You can't miss: an exciting game of chess

Maybe it's just me, but ever since I was little (and seeing Beauty and the Beast definitely added to my lust), I've always wanted a huge library - complete with rolling stairs and a gorgeous, custom made chess set. If you've never layed chess, don't knock it until you try it! It's challenging and fun, not all of the nerdy stuff that TV shows make it up to be. Plus, there are some insanely cool chess sets out there!

This week, Eye Blog talks chess. (They must have known that I was an avid reader.) The chess set that they discuss, picture to follow, is associated with Bauhaus. The set is simple, composed of stained limewood in the shapes of circles, triangles and squares.

Eye blog says, "The figurative designs of most chess sets allude to the old world order of pre-capitalist societies and are often based on peculiar national characteristics – king and queen (originally a man, the ‘adviser to the king’), knight, bishop (the fool in France and standard bearer in Italy), rook and pawn (soldier, citizen).

Hartwig’s abstract pieces represent the essence of the game by pointing to the unique method of moves they make on the chessboard."

This is an interesting way to think of the game of chess, and is much different than most chess players are used to. It is kind of astonishing to think that many more people did not think of changing the chess pieces to represent the moves that the pieces make in the game.

Via//Blog Eye

You can't miss: Map talk

Eye blog generally talks about things that I can expect from a design magazine: posters, fonts, events, etc., but today, they posted about Google maps. Upon reading the headline, I wondered what in the world Google maps had to do with a designer like myself, but after reading the article it is apparent that it has a great deal to do with the design world. Google maps is highly designed and is useful and relevant information for the user. However, Bing's map service and other maps are coming up on Google maps' tail. Eye blog suggests, "Perhaps the next great moment in information design is just around the corner." Maybe they're correct about that!

Designing maps seems to be quite a hard feat to tackle -- so many lines, so so so many lines. But realistically it is sort of like an infographic, because it does provide information in a graphic way.

Check out these map photos provided by Eye Blog:

OpenStreetMap's map

Map from Bing Maps

One advantage to Bing Maps is that they allow you to overlay multiple maps, to make the map custom to you.

Is it true, then? Google may not be taking over the whole digital world?

You Can't Miss: Indie mags

Via//Eyeblog

I'm always surprised by the amount of magazines that there are, and this week Eye blog gives a little preview to a festival called Facing Pages, which features indie magazines. The event features showcases, work shops and a handful of other things...aka it's a designer's dream land. It focuses on the influence that magazines have on the visual aspect of our daily culture, which is a pretty important topic and one that we all think about daily. I think it's important that we have access to events such as these to further our design talents. We're in an ever-changing industry, so really, even after we graduate we will not be finished learning.

Also, check out these great graphic design posters, about design, that I stumbled upon.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/deapeajay/2265111389/ (Check it out here, they worded their copyright weird, so I didn't want to be sued! But they're appealing.)

You can't miss: travel posters for lazy people

Eye blog posted about "Travel Posters for Lazy People." Let's be serious, senioritis is in full swing, and some mornings I'm feeling pretty lazy. The posters are pretty comical and might offend you, make you laugh, or give you the strength it takes to get out of bed tomorrow.  Here are a few of my favorites that were presented via Visual News:

This could be just another thing to keep your design mind occupied while you're avoiding your not-so-fun classes (and no, I don't mean design - I actually enjoy that class!). But the use of graphics is so simple that I think any one of us could create something like this, given we come up with witty text to accompany the design.

You Can't Miss: Graphic design books

At the beginning of this semester, I was so excited when I picked up my books! (Nerdy? Maybe.) All of the books were so colorfully and beautifully designed, so I was sure that I was going to enjoy them much more than my political science books from the past couple of years. As an avid Amazon buyer, I often buy books there because they're much cheaper than retail book stores. Much to my delight (and my wallet's dismay), there is a plethora of graphic design books just begging for my attention. But, with all of these books, how do I choose which ones to read and which ones to pass up? And how do our teachers select which books will be most beneficial to our learning?

Thankfully, Eye Blog addresses this issue in this week's post, and note that there has been a dramatic increase in graphic design publications, but much of this info can be found on the web now. "However, as Clifford Lynch reminds us, access to information and access to education do not necessarily equate to the same thing," says Eye Blog. Which is very true. Although Youtube video tutorials are very helpful when we want to learn a specific task very quickly, it's not the same as the information that you gather in class. Quite frankly, it's much easier to learn things in class than it is from online stuff (for me at least). So it's important that we take full advantage of the great opportunities that the J-School is filling our brains with.

A book that was once commonly used to educate graphic designers about the history of graphic design; via Eye Blog.

 

 

Here's a couple  of books that I found on Amazon that I intend to check out over the summer (while I'm taking a break from school [forever] and saving up some money to move out and find a big girl job):

Photo from Amazon

Photo from Amazon

Photo from Amazon

You Can't Miss: Art for IBM

This week Eye Blog discussed a non-format group of designs that were done from IBM. The theme of thee designs was "Smarter Planet Outcome." Check out a couple of my favorite pieces from the collection below and what they symbolize:

The above design, by Kjell Eckhorn and Jon Forss of Non-Format, is an illustration that represents a supply chain that's " 'smart and flexible enough to adapt to even the most rapid changes in the market,' says Forss." The photo represents a river that can be linked back to a single, small stream, which can be seem through the wavelike movement of the shapes. The large black shapes represent pebbles, rocks and boulders that are in the stream and flowing river. I like this design because the simple geometric shapes hint at a larger picture, but you might not get what the picture represents without the designers explanation. This is truly art to me because although the designer had a certain idea and meaning behind the piece, others may interpret it differently.

