Design Observer: Holiday Reading 2006

If you're wondering what to read over the holidays, check out the Design Observer's annual Holiday Reading List. I've already received some wonderful books for Christmas (I was particularly happy to get Dada: Zurich, Berlin, Hanover, Cologne, New York, Paris by Leah Dickerman), but I've jotted down a few of their recommendations for more good reading in the new year. My picks:

On Location: Cities of the World in Film
by Claudia Hellman and Claudine Weber-Hof

Nature's Engraver: The Life of Thomas Bewick
by Jenny Uglow

London: City of Disappearances
by Iain Sinclair

DIY Christmas Tree

Want a Christmas tree but hate cleaning up the needles? Hewlett-Packard is offering a downloadable Christmas tree on their website. Print out the PDF files, stick 'em on the wall, and voila! Instant holiday decor. Via Swiss Miss.

Happy Holidays!

Giving Back

It's the holidays, and with all the flurry of shopping, parties, and visits with family and friends, it's easy to lose sight of those who aren't as fortunate as we are. Please be sure to take time out this season to either donate or volunteer at a local charity. I like to donate money to The Mission, an organization that helps the homeless in our community with emergency shelter, food, and clothing, as well as counselling and other services. My donation is earmarked for their annual Christmas dinner––it will enable ten people to enjoy a complete holiday meal with all the trimmings.

G.I. Joe to the Rescue of Art

New York Times story by Randy Kennedy about a now little-known piece of history: the rescue of thousands of works of European art looted by the Nazis. Be sure to check out the slide show, too.

Favourite Book Covers of 2006

Joseph, proprietor of the Book Design Review blog, picks his favourite book covers of 2006. I like his taste. Via the Kottke blog.

Night Owls

A new Italian study suggests that night owls tend to be more creative. Lead author Marina Giampietro and colleague G.M. Cavallera write, "Being in a situation which diverges from conventional habit — nocturnal types often experience this situation — may encourage the development of a non-conventional spirit and of the ability to find alternative and original solutions."

Cupcake Bakeshop

The Cupcake Bakeshop blog is dedicated to the art of the cupcake. Creator Cheryl Porro, who describes herself as "...a software quality engineer by day, erstwhile baker for hire by night," shares her adventures in baking, carefully documenting her recipes with how-to shots as well as beautifully styled photos of the final result. A browse through this site will definitely inspire you to do something a little fancier for the holiday dessert buffet. On the left is Cheryl's Chocolate Bread Pudding Cupcake with Toasted Walnuts, Homemade Toffee, and Cream.

The Delights of Stationary

"As the ubiquity of e-mail forces business and private correspondence into a stylistic straitjacket, and the sending of letters becomes less of a norm, stationery is nonetheless enjoying a resurgence among those who wish to inject a little more taste, luxury and individuality into their personal exchanges." Read the rest of Tara Mulholland's International Herald Tribune article here.

National Film Board of Canada

The venerable NFB has a beautifully designed, Flash-based website which is well worth checking out. They also have a call for digital animation entries on at the moment (though as the deadline is January 16 you'll need to hurry finishing that masterpiece). Really inspiring to look at––you can see why the NFB has been such a good thing for Canadian animation (and why it continues to garner so many awards in this area). To the left is Herb Taylor's photo of the first team of animators at the NFB, in 1950.

Classics of Everyday Design 1

Jonathan Glancey has an interesting series of articles on the Guardian's art blog called Classics of Everyday Design. Number 1 is the catseye, invented by Percy Shaw (1890-1976). Glancey writes: "A simple concoction of glass, rubber and cast iron, this reflecting road-stud has saved countless lives. Seemingly inert and largely invisible by day, the Catseye comes brilliantly to life in the gloaming and after dark, as it lights up in feline fashion when picked out by the headlamps of cars and other vehicles."

An Illustrated History of Folding Chairs

Birgit Lohmann of DesignBoom has compiled an interesting history of the folding chair. Pictured to the left is a folding stool from Thebes, c. 1450-1400 B.C.

50 Works of Art to See Before You Die

Compiled by Guardian readers, a list of artwork considered essential viewing. Check out the link to selected images, too.

Retro Printers: Grounding the Laserjet

New York Times article by Laura M. Holson on the resurgence of letterpress printing. From the article: "I'm not alone in my newfound interest. Letterpress, which became obsolete in the 1980s with the rise of desktop publishing, is experiencing a resurgence as artists and consumers rediscover the allure of hand-set type."

