I came across this Geotagger map of DC by Eric Fischer and was in awe of its complexity and beauty. The 100 images in the Geotaggers’ World Atlas series are essentially infographics tracking travel modes like walking, bicycling, and autos but the application and style create richly layered abstract art. Check out his other posts too. I found the social media maps tracking twitter and flickr uploads equally mesmerizing.
WELCOME. Over the years, many critics have considered “Washington design” an oxymoron. This site is dedicated to proving that communication arts are alive and well in the nation's capital.
He’s Tracking Our Every Move and I Love It
February 16th, 2012By Todd Metrokin
The Hirshhorn’s Awesome ArtLab
October 24th, 2011By Nancy Bratton
All people photos by Dan Solberg.
A design studio for teens and so much more…
It’s amazing how teens today have become such big consumers of digital and social media, but what about creators of this media? The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum has opened a flexible, fun, and fully stocked design studio for teens with the goal of transitioning teens from this passivity into creating, learning, and sharing digital media.
ArtLab is a community center for teens to experiment with digital media tools, learn technology and visual thinking from artist mentors, form interest-based clubs, create media projects, and network with other teens. But that’s not all. ArtLab is so much more and is constantly changing to fit the needs and interests of the teens and changing technology.
To get a better picture of the center and where it is headed I spoke with Ryan Hill, the director of the lab:
DOD: What is the goal of the lab?
RH: To be a digital resource for DC area teens and to foster 21st century learning and job skills to help move them from consumers to creators of digital media.
DOD: How does this center relate to the Hirshhorn and it’s modern art collections?
RH: Artists don’t work in a vacuum. We see teens as the next generation of artists and designers.
DOD: Are you seeking any additional artist mentors?
RH: We are mostly looking for mentors with sound and music design experience.
DOD: How would you describe the format of the workshops?
RH: We get them started by teaching them skills, then the teens explore their creativity and expand on that knowledge.
DOD: Other than managing and directing the ArtLab do you get directly involved in any of the workshops?
RH: Yes, when it comes to interpreting art and for critiques.
DOD: Can you give me an example of a real world project the teens might work on?
RH: In the creative consultants club the teens create events for their peers such as the battle of the bands event. This year we have been giving them more responsibility advising for ArtLab events such as the upcoming Halloween party.
DOD: What is the biggest challenge facing ArtLab?
RH: Teens don’t think of the National Mall as a destination place and the current location in the Hirshhorn’s sculpture garden is too hidden. In Spring, 2012, Art Lab will have a space in the museum’s lobby to increase visibility.
DOD: Do you have any examples of success stories?
RH: Two participants have come full circle by becoming communication interns and teaching other teens at ArtLab, so peers learning from peers.
To learn more about ArtLab please visit: http://artlabplus.si.edu/artlabplus/
Social Media for Photographers Workshop
October 21st, 2011By Nancy Bratton
Are you great at taking perfect pictures but a bit out of focus on how to stay current with marketing your business?
This upcoming workshop will help you gain an understanding of the wealth of possibilities of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. For example, discover the best ways to reach a wider audience for less money than traditional marketing and learn to communicate effectively and interact with your targeted audience. Learn how to create engaging posts or tweets and the importance of a solid strategy to grow your online presence and your business. Minumum age for the workshop is 18 years.
For more information please contact Ana Irizarry at ana@anairizarry or to register please visit: www.glenechophotoworks.org/2011/07/06/course-social-media-for-photographers/
$195 for 5 sessions
Located at Photoworks
Glen Echo Park
7300 MacArthur Blvd.
Glen Echo, MD 20812
301-634-2274.
Class 1
Wednesdays
November 2 – December 7
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Class 2
Thursdays
January 5 – February 2
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Don’t Miss DC Design Week!
October 11th, 2011By Nancy Bratton
DC Design Week is back and is kicking off this Sunday with a kickball tournament—AIGA DC vs. ADCMW (Art Director’s Club). Registration is now open. All events are open to the general public except the Salon event on Thursday morning which is an AIGA members-only event.
My favorite pick for the week is the hands on workshop on Tuesday with the talented designer/curator/writer Ellen Lupton. This sounds like a great chance to loosen up and “play” with design using non-digital methods to style a tote bag such as with mock-woodblock, coffee grounds, and any random materials that you may want to bring.
Sunday, October 16
Kickbrawl!
AIGA DC versus ADCMW (Art Director’s Club), Location TBD
Monday, October 17
Download
At the Corcoran auditorium, an interactive design panel event featuring some of the top 2009 AIGA 50 recipients.
Tuesday, October 18
Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag!
