Objectified
For those unfamiliar, Objectified is essentially a documentary about our complex relationship with manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them. It was directed by Gary Hustwit – the same person who directed Helvetica – and features big names such as: Naoto Fukasawa, Jonathan Ive, Dieter Rams, the Bouroullec brothers, Chris Bangle (no, not Chris Angle) and many, many more.
Although not available to the public just yet, Gary Hustwit has been touring various parts of the world offering screenings of the film, and at times, Q&A sessions. Luckily for me, I was able to catch the Montreal showing this past Friday with Duc Tran.
I’m not going to go into great detail on what was shown in the movie and what it was about – as you can find similar write ups elsewhere, but more importantly, you should go see if for yourself – instead, I’ll just say a few words on how the film affected me and what left with me upon exiting the theater. But before I do that, let me just say: it was absolutely brilliant. It has a very similar style and feel – naturally- to Helvetica, but I felt that it spoke to a much broader audience this time around, as appose to the former, which I felt was aimed more towards the typographer and/or graphic designer.
The film touched upon a range of familiar and affordable products to high end, luxury and iconic design pieces. It does a terrific job in touching base with products one might encounter on a day-to-day basis. From cars to furniture to gadgets to kitchenware, it has it all. As you watch the film, you begin to realize just how important and how necessary all the things in your life really are. It allows you to appreciate everything around you and the function they serve and the quality in which that function is executed through its design. Although I personally already had this appreciation before going into the film, I think it’ll have a very similar impact on non-designers alike. After watching Objectified I left with a new sense of purpose. It made me think about my choice of becoming a graphic designer and I begin to examine the possibilities and opportunities of becoming an industrial or product designer. The statements made by the designers in the film combined with all of the beautifully designed pieces truly had a strong and unquestionable impact on me that has really had me thinking these last few days. A real eye opener, you might say.
After the film Gary did a Q&A where he graciously answered quite a few questions. Many of them asked however aren’t even worth me sharing. Fortunately, he did mention that he has a 3rd film in the works that’s aimed to create a ‘Helvetica-Objectified-…’ trilogy. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t give us anymore details than that.
I was also lucky enough to get a 27″x39″ Objectified lithograph signed by Gary Hustwit himself, which will be framed in the coming weeks (as I have to hand build one myself).
Pictures of the lithograph and the trailer to the film, after the break.
Sliced Bread//Notebook
There hasn’t been many things that have topped the invention of sliced break, until now anyway. The Scliced Bread//Notebook was created by Burak Kaynak in collaboration with Cem Has. Together, they managed to cleverly develop and brand a 12 piece notebook set.
The product comes in a loaf of bread-like package and includes 12 ’slices’ (notebooks) that can be used for each month of the year. The books spines are each numbers from 1 to 12 and features a lovely brown paperback cover. This loaf of notebooks would make a wonderful gift for any artist, note taker, or book collector.
Detailed shots of the Sliced Bread//Notebook, after the break.
Flow by Zaha Hadid
These vases, dubbed ‘Flow’, were designed by the talented Iraqi architect, Zaha Hadid and her German partner, Patrik Schumacher for Serralunga’s 2007 collection.
Flow, which features an inconsistent and asymmetrical design, is made out of polyethylene and comes in either white or black. Despite it’s appearance in the above image, the vases actually come in two very large, life-like sizes. The smaller of the two measuring up at 1.2 meters and the larger measuring up at an intimidating 2.0 meters tall. These glossy pieces of house ware will no doubt make an impact in any home decor.
I’ve found some customer-take (I think) detailed shots of the vase over at this Flickr set. They were pretty much the only real life photo I could find of this piece, so my apologies about that.
Package from PICDIT
I got a lovely surprise in the mail today from my buddy Adam over at PICDIT. The package included a nice melange of goodies. From postcards and prints à la YouWorkForThem to various stickers from Reddit, Laughing Squid and of course, PIDCIT. I also received five rather lovely prints, but unfortunately, there are no indications as to the artist or origins of the work, so Adam, please let us know, as I find them to be quite exquisite.
