In April I posted an article on the Dollar ReDe$ign Project ( see here: http://kathykavan.posterous.com/dollar-redeign-project-3 )

A really interesting open project to rebrand the US Dollar, organised by Richard Smith (http://www.thinkcreatebelieve.com/about-approach.htm ) -"The Dollar ReDe$ign Project hopes to bring about change for everyone. We want to rebrand the US Dollar, rebuild financial confidence and revive our failing economy." 

'Dowling | Duncan' Graphic Design Studio based in Newark, UK and San Francisco, US have just submitted a beautiful design concept to the project, for me, one of the best versions. The design is very contemporary - I love the vertical layout which get taller as the value the notes gets bigger, fresh palettes that still manage to convey authority, clean grid layout and I especially love the $10 note with the bill of vertically rights listed. It would also be good to see the other side of the notes too, that's the part of the design I can immediately see that's missing, but still brilliant work from Dowling Duncan. Read all the design logic here - http://dowlingduncan.com/dowling-duncan-redesign-us-bank-notes/

Fifties Textiles

God they're gorgeous - here's some I've collected around and about. Some of the patterns in the gallery are from 'V&A Pattern - The Fifties' book by Sue Prichard for £7.99 - a lovely collection of patterns which you also get copies on CD http://www.vandashop.com/product.php?xProd=3852&s=1

Henry Moore Textiles

I visited the 'Henry Moore Textiles' exhibition at the Sainsbury Centre, Norwich last weekend and was blown away by how Moore's drawings were reproduced as textiles by Czech textile manufacturer Zika Ascher - they were really beautiful with fantastic subtle palettes.

"Although Moore is best known for his sculptures, this acclaimed exhibition offers the opportunity to see his work on an intimate scale, bringing together dress and upholstery fabrics with wall panels, drawings and lithographs.  Henry Moore was first approached to make designs for fabrics during the Second World War, when Czech textile manufacturer Zika Ascher commissioned him and other leading artists to create designs for scarves. Moore worked closely with Ascher on the project, producing fabrics which were versatile and practical, yet remained vibrant works of art.  The exuberant designs incorporate images of barbed-wire and safety pins as well as more light-hearted motifs of caterpillars, sea creatures and piano keys. Moore’s work looked forward to a new era, in keeping with the artist’s belief that art should be part of everyday life. His use of vivid pinks and greens, zigzags and swirls of interspersing colours contrasts with the often subdued colours of clothing and domestic fabrics in the post-war years." See http://www.scva.org.uk/exhibitions/current/?exhibition=77 also http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2008/oct/04/exhibition.art.henry.moore and http://www.skyarts.co.uk/art-design/article/review-henry-moore-textiles/

Reference links:
Vintage Fabric Pool - http://www.flickr.com/groups/vintagefabric/pool/
1950's pattern collection - http://thetextileblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/1950s-and-ranch-style-living.html
Dog Show pattern - http://martinklasch.blogspot.com/2009/07/illustration-dog-show.html
Jacqueline Groag textiles - http://birdsofoh.blogspot.com/2009/06/jacqueline-groag.html
Textiles - http://www.eohartanddesign.com/2010/01/14/1950s-original-textile-designs-part-3/
Henry Moore print - http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackheathens/2840367975/

If you’re in search of inspiration, this 'Inspiration Pad' by Brussels based Art Director Marc Thomasset might help. Every page shows a different variation of lines and grids. 32 pages, dimensions 165 x 210 mm, softcover. Buy from here http://www.tmsprl.com/shop.html and see other work here http://www.tmsprl.com/

"Written in 1998, the Incomplete Manifesto is an articulation of statements exemplifying Bruce Mau’s beliefs, strategies and motivations." They guide how his agency approach every project. Full list here: http://www.brucemaudesign.com/#112942

My Top 10...

1. Allow events to change you.
You have to be willing to grow. Growth is different from something that happens to you. You produce it. You live it. The prerequisites for growth: the openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by them.

4. Love your experiments (as you would an ugly child).
Joy is the engine of growth. Exploit the liberty in casting your work as beautiful experiments, iterations, attempts, trials, and errors. Take the long view and allow yourself the fun of failure every day.

8. Drift.
Allow yourself to wander aimlessly. Explore adjacencies. Lack judgment. Postpone criticism.

10. Everyone is a leader.
Growth happens. Whenever it does, allow it to emerge. Learn to follow when it makes sense. Let anyone lead.