A handmade design workshop with Ellen Lupton where participants will have a variety of media/methods to design on a tote. Will include discussion section.
Wednesday, October 19
Paints and Slaps on Foot
A revealing tour of DC street and public art with impromptu art documentarians, ArtAround.
Thursday morning, October 20 (8–9am)
Salon: Business for People Like Us
Small group discussion on the business of design led by Martin Ringlein of nclud.
Thursday evening, October 20
Non-Book | Book Club: Sketchbooks with Pat Taylor
Discussion and sharing group led by one of DC’s Godfathers of Design, Pat Taylor, at his home studio.
Friday, October 21
The Living End!
Party details to come, think cider and costumes…
For more details: http://www.aigadc.org/events/2011/10/68179574
Tongue-in-Cheek Marketing
September 23rd, 2011By Nancy Bratton
Humor in advertising has been around a long time and Ben and Jerry’s has always had humor and fun in its culture, but have they gone too far this time? Just in time for the holidays, Ben and Jerry’s newest limited-batch flavor with fudge-covered rum and malt balls is an ode to a classic “Saturday Night Live” sketch comedy. The classic skit starts with an NPR spoof interview about holiday treats and traditions and ends with Alec Baldwin (as baker Pete Schweddy) stating that “No one can resist my Schweddy Balls.” The illustration of a cow with a Saturday night live t-shirt on the package is a smart way to help us get it.
After hearing this brazen new flavor had been released I went to five different suppliers in the neighborhood and finally tracked down a lonely pint in the freezer at Whole Foods. “Excuse me sir, can you please get me schweddy balls? I can’t quite reach.” I held my breath at the check out line. Please, please, do a price check for schweddy balls on the loud speaker, but no luck.
Incidentally, when I sampled the schweddy balls I thought it was ok but I was expecting something more salty and delicate.
The conservative organization, One Million Moms has called for a boycott of the newest Ben & Jerry’s flavor because they find it offensive. Their website (http://onemillionmoms.com/IssueDetail.asp?id=422) states that the vulgar new flavor has turned something as innocent as ice cream into something repulsive. Not exactly what you want a child asking for at the supermarket. A more lax view is taken by Ben & Jerry’s spokesman Sean Greenwood, who says, “But we’ve always been about having some irreverence and having some fun….We’re not trying to offend people. Our fans get the humor.”
This seems to be the risk with humor in advertising. Humor and controversy can create a buzz but not everyone has a funny bone or the same type of humor. Understanding the culture of your brand is key and entertaining your target audience is certainly valid as long as you’re ok with alienating a few who just don’t get it or are offended. After all, there are still plenty of other wholesome, yummy flavors to choose from, like my personal favorite, Karamel Sutra.
To see the original skit the product references:
http://youtu.be/yVChao15oDw
Tasty Design From The 2011 Fancy Foods Show
July 22nd, 2011By Todd Metrokin
I recently sampled my way through America’s largest specialty food & beverage exhibition held at the DC Convention Center and found quite a few delicious gourmet treats but far fewer stood out in the packaging or identity category. The best included tea, candy, coffee and the top two were in the cured meats category. Here is my list in order of most favored.
1. Olli Salumeria is a Virginia company specializing in artisanal slow-cured salames based on 160 year-old Italian family recipes. The identity features an old-world inspired engraved “O” in red which is countered in the brand and packaging system by an unusually bright and modern color palette, used quite smartly to indicate the 4 flavor profiles.
2. Creminelli is another artisan salami producer, but this identity fully embraces Crisitano Creminelli’s Italian roots to deliver an overall classic design and packaging. According to its website, the logo and packaging was recently updated, saying, “We’ve also updated our logo which now bears two sprigs of wheat, the symbol of wholesomeness and a symbol for the white grains that are fed to the exquisite pork raised in the Great Western Basin.”
3. Happy Goat delighted us with their goat milk caramels and their tastefully upbeat identity. The signage and business cards feature an amusingly engraved goat peaking out of the bottom of the corner.
4. Kicking Horse Coffee crew blew us away with their energy (not kidding) and the boldly simple design of their booth, packaging and collateral. The packaging was easy to navigate with a clear and minimally used system of color and icons set against a black background.
5. Hammond’s Candies is an old pro at branding and while we didn’t love their overstuffed exhibit, it was hard not to love their modern take on classic confectionary packaging. I fell in love with the range of interesting and beautiful colors and flavors of their candy canes and lollipops.
6. Ajiri Tea is our last to be noted for the method and meaning of it’s packaging which is all intricately hand made by women in Kenya, which the Ajiri Foundation serves to support through tea sales — employing Kisii women throughout the harvesting and packaging process.
