Charles Coiner, Give It Your Best, poster, 1942

The problem with effort and good design is that the best solutions looks like they takes very little work. The solution appears natural and effortless. The worst work are the solutions that are over-designed, over-produced, over-wrought, and desperate. But, civilians will look at the ABC logo and say, “So what? What took so long? I could have done that.” The logo that is an illustration of a person with raised hands on top of a globe with all nations color coded and series of stars that wraps around the globe, sitting on a word mark of tortured typography is praised, “Boy that must have taken a long time.”

Charles Coiner’s World War II poster, Give it Your Best, is one of these examples. It’s so obvious and straightforward that it appears that no design happened. But, the poster leaves nobody guessing at the message, is visually aggressive and powerful, and stands the test of time. Works for me.

And while we’re on the subject of World War II posters, I can’t resist discussing the series, This is Your Friend. These posters were created to help our troops understand what our allies looked like so we wouldn’t shoot them. The Chinese were our allies; they were not Japanese who were our enemies. The English,and Australian men wore these specific hats and were not German. I like that they try so hard to make clear what could be difficult; if someone was caucasian and blonde were they German? Not if they had a smile and tam-o-shanter hat. They were clearly Canadian.

But the poor Dutch. Why only a Dutch sailor? If they weren’t sailors and Dutch were they dangerous? And I don’t want to sound mean, but couldn’t the War Office find a strapping young and handsome Dutch man? I’m pretty sure there were other options here. If a student tuned this in I would say, “You need to stop using Google as a research tool and using low resolution bad images.”

WWII Canadian poster, 1942

WWII Russian poster, 1942

WWII Ethiopian poster, 1942

WWII Dutch Sailor poster, 1942

WWII Australian poster, 1942

WWII English poster, 1942

WWII Chinese poster, 1942

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Gan Hosaya, 1969, ad

There are times when a project just looks bad, like dog crap. I slave over it endlessly, and then I realize all it needs is to be turned on its side or upside down. Voila, it works. That’s the issue when you don’t print anything out and only see it on a screen. Sure you can turn your screen upside down or turn it on its side, but that could result in dropping it. The easiest solution is to send a file to print and than flip that baby around in all directions. What was once banal and expected becomes avant-garde and unsettling.

I love work that is sideways or upside down. It gets away from the standard point of view that we have in everyday life which is straight on from about 5 or 6 feet tall. Miraculously, you can see a different view from above or below, or lying on the ground and seeing the world on its side. This is why God gave people bendable joints. Photography at the Bauhaus in the 1920s and 30s took advantage of this ad-nauseum. It was as if everyone there was climbing up the walls and hanging from the balconies. But the images are wonderful.

Posters and ads with moving vehicles are especially adaptable to this technique. Gan Hosaya‘s 1969 poster for Yamaha is one of my absolute favorite pieces of design ever produced. Think how dull it might have been if he simply let the image be turned 90 degrees. So the next time you’re out taking photos, climb up on a table and shoot everyone from above. You’ll be asked to leave, but end up with a snappy photo that isn’t the same head and shoulders of someone holding a drink.

Martin Munkasci, 1935

Diving at the Valley Baths, Brisbane, Queensland, 1938

Paul Rand, Apparel Arts cover

Herbert Matter, 1935

Carl Ally Agency, ad, 1960s

Carl Ally Agency, ad, 1960s

Max Huber, 1957

Max Huber, 1948

Joseph Binder, Graphis magazine, 1948

Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, 1926

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Bodie

People assume I’m from Boston. It’s probably the plaid shirts. But I’m not. I was born in Reno, Nevada in 1964. It’s hard to explain to people who aren’t from there what this place is about. They presume it’s all cheap casinos, wedding chapels, and sagebrush. It is all of those things, but there is also a sense that we are all desert rats, pulling a living out of the dirt. For years, I’ve worked on a collection of fiction that follows this train of thought. Since I’m not a writer, beside logo books, I don’t share it. But Noreen has urged me to pass some of it along. So, the first chapter in the collection, The Great Basin. The Taco Bell of Loneliness

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The thorny nest

 There is a nest in the middle of the bougainvillea on my back porch. Two birds guard it. Each morning, a neighbor cat sits at the bottom of the bush and is attacked by the birds defending their nest. How’s that for thrilling excitement? I am amazed that birds can build a nest in such a dangerous thorny bush. There is another one in an especially dangerous cacti in the border. When I work in the yard, I wear gigantic thick rubber gloves typically used to handle radiation or horrible chemicals. I still am injured weekly. Once, a spine went in through one finger and came out the other side two weeks later.

Some may say, “What for the love of God is wrong with you? Why would you put dangerous thorny cacti and succulents around the pool?” But if you ever worry about children running around the pool, this is a good deterrent. They see all those sharp points and needles and walk very carefully along the flagstone. The cacti in the planter behind the kitchen has proven problematic. Supposedly this is where one plants flowers. When the cactus gets too large and the pods stick into the path, I hear complaints as people pass them. “Who thought this was a good idea? Dammit!” is a common saying at many barbecues. And I do hurt myself whenever I clean the windows there.

But, what’s beauty without suffering. And what a wonderful surprise if a trespasser climbs over the back fence at night and walks right into my trap.

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Witchcraft Today book, Richard Littler, Scarfolk

Last week, I heard on NPR that beenies were the fashion thing for men now. I thought beenies were the hats that looked like yarmulkes and had propellers on top. I was told, “No, they are knit caps.” Followed by, “Boy, I wish I lived in your world.” I assume that means Pleasantville. I wish that were true. I’d like to say I laughed only at episodes of I Love Lucy. But something is wrong with me. I needed to be told that Zero Dark Thirty was not a comedy, and laughter was not appropriate during torture scenes. Who knew?

I’d like to live in Pleasantville, but  one of my favorite places is Scarfolk, UK. It’s a wonderful town in North West England that hasn’t progressed beyond 1979. Richard Littler’s genius website about Scarfolk describes it this way: Here in Scarfolk, pagan rituals blend seamlessly with science. ”Visit Scarfolk today. Our number one priority is keeping rabies at bay.” It looks like a nice place to live, except it’s in northwest England, which means it’s cold, and rains, and gets dark early, and people are probably sick a lot, and not tan. But it looks like they have a handle on the rabies issue. I’ve collected some of the wonderful collateral produced below.

Human Combustion book, Richard Littler, Scarfolk

Childhood hallucinogens book, Richard Littler, Scarfolk

Childhood drowning poster, Richard Littler, Scarfolk

Childhood strangers poster, Richard Littler, Scarfolk

Childhood reading book, Richard Littler, Scarfolk

Childhood maths textbook, Richard Littler, Scarfolk

Childhood rabies poster, Richard Littler, Scarfolk

Childhood innoculation poster, Richard Littler, Scarfolk

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