a Navy man
The best part about my job is the people I meet. There is one older man in particular I feel compelled to write about. After spending just a few days in his company, I felt that this is the kind of person I want to be when I grow up. I’m not sure if I’ve ever felt this way before, even when I was much younger. I may have wanted a particular achievement or trait of someone I looked up to, but never in such an all-encompassing way.
What do I do?—Part One
One of my responsibilities at work is to maintain a bi-monthly newsletter. It’s not much, just two A4 spreads for each issue. The catch is that it must be released in four languages in addition to English. The languages are Spanish, French, German, and of course Italian. Not speaking any of them doesn’t help my work, but I’ve picked up a fair amount of each in my time here so that I can at least get the gist of what’s in front of me. Doing what I do, there are some potential nightmares when dealing with different languages in a fairly rigid layout. I spent the past year working with the existing layout to understand the nuances of each language and how much wiggle room I have in altering the leading, tracking, font sizes, etc. In an ideal world, I would simply copy and paste a translation into the corresponding text box and it would fit perfectly, creating a work that is equal in my original intention in every way but the language. Some people (my sister) think this is how it works. I’m about to tell you otherwise, and hopefully in the process, expand your appreciation for the printed word. Or at least me. Appreciate me more.
Another year
About this time last year, I stepped out of Fiumicino airport into the mild winter of Rome. The ride home was lined with statues, buildings, and piazzas straight out of an art history book. It was dreamy, foreign, like my first time listening to Sigur Rós. In the coming months, I began to note the differences and similarities in my lifestyle here and at home. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that everything is more or less the same, wherever you go. You eat, sleep, and shit. Work on weekdays, go out on the weekends. Eat a little healthier, maybe get some more exercise. Read more. Care more. Try more. And don’t drink so much. The unavoidable rituals, motherly advice, and half-hearted goals that make up the bulk of a life—the constant, I guess.
expressionengine 2.0
I’ve updated and bought a Freelancer’s license for expressionengine 2.0. Unfortunately there is no free core version anymore, but since I’ve invested so much time into learning ee, I figured that I might as well pay to upgrade.
The art of the mixtape
I’ve been listening to a lot of mixtapes in the past year, ever since leaving home last December. It probably has to do with not having access to the internet 24/7 like I did before, but even now that I can be online whenever I want, I find that not too much has changed in my listening preferences. It makes me wonder how I got my audio fix in the past. I mean, I know how—I would just download a ton of albums and filter through them each day, but I don’t have the desire or patience to do that anymore. I basically used to listen to music with my finger on the next button with a liberal use of repeat. In hindsight, doing it this way, I managed to play out even the best of songs quickly, and I don’t think I was getting the full album experience intended by the artist. Even now, I find that there are few albums worth listening from the front to back, but a good mixtape can find a place even for filler tracks.
A blessing and a curse
I work in an institution sponsored by the Vatican, so a lot of my correspondence end with some sort of blessing. There’s a lot of “God bless you,” and “May the Lord be with you,” which are the typical ones I guess. Personally I go with, “Peace & love.” I like to keep it rock and roll. Anyway, I’ve noticed a lot of variety in my international encounters. More or less, it all means the same thing, but the delivery is interesting, especially in face to face conversations. There’s a French priest that likes to tell me simply, “God loves you.”
Coralie Bickford-Smith’s covers
Coralie Bickford-Smith is a senior cover designer at Penguin Books, where she has created several series designs. She studied typography at Reading university and has recently been sharing her experience with students at London College of Communication encouraging a sense of play in the process of design.
Among the other benefits of having a permanent residence, being able to build a personal library is high on the list. I’ve always liked the way hardcovers look when you remove the glossy protective layer. This set is just perfect. Oh, and to be a cover designer at a publishing house is my dream job.
Vincent Fournier’s Space Project
nasa must say good night moon, but at least we have this beautiful project to carry on the sentiment.
Design vs. Innovation
Twenty years ago a seminal article appeared in ID magazine that contrasted two approaches to design and design education: the methods-driven and scientific approach described by Chuck Owen of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and the experimental and semantic approach advocated by Mike McCoy of Cranbrook.
WTF♯?
Chopin writes “enforced” listening moments into the piece–strangely arresting moments, like that F♯ held, alone, then heard against an astringent dissonance, then heard alone again, then heard against the “correct” dissonance…
It’s becoming harder to find time to check my ever growing list of bookmarks, but Bobulate is one of the blogs I actually set aside time for. Each post is thoughtful, well written, and never feels as though it’s longer than it should be. One of the recent posts I’ve found interesting links back to the blog of a concert pianist, who goes on to describe the music of Chopin. I found the quote above relevant for a few different reasons, but I thought Liz Danico brought up an interesting consideration regarding design.
As designers, for all the simplicity we intend in our work, for all the intentional moments we craft, what enforced listening moments are we creating? What rhythms are we designing? Where’s the F♯?