Archive for June, 2008

This is the Color of Money

A collection of the most colorful currencies from around the world.

The Bolívar Fuerte includes illustrations of Francisco de Miranda, Pedro Camejo, Cacique Guaicaipuro, Luisa Cáceres de Arismendi, Simón Rodríguez and Simón Bolívar, on the fronts. On the backsides, the notes feature Amazon river dolphins, a giant armadillo, an American Harpy eagle, the hawks bill turtle, a spectacled bear and the red siskin.

The Talent of Mr. Hillman Curtis

Hillman Curtis recently released a brand new short film entitled Bridge along with a new site design. To me, Hillman Curtis has produced some of the most amazing short films that I have ever seen. He seems to capture the feelings and emotions of his characters perfectly. Without any true character development to build on, each film still has the immense feeling that you understand the people taking part in the story.
This is the talent of Hillman Curtis.

Their Current Favourite Typefaces

Fifty Designers’ Current Favourite Typefaces is a small publication that showcases exactly what the titles says. Each page contains five of the typefaces that each designer takes a particular liking to at this point in their work and career. All of the cover price goes to UNICEF for the children of the Myanmar Cyclone.

Thinking for a Living

Thinking for a Living is an amazing online resource that you need to check out, they recently had a redesign of their site which includes a new blog.

Here I offer you a collection of recommended readings and online links that I have gathered over the years from various reliable sources. Together they illustrate the wide variety of tools modern designers have at their disposal and the breadth of influences we should have. My hope is that these resources will help guide you in your own research and growth as a designer. You should find your own priorities within my list of suggested resources, but you should also find a balanced offering of content as a beginning for your own explorations. What began as a short talk evolved into a print piece, and eventually, this site. The Thinking for a Living series is an ever-growing platform dedicated to the concept of open source design education.

Today’s Reading Materials

It Must Be Summer Time

Summer is really here and I am already busy on tons of work. This summer I am doing freelance design work for my high school, going to be working on some shirt designs, booklets, and more. Will also being working for Behance as a marketing intern from my home and will be going to New York City several times to work in the studio and office with everyone there.

Of course I am going to working on Grab Bag Book which is being published by HOW Books next Spring, if you would like to participate please let me know. Here on the blog I am going to be focusing on some more design content, summer book and movie reviews, interviews with fellow bloggers and designers, and more.

Very soon I am planning on releasing a limited edition series of three prints to be sold together, so stay tuned for that. Also will be working on some other design related projects towards the end of summer, would like to do some work on shirts, pins, and products of that nature.

Lastly, I am available for freelance design work and projects this summer, please contact me if you are interested with the information in the sidebar. I think that is all for now.

Your truly, EB

Dana Bergquist & Jacqueline Jacoel

Ran into some great work from 25ah out of Sweeden.

We are the Consumers

We are always consuming,
Always buying, wanting, getting.
Never giving.

We, they, us, consume to much,
More than we should do,
Sometimes more than we want to.

Bad for the planet,
Bad for the environment,
In turn, bad for us, the consumer.

Why do we do it, why not just stop.
An addiction that we can’t get out of.
An addiction spread throughout society.

We are the consumers.

Ending and Starting

This has been my life for the past month and an amazing one at that. Below chronicles the end of my secondary education and the beginning of my higher education in the visual arts and graphic design. Within you will find numerous events that include the senior trip, prom, the art show, graduation, an island trip, this summer and the future.

To those people who I spent the last four years with, thank you. The experience of being part of such a small educational community as been very rewarding. When thinking back about these years, the best and most important part to me were the people. Apart from the obvious huge impact that my parents and brothers had, there are many other people that I worked and lived with. Thanks to all of you, the friends and students for the amazing times at school and out of school, the ones I knew well and didn’t know well, the ones that became more than teachers and turned into mentors and friends, the ones that looked over the school, made our food, maintained the school, and everyone else.

The senior class headed to a fancy mansion like place where they normally hold weddings and formal events for our Senior Trip. Here we spent the morning walking around the many fields and woods and then were served a sit down dinner by the senior teachers. This was after classes had ended and was the last event outside of school where it was just us, just the soon to be alumni.

The next event on our list was The Prom, the whole school was invited. It was held in the lobby and reception area of a nearby theater that provided an amazing environment and location for dinner and dancing.

Senioritis was the title of the senior art show that myself and my good friend Brian presented. It was great to see all the work we had created over the year finished and on the wall for everybody to see. The show had an opening reception that a record number of people turned out for along with a musical part. We both got amazing feedback about our work and sold a good amount of work as well.

The Senior Parent Dinner and Honors Ceremony came next and was the night before Graduation. Here numerous awards were presented for every aspect of educational and school life. I recieved The Minnie Rogers Steele Award for Excellence in Art. Every award is presented as a special book that pertains to that award, I recieved Street Sketch Book, Inside the Journals of International Street and Graffiti Artists by Tristan Manco.

The following morning was Graduation. The 140th Commencement at the school, when we were no longer students but alumni, where we recieved our diplomas, when we were all together for the last time, when all of our friends and family were watching, when people shared their advice and wisdom, when we collectively took thousands of photographs, when we formed a receiving line and everybody came through with hugs and hand shakes, and when we celebrated. When all of this happened it was over and it was for real.

At the graduation ceremony I was awarded the Alberta C. Edell Head of School Award for outstanding qualities that have been demonstrated by distinguished accomplishments during my time at the school.

Then sixty percent of us headed off the following week for three days on Block Island off the coast of the state of Rhode Island. Here, it was the most amazing thing to be on an island measuring two by seven miles, beaches on every side, one main street, and the bicycle the easiest mode of transportation. We spent endless hours on the beach, playing frisbee and volleyball, riding around the island, visiting light houses, eating sea food, have bonfires on the beach and so much more.

Then we had a bunch of parties for different people, went to see some movies, and on this Friday my mom and I are going to see John Stewart doing stand up comedy.

Plans for this summer include working for the school doing some design work, continuing to work with Behance as a marketing intern, finishing up Grab Bag Book, and of course tons of content here on the blog.

Thanks to my parents, family, friends, teachers, and all of you for everything. Looking forward to sharing the next part of my life, work, and education with you.

The Fallen

Photographer Paul Fusco was aborad the train that carried Robert F. Kennedy’s coffin from New York City to Washington and captured the crowds of people that lined the tracks on the journey. This is what he saw.