Archive for February, 2008
You are currently browsing the Lastnightstony blog archives for February, 2008.
27
Feb
2008
CMY(W)K pt.2
The more I think about it, graphics got to me way before art or design were anything I had any knowledge of. When I got into the sport of cycling I was a teenager. I was fascinated by the intriqucies of the sport. The chess match of strategy that would unfold on the road was full of drama and still is. These battles in the mountains were illustrated by the commentary of Phil Liggett and, at the time, John Tesh.
Advertising in Europe seemed so new and much more intense. I liked the idea that is was a sport not fed on commercials at halftime. Success for a company, who sponsored a team, was measured by how much air time they would get while racing. Winning stages with your hands in the air was essential to getting a proper read of the company that was paying that riders bills and wanting valuable recognition of their brand.
Cycling has rarely enjoyed a savvy design aesthetic, especially in the 80’s. There were some teams however that are still memorable because they had the best riders and the coolest looking kits.
La Vie Claire
This jersey was based on Piet Modrian’s famous “Composition A”.
Here is a shot of Cycling legends Greg Lemond and Bernard Hianult battling neck and neck to the finish of Stage 12 to Pau in the 1986 Tour de France. Hinault is actually wearing the Combination Jersey that is no longer in use but was built on the same layout of his La Vie Claire team kit. Coincidence?
Even today, it is hard to find a professional team kit that is anything more than a bunch of logos fighting with each other on on swatch of fabric. There have certainly been great teams with legible info on their chests. La Vie Claire, however, was a true super team with several stars and a very recognizable look amongst a peloton of color and type.[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZMkZN-PGCo&feature=related[/youtube]
27
Feb
2008
CMY(W)K
When you walk into the Lobby of WK Portland at the moment, you see four huge painted panels.
Cyan, magenta, yellow and black. This is a call for submissions for a exhibition of what was the orginal piece of inspiration for all of the creative department folks. Writers, Art Directors and Designers at WK, are all invited to submit a piece of print work that has inspired us at some point in our lives.
My friend Frazer is leading the charge in putting this together with the culmination of all the submissions being a show at a gallery space. This is a great chance to create a dialogue between lots of different people who all share a common interest: Cool Print Shit.
This is such a good question to ask that I find it hard to give it just one answer. Over the next few posts I am going to share some of the more interesting pieces of design that inspired me to choose this pursuit of making cool. Tadanori Yokoo
Yokoo’s work is largely biographical and very distinctive. This particular poster is about the notorious Japanese organized crime mob, the Yakuza. The removal of a finger is a signature calling card of their dedication as well as the samurai. This poster struck me because I could not understand the text, but I could figure out the story. The composition and style is so unique that his style is highly recognizable.
This is one possible submission. I want to dig a bit more before I give just one. Here are some more Tadanori Yokoo posters.
27
Feb
2008
Now You’re Hei
Shifting gears for a bit with a move to beer. New work and new opportunities for a new client. The swoosh will never be too far away, but a change of pace is good for the noggin.
27
Feb
2008
5AM
Been up for hours. Complete deja vu from a few months ago. Only switch is being back in a town I know pretty well. This is the beginning of rediscovering Portland. I went for a walk at sunrise this morning around the neighborhood.
26
Feb
2008
Transported
Ok, I overslept. I then had to make a mad dash in the middle of the night to get to Heathrow. I was running to the gate and was the last person on my flight. Then the plane sat on the Tarmac for 40 minutes due to some thing happening in Frankfurt. When I got to Germany, there were people from the airline waiting for me to take me across the airport to get to my next flight. Again the last one on that flight. 11 hours or more later I am arrived in Portland. I have no idea which way is up at the moment. I was wide awake so I thought I would swing by my desk to see who was around.
This is for the folks on the other side of the world who asked questions about what WK Portland was like. Wieden’s Portland owns the whole building. Maybe tomorrow when my body and mind are in the same time zone I will go through and show you the whole building. It’s pretty incredible inside.
After a few hand shakes and hugs it was time to grab the fellas and go get a proper pint of piss. 
Doesn’t matter where you are in the world, some things are just universal. Like having a piss, drinking the piss or taking the piss out of someone.
This Mission is now complete.