 

This piece was created by Carl DeTorres. The color pattern (or lack there of) is very appealing and aesthetically pleasing for this photo. The colors have been placed in a specific arrangement that obviously means something to the creator, but we as viewers must figure it our for ourselves. There is something simple and intriguing about the pulling away of panels and I'd personally like to know more about the thought process behind the piece.

One interesting thing about the designers, and DeTorres in specific, is that they were nervous about the art limitations that would be placed on them by IBM, but were pleasantly surprised by the freedom that they were given to create their works. " 'The art and design needs coming from IBM were refined by Ogilvy into smart and very open briefs … It was very liberating … This kind of thing doesn’t happen in advertising very often,'" says DeTorres.

This thought process brought me back to our magazine prototypes, in which we were encouraged to push past the norms that we so often see in magazines. Although we may have entered the assignment thinking that the magazines wanted something much like what they already had, it was interesting to hear that they really wanted to present something different. I think that this speaks a great deal for the design world.

You can't miss: Spitalfields Life

This week, Blog Eye blogged about a book signing party that was unlike any other, in the sense that it took place at the Christ Church in Spitalfields, London. The book is titled Spitalfields Life, and is written by an author who wishes to remain unknown (the author goes by the titled "The Gentle Author."

The book is a compilation of blog posts, which were created to be just that - blog posts.  The posts were later turned into books, Spitalfields Life just being one part of the series.

The book's designer, David Pearson, designed the book in a two column format.

"A recent post on Spitalfields Life discusses Pearson’s choice of typeface (Miller by Matthew Carter) and his page design – which is based on a copy of Dickens’ Household Words sent to him by the author," says Blog Eye. It is obvious that a great deal of thought went into the formation of the pages. There are also great graphics and illustrations that are used to end a "blog post" or "chapter," as seen below.

It is interesting to remember how open the field of design is for us as journalism students. Although our focus may be on consumer magazines or product branding, we can also work in the world of books. The designs might not be as flashy, but they are still beautiful and well-thought-out ideas that enhance the whole packaging of the book.

You can't miss Eve Arnold's centenary

Blog Eye Magazine took the centenary of Eve Arnold to discuss her brilliant photojournalism pieces throughout her career.  The post suggests that while Arnold photographed many celebrities throughout her career, including Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and Malcom X, she should not be remembered for simply being a celebrity photographer.

Courtesy of

theworldofphotographers.wordpress.com

 The above picture is from a photo shoot that Arnold did with MM. The photo is beautiful and simple and all too captivating MM's vulnerability (a task at which Arnold excelled in capturing).  I'm a Monroe fan, so of course I think this photo is lovely and I absolutely wouldn't mind adding it to my collection.  However....

As I kept reading the post on Blog Eye, the photos drew me in so deeply.  Much deeper than the Monroe picture.  The below photo is from a collection called Divorce in Moscow, circa 1966:

At first you see that yes the photo is beautiful, but look beyond that.  Blog Eye did an amazing job of highlighting a few of the important things to note:

"The body language of the couple shows a chasm of physical and emotional distance between the two. It is a painful scene to witness, even from the distance of the viewer. There is a certain religiosity to it, too: while central, the woman is subservient, wearing a headscarf, with a lachrymose and distant look on her face.

Many independent players have their part. A man hides behind his newspaper while another stares out of the room’s only window, but the more removed they try to become the more they implicate themselves. The setting is cold, the room unadorned and bureaucratically sterile. The grimness of the proceedings is captured by Arnold, but her intervention adds space for compassion."

Personally, I don't follow photographers very much, but if you haven't seen any of Arnold's other work, I suggest you do so in some of your spare time.

You can't miss - Making Magazines 2012 (but you probably will...)

On Friday, Blog Eye Magazine blogged about a magazine conference that is happening on March 16, 2012. The conference is open to :"everyone who’s involved in making magazines, or who would like to be: editors, art directors, designers, and students doing design or journalism courses," says Blog Eye. So maybe we should all just make a field trip out of it? We're students doing design! But sources say that it's pricey...maybe one day?

The conference will host the creative mind behind (this) and (this) and about a billion other great minds in the magazine industry.

One quote that I found especially important and telling:

" ‘The past few years have seen huge changes to the way magazines are created and consumed,’ says Leslie, who blogs regularly about his personal and professional passion for magazines at magCulture. ‘The result has been a rebirth in creativity, as editors and designers seek to make their magazines stand out through design and image. ‘Making Magazines 2012 features a group of people at the forefront of this development, providing a snapshot of the industry today.’ "

I can't seem to think of any better way to put this. Even as we speak, magazines are doing redesigns to keep their magazines looking fresh and ahead of the competition.  It's exciting to watch and even more exciting to be a part of.