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PUBLISHERS NOTE: POLITICAL POSTERS
I like political posters, the way they juxtapose art, history, design and pop culture. For
some reason, the things that turn people off — leaden iconography, predictable colors,
repetitive messages — give me comfort and a sense of continuity. Of course, I feel
the same way about Yankee pinstripes and the McDonald’s golden arches, so take
my opinion for what it’s worth. At the same time, I can appreciate when a poster
breaks the mold, as does the striking Social Realist-inspired piece that graphic designer
Shepard Fairey recently produced for the Obama campaign. Given my interest in posters, I
have been following a contest called Art of Politics organized by Portland, Oregon, residents
Summer Lewis and Leslie Mestman. Their modest call for entries generated 250 posters from
all around the country, and GDUSA readers are invited to vote online for your favorites. If you
can get past the usual childish rants — the RepubliKan, AmeriKa, Swastika crap
— (do they have a course on this in art school?) — there is illuminating imagery
on issues as wide-ranging as healthcare, tax policy, the Iraq war, cultural diversity, Tibet,
global warming, and getting out the vote. From among the entries, here is an alternative
take on the Obama candidacy by Lawrence West, 23, of Philadelphia.
http://www.artofpolitics2008.com
— Gordon Kaye
GRAPHIC DESIGN NEWS
Stowell Selected
This fall, the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, will celebrate outstanding
achievement in various disciplines with its ninth annual National Design Awards program.
Winner in the Communications Design category, which encompasses graphic design, is Scott
Stowell. Stowell runs Open, a New York-based design studio known for its work across a range
of media, including identity systems, print design, motion graphics and web design. Clients include
PBS, Bravo, GOOD magazine, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and The New York Times. Finalists in the
category were Stephen Doyle, recognized for his extraordinary body of work in graphic and
editorial design, and Prologue Films, a motion graphics and film title design company led by
Kimberly and Kyle Cooper. More on the Cooper-Hewitt event in our June magazine.
http://cooperhewitt.org/
Planting A Seed
Carlos Segura leads a group of provocative speakers at the 3rd Seed Conference, a one day meeting
on entrepreneurship in design. The event takes place June 6 at the Mies van der Rohe-designed
Crown Hall in Chicago (often called “The Cathedral of Modernism”), and will
emphasize fresh ideas about business collaboration. Segura is joined by: Jason Friend, founder
of 37signals, creators of web-based communication and collaboration tools such as Basecamp; Jack
Nickell and Jeffrey Kalminoff of skinnyCorp, the force behind the community-based t-shirt design
concept Threadless; Edward Lifson, an NPR correspondent, architecture critic, and Loeb Fellow at
Harvard’s Graduate School of Design; Jim Coudal, founder of the Coudal Partners design and
advertising consultancy; and Gary Vaynerchuk, proprietor of Wine Library TV.
http://www.seedconference.com/
Publicis In China
Publicis Groupe has acquired EmporioAsia, one of China’s leading digital agencies. Specializing
in online strategy and creative, search marketing and analytics, EmporioAsia’s client roster
includes Hilton Hotels, China Eastern Airlines, Philips, Shangri-la Hotels, Parrot and ING bank. The
staff currently numbers 35. Leo Burnett, a venerable direct response brand owned by Publicis, will
be the flagship name for the China market. The Shanghai-based shop will be renamed EmporioAsia
Leo Burnett. Publicis estimates that China currently has more than 150 million Internet users, and
may overtake the U.S. as the largest online market next year.
Live/Work
The latest issue of Dwell magazine features the live/work space of Fritz Klaetke of Visual Dialogue
and Susan Battista of Topic 101. The article, Boston Translation, focuses on the sustainable features
of the interior renovation, a collaboration with architecgts Stern McCafferty. According to Dwell:
“Each floor’s function is complemented by the external environment. At ground level,
the office feels urban, with the city’s sounds and sights at close range. By the time you get to
the fourth floor, the din dissipates and the windows frame treetops and the Boston skyline.”
http://www.visualdialogue.com/
Online Climbs
Online ad revenue continues to rise, reaching $21.2 billion last year, a 26% increase from 2006. This
according to the the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Slower than the
35% surge seen the previous year, online is still growing faster than traditional advertising. Says Bureau
CEO Randall Rothenberg: “This achievement is a testament to the continued vitality of interactive.
Explosive innovation... is providing marketers with new and unique ways to reach consumers.”
Search remains the single largest category of online ads with display second. Interestingly, marketers
spent 2 percent of their online ad dollars on video last year, marking the first time that web video drew
meaningful revenue.
http://www.iab.net
Flexible Fingers
Yellowbook, publisher of print and online yellow pages directories, has launched an integrated
marketing campaign entitled “Say Yellow to the Future.” The campaign includes a full
branding makeover with a sleeker, mor digitally-focused logo and merger of the name into one word.
