further, as we are not tied physical limitations of a real rummage table. Our digital rummage table can reorganise itself according to the user's wishes. We integrated the intuitiveness of heaps and stacks into the concept, so that the user can interact with the items like physically interacting with a pile of photos. This allows the user to quickly organise many objects and get a real sense of what is available. The concept of views (Grid, Heap, Stack, List) gives the user several possibilities to arrange and organise his or her rummage table.
30 With this very flexible and extendible system of views, we scratched the surface of an even more interesting way of doing things. The real difficulty when interacting with a vast amount of data is to get a mental image of what one is dealing with. Two thousand pairs of shoes might be: one thousand cheap pairs, six hundred midrange priced pairs, four hundred expensive pairs, one thousand and four hundred sports shoes, six hundred pairs of high heels, two hundred and fifty of hiking shoes‌ This usually requires a lot of time and effort to work out. Here, the Graph view is a possible solution; it transforms underlying data into an intuitive image. The user can then for example directly compare the price and the duration of an auction, making it very easy to spot any bargains. An image can turn something complex into something more humane. To me, the most interesting aspect of this project was to create intuitive and dynamic images of data. It is something I will continue to do research on. In our age of constant information overload, there is a real need for solutions that make large amounts of date manageable in an easy way, enabling us to enjoy the accessible knowledge and not being numbed by its mass.
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Tom Lane
Having started as a freelancer, he made his way through a large amount of difficulties and after all founded his own design studio, that is situated in neighbourhood to a gym, a coffee house and a food store. So, you can take coffee breaks, go to buy some fruits and to have a cardio workout at the gym while working at project. I guess, it is marvelous!
homepage http://www.gingermonkeydesign.com
33 Tell about yourself. I was born in the England in 1981. I studied Graphic Design at art college in Hereford and the went on to study my degree in graphic design in Bristol. When did you realize, that design is your future choice? It was quite late on for me. I was nineteen and in a bit of a rut and a friend was studying photography and then later on went on to do graphic design at college. From looking over his shoulder and seeing his portfolio I was inspired to get involved in something similar so begged the college to give me shot.
‘I love to cook, it's in my blood, both my parents are chefs. I keep fit by working out in the gym and swimming in the pool.’ What are interested in besides design? I love to cook, it's in my blood, both my parents are chefs. I keep fit by working out in the gym and swimming in the pool. Luckily I'm right next a health centre and that helps to keep me in shape for long stretches in front of a computer screen, especially a good sauna have a long day. I have a great girlfriend who is very supportive of my long hours and all the hard work I put in. She finds lots of things for us to do to get my head out of the design world a bit and relax. We like to go and see shows, movies and comedy and learn new things at classes. We go clubs and bars with friends etc. as well. Local Bristol band ‘A Thousand Faces’ wanted an organic, classic looking logo to help promote their gigs and new album.
34 Why is your studio named ‘Ginger Monkey’. But it is only a name, you are freelancer, am i right? Creating a memorable identity for me in the beginning seemed important because I was fresh out of University and trying to make a career out on my own with no real experience. My aim was to create a studio working with clients directly. I was never sure whether I wanted other people on board or not. After a year or so I started to term myself as an 'Independent Designer & Illustrator', because I had removed the nomadic designer, going from studio to studio element from my working day as that never really appealed to me. I wanted ownership of projects and by going into other companies to help out as a freelancer I wasn't getting enough of that. I wanted to run a studio but without all the staff and thats what I have now. Do you like anyone of modern designers/ artists? There is so much beauty around us in nature and I unashamedly pinch her marvels for my own gain. Past cultures are a big thing for me too. The pinnacle creators of the arts and crafts of cultures long lost, with hand made materials and tools, in low light conditions with extreme physical hardships is astonishing. Ancient Greek pottery and Mayan Temples, Celtic symbology and Egyptian hieroglyphs, I'm in awe and inspired by it all. I love mythology. I'm a sucker for stories of the extraordinary. My interest in history and past cultures have expectedly led me to mythology and tales of the 'incredible' variety. Escapism is a key part of my life and I find my imagination is fueled when I have my teeth into some information, novel, or film that contains a different world or version of our own.