You're Never Too Old

Lovely BBC story about how the distinguished illustrator Quentin Blake (best known for his illustrations of Roald Dahl's children's books) is creating murals to brighten the environment of the elderly.

476ad Launch Party

My brother Greg's band, Dude Ranch, will be playing at the launch party for 476ad this Saturday, Dec. 9 at Irene's Pub (at 885 Bank St.). Admission is $5. Promises to be a very hip evening...

Update: Photos from the show.

Christmas Card

Once again it's time for the annual Christmas card sale! This year's card was a collaborative effort, with Andrew taking care of the writing while I took care of the design. I'm also doing something a little different this time around by making the card available on a subscription basis only -- that is, I'll only be printing as many as are actually ordered, so if you're interested you'll need to let me know ASAP. My apologies for the short notice, but it's been a busy season around here already!

Prices
Each: $2.00
Pack of 10: $18.00

Anxiety Illustrated

Review by Michiko Kakutani in the New York Times of Theories of Everything: Selected, Collected, Health-Inspected Cartoons 1978-2006, a new compilation of the brilliant (and frequent New Yorker contributor) cartoonist Roz Chast. More info can be found here.

Cosmic Graphics

Article by Phil Patton in Voice: The Journal of Design on how we view colour in space.

Stain Teacups

These interesting cups are the work of British designer Laura Bethan Wood. Made of bone china, they're designed (as Leonora Oppenheim reports on the Cool Hunting blog) to "... improve through use, (as) the inside of the cup is treated so that it is more susceptible to the staining that results from tea drinking. The more the cup is used, the more the pattern is revealed and, over time, the intensity of the pattern will increase—the speed depends on the owner’s personal tea drinking habit." The cups are all hand finished and cost £35 each (including saucer). Contact Laura through her site to purchase.

Crafty Synergy

"Crafty Synergy is a blog about creative women and their businesses. It is a place about understanding what these artists do and why they do it." Read the interviews by Patricia, graphic designer and creator of the Crafty Synergy blog, here. On the left are handmade sandals by a recently featured designer, Annie Mohaupt. Via favorite choses.

Annibale Carracci

International Herald Tribune article by Roderick Conway Morris about a long overdue retrospective of the Italian artist "Annibale Carracci," at the Museo Civico Archeologico, which "...does justice to the sheer originality and variety - from realist scenes of butchers' shops, luscious nudes and landscapes, to captivating drawings of a host of subjects, caricatures, portraits and monumental dramas, Christian and pagan - of this profoundly humane artist."

Not Your Grandma's Holiday Craft Sale

Ladyfest Ottawa and punkottawa.com are hosting the annual Not Your Grandma's Holiday Craft Sale at the Jack Purcell Community Center on 320 Elgin St (at Lewis) on Saturday, December 2, 2006, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a suggested donation of $2. Punkottawa.com describes it as "...a one stop holiday shopping bonanza with everything from off-beat arts and crafts to vegan treats." Love that poster design, too! Via my brother Greg's blog.

Kenneth Wingard

Just discovered the lovely home accessories of San Francisco-based designer Kenneth Wingard. I especially like his elegant wall art. See more here. Via poppytalk.

Knitting

I've recently started knitting again, something I haven't done since I was a kid. So far it's just been scarves, as I get my knitting skills back up to speed, but eventually I hope to tackle more ambitious projects...like, oh, hats. This Knitting Pretty book from Chronicle looks like a great place to start. Lovely and inspiring photos, too.

Instant Preschooler Street Cred

This is definitely the hippest tricycle around––a replica of the 1936 Sky King tricycle. Sturdy, too, as it's solid steel with solid rubber tires, plus it has an adjustable spring seat, a working headlight, and rubber handle grips. How cool would your little one look rolling down the street on this? If they made a grown up version, I bet there'd be lots of bigger kids buying them, too. Via swissmiss.

Holiday Shopping

Hoping to avoid the Christmas mall frenzy this year, I've decided to try doing more DIY, and, more online shopping. If you're looking for somewhere to start, Design*Sponge, Oh Joy! poppytalk, Port2Port and swissmiss are just a few of the great design sites and blogs featuring wonderful gift ideas.

All this gift surfing has made me realize that there is an amazing number of independent artists and craftspeople out there, doing beautiful and original work. The only problem now is trying to choose...

The photos above are from the Design*Sponge blog (scroll down a bit for info).