Christmas in July
July 7th, 2011By Todd Metrokin
Like we need an excuse to buy gifts for ourselves—err, I mean others. Here’s our current wish list of fave items that appeal to a designer’s love for type and color.
Sonya Winner’s boldly colored rugs are almost too beautiful to tread upon.
These stackable alphabet bookcases by Saporiti are just friggin’ awesome.
Now that’s a good hand. A deck of cards that, according to the Helveticards website, “both Vignelli and Brunson would be happy to deal.”
These minimalist desk accessories designed by Adrian and Jeremy Wright are available at Lexon. They create a single, neat profile when grouped and come in a range of saturated colors to meet your well organized fancy.
Would you like a table to go with your typo-rific shelves? Then the Fontable line by designers Alessandro Canepa and Andrea Paulicelli may be the perfect match.
And don’t forget about kitty. These typographic perches will appeal to even the most discerning cat. Designed by Czech Republic’s Catworks available at Moderncat.
Street Art II
June 21st, 2011By Todd Metrokin
Here’s another collection of pictures of street art — mostly wheatpaste. This set of images are all from NW Washington, DC. Click on the thumbnails to see larger.
The Wizard Gets a Facelift
June 9th, 2011By Todd Metrokin
Michael Weinstein recently posted his idea for a design for our area’s team logo. This was on the heels of the recent Wizards logo “refresh” that brought back the traditional Bullets color palette of red and blue. Weinstein posted, “It isn’t easy to make a wizard look cool. My idea from the get-go was to use the negative space from the overlapping Ws to create the shape of the wizard. I soon realized that a big white wizard with a pointy hat was not gonna be acceptable, so I had to work around that. The blue and red, and the simplified typography are athrowback to the old Bullets logo that I liked so much.”
Check out his complete post at www.michael-weinstein.com/tags/basketball
It’s Cool, But is it Legal?
June 6th, 2011By Todd Metrokin
There’s a new kid on the Pennsylvania Avenue block and it’s already the coolest kid in town. But this is the legal biz we’re talking about and “cool” doesn’t normally count towards much in that game. Which is why Clearspire aims to change the game itself. Long the bastion of stuffy offices with long, multi-partnered names, DC’s legal titans have kept a tight and oh-so conservative grip on the image style of their industry. Until now.
Clearspire evolved from what co-founder Bryce Arrowood saw as an opportunity to address often heard complaints about the legal industry — careers dedicated to an enslaving billing process and client’s huge bills. The Washington Post recently reported on their unorthodox approach saying, “Instead of mind-numbing hours in downtown offices, most Clearspire attorneys work from home. Instead of legal bills based on steep rates charged by a list of faceless associates, Clearspire offers an up-front estimate of how much it might cost to handle a case or service and who exactly will work on it.”
And Clearspire didn’t stop at just the process and work/life model when defining themselves. They insisted that their brand embody this new approach. We recently spoke with Richard Perez, Chief Client Officer, Head of Business Development, Marketing & PR for Clearspire on their unique identity who said “…we built something very different than the typical large law firm and in so doing, we recognized that we also wanted to take a very different approach to branding our firm. We deliberately avoided the typical branding strategies of law firms and instead pursued a branding strategy similar to Apple’s design strategy: simple, elegant, and intuitive.
We worked closely with our design partner, Levine & Associates, and their highly talented team to develop the name of the firm, color scheme, logo, and web design. Their President, John Vance, has worked closely with our President & CEO Bryce Arrowood for more than 12 years and John understands our desire to use our brand as a key differentiator in the market. Our unique structure also allows us to avoid the challenge of branding the typical multi-name law firm. The companies that are best at branding themselves know, understand, and embrace message simplicity in their company name: Wal-Mart, Apple, Caterpillar, Disney, Coca-Cola, Nike, McDonald’s etc. None of these companies have complicated names and consequently they have some of the most recognized brands in the world. Simplicity is a key part of our design and branding strategy and Levine understands that and has helped us arrive at where we are as a firm, from a marketing perspective.”
The Clearspire brand clearly stands out, and signals something unexpected in the industry. I think the name, design and approach to content really delivers in communicating brand attributes. The brochure is textural and unique yet understated and clear. Their website is also a stand-out — bold, clear, and content that effortlessly embraces current media to tell its brand story. It’s a breath of fresh air not only in the legal business, but for branding in Washington as well. Congratulations to Clearspire and Levine & Associates for raising the bar.
www.clearspire.com
www.levinedc.com