FutureLab are a Bristol based company that are passionate about transforming the way people learn. Using digital and other technologies, they develop resources and practices that support new ways of learning in the 21st century. The company has a great design aesthetic and commissioned Ginger Monkey to illustrate a huge wall and produce stand graphics for their BETT (the world’s largest educational technology event) exhibition. Ginger Monkey then translated the illustration and styling onto a brochure and flyer for distribution at the event.
Uber Little Crest.
35 Heraldic designs influences and inspires me greatly, it has a pretty apparent effect on my work! The detail, craftsmanship, structures, content and themes are in keeping with what I'm naturally interested in and I love sourcing new material to mull over. I find the expressions extremely emotive and the public responds really well to it. With my work I am to bring this exceptional art form to the 21st century. You work with fonts, what about your favorite ones? I have a number of fonts I really like to work with, but it really depends on the message I'm trying to convey and what's the most appropriate for the job. Helvetica Neue is good due to it's heavy weights. It's especially good if I'm embellishing the font as there is a lot to work with, you can create great impact. I really enjoy working with Baskerville semibold for the same reason, but for a different look due to it being a serif font. Baskerville lends itself well to being developed as a customized display font. What is your advice to beginners? My advice is to work very, very hard. Nothing falls into your lap so you have to work at developing your skills and getting noticed. Additionally, simply be good to work with! That means keeping to deadlines and creating strong lines of communication with clients. More often than not clients appreciate you making the relationship as easy as possible and will come back for more.
In December of 2006 Ginger Monkey’s head honcho, Tom Lane was contacted by the leading creative magazine in the world to create an eye catching and unique front cover for their up and coming issue.
Over the last couple of years a strong relationship has developed with Future Publishing through my contributions for Computer Arts & .net Magazine. So knowing what Ginger Monkey can do, they commissioned a front cover and the main feature spreads for BT’s new television service magazine ‘On’.
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Uber Branding Reenergised! Well, this was a great project that I want to talk about. I had worked on a previous typographical project for the director of Uber, an advertising and design agency in the UK. It all went smoothly. A few weeks later I got a call asking if I could go up to Sheffield to have a conversation about their company branding. They had been wanting to breath some new life into the brand but had been struggling to get it right. Immediately I felt a bit of additional pressure to do a good job with this, because they've obviously had a good sense of what they wanted but previous attempts hadn't met their expectations. Now it was my turn! Uber grand crest.
After meeting up with them I managed to get a really good vibe for what they were after. They explained the difficulty they had been having and their conception of Bloody/Beautiful. They wanted to convey on one hand their edginess, determination, their darker side. Balanced with their craft, creativity,dedication and attention to details. All set in a powerful, but delicate tone that was different and unique to them. When I came to working on the first piece, which was the black and red book cover, I started to look at the many heraldic designs I have in my studio and learn from it. This is my favorite sort of project for this very reason. I get to look at the past and develop designs that move it a few hundred years on to today. I also started to research Victorian decorative art on the web and my own library of reference material.
Book cover with a new and exciting theme of 'Bloody/Beautiful'.
37 During the first day of a new piece I'm always a bit anxious: how am I going to do this? So many possibilities! What choices to make? I hope I make the right one! That sort of stuff. I don't formulate the start of work in my imagination or sketch it. I have a sense of it and I make notes but I don't have clear pictures to begin with. The process is organic and my intuition and experience takes hold and I explore. When I feel I've absorbed enough information I actually set a scene where I let my subconscious unleash while keeping my conscious state distracted. I do this by listening to a lot of audio books. Having my head filled with stories whilst drawing helps me to keep relaxed and I do my best work.
