Wanderlusting

I've never been a huge Bjork fan, but I am always impressed by the limitless, childlike creativity that shines through in everything she does. Her latest video, Wanderlust, is one of the most visually arresting experiences I've come across. Like walking into another person's lucid dream, Wanderlust is somewhat disturbing, highly ambiguous and completely overwhelming. The colors sizzle and the contours undulate as you travel through this amalgamation of Tibetan folklore and hallucination. This shouldn't be surprising. In the directors' words, the creative process "involved using psilocybin mushrooms…and going into nature in kind of a perturbed state."

Wanderlust, much like Bjork's early video for Human Behavior, evokes an intimate sense of place. Whether its stomping through a moonlit forest glen in the stomach of a life size teddy bear or careening down a river on the back of a Tibetan yak in the painterly Himalayan sunlight, you will certainly leave these videos with a sense of having experienced something profoundly unusual. You can view Wanderlust below, but I highly recommend watching the large format version here. And keep your eyes out for the 3D version to be released soon.

Illustrating the Holidays

On a rare occasion I get to wear the hat of an illustrator. Its something that I always enjoy, but hardly ever have the opportunity to do. Consequently, I've never developed my own style of drawing. Yesterday I was asked to create some holiday related marketing pieces. The client was intent on focusing the design around highly obvious holiday subjects: Santa, turkey, fireworks, and so on. I learned quickly that the royalty-free stock photography reserve of holiday themes is just downright bad. I figured, the only way to make this project work without compromising too much on aesthetics was to embrace the cliche and illustrate them by hand. Here are a couple of the illustrations that were settled on:

The Propagandizer is back

I've been ignoring my obligation to provide society with more propaganda, political and otherwise. But at the urging of a good friend and mentor, I finally got off my lazy butt and designed up some new spin for all to download and paste up in their neighborhood alleyways, coffee shops and store fronts. To see the latest blitz of social manipulation from Studiostein, go to www.propagandizer.blogspot.com.

Revolution

Here is my Word It submission for March. This month's word is Revolution: a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system. I had actually been developing this icon as a new logo for the Propagandizer, but decided instead that it was better suited for this purpose. Enjoy.

The Story of Stuff

After a two month blogging hiatus in the wake of a busy holiday season I'm finally back with Stuff to share. A friend of mine emailed me this video with the statement "Watch this movie when you have 20 minutes and an open mind." In all honesty, I have an open mind—very much so in fact—but I'm still weary of any call-to-action that requires it: Greenpeace representatives for example, standing outside of my local coffee shop hoping to accost unsuspecting passers-by. I avoid them at all costs. Nevertheless, I clicked on the link in my friend's email.

The video called The Story of Stuff is a "fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns." With well executed and witty animation by Louis Fox, and Ruben DeLuna, this film is entertaining, educational & powerful. Watch the full video by clicking here, or view the first chapter below.

Happy Holidays

Just a quick note to wish you Happy Holidays and say thanks for visiting my blog. This site rarely gets more than 10 hits in any given day, but I value each visit more than you know. Above is a slightly adapted version of the post card that Julie and I sent out to our usual holiday mailing list. Thank you to Michael Schwab for providing the inspiration.

What type am I?

My obsession with Typography is overwhelming. I often interrupt my girlfriend, Julie, mid-sentence to enthusiastically point out a billboard type treatment or poor use of Helvetica on public signage. She humors me by feigning genuine interest, and I appreciate her all the more for it.

The latest trend in typography; chunky, geometric, illustrative wording with the counters removed, has me both enthralled and perplexed. When executed well it can make a bold graphic statement, but it also has the allure of a fad so ostentatious that it's days are numbered. In spite of my better judgment, I found myself so caught up in this über hip typographical style that I started re-designing the Studiostein logo in it. It took me only about an hour to render all the letterforms—an indication that this style doesn't require exceptional finesse. I knew there was tweaking to do, but I felt confident in the design overall. So I presented it to Julie, who I jokingly refer to as my Art Director (I pretend it's a joke, but she's actually very deserving of the title) and waited with baited breath for her response.



Okay, my breath wasn't actually bated. I knew Julie would see through the stylistic excess and realize that this type treatment didn't actually connect with the Studiostein identity. She was right.

Eye magazine creative director, Nick Bell, wrote that there are two types of designers; "agents of neutrality" and "aesthetes of style." While I often fantasize about being the latter—designing exclusively for the sake of expressing my raw creative vision—I think it's more accurate to concede that my purpose as a designer is to communicate the client's message. I reserve self gratification for one side project in particular: The Propagandizer.

While I'm still trying to develop a unique visual language to call my own, this exercise (and Julie in particular) helped me remember that my style isn't dictated by fads. I think it's critical to stay current on design trends and to incorporate them sparingly, but in the end they all pass.