And while you're at it, wander around the brand new Rare magazine website that was launched just a couple of weeks ago. We all worked long and hard on designing, developing, and filling the site with content...and I have to say, it looks pretty rockin'.
THEN, if you want even more crazy excitement...browse our latest issue, all about Music in the ATX. Scope out some new artists and check out a little guide to the SXSW festival, co-written and laid out by yours truly. Enjoy!
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As a local Austinite I can get a film pass for $70 (versus the $400 badge that gets you into films + panels).
Plus, there will be tons of free informal music shows at bars around town. All the staff at the magazine is incredibly excited; we're going to try to get all our work done the week before so that we can attend everything we possibly can.
Basically, this rocks.
]]>--Pride (In the Name of Love), U2
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I'm pretty happy I have tomorrow off (technically today--I'm writing this at 2 a.m.). Hopefully I will use this time for good and not for evil... hmm...
But, it's important to remember the reason for the holiday, and I'm loving this classy Google logo tribute to Dr. King:
Happy (belated) Birthday.
Every year, Vogue puts out an issue in September that's even thicker and more fashion-filled than all the others; the September 2007 issue boasted the most pages to date. Filmmaker R.J. Cutler wanted to document all the effort that went into pumping this issue out--the phone calls, the photo shoots, the substitutions, the models, the clothes (they conveniently left out the part about the poor saps like me who have to design and lay out the page spreads, but hey, I guess that's not important).
But more than that, Cutler wanted to see if he could catch big bad Anna Wintour being, well, herself, on film. If you're not familiar with Wintour, she's probably THE most feared editor in the publishing industry. She's touted as a cutthroat, ball-busting despot of a boss, who rules not only her staff but the entire fashion world--and all its designers--with an iron fist. If you've seen or read The Devil Wears Prada, Meryl Streep's character (Miranda Priestly) was based off of Anna Wintour. The book itself was written by a former intern for Vogue.
Since I was expecting something extreme, she actually didn't seem too bad in this documentary (in fact, a lot of the film centers around her brilliant but undervalued creative director, Grace Coddington). But the fact that she allowed herself to be filmed is momentous; Cutler is the only one she's ever allowed to document her and her staff while working on the magazine. The motivation behind Wintour breaking her silence isn't clear (since she's rumored to not care at all about how she's perceived), but the film is great, nonetheless.
I saw the movie a few weeks ago with my magazine's art director and editor, and we all really enjoyed it. I think a lot of fashionistas will want to see the film for an inside look at fashion, but to be honest it's more about the process (and the chaos when the process falters) of throwing together a monthly magazine--something we were definitely able to relate to. Even if people were uninterested in either subject, I think it's inevitable that they'd get sucked into the film by the human drama that's involved: the manipulation, the power plays, the frustration, and the sheer gall of some of the characters.
If you want to see The September Issue, you'll probably have to go to an independent or art theater unless you live in a big city (see where it's playing on the website). But check it out. It's worth it.
SIDE NOTE: I checked the availability of the issue that was featured in the film (September 2007, Sienna Miller on the cover). E-bay had several copies up for sale...for around 100 bucks.
The television network is being sued by Font Bureau, a highly respected type foundry, for unlicensed use of several typefaces. If you've been watching NBC lately, you may have noticed they're using new fonts for episode trailers in between shows. Saturday Night Live also had a slight design facelift (although I believe that logo uses Gotham, which is a Hoefler & Frere-Jones font). According to Font Bureau, who provided NBC with several of their typefaces, the network is taking a lot of liberties with their allowed use of these fonts.
You might be thinking: okay, so? They paid for it. They can do what they want. Font licensing varies depending on foundries' specifications, but it was invented essentially to protect designers. It takes an excruciatingly long time to design a typeface (font), and, like any product, designers and the firms they work for earn money by selling what they create.
The International Typeface Corporation (ITC) was originally founded by several designers in order to better market, license, and protect their work. Here's an excerpt of ITC's explanation of font licensing:
Alright, as a designer, I admit I've occasionally gotten some free fonts for whatever project I was working on in college...and they originally cost money...and I didn't technically pay for all of them. But come on, this is NBC! They have money, lots of it! And these fonts are being used in major branding campaigns seen by most of the nation!
Anyway, check out the article at Cityfile. Allegedly NBC had permission to use these fonts on ONE computer. Now, I'm sure part of the lawsuit will require proof that they have it installed on more than one, but think about all the commercials and collateral they produce. No way they could have cranked all that out on one computer, even if it were being used 24/7...but that's just my opinion.
And you thought font fights didn't get dirty!