My first aim is to develop a strong focal point and work my way out. Ideas develop as space opens up and as I always looking, feeling and relaxing more ideas, present themselves and everything comes to together. The skill is recognising the good from the bad and executing them well. After a good stretch of drawing I usually get the chance to rest my eyes from it . A good night or even a day way from that piece is extremely important. When I’ve spent time and effort creating designs you can get a bit precious about removing things, destructing others, changing etc. The rest period detaches you from that immediate sense of affection towards designs and ideas. You can see faults more clearly and get more ruthless. Ultimately, you will make things better when you trust that inner voice thats telling you this or that isn’t quite right. Learn to listen to yourself and act on it.
Book cover. Zoomed.
The postcard for Uber fifth birthday.
And for Christmas.
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Fabien Barral
I am Fabien Barral. I am graphic designer & photographer. I ampassionate by image and graphic design. I am a house in the country side of Auvergna, France. I am an husband and I love my wife. I am a father and I love my daughter. I am not the clients I work with, but I am the projects I do with them. I am what I create. I create what I am.
homepage http://www.fabienbarral.com/ Scott Hansen http://blog.iso50.com
40 Tell about yourself. Where do you live, work? So, i am Fabien Barral, I live in France, in hundred years old country house I restored with my wife. We have a daughter and four cats, we live near lacs and forest, there are not enough houses in our village to have names to the streets… I love to say that because I am happy to live here and to work a such amazing projects from so far away… Scool was not my cup of tea, and I always feel stupid learning things I don't care like chemicals stuffs... At the end of my regular school there where a forum to present working life to young unprepared people we were... And I saw this amazing school where you can design magazines and CD sleeves... That's a job? Good… I got into it and I love it... and it never stops... It is not so far away, twelve years ago, but believe it or not, a time without internet and with photoshop without layers ;)
‘…it is what I am made for. No need to try to understand it, it is like that… like some are singers or painter…’ How do you plan your day? Freelance gives methe chance to wake up when I want, and as I often work late… So, my girl always we take the breakfast together, it is really important for her… So, black coffee ;) Then, I jump on computer and check emails… If I was paid to read and answer email, I would be rich… Some days of the week, I work in a agency, where I was art director during five years and still work with on projects. When did you undesrstand that design is what you want to make? Because it is my talent, it is what I am made for. No need to try to understand it, it is like that… like some are singers or painter, baker or violinmaker.
This is a project Fabien set up with his wife to design and sell decorative wall stickers. www.harmonie-interieure.com
41 Do you have special design education? Do you think that design education is really important to become a real professional? I have been to design school as I said, it was short, three years, but I do not think it is there I learn the most… I am wrong, I learn how to use the software, something you do not have the time to learn when you work, you need to avoid that to focus on creation… To become a real pro, you need to take time in agencies, and to create, create, create ;) And to see what exists… What helps you generate new ideas? I am that kind of designer that needs to eat thousand and thousand of images before going into creative phase... Most of the time I do moodboard of what I love and can feat the project, and then, when i am not on computer, driving, walking in the street, images and concepts comes to my mind... do not really know how, but it happens... and sincerly, it also happens when i fall asleep... not when i sleep, but when i fall asleep... this curious moment where you are not awake but not gone enough to not remember... Also, I remember to have read a Michael Stipe (REM singer) where he said that, when he starts to record a new album, he needs to listen to an old one to be sure he can do it again… I feel the same, I need to have an updated portfolio to check what I have done to make me feel confident… The create phase is always difficult and full of doubts, I hate this feeling.
Paul Dischamp is a one hundred years old company making and selling… cheese!! They already had a logotype, but asked mediafix to create artwork that would visually express their long history.
Eve Shütz writes poems and asked me to create a visual interpretation of her work. The result was this ‘book-object’… a cardboard box that contains her poems printed on cards. Some of the pictures used were found in garbage that was about to be incinerated.
