I watched this...



I really enjoy the animation. From a nonprofit management perspective though, I'm disappointed that it's missing a specific call to action. "Don't Let it All Unravel" is pretty vague. Say I watch the video and I'm all moved and upset and ready to do something... I get to the end and I read that phrase... then what? "Yeah, I'm NOT going to let it all unravel! Ok... how?" At least the video, if it's going to address a social issue, could advocate something specific any person could do, like donating money to an environmental organization, or insulating their home to save energy. That's marketing 101.

But wait, 'creatives' aren't supposed to be concerned about that stuff, right? It's really just about making cool work.

I looked up the organization that sponsored the video. Here's their mission statement:

"Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action. A for-profit company, Live Earth seeks to leverage the power of entertainment through integrated events, media, and the live experience to ignite a global movement aimed at solving the most critical environmental issues of our time."

Does this seem credible? Or will it just make for a bunch of bad, didactic forms of entertainment? Also, does it seem strange that Live Earth is a for-profit organization? It doesn't necessarily mean it's unethical, but it strikes me as a little strange.

evil, evil persuaders

Last night I finished reading a section of this book about how public relations works. Though the author qualifies the beginning of the section that public relations (which, by the way, is one of my majors) is not unethical per se, it seems to me that her hatred for the practice is thinly veiled.

I've found this sort of animosity applies to graphic designers as well. In fact, almost anybody who works in a field that involves either persuasion or communicates on a subconscious level seems to attract a certain level of distrust. It seems as though decades after Freud introduced the idea that humans have a subconscious and are not wholly in control of themselves, we are still rather uncomfortable with the idea. And we still like to dismiss Freud entirely as hopelessly sexist and ethnocentric, even though he was just as much a product of his sexist and ethnocentrist culture as we are of our culture, whatever that may be.

I think there's a difference between persuasive techniques and the message, or intent, they communicate. Are the persuasive techniques that aim to convince you to buy their company's SUV, different from the persuasive techniques used to get you to donate to a reputable nonprofit, or to give up smoking?

Is the fault of advertising encouraging a consumer mindset a problem within the individual advertisement, or the aggregate onslaught of all advertisements? If the latter, how do we hold individual advertisers accountable?

Sophisticated use of white space...

...has struck again! This time, the quilting world has become its victim. This downhomey craft has ben *gentrified* at the hands of advanced design sensibilities. See exhibit a.

Lusting in the way only a graphic designer can lust

The Sheppard Fairey Obama posters have sprung up around campus overnight, and I am lusting after them. My earlier wariness about Obama's very savvy use of graphic design, about which I've been thinking, "FINALLY a candidate gets it," has turned into a savage lust to get my hands on what I consider to be political/graphic design history. I've since been harassing a friend of mine who is involved in the Obama campaign here to bring me some copies. I've had to be persistent. I think she's a little scared of me now.

the san-serif effect

How powerful can typography be?

Ok, so the premise may be a little exaggerated... there's not much evidence that micro-lending really does much to boost a country's overall economy (though it may have other advantages). Still, it's a very engaging campaign.

bias

Even though I'm an avid crafter and appreciate things that are hand-made, I've always hated scrap-booking. It's always struck me as cheesy and minimally creative, though I suppose following a knitting pattern made by somebody else isn't that much more innovative.

I've finally decided that what really turns me off on that particular craft is that the whole decorating process that goes on in scrapbooking distracts from the actual photos it is meant to enhance.

I recently went with my boyfriend to his friends' house, they are married and the husband just got back from Brazil. They also showed us some pictures from his trip to Russia a few years ago that she had put into a scrapbook as a gift for him. I think we talked more about her decorating style than the actual photos. I wonder how much it was actually a gift for him or a gift for herself.

distinction

There seems to be a fine line between valuing well designed, hand-made, or artistic items, and being materialistic.

positive reinforcement

This is one token cut out of a multi-token logo (inspired by Paula Scher's work for the New York Public Theatre) that I developed for WFHB, the local community radio. The radio broadcasts on four different frequencies in four different locations. I saw this today when taking my bike out of the bike rack. The bike rider cut out the token that represents their area. I love it.

scope

I've recently been renting season DVDs of the PBS show art:21, which has never been carried in my area, but I like it a lot. Not least because I'm familiar with a lot of the artists they profile and so can feel good about my level of knowledge. (Alternatively, if I pick up a copy of Art in America or ArtForum, I invariably feel worse about my level of knowledge).

I make a conscious effort while watching these programs (usually while I'm using my exercise bike downstairs) to stay as open-minded as possible, and listen to the artists speak about their work and their concepts without judging. During my coursework as an undergraduate painting and art history major, I became quick to dismiss certain types of art. It was a survival technique developed by someone entirely overwhelmed by the range and scope of what was out there. I had to narrow the field, so that I could begin to comprehend it.

But the field became too narrow, and for the past few years I've been relatively uninspired by contemporary art, save for a few favorite artists. Now it is time to broaden the field by becoming more open-minded. That is something I have to work on.

Mommy I want to Illustrate.

When I first moved to Columbus, I spent a lot of time trying to network with area design companies. During my efforts, I met an energetic and helpful new friend Jeremy, who works at a neat-o design company here in C-Bus by the name of Element. He introduced me to a figure drawing class that he was a part of and I have started going.

I haven't drawn this much for some time and it is making realize two things:

1.) To really improve your drawing skills, you have to do it more than once a week for three hours. Probably a lot more.

2.) It would be really cool to be one of those rad illustrators that makes the funky band posters and probably gets to go to all these cool concerts for free and be like a fucking rock star and be totally popular!!! Man wouldn't that be cool?!

So, I am deciding this blog posting will be a pact with myself to draw more. Ah-to longer face the frustration that comes with your pencil not drawing what your brain wants.

Below are some drawings from the class, as well as a drawing someone did of me.






by Jim

It is good to be humbled sometimes.

I saw this sign when I was walking back to my car after a meeting with a client, an academic center that does research on sexual health. Recently, I've been experiencing my very first bout of serious body insecurities. I've always been relatively thin, but the first year of grad school has wreaked havoc on both my diet and exercise schedule, havoc that I've spent most of the summer trying to undo. Still, I've only recently begun to remind myself that, now back to my normal weight, that I need to cut myself a little slack.

There is an emerging field called Media Ecology, about which I know very little about, but which studies the overall effect on an individual living in a advertising- or media-rich environment. Here, someone has left an informal public service announcement. Of course, I wonder if it was one of my clients at the center...