Bryan Connor - Young and Freelancing

Herbert Matter Documentary and Work

I don’t tend to re-blog things that are making the rounds on the internet because you don’t want to see the same thing twice but in this case I actually had to do a bit of hunting to get past the trailer and the logo progress clip to find images of the work of Herbert Matter.

The trailer is for a documentary coming out soon about his life and work. The man was a very influential graphic designer of Swiss birth from the 30′s through the 80′s. His overall mastery of photography, design, typography and in many cases art making put him in the position of great influence in the visual arts and design world. His life crossed paths with the lives of many other greats of the era including Jackson Polluck, Willem de Kooning, Alberto Giacometti, Charles & Ray Eams, and R. Buckminster Fuller.

The documentary looks excellent but I was more interested in seeing some images of his work:

Eye Magazine – A Printed Mag Worth Its Stuff

I was in MICA’s library for a few minutes yesterday and browsed through Eye Magazine and was very much impressed.

Eye Magazine is an international review of graphic design and I happened to pick up the typography special which was full of beautiful lettering, old type specimens and modern typographers. The articles were in-depth and graphic design focused. The magazine seemed a lot more serious and a lot more authentic than some of my other subscriptions (Print and Commarts).

The paper choice for the magazine also stood out to me. Not overly glossy, the pages felt great and had a wonderful quality and tint to them. Eye magazine is reminding me why I subscribe to printed magazines and has certainly got my hooked with its first issue. With a student price around $80 for a year (4 issues) it might be one to consider checking out of your local library until it convinces you to get it delivered to your house.

Vintage Type from Maine Maritime Museum

I went up the coast today with the family to the Maine Maritime Museum and picked up some great old typography.

And some more below…

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My Take on Finals Season

Rodney Smith – Photographer

Rodney Smith is a photographer with a very particular style who I discovered while doing a little bit of research for a class last semester.

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Loyola’s Fancy New Digs on the Internet

Referred to me by my buddy Anthony, the new Loyola website is a great example of design that can seriously shape and change perceptions of a place. The new site features beautiful photography, great code to match and a tasteful use of Archer (which I quite fancy in case you couldn’t tell). Take a look:

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Helvetica & Arial Poster – Differences Revealed

The difference between Helvetica and Arial might seem like small potatoes to some. The problem is that there is a reason why one typeface is celebrated and used worldwide for over 50 years and comes complete with a documentary about it, and one does not.

Revealing the differences is important to appreciating each font a little better and perhaps paying closer attention to typography as it applies to everyday life.

Many signs and informative displays you read over the course of the day are set in one of these faces. Take note of the nuances of them and see if you can spot them throughout your day.

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Verichron Quartz World Clock ala thrift store

I think all designers appreciate a well designed object and for me this is certainly one of them. It’s the Quartz World Clock from Verichron and in my opinion it’s quite a sexy desk clock. It’s probably the only desk clock I’d want to have and definitely the best thrift store purchase I’ve ever had.

Here are some sexy pictures of the thing.

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Good Type In Film: Typography On The Big Screen

A little type can add a lot to a movie. There are surprisingly few movies in my memory that take advantage of this, making the movies that do use type to it’s fullest all the more special.

The films that do come to mind when I think about the utilization of typography on the big screen are Away We Go, Public Enemies and Stranger Than Fiction.

Away We Go

Away We Go was a surprise favorite for me for this year, thanks in part to the typography in this Sam Mendes movie. Despite it’s hipster-tastic movie poster and trailer, the actual film experience was no Juno knock-off.

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50 REPETITIVE & ANNOYING Website Intros Examined

On many web portfolio sites, especially in the field of design the first thing that you will notice is an introductory text consisting of a few words about the company or the designer behind the site. The second thing you will notices is how they are all the same and all cliche by now. They do nothing to further the brand and they are often tremendous wastes of space.

Happy Cog may have been one of the first sites to use them, a while back, but since then they’ve become as trendy as brightly colored star-bursts and insane gradients.

Webdesigner Depot put out a post the other day called “50 Inspirational Website Introductions.” While there are 50 of them, they are all less than inspirational. In fact they are a perfect collection of homogeneous design decisions that lead to none-point-zero memorability.

I collected the words and phrases from each of the 50 “intros” and created this infographic with the data.