42 What are you hobbies? How do you relax or spend free-of-work time? To be honest, if the project goes well, my client is open to idea and it is a real exchange, I don`t feel like working… I need to take a break of computer, not from designing… During freetime, I spend the most time that I can with my daughter and wife… As I said, we live in the country, so during winter we can go skiing, sledging in spring, we do big walks and feed the horse, etc… that the most important to be creative after… and movies, thousands of movies ;) Do you use graphic pen, maybe Wacom? What soft suits your tasks best? Sorry, have to admit this is not a good question ;) We all use the same software, all of us… concerning the computer, it just needs to be fast enough to follow me. The main thing is to have your very own sources… I have a hard drive filled with thousand scan of papers, textures… Concerning books, my ‘bible’ is the Tolleson design book. Here is one of the sentences I found on the web and that really speaks to me is: ‘Designing is basically the practice of combining stuff; ideally in ways that haven't been seen before. So the more stuff you know (about everything), the greater the chance you'll find a relevant and distinctive, and thus effective (and original) combination.’
Radici is the project of 2 nice english girls, an online shop selling ‘stuff they like’. Radici means roots in Italian and they wanted something organici. Fabian designed different versions of the logo and various elements that created the graphic language they now use as they want.
What is your advice to beginners? Be original, and found the right solution on client asks. Design is creating the right reponse between a client and his target, the designer can have his style but it should deserve the message… Be yourself, be creative, and get away from computer sometime… Looking as design is not design… and last but not least, get inspired but do not copy, specially Iso50 ;)
Galina Kurlat was born in Moscow in 1981 and emigrated to the United States. She contacted me as our visual worlds are so connected. Fabian designed her organic logotype and developed her graphic language on cards & web site.
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Making of Anatolie I well know this client, I work with her on several projects and came to me because they want my creative process… that’s very flatering and very positive for the creativity… but also, I need to be good! So, for this project she show me pictures of last year even, not very interesting; and give me a poetry she gave explainning what it is… this street theatre and happenings in one of the neightbour of the city (the street is called Anatole France)… I already do the communication in 2004, based on the idea of ‘cabinet of curiosoty’. I already used this child books old illustrations. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_of_ curiosities) For this year, the title of the event was “Miss… terre en Anatolie”… So, I play on the idea of ‘terre’ which means ‘earth’ in french, but play on the idea of the planet… I want to do it with a main round in the middle and that I start the creation… It takes some late hours… I start with this texture, background, and an old paper scanned…
This is my heart… A simple round but that gives the sum up the main idea… I did not make scketches, this was in my mind, I directly start the creation, based on that…
I then add old drawing of solar system…
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I want to use old animals illustration, always have in mind this amazing video that I love when I was a kid ‘Love is all’, but the butterfly ball… I know you have it in mind now…
Now, the base of the creation is there, I add the things that defintly need to be there — all the copy requested by the client: name, places, dates… This is a poster, it needs to be beautifull, give the spirit of the event, but, most important, bring the information to let people came to it… never forget this…
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What could have been a problem came quickly into a creative thing. This was not a one time event, but was done in three different places at three different times. So, I did three small planets, like sattelites…
Adding them, I figure out the animals can’t be in black and change the colors… As these satellites are also different 'worlds' I add texture of the different sides of the moon to them, from an old astronomic book… and add a texture, specially because I do not like plain images. Well, I like them, but it is not 'me' ! I also place the two logotypes that need to be there in each corner… hopfully they do not ask me to put them in the right colors….
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The main poster is now done… just needs the details, all the little elements that are not essential, but which give the autenthicity to the piece… And me circles are too circles… I need to deconstruct them and link them… I add some painting splashes…
As it is a planet, I want to put skyp at the top and ground on down… so I put air ballon and zepplin ilustrations at top and botanical at bottom… And last, but not least, the font… I think it was too simple, only put there, not linked with the other elements… So I add some graphics…
Final view. This creation was done really naturally… it is not always the case, of course, sometime I need to do three before doing the right one, or changing evertyhing… this one was so easy, so fluid to design… and the client loves it, as a lot of people as a lot of people contact me just for this one ;) I want to thanks mediafix, it is important, because it is the angecy, where I worked, when I designed it… without it, I would never catch that kind of project…
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Kukula
It is hard to say much about Kukula in this short preview. You are about to read a great amount of amusing facts about her personality and to see unique photos.