At Ease With Technology

International Herald Tribune article about Apple's brilliant designer Jonathan Ive.

illustrationclass.com

A hands on illustration website created by Von. R. Glitschka, with loads of tips, tutorials, useful links, and insights into the business. Excellent resource.

Book Typography: A Designer's Manual

The Design Observer reports that Book Typography: A Designer's Manual by Michael Mitchell and Susan Wightman "....may be the essential companion with Robert Bringhurst's The Elements of Typographic Style." Judging by the description on the publisher (Oak Knoll Press) site, they may very well be right––it looks amazingly comprehensive. Check it out here.

Björk

A list of ten great tracks by the wonderfully otherworldly Björk, courtesy of the Telegraph.

Toile de Jouy

Despite the mid-century modern furniture and the propensity for wearing rather a lot of severe black, secretly I love toile de Jouy. So, when I read about a museum devoted to it (and, even better, in Paris) called the musée de la toile de jouy (located at the chateau de l'églantine on 54 rue charles de gaulle) I was very happy indeed. Another excuse to go back...

Here are some very pretty (and somewhat mysterious) photos from the current exhibit. Via the very charming favorite choses blog.

New Work

This is a personal piece I just completed, inspired after reading a review by Michael Saler of the new John Le Carré novel on the Times Literary Supplement (TLS) website. It's not a strictly literal illustration of the novel, instead playing around with some of the ideas of moral complexities that are a continuing theme in Le Carré's work.

Keri Smith

I was just reminded of the work of one of my favourite illustrators, the wonderful Keri Smith, while browsing the Swiss Miss blog. Tina Roth Eisenberg, designer and writer of Swiss Miss, singles out a great piece that Keri wrote a couple of years ago, called Ten Ways to Infuse Your Work With Your Personality. Highly recommended.

Vogue

A retrospective of 90 years of British Vogue magazine covers. I'd have to say that they become less interesting (definitely less adventurous, design-wise) as the decades progress. It's sad to see how the use of illustration disappeared, oh, 45 years or so ago, too. The cover on the left is from September 1961.

Poppytalk and Uppercase

One of my regular blog stops is Poppytalk, which features great design with a Canadian slant. A recent post was about Calgary's uppercase gallery, a showcase for great Canadian art and design. Shown on the left are new wrap and card designs by Vangool Design and Typography, who share the space with uppercase.

More Linden Tree

A shot of the interior of Linden Tree Home, showing some of the lovely things to be found there...

Sophie Conran

Drove down to Merrickville this afternoon to visit Lindsey at her shop Linden Tree Home, and after a lovely lunch and chat (as well as a photo session of the store for the upcoming website) bought a beautiful round roasting dish by Sophie Conran for Portmeirion. At the moment I think it's too pretty to use, but eventually I'll break down and roast something in it...

Linden Tree

My friend Lindsey's brand new shop in Merrickville (Ontario), Linden Tree Home, had its official opening yesterday, with a good-sized turnout for a first day. Lindsey had me on board from the start to help her with the shop's identity design (logo, signage, advertising, etc.), when it was still no more than a dream. It's been a lot of fun to work with her on it from start to finish, and it's so rewarding to see Lindsey's dream become a reality. She's worked hard to make it happen, and it shows--it's a beautiful space with beautiful products. To the left is the logo I designed for her.

Remembrance Day

November 11 is Remembrance Day in Canada, and it seems an appropriate occasion to post one of the many poignant records of wartime––In Ruhleben Camp No. 1, a magazine produced by English POWs inside a German camp during WWI. Writes the poster on Flickr: "My grandfather, Sol Geduld, was the German-born son of a British subject (Harris Geduld) and put in Ruhleben at the age of 8 in the year 1915 where he lived for one year until he was traded with his father in exchange for two German prisoners." See the scans of the magazine here. Via the Kottke blog.

Spell With Flickr

Okay, I'm probably the last person to hear about Spell With Flickr, but it's still pretty fun. This was another find on the very cool Ace Jet 170 blog...

Connoisseurship and its Consequences

Mark Resnick, executive vice-president of business affairs for Twentieth Century Fox, talks to Steven Heller about the extensive collection of American posters spanning the 1890s to present that he and his wife Maura have accumulated over the years. Read the interview here.

50 Essential Bookmarks

Communication Arts "...asked leading designers representing a cross-section of the profession to share the top ten sites they consider vital to their work. Culled from more than 500 suggestions, the narrowed list is divided into categories to help navigate the Web." Check out the list here.

