my open door.net » Shopping

Design Hero T-shirts

opendoordesign — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:17:23 +0000

Recently I found these amazing design hero t-shirts by Ohio State design prof Paul Nini. There are 42 designs, all tributes to significant designers from the 20th century. Chances are your hero is included.

Design Books Wish List

opendoordesign — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 12:50:32 +0000

Spring semester is almost over, which means I can think about summer reading. I’ve been browsing the Chronicle web site, and here’s a list of books I’m interested in:Logo, by Michael EvamyThe Designer’s Toolkit: 500 Grids and Style Sheets, by Graham DavisDIY—Design It Yourself: A Design Brief, by Ellen LuptonElements of Design: Rowena Reed Kostellow and the Structure of Visual Relationships, by Gail Greet HannahGetting it Right with Type: The Dos and Don’ts of Typography, by Victoria SquireThe Picture Book: Contemporary Illustration, by Angus Hyland

Professional Practices Resources

opendoordesign — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 18:02:44 +0000

I posted last week about teaching a professional practices course. It turns we already have an MDT Professional Practices course that our students can take as an elective. My students should enroll in that course, since it covers some of the same issues we face as designers. For the rest of you out there, here are some links to great articles and books on this thang we call the graphic design business.

AIGA Articles
Design(ing) Network(ing)
Presenting your portfolio
Insights on writing your résumé
Design Business and Ethics
Position on spec work
What every business needs. And how.
The State of our Contracts

Books
Becoming a Graphic Designer: A Guide to Careers in Design, 2nd Edition
Designing a Digital Portfolio
AIGA Professional Practices in Graphic Design: American Institute of Graphic Arts

New World Suite Number Three

opendoordesign — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:41:06 +0000

This new poem by Robert Bringhurst, the Moses of fine typography, is amazing. This book is actually three volumes folded into a sort of cloth-bound podium. Here it is opened and set up to be read by three voices. Each reader’s part is beautifully letterpress printed in a different color, and the overlap of the type indicates an overlap of voices when it is recited. The result is a layered, polyphonic performance. The book is being published by New York’s Center for the Book Arts on the occasion of its 30th anniversary. Read more here. The book is a bit steeply priced though, at just under two grand. And students think textbooks are expensive…

I’ll See Your Condolezza and Raise You a Rush

opendoordesign — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 19:47:50 +0000

It’s Super Tuesday, and Chronicle Books has the perfect way to put faces with names in the voting booth. Name That Republican is a set of collector cards with pictures and stats of the GOP elite. To avoid tired visual stereotypes, Design Army ditched the usual “emerican” red, white, and blue color scheme, choosing an add assortment of browns, blues, and even pinks. They also designed the reverse text, breaking it up with graphics for easy reading through beer goggles at those Democratic victory parties. Deadpan drawings by illustrator Alex Fine set just the right tone. Is it serious or a send-up that “The Governator” won a giant rock lifting contest in his younger years? Pick up a pack and for a mere ten bucks you can decide for yourself. Check out the complete article here. Come to think of it, my birthday is coming up in June…

My Blessed Yuletide Greed

opendoordesign — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 03:05:22 +0000

After watching Patrick Stewart’s amazing version of A Christmas Carol with my daughter Chloe, I decided, “Forget Tiny Tim, I’m going to blog about the nifty trinkets I want for Christmas.” So Santa, I hope you’re getting my RSS feed, ’cause I’ve been a really good boy. First I want a “Kern” hoody from Veer. Next, I want a trip to New York to see Fuerzabruta, and finally I want a complete screen printing shop in my basement. Oh, and a pony. And a Democrat in the White House. And world peace.

Update: (12/10/17) Gary Hustwit’s Helvetica is out on DVD, so it goes on my wish list along with this nifty notebook ruled with tiny quotes from the film. And I can always use another black t-shirt with attitude.

Shopping Tips

opendoordesign — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 23:14:56 +0000

I always get asked what software to buy and where to get the best deal, so…

Recently I was at UT’s Computer Store, where they speak Mac. They also have several Macs you can play with, and they even sell the software you need with the education discount right on the sticker. This is where I recommend students get their computer stuff. Here’s a map to help you find the place, and a link to their website.

As for what to buy, I suggest that you get the best Mac desktop or laptop you can afford, amp up the memory, get a 1 GB flash drive, and finally buy Adobe’s CS3 Design Standard ($399) for any non-web (print design) class. Note that the Premium bundle includes Dreamweaver and Flash, but not Fireworks. If you need that (check with your web instructor) you may want to get a separate Web bundle.

Textbook Price Gouging

opendoordesign — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 21:56:00 +0000

One of my students pointed out to me today that Creative Strategy in Advertising, our Design II text, is selling for $111 in our campus bookstore. I’ve never been crazy about this textbook since it’s not written by designers, has no color reproductions and its choice of ads is pretty lackluster. But for Wadsworth Publishing to charge over $100 for anything less than a heavy hardback book is completely unreasonable, so I’ve decided to keep using the previous edition, since used copies are much cheaper.

I’ve spoken to my program coordinator, who agreed that we need to adopt another book for next year. I’m looking for ideas. What we need is a book written for students, one that has color images of award-winning ads, and writes abut the ads in a way that emphasizes strong concepts and creative thinking. Here are some links to promising titles. Leave comments with your thoughts.

Creative Advertising: Ideas and Techniques from the World’s Best Campaigns

Advertising: Concept and Copy

Cutting Edge Advertising II

Pick Me : Breaking Into Advertising and Staying There

Book By Its Cover

opendoordesign — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 19:24:07 +0000

Eric turned me onto this terriffic blog kept by Julia Rothman, an illustrator and pattern designer. The blog design is simple and clean, with a two-column format set up so each entry has a photo on the left and title on the right in a gray box. Clicking on each title brings up the entry, which then has plenty of room for images.

The content of the blog reflects Rothman’s interest in image and format. This is a great source for creative and usual books, as well as their illustrators, designers, publishers, and retailers. The images here are From Stephen Heller’s Handwritten: Expressive Lettering in the Digital Age

Camp Poetica T-shirts

opendoordesign — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 16:44:00 +0000

Some mornings after my second cup of coffee I think to myself, “I should become a t-shirt designer.” Usually I lie down and the urge passes, but not today. I started out creating a project for my Pellissippi students, and it sort of morphed from there. What can I say? I’m an obsessive. Camp Poetica is the result.

Check out the entire Cafe Press store here, and remember to buy, buy, buy! Most shirts are bigger than this oompa loompa-sized bugger. I wanted the design to show up more here.