Got the chance to check out RGD’s design thinkers conference this year and it was another pretty inspiring two days. there were some stand out presentations but I’ll just focus on my main man Massimo Vignelli for this post. I’ve yet to come across a Massimo i dislike: Massimo’s pizza is the best cheese slice in town and, honestly, could you even begin to hate this man? And of course, Vignelli is no different.
His presentation was a simple show and tell of his work, but what was unique compared to most portfolio reviews is that his career spans close to 50 years. Even more unique is the fact that his style and vision remain intact and unified throughout: simple and timeless. some of his earliest work could have been produced today. This couch, this packaging, this book, are all good examples. I realize that the Vignelli aesthetic has recently received a healthy dose of popularity, but it’s a tad ignorant to assume this as the only reason his work stays relevant.
There’s lots I’d love to say about the man, but others have said it better and more eloquently. What I really took away from him was the importance of getting rid of clutter; of stripping everything down to it’s simplest and most beautiful form. It was an epiphany of sorts; an important one as I try to find a distinct voice and aesthetic for my own work. More on that later I suppose.
Here are my two favourite quotes: “marketing is nothing but fear of failure” “[on his clothing] it never goes out of fashion because it’s never in fashion”
it’s no secret that poutine in toronto is a scarce commodity. i should rephrase: proper poutine. there is plenty of fancy pants poutine variations: braised beef short rib, roquefort, veal reduction being one of many. JKWB also has a rabbit poutine. But as far as straight-up curds, potatoes and gravy ones go there isn’t much to write home about. So far the best I’ve had here is the craft burger pout which is conveniently located close to my office. usually the culprit for inferior poutine is the missing curd. i haven’t heard one squeak in my mouth since a year ago in ottawa. most replace the curd with a mozzarella, others monterey jack, and some get bold and go with a sharp cheddar (my favourite replacement). if you do get curds they are usually old and nasty. but now there is a new player on the scene: smoke’s. will this be the godsend we’ve been waiting for? in two weeks we’ll know.
what was the point of that election again? to gain a slightly less minority government? wicked, job well done. for all the harping (it stops here) the conservatives do about the liberals wasting money this election really did seem like a cash sieve during the FINANCIAL CRISIS 2008®.
at least comedy prevailed. these were my favourite moments.
did this today at work during some off time. been trying to get my wacom hustle going. i really do enjoy using it in photoshop but it’s crap in illustrator, though it really looks like all that is going to change with the addition of the blob brush tool in cs4. actually really excited for cs4, huge additions coming 123. i digress.
only thing is i did it at a super low resolution so if i go ahead and try to outline it in illustrator it looks pretty bunged up. so i guess for next time i will crank the resolution way up just to be excessive. but yeah, this tablet is fun for sure.
Normally I drink regular drip coffee, when I’m feeling the need for serious perk I get americano and when I get fine and fancy I go for Second Cup’s green tea latte (i’ve had em elsewhere with disappointment). Did a little searching and this guy in a medium size works out to 470 calories with 16 g of fat which is just over 20% of your recommended daily fat intake. A baconator, by comparison, is 840 calories with about 51 g of fat – 78%. So two green tea lattes is higher in caloric value, but smaller in fat intake. This, my friends, is a crazy world we are living in. You can watch the madness go down here: calorie count.
Here are some jams i’ve been digging just as much as this fatty drink:
posted in Uncategorized by mph @ 10:02 am 01/10/2008
