Humor

“Adios L.A.” – an L.A. Romance Gone Bad

By Delphine Hirasuna | January 28, 2011September 4, 2014

When L.A. artist Jon Jackson got a job offer in New York, he jumped at the chance to move to the Big Apple. He didn’t just pack up and leave town quietly. In true L.A. style, Jackson announced that he was ending his affair with L.A. by advertising the news on 10×23 foot billboards that stood next to carwashes, palm trees, parking lots, and outdoor cafés where thousands of total strangers driving down the freeway could learn that he was so done with the City of Angels.

Brand Logos

JAL Crane Logo Flies Again

By Delphine Hirasuna | January 26, 2011September 4, 2014

Was it coincidence or the result of ignoring feng shui (positive energy flow), but as it happened Japan Airlines’ fortunes began to decline precipitously not long after it dropped its crane logo from its livery in 2002 and adopted a nondescript red slash mark as its brand identity. In 2010, JAL was even forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Coincidence? We think not.

This month JAL announced that it will go back to the original red crown crane logo that it had used for more than 40 years, beginning in 1959. In Japanese culture, the crane is viewed as a symbol of long life, prosperity and good health, and red is the color of happiness. That’s why for weddings, anniversaries and other auspicious occasions, the custom is to decorate with a thousand origami cranes to express good wishes. JAL’s current red slash logo has no such significance, no matter how much it has been described as a “sliver of the sun” or the tip of a samurai sword. Interestingly, even though the sliver mark had been in use for nearly a decade, most people still associate the red crane with JAL.

Product Design

Bookcase for Non-Readers,
Light Readers and Heavy Readers

By Delphine Hirasuna | January 21, 2011September 4, 2014

The REK bookcase, designed by Rotterdam-based architect Reinier de Jong, is ingenious both in its simplicity and functionality. Made in five parts, the zigzag-stacked components slide in and out of each other – expanding to accommodate more books or to fill a longer length of wall, if desired. Compressing the shelves together allows the bookcase to fit into a smaller space or avoid a half-empty look if there are only a few books to display. The zigzag construction automatically creates sections of different height — big ones to fit tall books, artwork or sound systems, horizontal slots for magazines or a DVD player. The owner can play with the design to customize a look or add more bookcases to create a larger library or architectural pattern. Finished with a high-gloss white laminate on the outside and a warm gray stain laminate on the inside, the REK adapts to most any décor. The more we studied it, the more we admired its smart, flexible design.

Animation

Wind Power Animated

By Delphine Hirasuna | January 20, 2011September 4, 2014

Complex technological concepts can be intimidating and daunting to most people, which is why this animated diagram is so appealing. Directed and produced by Buck/Antfood for the NYTimes.com, the video uses simple geometric shapes and a soft palette of colors to explain how the turbine-free wind power technology proposed by Dr. Francis Moon of Cornell University works. In just one minute and three seconds, it explains the problem, solution and advantages of turbine-free wind power. The more traditional way of telling the story may have been through photographs of wind farms, industrial shots of real turbines, disturbing images of maimed birds, graphs of wind velocity in urban areas, a detailed explanation of how the mechanism produces power through a grid of pads that attach to piezoelectric materials, yada yada. Instead, this animation tells a seamless story in a cinematic way.

Publishing

A Bibliophile’s Addiction by Kit Hinrichs

By Delphine Hirasuna | January 14, 2011September 4, 2014

Editor’s note: Anybody who has been around Kit Hinrichs for long knows that he can’t resist beautifully designed books, especially if they are on design and typography. So, we asked him to tell us his favorite books from 2010 and why he liked them. We made him cull his favorites down to 9. Here’s what he had to say.

Kit's Books

Here are my favorites. 1. George Lois, The Esquire Covers @MoMa. A look at some of the best magazine covers… EVER! 2. Mapping America: Exploring the Continent. A magical look at cartography from Lewis & Clark to the typographic textures of Paula Scher. 3. Alphabets: A Miscellany of Letters. An historical look at curious typographic forms from the origin of alphabets to x-rated typefaces.
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by Corporate Design Foundation

Month: January 2011