What Lies Beneath

New York Times article by Miles Unger about “Prayers and Portraits: Unfolding the Netherlandish Diptych,” an exhibition of 15th- and 16-century paintings by masters of the Northern Renaissance opening on Nov. 12 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. Not just a show of beautiful paintings, but an examination of the physical history of each piece, thanks to the use of x-rays, infrared light, binocular microscopy and dendrochronology (counting the rings in the wooden panel on which the image was painted). An extract:

"Probing the surface with X-rays or infrared light or dating the work by dendrochronology . . . can reveal much about how a work was actually made: the struggles endured before an artist settled on a satisfactory composition, the extent to which assistants and apprentices were used to speed up production, and the various market forces that drove those decisions. Such analysis can also uncover many twists and turns in the long trip from the artist’s studio to the museum wall."

Read the rest of the article here.

Collage Machine 1.0

Don't worry––this is not how I create my own collages. Fun to play around with, though...

Bookshelf: Scandinavian Design

Scandinavian Design, by Charlotte Fiell, is a beautifully researched and illustrated book that's been on my wish list for a while. A quick glance at the Chapters website indicates that it's presently out of stock, which is a bit ominous––often this means that a title is going out of print. Looks like I may soon regret my descision not to pick it up when I last saw it, which was at Harrods in London, two years ago. The sheer weight of it was the deciding factor at the time, but still...

Bowls

For years I've collected bowls by artisans in a small way, in particular raku fired ones. I love the beauty of their purity of form, and the subtle complexity of the glazes. The bowls shown here are by the Swedish artist Karin Eriksson, who also has a great design blog. Lovely work. I'd love to add one of her bowls to my collection some day...

Steven Heller

Designer extraordinaire Steven Heller has a new website, featuring his many books as well as his newspaper, magazine and other work. Beautiful work over a distinguished career, but most importantly his real love of design and illustration really shines through. That's From Victorian to Digital, one of his (literally) hundreds of books on design, shown here on the left.

The Country

An mp3 file of the poet Billy Collins reading his poem The Country. Funny and atmospheric at the same time.

Six Word Stories

For its November issue Wired Magazine asked 33 writers to write a six-word story, which was then interpreted visually by designers Stephen Doyle, Frost Design, Chip Kidd, John Maeda and Tomato. The inspiration for the series was Hemingway's own famous six-word story ("For sale: baby shoes, never worn.") which he is said to have called his best work. Read the series here. The design on the left is by Tomato.

PLUS

The Picture Licensing Universal System (PLUS), a non-profit coalition of companies, associations, and industry experts, recently came together with the mandate to "...clearly define and standardize the core aspects of image licensing and its management." Their aim is to create a more transparent and fairer licensing process for both image creators and image buyers. With the increasing complexity of image usage these days, more clarity can only be a good thing. Find out more about PLUS here.

Book Covers Blog

A wonderful blog dedicated to the art of the book cover. I found this on the Ace Jet 170 blog under the favourites, and now it's on my list of favourites as well. Shown here is Thomas Pynchon's novel Against the Day, published this year by the Penguin Press.

2010 Advertising Rates

Hello! The automatism blog is where I share what I find inspiring, interesting or simply beautiful in decor, the visual arts, design, literature and more. Automatism readers are interesting and creative people, with a true appreciation for great design. If this sounds like the kind of audience and exposure you'd love to connect with, read on!

Getting an ad on automatism is simple. The rate is $25.00 (Canadian) per month for a 160 pixel wide x 60 pixel high ad, like the one here:



I accept payment through PayPal. Once you've paid (and supplied your ad), up you go! For first time sponsors who book an ad mid-month, you are eligible to have the rest of that month free, with your paying ad beginning on the following month (i.e. if you book an ad on January 15, you'll have the rest of January for no charge, as your paid month will begin on February 1). New sponsors will have a launch at the beginning of the (paid) month, introducing you to automatism readers. And for each month you renew your ad, you'll have the opportunity to participate in a Sponsor Spotlight around the middle of the month, which highlights a new item or event that you'd like to feature (i.e. a new line of cards in your shop, or if you're in an art show). If you're interested, email me and we'll get started!

