Patterns

I create shapes and make repetitious patterns a lot. I don't really know why. Maybe it's a way to explore and relate half-ideas to each other until I begin to see a bigger picture. Or maybe I do it because I like the way positive and negative can shift around in a space. Sometimes I do it just because it's relaxing. Regardless of the why, I can almost guarantee that if I've drawn a random shape or a picture in illustrator I'm going to mark up a grid system and repeat the same group of shapes over and over and over and over... Until I pretty much run them into the ground, haha.

I have probably about 12 other patterns started using these shapes that I haven't quite finished yet.

The Vignelli Cannon

It's frightening how excited I became upon randomly finding the thing I'm about to show you.

I have an idea for a poster series. So I dedicated this evening to research and visual analyses. After researching Piaggio ads from the 1950's and 60's, and reading biographies of several prominent Italian graphic designers to the point of exhaustion, I was just about ready to call it a night...

Then I found this.

It's a free PDF of Massimo Vignelli's design principles. Very lovely in both its concept - which covers all of the fundamentals of what constitutes good design - and its layout.

B-E-A-Utiful:

http://www.vignelli.com/home/bookmagazine/canon.html

http://www.vignelli.com/Vignelli_Canon.pdf

"If you can't find it, design it."

- Massimo and Lella Vignelli

:)

Don't forget to play.

When I get restless, or if I feel like I need to reboot creatively, sometimes I need not look any further than my bedroom walls. They're covered in some of my previous work, as well as a few things created by some of my design friends.

For my self promo last year I created a series of cards that offer helpful advice to promote creativity. An early draft for this piece is actually taped to my wall to do just that.

To research for this project I first compiled a list of designers and design firms from all over the country, then I sent each and every one of them an email, asking creative individuals how they tapped into their creativity. Among my responses were independent designers, designers working for larger firms, several copy writers, former art teachers/ professors, and...I'm still pretty excited about this one...Paul Sahre. Yeah, yeah...I had to name drop just once on here. I couldn't help it! I'm sorry... But anyway, I received a wide array of advice from a fairly large list of really colorful people, and that proved to be a great inspiration for what I feel was a pretty successful project.

Earlier this evening I was actually in a bit of a funk while trying to brainstorm some more ideas for an independent piece I've been working on, so before too long I found myself revisiting these cards. They helped!

These are some jpgs from the first finish. The final finish is saved to my external, and traditionally I would have uploaded those images for your viewing pleasure instead, but I was so stoked that this piece helped me earlier that I couldn't wait. It has successfully served its purpose for me, and maybe if you gander through, it could inspire you too. The entire series is titled, "Don't Forget to Play, " and on the back of each card I listed specific activities or ideas that people could utilize to help themselves get into "creative mode." I included a few of the backs in here, but not all, just to offer a taste. Regardless, I hope you enjoy:

I'd like to continue making cards for this series. I have more ideas...

You're joking, right?