by John Foster on 02/26/2010
Photo by Nick Whitmoyer
There are few true originators in the land of Hollywood, but the iconic Kyle Cooper, designer of innovative titles for everything from Sherlock Holmes to Spiderman and Speed Racer to Seven is the very definition. His breathtaking work has brought the first few minutes of a film back to the forefront of creativity after a long slumber, and made staying to the very end a newfound requirement. Not since Saul Bass has someone’s work been so analyzed and enjoyed in this respect. As one of Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business,” he transcends film and has become part of our creative fabric.
This past week, The Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington had the pleasure of hosting Mr Cooper for a sold out event at the Navy Memorial’s Penn Quarter Conference Center. Before the event, ADCMW President John Foster had a few moments to quiz Kyle on everything from his typographical heroes to the animal menagerie in his house. Listen in:
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by Jim Darling on 02/17/2010
I should tell you up-front that this is not a Snowmageddon story or a tale of Washington’s winter woes of 2010. No, it’s nothing like that. In fact, the story starts about five years ago when DC winters produced a few dustings of snow each year, and the stretch of non-federal holidays from President’s Day to Memorial Day was what we feared most in the mid-winter months before the approaching Spring. And, come to think of it, it hasn’t got much to do with the weather at all.
It’s about connections. And, of course, I am referring to the Butterfly Effect; a metaphor encapsulating the concept of sensitive dependence on initial conditions in chaos theory; namely, that small differences in the initial condition of a dynamical system may produce— Wait a second. There’s an easier way…
Just as the story in the film “Juno” “all started with a chair,” this one quite literally started with a pair of earmuffs. No, nobody got pregnant. But I did get a job — for a while.
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by Jason Garber on 02/11/2010
The latest polarizing dust-up in the Wide World of Web Design involves the methods and tools we designer-types use to solve our clients’ (or our own) problems. This most recent round of misunderstood comments, edge case examples, and generally circular arguing was touched off by two posts (one and two) from the 2009 edition of 24 ways.
The authors, respected designers Andy Clarke and Meagan Fisher, propose similar-but-slightly-different design strategies, which may be boiled down to: “design in the browser.” Meagan even goes so far as to proclaim, “Die, Photoshop, Die.” A bold statement, for sure. Both posts are insightful peeks into the processes of two well-known web practitioners.
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by Corey Greeneltch on 02/04/2010
Every year the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington brings you a great variety of events. Last week we concluded 5 days of creative co-working at local coffeeshops and cafes, also known as a ‘Jelly’.
The concept of a Jelly is to provide a specific time and location where telecommuters or freelancers or just those who usually work alone can come together for a work session full of camaraderie, brainstorming, and feedback, or just a change of pace. Anyone is welcome to come, just bring your laptop or your sketchbook or your paperwork or whatever your task for the day is. Meet up at a designated place and time and enjoy a fresh take on your usual work. Maybe you’ll run into an old friend, maybe you’ll make a new friend. Either way, you’ll get out of the house or office, share some time with fellow creatives, and get some work done.
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