14. Don’t be cool.
Cool is conservative fear dressed in black. Free yourself from limits of this sort.

15. Ask stupid questions.
Growth is fueled by desire and innocence. Assess the answer, not the question. Imagine learning throughout your life at the rate of an infant.

16. Collaborate.
The space between people working together is filled with conflict, friction, strife, exhilaration, delight, and vast creative potential.

17. ____________________.
Intentionally left blank. Allow space for the ideas you haven’t had yet, and for the ideas 
of others.

19. Work the metaphor.
Every object has the capacity to stand for something other than what is apparent. Work on what it stands for.

37. Break it, stretch it, bend it, crush it, crack it, fold it.

 

Also see my post on 'Good F***ing Design Advice' which also includes info on Brian Eno's Oblique Strategy cards: http://kathykavan.com/good-fing-design-advice

Moyasimon is very popular in Japan with the comics selling out on release. The creator, Masayuki Ishikawa, was inspired to create it from a trip to an agricultural college where he visited the sake brewing room. The professor told him that when the sake was ready it 'spoke to him' - that gave Masayuki the idea.

"Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture, known in Japan as Moyashimon (もやしもん?), is a manga series created by Masayuki Ishikawa. It has been serialized in Kodansha's seinen magazine Evening since August 2004. It won the 2008 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize for Grand Prize and the 2008 Kodansha Manga Award for general manga.The series follows Tadayasu Sawaki, a first-year college student at an agricultural university, who has a unique ability to see and communicate with bacteria and other micro-organisms." From Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moyasimon:_Tales_of_Agriculture

They go up to 11, all on youtube...

More...Moyasimon Vol. 1: Tales of Agriculture - http://www.readaboutcomics.com/2009/12/11/moyasimon-vol-1/ and some Bento Moyasimon: http://www.annathered.com/2009/01/24/bento29-moyashimon/ - Figurines http://en.gigazine.net/index.php?%2Fnews%2Fcomments%2F20100726_wf2010_s_moyas... - Is being made into a real-life film http://asianmediawiki.com/Moyashimon

MIT Visualising Cultures: Selling Shiseido, Cosmetic Advertising in early 20th century Japan http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/shiseido_02/index.html

"The 20th-century history of the Shiseido cosmetics company provides a vivid image of the efflorescence of modernity in Japan—reflecting the changing ideals of feminine beauty, the emergence of a vibrant consumer culture, cutting-edge trends in advertising and packaging, and the persistence of cosmopolitan ideals even in the midst of the rise of militarism in the 1930s. This project draws on Shiseido’s vast archives, focusing on the marketing of concepts of modern beauty from the 1920s through 1943, when wartime exigencies eventually curtailed the promotion of an international aesthetic of worldly chic."

There's lots more great content on the MIT Visualizing Cultures site which was launched in 2002 to explore the potential of the Web for developing innovative image-driven scholarship and learning. http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/home/index.html

Only 13 minutes in total & made for $8000 in 1978, Hardware Wars is 'A Spectacular Space Saga of of Romance, Rebellion, and Household Appliances'. Watch Fluke Starbucker, Chewchilla the Wookiee Monster, Ham Salad, Princess Anne-Droid, Augie "Ben" Doggie, Arty Deco and 4-Q-2 in this classic Star Wars parody. 'You'll laugh! You'll cry! You'll kiss three bucks goodbye!'

(From youtube text) George Lucas said, "Hardware Wars is my favorite Star Wars parody." When George Lucas created the world of Star Wars over 25 years ago, he also inspired an alternative world inhabited by the Original Flying Toasters, Deadly Waffle Irons and Hot Cinnamon Buns. A world called Hardware Wars. This is the acknowledged granddaddy of all Star Wars parodies and the first fan film from created by Ernie Fosselius and produced by Michael Wiese. A DVD with many hilarious special features is available from www.mwp.com  

Hardware Wars wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardware_Wars | The films of Ernie Fosselius - http://www.thecrippledmasters.com/hwhomepage.html | Hardware Wars IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077658/ 

Some great initial sketches for Parappa and Major Minor's Majestic March...

Rodney Alan Greenblat's site http://www.whimsyload.com/ - "...In the 1990's Rodney's experimentation with the then novel personal computer led him to the production of interactive CD-ROMs and then to the video game industry. He became the artistic force behind the best selling game for Sony Playstation called "Parappa The Rapper." This led to a whole line of popular consumer products distributed in Japan, and a weekly animated television series also in Japan. Rodney has now become known as one of the worlds top character designers, with his original character franchise "Thunder Bunny" still popular in Japan..."

Read more