Blindspot Design

Albert Camus Covers

2009-11-14T11:50:00.000-08:00

While browsing for books on Amazon I came across these elegantly simple Albert Camus book covers. I've owned this edition of The Stranger for some time, but never really thought much of the cover until I finally saw it laid out with the rest of the collection. These were published by Vintage in the late 80s/early 90s and designed by Helen Yentus. The only exception is the first cover shown (top-left), which was published by Penguin Books a decade later and designed by David Pearson. Pearson's other designs are also worth checking out.

Back to Basics

2009-11-13T18:40:00.000-08:00

I think I'm going to start drawing again. A lot of people have recently asked me why I stopped drawing and I always come up with a myriad of excuses that don't exactly answer their question. I talk about the lack studio space, time, money, equipment...but it all really just boils down to laziness. I don't want to be one of those people that tacks on "I used to..." when I talk about my passion. Unfortunately, I've been heading down that direction. I decided to pull up some stuff I did in high school, the last time worked on my technical skills, and I see a lot of room for improvement. I'm going to make it a goal to work on that this year.

2"x 3" design exercise in Gouache. I hate gouache. One can only truly appreciate Illustrator after working with gouache and a 000 brush.

Shading exercise. Embarrassing perspective error on the left.

Pen and Ink Illustration from Junior year of High School.

Drawing of Winston Churchill photograph by Yousuf Karsh in Prismacolor.

Enough is enough!

2009-11-13T17:51:00.000-08:00

Am I the only person that finds Mondrian inspired prints hideous and asinine? Clearly no one else is annoyed with this trend because every year someone decides it's a great idea to release a limited-edition something-or-other covered in black lines and name it "The Mondrian". Lee Homes did not think they were too late on the band-wagon when they developed their $1,000,000 luxury condos in Marina Del Rey. Let us disregard any commentary these products may have on neoplasticism and abstraction (which I'm sure was the primary concern over at Lee Homes) and really look at this architectural atrocity for what it is: plain tacky.

The only excusable product of this trend is the YSL shift dress - which apparently is the result of some very clever craftsmanship. But to everyone else, I think we can give it a rest.

Weekly Roundup

2009-11-13T17:22:00.001-08:00

I actually haven't checked Brand New in months, but I'm digging their new redesign. [www.underconstruction.com]

Conde Nast's desperate attempt to keep the place afloat. [www.nypost.com]

Loaf...Loafers...get it? [www.swiss-miss.com]

Online magazines that actually read like magazines. Refinery's top list.[www.refinery29.com]

João Ribas discusses his style with The Boston Globe. I honestly wouldn't take their lifestyle section seriously either. [www.boston.com]

Bronson Pinchot's spills the beans. The interview is a bit dated, but it's so refreshingly candid it's still worth a read. [www.avclub.com]

Movie Title Sequence

2009-10-21T10:52:00.002-07:00

I believe Smashing Magazine did a list of best Movie Title Sequences awhile back. Well here's mine:

1. Thank You For Smoking

2. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

3. Psycho - The one shown here is a copy of the original sequence. View the original 1960's clip here.

4. North by Northwest. One cannot give enough love to Saul Bass

5. Napoleon Dynamite

Napoleon Dynamite - movie titles from DoYouReadMe?! on Vimeo.

Semi Monthly Roundup?

2009-10-20T18:50:00.002-07:00

So some of these links are pretty dated due to my long absence. Works been busy, but I have no intention of abandoning this blog. On with the links!

Short list of bad fonts inspired by the 2010 Ikea catalog [www.fastcompany.com]

Amazing portraits of equally amazing people. [sexypeople-blog.com]

Ralph Lauren's embarrassing Photoshop disaster. [boingboing.net]

Back by popular demand. Polaroids plans to re-launch instant cameras. [animalnewyork.com]

Endearing or obnoxiously geeky? Guy proposes to girl with the help of Mario. [geekologie.com]

Lichtenstein inspired editorial by Zink magazine. [fashioncopious.typepad.com]

Russian whale penis seating? I bet the Japanese wish they thought of this first. [www.stuff.co.nz]

Blogging from Boston

2009-08-24T11:25:00.002-07:00

I made it to Boston a little over two weeks ago and it has been neither difficult nor life changing. I do have a lot more free time now and I try to fill it up with lots of sleep because the humidity makes it impossible to do much exploring.

I am currently typing from a cafe for the very first time (one of the many firsts I'm sure I will be experiencing in weeks to come). I'm not sure how people work in public settings without being self conscious, but the air conditioning is nice.

So rather than the obligatory "look at me fine dine around beantown" photos, for my first entry I will link you to people who are much more familiar with Boston than me. The following list is a skewed guide that was compiled by me during my research phase. If you're looking to visit or relocate to this area you should definitely check out some links. Disclaimer: this is not a very comprehensive list due to the fact that I care very little about food and sports.