If you'd like to book your ad for more than a month at a time, I offer the following ad runs at a discount:

3 months: 5% discount ($75.00 less $3.75 — your total cost is now $71.25)
6 months: 10% discount ($150.00 less $15.00 — your total cost is now $135.00)
1 year: 15% discount ($300 less $45.00 — your total cost is now $255.00)

Please note that I am only able to accept files in the following formats: JPEG and GIF. There are no additional fees for Animated GIF ads. Animated GIF ads should be no more than 50K in size, so that they can load quickly and easily for viewers.

I'm pleased to announce that I am now offering a larger format square ad measuring 160 pixels wide x 160 pixels high, at a rate of $50.00 (Canadian) per month. This size is also eligible for a discount if it's run for 3 or more months in a row:

3 months: 5% discount ($150.00 less $7.50 — your total cost is now $142.50)
6 months: 10% discount ($300.00 less $30.00 — your total cost is now $270.00)
1 year: 15% discount ($600 less $90.00 — your total cost is now $510.00)

And for those who have inquired about this before, I am now accepting carefully selected text-only (text links) ads if they are of particular interest to automatism readers. Text-only ads appear below all other ad banners. Their size is a maximum of 30 characters per headline and a maximum of 50 characters per description, with a rate of $15.00 (Canadian) per month. Please note that text-only ads are not eligible for ad launch or Sponsor Spotlight posts.

Thanks so much for considering advertising on automatism — have a lovely day!


P.S. If you're new to advertising online and would like to learn more, I highly recommend the fantastic Advertising 101 For Small Business Owners by Design*Sponge.

Hallowe'en Postcard

This is a Hallowe'en email promo that I sent out to various clients and friends last year. As I didn't have a blog then, you get to see it now...

David Carson

For some reason it's only now that I've thought to look for the website of David Carson, the iconic (and much imitated) designer. I picked up his book (at left), The End of Print, years ago, and I still find it the most open and liberating take on design around--ten minutes of flipping through and any creative block you have is completely gone, as you find yourself radically rethinking your design preconceptions. These days he's as busy as ever, working, lecturing, traveling, and getting new generations excited about visual design. Check out his website here.

What's in a Credit Roll?

Article on how the design of film credits is increasingly being done by independent graphic designers, as film companies try to capture a more contemporary feel to their films. The recent film Marie Antoinette by Sofia Coppola (and her earlier film, Lost in Translation, both with credits by designer Peter Miles) is one example, but it's not a new trend--brilliant freelance designer Saul Bass is known for his iconic credits thanks to the enlightened support of Hitchcock and Preminger. Read the rest of the article here. There's a slide show, too.

Ace Jet 170

Great blog by an English designer working in Belfast, with lots of interesting stuff about design, typography, print, and other such visual preoccupations. Highly recommended.

Cubism Exhibit

There's a new show in Paris of Cubism, called "Au Temps des Cubistes" ("The Cubist Days"), but one quite different from the usual exhibitions, which tended to focus mainly on the scene in Paris. Cubism was an influence throughout Europe, and on view are works from Swedish, Russian, German, Czech and Hungarian Cubists. The exhibition is at the Galerie Berès at 25 Quai Voltaire and 35 Rue de Beaune until Jan. 27 2007; otherwise, you can see some of the work in the slide show accompanying the article by Souren Melikian. The painting on the left is "Still Life with Bottle" (1917) by Marie Vorobieff Marevna.

Scrubs Up Beautifully

Story by Steve Rose of the Guardian about how the Brunswick Centre in Bloomsbury went from forlorn to happening, thanks to finally (after 40 years) being painted, as per the architect's original instructions. Read about it here.

Canadian Culture Fight - Round 2

From the CBC website:

"The fight to restore announced funding cuts to Canadian museums is being stepped up.

A vote Tuesday night in the House of Commons called for funding to the Museums Assistance Program to be restored.

The Conservative government has pledged to cut $4.6 million over two years from the program, which funds exhibits, restoration and other programs in regional museums across the country.

Members of Parliament debated the plight of Canadian museums for more than three hours in the House of Commons Monday.

On Tuesday, they adopted a motion calling for funding for the MAP to be restored to $12 million annually, reversing the reduction of $2.3 million scheduled for this year. "

Read the rest of the story here.

Atomic Art

The curators of some of the biggest museums in Europe and the US have used nuclear science for a while now to determine the age and provenance of the art in their collections. Now United Nations unit The International Atomic Energy Agency, best known for fighting the spread of nuclear arms, is moving to make access to such tools globally available. Read the New York Times story by William J. Broad here. Be sure to check out the sidebar, "The Case of the Headless Apostle", too.