Nowy Teatr website, Huncwot, Warsaw

Here are two things I don’t know: how to speak Polish, and how to code a full screen video image run behind the content on a website. I probably won’t learn Polish. But I am determined to solve the video issue. I’m sure anyone under thirty, or any tech smart people are already saying, “That’s like way easy.” The website for Nowy Teatr in Poland does this and is a joy to explore. The site, designed by Huncwot, a remarkable agency in Warsaw could be the trickiest site in the world. The content leans toward the avant-garde, but the site’s design remains consistently concrete and provides gravity. The minimal typography and restraint is piercing. The full screen moving imagery could be obtrusive, but it’s hypnotic. If you ask me, the people at Nowy Teatr and Huncwot should be pretty darn proud. The site was the talk of the school last week at Art Center, and left me, a complete philistine, thousands of miles away, speaking only SoCal english, awed.

Nowy Teatr website, Huncwot, Warsaw

Nowy Teatr website, Huncwot, Warsaw

Nowy Teatr website, Huncwot, Warsaw

Nowy Teatr website, Huncwot, Warsaw

Nowy Teatr website, Huncwot, Warsaw

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Richard Amsel, The Shootist, illustration

Years ago, we designed a manual for Hanna-Barbera. We wanted to show an example of a shirt using Hanna-Barbera characters such as Fred Flintstone. But there was a standing rule that an “A” character such as Fred Flintstone always was accompanied by a “B” and “C” character. I put Fred’s head on the shirt and surrounded him with Hong Kong Phooey’s head and Ma Kettle’s head. To me it looked great. Noreen pointed out it looked like a multiple personality disorder, or The Three Faces of Fred Flintstone.

I love illustration that uses multiple heads. Even better is illustration that has things growing out of people’s heads. I understand the need to convey multiple characters and a scene. Both of these devices do this. I like the idea of someone else’s head growing out of your own like a mutant twin. This was a popular device in the 1970s and 80s. Now think about this, it’s not easy to make it look as effortless and make sense. Both Bob Peak and Richard Amsel were masters of this. I urge all movie poster designers to return to this device. I want to see a poster of the Twilight characters all growing out of the side of one person’s head.

Richard Amsel, Hello Dolly, illustration

Richard Amsel, Nijinsky, illustration

Richard Amsel, The Voyage of The Damned, illustration

Richard Amsel, The Seven Percent Solution, illustration

Richard Amsel, Death on the Nile, illustration

Richard Amsel, Flash Gordon, illustration

Richard Amsel, Raiders of the Lost Ark, illustration

Bob Peak, Apocalypse Now, illustration

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Arthur de Wolf, Walt Disney World transit map

I’m a sucker for a nice map. A couple of years ago, I posted about Walt Disney World and Disneyland maps. As a nice by-product, we were then hired to design a new souvenir map for Disneyland. I can’t show this to anyone due to the contract, but believe me, it’s good. A kind follower of burningsettlerscabin recently sent me this remarkable map of Walt Disney World by Arthur de Wolf. Holy cheese and crackers, I am blown away. This is one of those times I find myself saying, “I wish I’d done that.” It’s reminiscent of Massimo’s 1972 New York Subway map. Fortunately it isn’t like the most confusing map I’ve ever used for the Tokyo Subway system. Try to figure that one out. Now I know why I see photos of passengers being shoved into trains in Tokyo. They obviously are all lost and endlessly changing trains to find the way home.

Massimo Vignelli, New York Subway map, 1972

Tokyo Subway map

Tokyo Subway pushers, Shinjuku Station

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Fun with Dick and Jane suicide

People send me things. Sometimes they’re great, like a thank you box of wine from AIGA Orange County. We’re now using the box as the stockade for dolls. Or, they send funny images such as these. Alternatively, they are odd and disturbing, as in: please don’t Photoshop my head into your family photos. I have no common theme for these images today, beside the fact they are all kind and thoughtful gifts. I’ve been sitting on them for awhile. I’m sorry about the motorcycle bumper sticker. It’s so bizarre, I had to share it.

Cranky republican message

Seen in Provo

The doll stockade, also for small rodent animals

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unknown, Buffalo Bill's Wild West

Recently, a client asked for brown as a color option on a project. A couple of years ago, I would have resisted. But, brown has slowly been creeping into my mind. First, I found myself admiring the brown tile at the Honolulu Airport. Then, I decided I should move away from my earthquake safe Melmac dinnerware. So, I bought several settings of Heath Ceramics dinnerware.

The Heath colors are subtle, subtle and subtle. Seeing one brown combined with cream or tan plate convinced me that brown could be alright. Some of my favorite design solutions are brown. Does this mean I’m mellowing, or developing, God forbid, good taste? I still resist any attempt to put brown in bathrooms. Brown wall, tiles, fixtures, or accessories should never be used there. I won’t go into details, but how do you know if someone previously had an “episode” in the bathroom if everything isn’t bright white?

Heath Ceramics dinnerware

Heath Ceramics, plate colors

tile, Honolulu Airport

Reid Miles, Blowin' Country

Tomoko Miho, Nieman Marcus packaging, 1960s

Paul Rand, Idea magazine, 1955

Josef Muller-Brockmann, concert poster, 1955

Saul Bass, Bonjour Tristesse poster, 1959

Will Burtin, Scope magazine, 1951

A bad brown bathroom, 1977

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