After a recent Tori Amos experience (I was invited by a friend, and, while I definitely enjoyed it, it wasn't the same as seeing a band you really really love), I made myself think about who I would be willing to pay to see. Immediately, A Fine Frenzy popped into my mind. I told myself, "If she ever comes to the town I'm living in, I'm SO going." I listened to her first album for a whole summer straight when it came out, and frequently since then. So I pretty much have her lyrics memorized. For some reason this always makes me feel more favorable towards music, thus the phenomenon of liking horrible radio songs a little bit better once I involuntarily know every word. It's just this thing I have.
Anyway, since I follow A Fine Frenzy's Twitter updates....(yeah, I'm a loser, I know), I was made aware of the fact that she'd posted her next tour's dates. I was really hoping Austin was somewhere along the way, and lo and behold--it's the first stop!! She's coming here to perform at The Parish on October 20th, at 8:00 pm. And, like I said, "I'm SO going." It's only $17 bucks, it's a small venue, and it's practically right down the street!
So, anyone want to come with me?
I'm going either way, but it's always fun to have a buffer against other possibly weird concert-goers. So let me know if you're interested! And don't worry about prior obligations, 'cause I'm skipping class.
Here's a song I really like from her first album...
Think of You -- A Fine Frenzy
I love Google's changing logo. Whoever thought of that should have gotten a big raise. And whoever designs them must have a hell of a lot of fun.
IKEA is known as a leader in design. So what made them decide to switch to a standard, boring typeface for all their print materials?
The Swedish brand's 2010 product catalogue ditches their signature IKEA Sans, a version of Futura created specifically for them, and replaces it with Verdana. You know, the font that automatically appears when you're typing blog entries or Twitter posts?
Verdana is praised by web designers for its legibility in a pixel-based format, but it's rarely held as an example of an attractive typeface. Designers and IKEA-lovers everywhere are in a veritable rage over IKEA's big switch, which the company cites as being more "efficient and cost-effective."
Read the article from TIME online here. There's even a link to sign a petition that chastises IKEA for its poor taste and begs the company to bring back IKEA Sans.
This "font war" is making big headlines--which explains why I got the link from my stepdad, of all people (who'd probably never even heard of Verdana!). All the backlash from fans and consumers of IKEA is just another reminder of the emotions people invest in their fonts, and how important it is for a company to make conscientious type choices.
Yeah, I left my Advertising roots behind for the time being (I got my B.A. in Advertising but decided before graduating that I was more interested in design), but it still fascinates me. The psychology, the art, and the pure luck involved in the Ad world is definitely worth making a non-fiction movie about. So they finally did.
The film was directed by Doug Pray, a guy who's also made documentaries about graffiti artists, hip-hop DJs, semi truck drivers, and the Seattle grunge music scene (all of which I now really want to check out!).
Here's the trailer for Art & Copy:
And here's hoping it'll give people a more realistic idea than Mad Men.
If you love Tarantino, if you hate Nazis, if you want to see Brad Pitt as a redneck, if you like to laugh and be totally grossed out by B-movie gore at the same time, see it! There were a lot of really great supporting characters, especially Austrian-born Christoph Waltz as a smarmy-yet-deadly Nazi Colonel and French actress Melanie Laurent as an escaped Jewish survivor with a taste for revenge. I won't ruin all the surprise cameos, but see if you can spot a minor character from Kill Bill: Vol.I (hint: French!) and a guy known for his role as a terrible British spy...
The "Basterds" themselves had a few familiar faces among their ranks, too: B.J. Novak (Ryan from The Office), Omar Doom (Butterfly's makeout partner in Death Proof), Michael Bacall (one of the guys from the bar scene in Death Proof, and, if you're nerdy enough, Perry from Free Willy), Samm Levine (annoying kid who makes fun of Putman in Broken Lizard's Club Dread), and Eli Roth (director of Hostel, also appeared in Death Proof--lovvve!).
In other news, we did pub trivia at Opal Divine's Marina last night (see Geeks Who Drink if you're thinking 'wtf')...it was a lot harder this time. Instead of 90's songs and commercial jingles for the audio rounds, it was Country music and Punk music (nothing remotely current--I'm talking '70's Brit-punk that no one had heard of. One team put down The Ramones for everything, which I thought was a fair strategy). And since we were in Texas but not FROM Texas, we were at quite a disadvantage with the Country...
The round we did the best on was "Fashion and Fascism." Sad. Hoping next week will be 80's music or "dirrty" rap from the year 2005. You can suggest categories for the different rounds, so we're thinking of voting for a When Harry Met Sally theme. Seriously, my mom and I would KILL that. And hey, they did a whole round on a Jefferson Starship song, so why the hell not?
I hope everyone in Tixiss got a chance to go shopping this weekend (everything was tax free all weekend for back-to-school shopping). Brittnee and I went out today and made some nice finds, thanksverymuch.
Okay, now I'm gonna' go watch True Blood.
