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Advertising from space. We officially have no shame. The Colonel?!
The most amazing edited song I’ve ever heard. “I can neither play the drums or the piano.” Brilliant. [Kottke]
Basketball court.
John Gatto is a teacher on a mission. Worth a read!
Amazing performance of Liquid by Jars of Clay.
Indiana Jones 4 script axed by Lucas. Okay, regardless of what people think of him post-Star Wars, it’s still his baby, meaning he has the right to turn down a script he feels doesn’t due proper justice to the character. With that said, I’m very disappointed. We need Harrison in just one more kick-their-asses Ford flick.
IE7 CSS tweaks via Zeldman.
Blood:Water Mission has a new t-shirt for sale. Sales go towards building fresh water wells in Africa.
Nintendo’s Wii is packaged and ready to ship. I, for one, am stoked.
Big friggin’ helmet for sale. This is for real, folks. And it’s so stylish…
November 14, 2006
When did design become so bland and run-of-the-mill? Design is meant to inspire, inform, and possibly educate. Corporate design is so hell bent on not offending anyone, that it’s now simply used as a sedative (or laxative).
My biggest beef with corporate design these days is the completely uninspired use of photography. While there are cases where true creative photography is used, for the most part we’re forced to smile along with the zombies. Specifically, I’m sick of constantly being under attack by attractive, smiling, unemotional white models, with a few minorities sprinkled in for balance. Politically correct and happy never looked so damn boring.
So this is it, huh folks? This is the highest level of good design? Smiling white people running across the beach? If it’s not a happy (and obviously doped up) couple running through a a Robert Frost scene in a prescription drug commercial, to the couple hosting a party of deranged smilies (who seem to be most happy sitting in a kitchen) in the condo ad, it’s the business man—arms crossed, acting highly educated— smiling from his massive oak desk (insert old-fashioned globe of the Earth for no reason whatsoever).
Are these used based solely on the notion of “feel-good”? We’re at the point now where it’s considered bad karma not to use happy-happy-joy-joy images. As a designer I’ve used them numerous times. I’m no better. And I’m not knocking stock photography! There are some amazing gems to be found in the world of stock, but unfortunately they’re usually found after wading through a pool of zombies.
Good design should push boundaries, typographically and imagery. We are communicating a feeling through the visual. If we invoke the same feeling over and over through the same image over and over, all we’re doing is adding to the drowning pool.
Unexpected, intriguing, engaging, thought-provoking. That should be the goal of the visual.