homepage http://www.kukulaland.com/
49 It is obvious, that you have a lot of admirers all around the world. But there are very few info about your personality. During this conversation wi will find out more about you. So, who is beyond pseudonym Kukula? My real name in Nataly Abramovitch and I live in California. When did you understand that design, illustration is what you want to make? Another words, what had it all began with? I always used to draw a lot an loved it. When I was about ten I started to collect ‘Alice in Wonderland’ books with different illustrations. When I had to choose what colledge I'm going to, I chose graphic design first and then changed my mind to illustration. Do you have special art education? Do you think that education is really important to become a real professional? I do have a BA in art but I don't think it's very important. It was important to me, but I know people who doesn't have it or need it. They doing well in the art world with no dagree of any sort. What are you hobbies? How do you relax or spend free-of-work time? Latly seems like I have no more hobbies, so I want to start learning new languages. I'm starting with French. I like to travel a lot. I used to play the piano, but since I move out of my parents` house, I can't afford a nice piano and have no room for it any way. I will miss it a lot.
50 Do you use natural materials? I paint with oils paints. I sometimes use photoshop for a few illustration, but very rarely. About your works. Why dolls are your passion? What do they symbolise for you in your works? I think there'are some people who just seems to full in love with the form of dolls. Maybe because they so elegant and because they live forever in a child figure. I have a collection of antique German dolls. It's intresting that many of the best dolls manifactured in pre-war Germany were jewish, I love to think of my dolls as survivers. Commercial illustrations.Your works are very special, a little surreal. Who are your clients? Where can you works be found, which magazines, books, or you make free theme posters for sale? Thank you for the comment. I usally sell my paintings at galleries mostly in South California. I have some prints for sale at Copronason gallery and I'm going to have some afforble posters soon too. I hoping to have my own web shop very soon and sell this thing my own. I probably will be very bad with sending things on time. I wanna draw and paint. I am too old to go to art school. I study myself, perspective, shading. I just do tutorials, copy other`s works in pencil, but i can`t draw something from myself, maybe i dont have a talent for this? It`s very sad. What can you advise me. Manga books! They are wonderful to learn how to take control of the figures you want to make. Even if you don't have a talent‌ I anyway don't believe in talent so much‌ If you really want to paint I'm sure you can.
51 What about modern illustrators, your attitude? I love old books illustrations but I love everything kitch and cute like care bears. I look a lot of fashion magazines for some inspiration but when I do graphic design I like to take inspiration from antique books. What do you think about design and illustration. I mean, is it art or craft? And whats the difference? Sometime there's no difference. It's kinda tragic when you think about it, so many talented people are not taken seriously because someone decide, that to make a pretty lamp is not art. What is your advice to beginners? It is said, that every dream takes about five years to come true, what do you think ? Do they say it? It's good to know. I think for beginners I would say try to not listen too much for what people say. I did and it was confusing me and it didn't do me any good. But what I think most important is to love your inspirations very deeply and go to bed with an art book you like under your pillow.
52 As you can see I changed the narration format a liitle and together with Nataly we decided to show you her brushes, paints, easels, just because these things has a great value and importance for her. In the photos you may notice old toys similar to those ones children had in Soviet Union.
Traditionally Nataly starts her illustration with a sketch. Some artistic accessories on the table.
53 I draw in my sketch book, I usally get back and forward until I know what I want from the image. Then I re-draw it on a wood panel (I choose the frame first) and polish it with acrylic Medium. Then I sand it a little and start adding paint with small brushes. I usually use big brushes to make a smooth look‌
The sketch on a wooden panel. Bookcase with toys I was talking about.
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Finished illustration.
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Delphine Dupont
After living one year in Jamaica, Delphine Dupont spent five years at La Cambre E. N .S. A. V, studying graphic design. She finished it winning the ‘pecial favourite’ prize of the school. Since then, projects have followed one another: frequent collaborations with the director Stefan Liberski, creation of graphic identities, posters, cd. She likes associations, that's why she often works with Pleaseletmedesign. The mix of their three brains is successfull. Simplicity, purity and coherence are of prime importance in each project.
homepage http://delphinedupont.com
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Winery This was my first real big job when i got out of school and I'm very proud and happy about it. The client was a friend, which doesn't mean it was easier, it can be very risky to work with a friend, but he seemed very openminded about my task and i felt very free to do it my way.