General
Yelp Talk Forums
City Data
B0st0n LiveJournal

Design (a small sampling)
AIGA Boston
Font Bureau
Prank
Tank
Arnold Worldwide
Korn Design

Fashion (seriously lacking in boston)
Beyond Boston Chic
Dreamecho
New Brahmin
Click/Clash

Humor...sorta.
While searching for info on Boston nightlife I came across all these "dating" blogs. I started to read them on a regular basis despite the fact that they are written by a lot of wannabe Carrie Bradshaws. I'm shameless, I know! Contents range from tawdry to desperate.
Getting Single
Sex and the Ivy
Sexless in the City
Not a Player rather a Predator

I heard your cries...Jasmine...and I am here to make an excuse

2009-06-24T02:36:00.002-07:00

Some of you might have noticed that I was on a prolific blogging spree (7 entries in April. An all time high!) but abruptly stopped without offering an explanation. So here it is:

I am moving to Boston! I signed the lease for an apartment, bought my plane ticket, and notified loved ones. This shit is going down!

My decision is not as spontaneous as it seems since I have more or less spent my entire college career planning my escape. If you're from the West you would know that most native Californians romanticize the East Coast and associate it with black wool coats, hot cocoa, and gentrified cities. So when I visited Boston in October I fell in love with the idea of riding the subway in the snowy winter while drinking an overpriced beverage. I know how naive this may all sound to those who have to deal with 6 months of snow per year and I hear your protest But despite your complaints I am still looking forward to being one of the privileged city-dwellers that bitches about the MBTA.

Unfortunately, for my blog, this means I will have to take some time off from writing in order to pack. Yes, I'm going to get so much packing done I won't even be able to compile 6 random links a week for my Weekly Roundup. However, when I do finally settle in, I will probably be bored, unemployed, and near a college campus with free Wi-Fi. So get ready for a wave of entries in August.

Weekly Roundup 5/14

2009-05-14T22:06:00.002-07:00

Finally! The Chuck Bass movement is catching on [ Whatchuckwore ]

Play Goemon, Legend of Zelda, Frogger, and more! [ amog ]

Affordable handmade crochet bib necklaces. [ White Owl ]

Aziz Ansari vs IMAX. Someone probably should have told him Star Trek wasn't filmed in IMAX. [Azizisbored]

Milton Glaser: To Inform and Delight. Coming soon to a theater that's in the vicinity of a university campus near you. [Arthouse Film]

Floating Heads!

2009-05-14T22:02:00.002-07:00

Movie Poster Floating Heads - watch more funny videos

Hilarious!

Weekly Roundup 4/27

2009-04-27T21:25:00.002-07:00

Google Logo in honor of Samuel F.B. Morse's birthday.

Awesome Typewriter Ribbon Tin Collection on flickr. credit: Jasmine Ou [Flickr]

Are you getting what you paid for? Indepth look at the quality of designer clothes sold at Target & H&M [Wall Street Journal]

CNN rates four logos from our failing banking system. [CNN Money]

"5 Reasons Why Developers are Switching to Mac" or "Ways to get a lot of pissed off geeks on a comment frenzy" [Smashing Magazine]

Yahoo plans to shut down Geocities! What will become of my Sailor Moon Shrine? [Yahoo]

Life After Art School

2009-04-16T23:05:00.002-07:00

photo of me working on a painting for my senior project

I often have people approach me with questions about pursuing a career in Graphic Design. This isn't because they see me as an incredibly successful and talented individual, but because employed designers are hard to find in La Mirada, CA. Usually the questions come from paranoid mothers who are desperately searching for reasons to keep their children away from art schools. My mother was no exception and her go-to-person was my cousin who went to Art Center. During family gatherings he would tell freelancing horror stories (ie. ridiculous competition, crazy work hours, and insanely stubborn clients). His disdain for his job resulted in my mother refusing to let me apply to art schools. So when frightened parents come to me for advice I try to offer them a positive perspective. Yes the hours can be rough, a lot of clients are indeed insane, and the competition will continue to grow as long as 5th graders are learning Photoshop. I have never heard the words "you want to be a graphic designer? I hear the pay is excellent" muttered before in my life. But despite this people continue to go to design school because working a job you love is an incredible privilege.

Of course deciding you want to be a designer isn't the biggest obstacle. As with any job the first couple years of interviews, coffee fetching, and screwing up can take its toll on your enthusiasm. As someone with only two years of experience under me, this is where I stumble when offering advice. One day you're a self proclaimed genius and the next day you're freaking out because you found a bunch of typos after the press check. Needless to say I've made more than my share of newbie mistakes my first year and I still second guess myself due to my lack of experience. So when I let my insecurities get the best of me I find comfort in knowing that I am not alone. For those, like me, that need the occasional encouragement here is a list of reading materials:

Junior - Life At the Bottom is an amazing resource for students and those finding their niche.