26
Feb
2008
Wildlife Photographer Of The Year
My last weekend in London. Have absolutely loved being here to soak up as much as possible. At the Natural History Museum London right now, is the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibit. It’s actually sponsored by Shell oil company. Maybe in a way to make amends for poaching the earth of all of the fossil fuels. 
This amazing building in South Kensington was built in 1883 specifically to be this museum. 
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibit is really good. It has the most amazing wildlife photos taken by photographers of all ages. The info below each photo was equally incredible because it told how each shot was taken and info about the animals. It is a strong reminder of how the environment is rapidly changing and how it effects everything on the planet. Polar bears are getting the brunt of the impact of global warming right now. How long will they last before there are models of them in this museum to show our kids?Here are some of the photos from the exhibit. 
This was the winning photo. Shot by Ben Osbourne. Mr. Osbourne scouted this water hole in Africa for three weeks before getting this shot of a bull elephant charging the mud. 
23
Feb
2008
Boo Makes Babies
This is my friend Boo. We went to California College of the Arts together. She split SF and moved to France. She and her husband, Bruno, have their own company called EKOBO. They make environmentally mindful products made from bamboo. Their products range from furniture to kitchen ware and bamboo flooring. In their free time they make babies. 
This is Anna. The newest member of their family. Really nice to see them in London for a tick.
23
Feb
2008
Barthelona Day 5
Ok. heading back to London today. Gonna just go out and find some breakfast. It’s never really just breakfast is it.
This thing is a bit unfortunate.
During the mornings here, I have seen tons of little school kids going on tours to view things and learn about were they live. 
And this is it. This is where I killed Barcelona. Well, not really. I feel like I have only scratched the surface of this great capital of Catalan. Time to head back…..
…..to London.
22
Feb
2008
Barthelona Day 4
Absolute massive day today. If you are not into pictures, you are not gonna like this one.
So, got up. Went to a pandaria on the way to the tube to head out to Park Guell. I had been told that it was Gaudi’s house. Ok, sounds good enough. I had no idea it was a World Heritage site. Even better. From Leseeps tube station you have to climb up the hill. I found this escalator that runs from the bottom once I got up to the top. Fitting.
So I came around the back, again fitting, and got up on this high point overlooking the city. From Wikipedia-Park Güell is a garden complex with architectural elements situated on the hill of el Carmel in the district of Barcelona, Catalonia. It was designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí and built in the years 1900 to 1914. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ”Works of Antoni Gaudí”. 
Something nice about this park and it’s proximity to the city. Kind of like Golden Gate Park in SF.
This is the roof of the hypostyle hall near the entrance of the park.
Soak it up. Move on. Slowly cruised down the hill and headed over to Plaza D’Espanya. 
The idea was to go see the Olympic village. When I got out of the underground it took a sec to figure out which way was what.
That’s when I saw this massive building off in the distance. Had no idea what it was, but I had to check it out. 
The Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya. I decided to go check it out. I spent 4 hours looking at Baroque, Gothic paintings and sculpture that was from the region over the last several hundred years. The gate from Gaui’s Park Guell was in here. He also did all kinds of furniture pieces. No Photos though. 
My legs are fried and it’s time to go give them a rest.
Jump ahead several hours and time to go check out the Barrio Gothic at midnight. Lots of cool alleys and street art laid out in a veritable labyrinth. 
That’s it. I am worked.
21
Feb
2008
Living Colour:Barthelona Day 3
Just some random visual colors and textures from the Raval and Bario Gothic.
I did find the Picasso Museum. The security was really high here, thus no photos. But it was really crowded and in a great old area of the city. Picasso is from and lived most of his life in Barcelona. He is widely known for his cubism works. Those achievements only came later in life. Most of Picasso’s work was highly refined portrait work. This museum has three huge rooms that contain pieces that span his entire lifetime. After staring at his work for several hours, I have found that he was a good logo artist. A lot of his work is highly repetitive thus the way he would draw faces and animals were so simplified that they would make cool logos or graf tags.
Barcelona has been home to a lot of famous people. From artists Salvedor Dali, Antoni Gaudi and Pablo Picasso, to footballer Cesc Fabregas, NBA player Pau Gasol and President of the Olympic committee Jaun Antonio Sammarauch. This might explain partially why the Olympics were here in 1992.