evolving visions

Waiting for the boss.

Taken at Starbucks (Festival Hall Chapters)

Taken at Apricot Tree

Snow was not in today's plans.

The crossing of the magic bridge.

The summer we hit the road and ran into the rain.

Reaching for the sun.

Taken at Huron Park

Riding the Museum Subway

Taken at Royal Ontario Museum

Nature's Design

Being both an photographer and a graphic designer for over 15 years, Ive always been on the lookout for the visual that had the ability to speak and affect the audience. Its a craft that is not easily obtained, and one Im constantly hoping that Im closer to mastering. 

While I searched through countless folders, something occurred to me that seemed so obvious now but never noticed before.

What I see now is that Nature, by itself, is the ultimate designer. Its always been able to instil feelings and emotions that cant be equalled. 

Now, I not only try to capture it as best I can, I try to absorb it and simply take it all in. 

Favourites

One of my all-time favourite films is The Red Violin. A brilliant film with visual and audible textures that I'd not seen in any one film a very long time. I never tire of watching it, and each time I watch it, I'm lucky enough to enjoy and experience it like I was watching it for the very first time. When I found out that the same director had released a new film, I knew I had to see what he delivered and hoped it would be as an exceptional experience as his previous work. I was not disappointed!

Animated

 

Animation has always been a love of mine. Way back in the days of the crack of dawn rising with the carton of milk and bowl of cereal. It would sometimes still be dark out and all that lit the room was the glow on my face by the highly entertaining TV. There was nothing that could replace that feeling of not having anything to do but watch all my cartoon favourites. They're no longer called "cartoons" though…they're animated films, now. Cartoons are now reserved for saturday morning youngsters, like I used to be. Even the prime time adult-oriented programs are animated series. 

Alot has changed since then. Who would have ever thought that adults would swarm the TV to watch animated kids swear like truckers! But now, even the Oscars recognize the significance of animation...and its well-deserved.

Recently Ive been amazed and enchanted by the stories, sounds and design of the current crop of well-known and not so well-known animated films and shorts. All so vastly different, but all memorable in their own special way, all my personal favourites.

 

The Fantastic Mr. Fox

An unmistakable old-school charm that just makes you smile. A super-fun soundtrack, excellent storytelling, spot-on comedic delivery from A-list performers, and you have the makings of a classic.

 

Peter and the Wolf

Visually stunning in its attention to detail and at the same time, incredibly simple, but effective, musical score. The stop-motion animation was so smooth, it was at times tough to believe the characters weren't real.

 

Logorama

Gun fights, car chases, Michelin Men…a gun-toting, hostage-taking, cursing Ronald McDonald?!? What else is there to say? A brilliant use of computer animation, painted to appear as tradition cell style animation. 

 

The Secret of Kells

The production design was enchanting right from the start. A wonderful story and gorgeous soundtrack. The style of the short was mesmerizing as Id never seen anything quite like it before. 

 

Emelia: the Five Year Old Goth-Girl

A strange but wonderful short about the world of Emelia. Very endearing.

 

Lady and the Reaper

A gorgeous computer-generated short that was amazing to watch, not only for the visuals but for the hilarious but sad story. Originality at its best.

 

Appleseed : Ex Machina

 

Grace of the Stroke

I was recently lucky enough to get to visit an exhibit featuring works from master calligrapher, Qi Baishi. His work was simple yet beautiful. While the art was whimsical at a glance, each stroke was deliberate. This was calligraphy at its best.

There is certainly something to Chinese calligraphy. There's certainly an art, but there's also science, passion, creativity, precision and love for the act itself.  This wonderful example of art was done by a street merchant. His technique and skill will be something I can only aspire to.

Music to my eyes

Music. It's a wonderful thing. It's creativity in an audio format. Listening to your favourite songs allows us to conjure up images and emotions that we may not have seen or felt otherwise.

I love it when I can hear the words, and create images that I hear. Illustrating music...does it get any better? 

The lost art of the CD Cover

Music has always been a favourite source of inspiration in my work. While it may not be direct inspiration, the emotions that stir because of the notes and lyrics are priceless.

With the digital revolution in the music industry, the CD Cover Art has become lost. The designs have become standard beauty shots of the artists or bands and left at that. Gone are the elaborate booklets and intricate die-cut "digi-paks", as they used to be known. I always felt that CD artwork had given opportunities for brilliant design that even the 12" vinyl albums didn't have.

Having said that, here is an amazing article and collection of some of the most memorable and outstanding designs that ever graced the CD case.

 

Colour...in all its glory.

 

A very interesting insight on the cause, effect and reasoning of why colours are used or not used. I never really put much thought into it. How much colour, or if I used colour at all, really depended on what mood I was in at the time I was designing a particular piece.

What's new is old...and new

We're living in a sea of ultra-modern technology. Gadgets and devices are invented every minute to improve the efficiency, productivity and, of course, the status of our lives. 

But with all this, why cant they design them to be as interesting and revolutionary is they seem to be. Cell phones (or smart phones for people who need to make that fact known), cars, home electronics; for all the technology they contain and marvel that they command, they're simply designed to put us to sleep.  

Cell phones on the whole now all look the same. Some would argue that with the birth of the "touch" phones, there's only so much you can do with a phone if you don't need buttons. Isnt that the challenge? Isn't it the designers job to do something that hasn't been thought of?  Its a shame that they focus their design talents on the accessories, rather then the phones themselves.
The auto industry is also following suit in the high-performance, ultra-luxury creations that they seem to trip over themselves to create. Too bad the end result has been an oceans of copies where its increasingly difficult to tell the difference between the premium luxury car from the economy-minded sedan. Instead of being innovators, they've become infected with the follow-itis disease. Design modifications or new features that claim to be revolutionary are really boring half-baked, almost desperate, ideas. There is hope that someone is paying attention to the automative design with the creation of the Bella Figura Bugnotti. I brilliant and dramatic design based on the classic type 57S originally built by Bugatti. 
Industrial designers would do well to take note of the story of the 1934 BMW R7 motorcycle. Truly a thing of beauty. It was originally designed at the height of the art deco phase. Sweeping lines that flowed from one part to the next along with broad chrome panels with impeccable detail, was a stark contrast to the weight of the industrial revolution. But the war emerged and the art of the machine was buried. Fast forward to 2005 when BMW Classic searched through the vaults and found the box containing an assembled R7, though in need of desperate restoration. The original plans were discovered in company archives, the parts were sourced and the panels were painted, bringing the Streamline Moderne design back to life.

This discovery is an endless supply of inspiration for bold new design. The blending of the current technology in materials and techniques in manufacture with the dramatic lines and the timeless designs can easily usher in the days when we were proud to own and be seen in cars for the way they looked and not how much they cost.

Posters to inspire the creative in me