Never Sleep - The site addresses the awkward transition period between student to professional. Never Sleep is actually a book, but the site itself has some great essays by Professors and Art Directors in the industry.

AIGA: Presenting Your Portfolio - Advice for Getting Started by Steff Geissbuhler. Short, simple, and concise.

May I Show You My Portfolio - Michael Bierut shows off his first portfolio and offers some insight into his student work.

Speak Up: Pick One - Debbie Millman talks about her disastrous first job interview. There are also some equally hilarious anecdotes in the comment section.

Speak Up: Design Academics - Generally all the articles here are worth a read if you're interested in Grad school.

Weekly Roundup

2009-04-13T21:46:00.002-07:00

One week only: Feist music video starring Cilian Murphy directed by Kevin Drew. Beautiful reimagining of the lady in the lake story. [pitchforkmedia]

A different kind of body art [fabrikproject]

It's bad enough that Macs are overpriced, but must all mac accessories be expensive as well? Still, I want..[ex49.com]

Ever wonder how newcomers survive in NYC? Early days in the city as remembered by Cindy Sherman, Andy Samberg, Chloe Sevigny and more. [nymag]

Educational Tables vs Divs guide for those of starting out in web design [smashing magazine]

Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black's new blog is up and running. And yes, I know I'm probably the only person in the world that would consider this news. [michaelandmichaelhaveissues.com]

Oliver Peoples ad feat. Zooey Deschanel and Matt Costas. Doing the geek chic glasses thing right [youtube]

Dave McKean

2009-03-20T22:24:00.002-07:00

Neil Gaiman was on Colbert Report a couple days ago and he gave a quick shout out to artist Dave Mckean. I was a huge fan of Mckeans work long before I knew who Neil Gaiman was. If my memory is correct the first "art" book I ever purchased was his collection of Sandman dustcovers. This was during a short lived nerdy goth phase that my friends will never let me live down. I know what you're thinking and yes, my portfolio looks like a holiday themed puppy calender compared to the dark, surreal, illustrations of Dave Mckean. But there was a time when I made mask-like collages out of India ink and distressed paper. It was the 90's and I wore a lot of black. Although my taste has changed, I still get nostalgic when I see these images:

Orla Kiely for Target

2009-02-15T23:14:00.002-08:00

As much as I love designers going the cheap & chic route I've been constantly disappointed by the GO! International line at Target. Designer dresses just aren't as impressive when it means settling for itchy fabric and poor stitching. Thankfully dinnerware and coffee mugs are more forgiving when it comes to reducing production cost. This is why I'm excited that Orla Kiely decided to design dinning sets rather than patterned poly-blend cardigans.

Orla Kiely for Target hit stores today! Unfortunately I didn't see anything at my neighborhood Target, but hopefully the rest of you will have better luck.

Favorite Super Bowl Ads

2009-02-03T02:35:00.002-08:00

I am not a football fan. In fact I'll even go as far as to say I loathe football and all the weird cheese-head wearing, athlete worshiping, face-painting culture that goes with it. On a bad day I would start inane arguments with people (namely my boyfriend) so my contempt for sports fans can be heard loud and clear. I do, however, contribute to the high Super Bowl ratings because I am a fan of big-budget commercials. In defense of my hypocrisy, this year, I was switching between commercial breaks and "What Women Want" (the underrated romantic comedy starring Mel Gibson). So I only caught snippets of the actual game. Though I must admit the 4th quarter was surprisingly entertaining.

To cut the rambling short, here are some of my favorite ads:

Ads that I found to be incredibly annoying: godaddy.com, budweiser clydesdale, teleflora

My Favorite Criterion Covers

2008-12-12T00:12:00.002-08:00

I came across the list of 50 top Criterion Collection covers from WellMedicated. Though I don't actually own any Criterion DVDs (except a used Life Aquatic dvd I picked up for $9.99 at Blockbuster) I've always promised myself to start a collection when I'm financially capable of spending money on things that aren't food and clothes, or when I become a big enough geek/recluse. Here are some of my personal favorites:

Bento + Album Cover = 1 hour of my life gone

2008-09-10T11:38:00.002-07:00

During the spring of 2005, I had the pleasure of seeing Japan during its peak cherry blossom season. Hanami (flower watching) was always accompanied by an elaborate picnics put together by the few members of my class who knew how to cook. Japanese lunch boxes were painstakingly made early in the morning and the finished product always look more like decorative art than anything edible.

And now this guy comes along and takes it to the next level. I can't even fathom how much seaweed he keeps in his house.

Feline Fashion

2008-09-10T11:26:00.002-07:00

I don't usually condone people dressing up their pets. It seems to be something exercised only by bored housewives and grandmothers with rooster themed dining sets. However, I will make an exception just this once because the people at Cat Prin make these adorable two piece outfits incredibly hard to resist.

http://www.viceland.com/int/v15n4/htdocs/puss-in-boots.php