Anyway, it was a nice surprise that I thought I’d share with you guys. Be sure to check out PICDIT!
Thanks a bunch Adam! Good lookin’ out!
More pictures of the package, after the break.
Jeudi 17 Mai by Ariane Moffatt
Fun and colorful animated music video for Jeudi 17 Mai by Montreal’s very own, Ariane Moffatt.
I feel as though every frame of this music video would make a great t-shirt or poster. Also, if anyone know who the video is made by, do share, as I can’t seem to find it anywhere.
Fun Fact: this video has played twice on Musique Plus since I began writing this post.
Gavin Potenza
Gavin Potenza is a designer out of Portland who produces thought-provoking designs that are both unexpected and inspiring. He often bases his pieces around some form geometry or geometric shape(s). He tries to keep the colors used in his work to a minimum and generally keeps the overall pallet to a very neutral set of tones, giving everything somewhat of an aged look. His typography and simple composition however, keeps the sensibility of his work in the now.
More of Gavin’s work, after the break.
Tez Humphreys
Tez Humphreys is a young mixed-media, collage and illustration artist working out of Leeds, England. His cheeky pieces have been recognized and featured in a number of internationally known publications, some of which include; Dazed & Confused, Computer Arts magazine and Esquire.
His style – one that I personally really admire – has a very vintage, grungy, distorted feel to it – as is expected with this line of work. He compensates for his use of low saturated imagery by the use of an overpowering, high-contrast background. Of course, like any mixed-media or collage work, the use of layering and textures must be appreciated in combination with the relatively simple and open-spaced composition.
More examples of Tez’s work, after the break.
Project 1: Submissions
The entries for the very first Community Project have arrived!
Now I realize that some of you didn’t even know there was a project going on because all the information was hidden at the bottom of this post. Not to worry though, as there will be many more of these in the near future! Hopefully we’ll be able to explore a wide range of mediums and subject matters with this. Also, If at anytime you’re not sure what the current project is or when submissions are due, you can always take a look at the new Projects page. There you’ll be able to find all the information you need.
I’d like to thank everyone who participated! I know some of you were shy or hesitant to submit, but I found them all to be interesting! Great job!
Project submissions after the break.
Jetman Jack Giveaway
That’s right people, it’s time for the very first, WYendrys.com giveaway!
A buddy of mine, Jack Archer, was kind enough to send me 3 licenses for the brand new iPhone/iPod Touch game, Jetman Jack. Rather than being selfish and installing all three licenses on my own iPhone, I thought I would be nice and share it with you guys!
Before we get into the contest details and what you have to do to participate, let’s first talk a little bit about the game.
The game – which is based off of the popular Jetman application on Facebook – features a single character by the name of Jetman Jack who flies and navigates through a classic 8-bit, NES-like universe. The objective of the game, as described by the games developers/designers, Matt Katsaros and Jack Archer, is to; control Jetman Jack as he soars through the universe, dodging dangerous obstacles.
What I personally find most admirable about this game and its creators, is the fact that they brought gaming back to its roots. Unlike the modern, powerful and big-name game developers, Matt and Jack set out to create a simple, fun, enjoyable and addicting game, all in one. They did this by eliminating the cheesy gimmicks, special effects and the 3D rendering that typically come with overpriced and over built games. This allowed them to produce a product that can proudly and successfully stand on its own just based on the content it has to offer.
I got the opportunity to speak with Jack Archer and asked him a few questions in regards to the game and its creative process.
That interview, contest details and game screen shots, after the break.
Forget by Vania and the Master
A lovely music video for Forget by the German group, Vania and the Master. The video was done by Vania Oliveira, Moritz Reichartz and Michael Fragstein at BÜRO ACHTER APRIL.
I found the video to be quite relaxing and calming. I particularly enjoyed the reoccurring Mitosis-acting, eyeball-like figures that were featured in the majority of the video. The group of growing tree-like forms were also quite beautiful, especially as they gracefully moved to the sound of the music.