Also included are redesigned print directories and new tv commercials by Oscar-nominated
Hollywood director Vadim Perelman. The logo depicts an evolution of the traditional industry-wide
walking fingers icon: the digits that inspired the “let your fingers do the walking” slogan
are now running through pages, pointing or clicking. Ads are produced by Gotham Inc.,
Yellowbook’s new agency; Gordon Henry is the company’s chief marketing officer.
HP: THE COMPUTER IS PERSONAL AGAIN
This special enews report is sponsored by Hewlett-Packard. For information on HP Workstations, click
HERE
MORE NEWS
Information Flow
Interbrand was challenged to bring information giants Thomson and Reuters together under a global
brand after Thomson acquired Reuters. The solution features a new logo that reflects how “strategic
insights seamlessly translate into a creative expression inspired by the dynamic motion of information
flow.” An easy to use digital toolkit developed by the brand consultancy seeks to ensure consistency
and create efficiency for ongoing brand management. Interbrand officials report that some 51,000 Thomson
Reuters employees are being educated and engaged in what the brand means and how it is communicated.
http://www.interbrand.com
Open Wide
A&E Television Networks is rolling out its new affiliate relations campaign. New York graphic design
firm SJI developed the concept and design for the “Wide Appeal” campaign, which promotes
A&E’s high definition networks. The creative appears in print, calling out key aspects of the
offering while playing off the connotation of the word “wide”: widescreen format, greater
variety of content, and a broader appeal to a range of demographic groups. A brochure complements the
advertising campaign.
http://www.sjiassociates.com
Restaurant Fire
Nexus Design of Cardiff by the Sea CA completed the logo design for the Twenty 20 Grill & Wine
Bar, a new restaurant at the recently opened Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa. Inspired by a
best-selling book written by Executive Chef Steven Patrick — Fire Magic BBQ Cookbook —
the firm created a logo with a Post Modern look and a fiery color scheme. An outdoor fire pit picks up
the symbolism and the orange and yellow hues are carried throughout the restaurant’s interior
and patio accents.
http://nexusdesigninc.com
Designing For Prophet
Last fall The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints launched an advertising campaign called
“Truth Restored” in selected markets. Consisting of newspaper and magazine ads,
billboards, radio and tv spots, the campaign features actual Church members who speak unrehearsed
about their feelings. This year, the Church decided to extend the campaign to the internet. Ad agency
Bonneville Communications engaged modern8 to create banner ads that follow the same theme. The
design firm created three versions: an invitation to “Chat with a Mormon,” to request a
Book of Mormon, and video testimonials of Church members. Design mockups included an FPO
photo of modern8 designer Russ Gray, who afterwards made it into the finished ads.
http://www.modern8.com
Indiana Jones And The Kingdom of Billboards
Giant double-billboard promos for “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal
Skull” have been placed throughout Los Angeles and there are huge Indy messages
plastered around all four sides of Madison Square Garden in New York. Paramount is seeking
billboard domination in Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas and elsewhere. Airports are
targeted in several hub markets. The reason, say studio officials: Steven Spielberg loves them.
Paramount execs said they believed it was the first time anyone has employed double and
multiple billboards for a single movie message. Nationwide, the Indy campaign comprises
about 2,000 billboards, wall messages, bus-side promos and other “out of home”
messages.
New Store
xpedx, the largest North American distributor of printing papers and graphics supplies and
equipment, launches an ecommerce website that offers designers, businesses and consumers a
wide variety of quality papers and office products in small quantities. The website represents
xpedx Stores Division, which operates a network of 150 retail stores in North America and has more
than 75,000 business customers. The site offers more than 15,000 products in the following
categories: announcements and invitations, business and office, catering, desktop digital,
equipment, filing and storage, gift packaging, graphics, janitorial, pack and ship, paper and
envelopes, paper crafting, party, presentation and binding and specialty paper.
http://www.xpedxstores.com
SPECIAL EVENT: PANTONE SEMINAR FOR COLOR FREAKS
Pantone and X-Rite’s color seminar “Color Control Freak ’08”
continues to draw graphic designers from around the country. Controlling color from inspiration
to production is a dark path for many designers. But Color Control Freak ’08 sheds a practical
light on the subject. It provides useful, easy-to-understand recommendations for the color crazed
and the color dazed. This year’s seminar tour includes a special bonus discussion on emerging
color trends, the psychology of color, and Blue Iris, the 2008 Color of the Year from Pantone. Learn
what new colors and color palettes are driving the design world today. Pantone’s new Goe
System highlights the discussion on controlling spot colors in a design. Discover how the Goe System
works and how it can be used to accurately reproduce designs across multiple media. Next up:
Philadelphia 5/27 and Indianapolis 6/3.
http://www.xrite.com/colorcontrol08/
HOUSEKEEPING
Entry forms for the surpassingly popular American Graphic Design Awards presented by Graphic Design
USA and sponsored by NewPage, can now be downloaded at...
www.gdusa.com/contests/agda.php
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