His project is a wine bar, where you can also eat, and buy very good bottles of wine. So it's a bar & shop. i had to do the logo, the busines card, the headpaper, a paperfile to put the wine list for good customers and the bag for the shop. I wanted to put a secure atmosphere in my design. I wanted people to feel they would be well treatened and they would find quality in that place. Therefore i went to some kind of old fashioned direction. ‘The good old days’. I also met the interior architects, to know about the way they were thinking the place, and we found out we were going in the same kind of direction. But it was really interesting to collaborate in that way. They were gonna mix wood, and iron stick to hold it coming from a construction site so it was gonna be very minimalist, and raw but also very roots in a way.
Business card.
So before i came up with the logo i thought a lot about what i wanted it to vehiculate i knew i wanted it to be painted on the façade, to add the about the home made quality feeling and suddenly it came in my mind i saw it, i think it's the only time it was so spontaneous and clear in my mind, i had it and it's the one that was chosen. I often show three kinds of directions to the client so he can chose but i do emphasize on the direction i prefer, the others are more like a back up to talk about the project if we don't understand each other. I met a plastic bag guy, and we chose something that could resist with three bottles in it, we chose a rives deisgn paper for most of the paper stuff, it gave some original touch to the whole thing as my design was very simple, i could add this kind of detail.
That time we all agreed in five minutes and the project was a pleasure to realize and to decline.
Logotype fits for usinf as a sign also.
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BenoĂŽt Deneufbourg
At first, our man of the article had entered the architectural faculty, but later he chose his way to industrial design. Benoit call us to look closer at daily events... to look closer at each small event! Everything around can provide us with outstanding ideas.
homepage http://www.benoitdnb.com/
60 For how long do you exist on Earth? Em… I was born July the 14th in 1977 at La Louvière (Belgium). So it is about thirty two years already. Where have you been studying? I studied architecture at La Cambre (Brussels) from 1995 until 1997 and interior architecture/design at Saint-Luc (Brussels) from 1997 until 2001. In what age have you understand that design is your future choice? I discovered that I was more into designing furniture and other object when I was studying architecture. That’s why I changed my studies, so I could focus on the details which are more important for me.
What do you love beside design? How do you relax, how do you rest? Beside the creation process, most of my activities are in connection with the design. I love to read books about materials, technics, art. For to relax, I like to see exhibitions, read, listen to a music, or simply walk in the city and to observe the world arround. I go to Berlin often, where I relax by visiting exhibitions, seeing Vj performance and going out in amazing places. Where do you take inspiration, who are your favorite designers/artists? There is no designer/artist in particular who is my favourite, but there are many who inspire me. Not because of their designs itself, but because of their way of working, thinking, approaching things or expressing themselves. I also get my inspiration by everyday life, graphism, fabrication processes, certain applications of objects, Whatever happens around me can be inspiration.
A couple of latest works: steel lamp La Liseuse (above) and a group of three coffee tables called ‘Nymphéas’ (below).
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120° CoatHook For me as a designer, there are different ways of creating objects. In the first case you have a client who gives you a briefing and with your creation you try to reach to his expectations. Or you have an idea, develop it and you propose it to a company who can produce or/and distribute it. The idea for the 120° CoatHook, one of my latest works, was quiet simple. I asked myself how I could make a coathook as simple as possible by using just wooden sticks. The answer to this question is the 120° CoatHook ; a little structure formed by three wooden sticks.The working process for this object was quite quick. There is only one screw that fixes the main stick to the wall and it was not strong enough and you couldn`t put enough clothes on it, it was ‘logic’ that I had to put two more legs for to makeis more strong and more usefull. Now, the 120° Caothook is soled in flat packaging and deconstructed. The users just have to fixe the screw and tho fit the sticks together.
120° CoatHook consists of three wooden elements which interpenetrate and support each other; creating a mini structure designed to be attached to the wall. The way in which each element perforates the others creates several hanging units for clothes.