hazel llanes
-
When people ask me how design school has been, I tell them that it’s been tiring. Some days I feel inspired and grateful to be at OCAD studying graphic design, other days I feel frustrated and I question whether this is all worth it. But mostly I’ve been tired.
It’s hard to feel enthusiastic about school when it’s so draining. But I guess this is all just part of the transitional period from high school to college. Here’s hoping that by second semester I learn to cope better!
This illustration by Jeff Hamada is so apt because my sister actually pointed out how dark the bags under my eyes are getting. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry…
-
I wanted this blog to become an ongoing journal of all the things I learn and experience in the process of going through design school and so far, I haven’t really been doing this. My bad! I hope to rectify this as I adjust better to school and the growing workload. But enough about me—let’s talk about this image!
My Typography 1 professor included this in her lecture about type classification last week and it kind of made my heart jump (despite my sleep deprivation, lack of satisfaction regarding the work I handed in late and self-loathing because I love my prof and I really really could have done better on it and see what design school is doing to me?!). These covers were really gorgeous, but I understand that T Magazine has stopped designing their covers this way, which is quite unfortunate.
Here’s a brief type history lesson from the article itself (written in 2009):
In an age when the rest of the world has given up on Blackletter typography, also known as Old English or Fraktur lettering style, newspapers haven’t. Newspapers began using Blackletter for their nameplates around the mid-19th century because it printed dark and dense, important when printing on crude groundwood paper. The letter forms also had an air of authority and incontestable truth about them, as if taken from ancient manuscripts hand-drawn by scribes or a bible set with movable type carved by Johannes Gutenberg himself.
Interestingly, the New York Times “T” Magazine, the ultimate word on contemporary fashion and design, did not try to buck tradition and choose a 21st century font when it began publishing in 2004. Instead, it let artists and designers reimagine its Blackletter “T” logo in their chosen medium. For many of us, the “T” art has become the favorite feature of the magazine.
-
Another day, another fantastic podcast. For those who are new to podcasts, trust me when I say that they’re better than watching TV. :)
In Design Matters with Debbie Millman, Debbie interviews all kinds of creative professionals about their stories, process, and philosophies. As a wannabe-designer, this to me is gold!
For this particular episode, she talks with Grace Bonney, the creator of the prolific interior design blog, Design*Sponge.
-
“… in order for design to really matter, designers need to think and know more about things besides design.” — William Drenttel (via ericellis) -
Good Fucking Design Advice
Here is an oldie but a goodie: Good Fucking Design Advice—Because sometimes, being your own worst critic is not enough.
They have a lot of great advice that are not only for graphic/web designers, such as this one and this one, and now they also have a “family friendly” version of the site (link on top-right corner of the page) and some cool merch.
And hey, while you’re at it why not grab some wallpapers for your computer or iPhone? You can be sure that I’ve got this one on my desktop:
-
“How to Steal Like An Artist”
Artist Austin Kleon wrote a fantastic post on his blog called, “How To Steal Like An Artist (And 9 Other Things Nobody Told Me)”. He brings up a lot of good points and ideas that have been stewing in my brain for a long time and which I could not put into words.
Here are my notes:
1. Steal Like An Artist
I covered this in an older post and I still agree with it.
Don’t copy—steal. Nothing is original. 1 + 1 = 3. You’re only going to be as good as the stuff you surround yourself with.
This is why I closely moderate and regularly prune my friends list, following list and blog subscriptions. Sure it’s nice to laugh at memes, .GIFs, and cat videos from time to time but if that’s all you’re exposed to, then how do you expect to produce good, quality content in your own blog?
You are who you follow.
2. Don’t wait until you know who you are to start making things.
Ever since I saw this quote in one of Emma’s post, I’ve been repeating it like a mantra.
No one really knows what they’re doing. We’re all just stumbling as we go.
This is also a big part of how I dress. Contrary to what people think, I actually don’t shop that often nor do I have that many clothes. Most of them are from thrift stores but I somehow fool people into thinking I’m very stylish, lol.
3. Write the book you want to read.
This is sort of like the first point: You are what you read.
I once saw a quote which was somewhere along the lines of, “If you want to be a good writer, be a good reader.” This is another reason I unfollow certain blogs/sites/tweople. I like to think that reading about design theory helps me become a real designer.
Write the book you want to read. Make the art you want to see. Make the designs that you want to experience.
That is how all great creations are created.
4. Use Your Hands.
Hands are forgotten tools.
Sometimes I wish I lived in the past when graphic designers did not have computers or Adobe Photoshop to do the work for them. Top designers like Alan Fletcher and Massimo Vignelli used x-acto knives and special tools to create their work.
Back then, you had to be exceptionally good and multi-talented to survive in this industry. Now it’s become much too easy.
5. Side projects and hobbies are important.
I like this one because that is what web and graphic design used to be for me: a hobby. Instead of going outside, I holed up in front of my PC as a kid, playing with pixels and learning to code.
Looking at myself now, I still cannot believe I am actually pursuing this. Reading, learning, writing and immersing myself in design is so incredibly exhilarating.
6. The secret: do good work and put it where people can see it.
Step 1: Wonder at something.
Step 2: Invite others to wonder with you.Hey, isn’t this what I’m doing right now? Awesome!
7. Geography is no longer our master.
Amazing how I can email my pen-pal in South Korea and receive a reply 5 minutes after…
Take advantage of this. Make friends from around the world, collaborate, and share!
8. Be nice. The world is a small town.
Or as Conan O’Brien puts it, “If you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.”
9. Be boring. It’s the only way to get work done.
This is where all the “hard work” comes in. The organization, the time management, the ability to GET THINGS DONE!
Unsurprisingly, this is the one I struggle with most. Working hard is hard work!
10. Creativity is subtraction.
Less is more. Piling lots of things into one design may seem like a good idea, but the best designers are the ones who can strip designs to their bare essentials.
Creativity isn’t just the things we chose to put in, it’s also the things we chose to leave out.
-
Logo Redesign
I don’t know why I took this long to redesign the logo for La Garçonne (my menswear inspiration collective, not the online boutique), but voilà! Here it is!
My aim was to design a logo that was: a) easy on the eyes and b) had both masculine and feminine elements, which is really what characterizes a garçonne in the first place. I think I achieved both those things in this logo, using the two fonts, Learning Curve and Lane.
The only problem with this is that it does not work well in smaller scales.
So it is not perfect, but it is definitely an improvement from the previous one!
-
Do What You Love is a photo and video series featuring women who do what they love for a living.
Anna Bond is an talented illustrator and paper goods designer who started her own stationary company, Rifle Paper Co., with her husband Nathan. She also has a great blog where she writes about her life and her inspirations.
-
“Don’t worry about people stealing your design work. Worry about the day they stop.” -
INFLUENCERS is a short documentary that explores what it means to be an influencer and how trends and creativity become contagious today in music, fashion and entertainment.
