Swell Creative

Summa, summa, summatime!

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:32:00 -0600

We for one, are stoked fall is just around the corner. But let’s linger on summer just a bit longer, shall we?

With the end of summer gaining on us, we can’t help but be excited about the autumn season. We’re lucky enough to live in Colorado where Aspens turn so bright they burn your retinas and the fishing gets so good it’s like, well, shooting fish in a barrel. (At what bizarre county fair did that ever happen by the way?) But before we go putting our Rainbow sandals away for the year, we thought we’d take stock in our summer and highlight some of our favorite moments.

50 reasons, in no particular order, Summer 2009 has been wicked awesome:

• 36th annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival

• David Byrne at the aforementioned TBF

• The Ace Hotel Palm Springs

• Fly Fishing the crystal waters of our beloved state

• Discovery’s LP

• Our new Jetta Sportwagen

• Riding our bike instead of driving our new wagon

• Walks on Crystal Cove Beach

• Floating the Ruby Horsethief with college buddies

• BBQ’d salmon from Four Corners Cafe

• Art Day with Sam Pagni AKA Sarah Goldfarb

• Kings of Leon at Red Rocks

• 4th of July fireworks at La Jolla Cove

• Camping in the Black Canyon

• Sola Salons photo shoot in Dallas

• Chef’s Tasting Menu at Abacus, Dallas

• Leinenkugel on Detroit Lakes, Minnesoooota

• Pallisade Peaches

• Creating the Denver Biscuit Co. identity

• BBQing in style at Melissa’s

• Horseshoe tournaments

• Ridgway’s Pickin’ in the Park

• Denver Kids, Inc. Empowering Our Tomorrow Breakfast

• Top Chef Masters

• June rain / July sun

• Pinot Noir

• ~~The economy~~

• Sirius/XM Radios’ XMU

• Our new Mac Book Pro

• The re-popularization of jean shorts

• Harry Potter

• Late sunsets

• Sunsets

• Shoes without socks

• Asparagus

• Dirty Projectors

• The color green

• Colorado Boy Brewery

• Hopper/dropper Copper John combo

• Kate’s Place

• Adult Sno Cones

• American Apparel 50/25/25 T-shirts

• Dinner at Root Down with great company

• Maker’s Mark with a twist

• Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavillion

• East Fork, Cimaron Mountain Range

• California Mexican Food

• Thunder storms

• Archer Typeface

• Deals on winter gear

What made your personal Summer 2009 Hotness list?

SwellCreative.com

Good way to waste some serious time.

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 11:55:53 -0600

Good way to waste some serious time.

Greener, Smarter, Better Looking-er

Mon, 25 May 2009 16:50:00 -0600

Environmentally Conscious Design That Doesn’t Require You to Wear Hemp Sandals (unless you work at Toms Shoes, in which case it may be required)

Whether for profit or pure do-gooding, companies large and small are jumping on the sustainability bandwagon. Whatever their reasoning, selfish or selfless, us global citizens stand to reap bi-product benefits both environmentally and aesthetically. For many companies, green design and social responsibility is no longer being looked at as a necessary inconvenience, but rather as a platform their business can position themselves on. To celebrate this shift in the global consciousness, we’ve compiled a list of five of our favorite companies leading the way with responsible design. So pull up your favorite yoga exercise ball cum ergonomic desk chair, grab a handful of your favorite organic granola, and enjoy.

Pangea Organics - Using 100% biodegradable, all-natural, organic plant ingredients, Boulder-based Pangea Organics is a full line of ecocentric bodycare products. Heavy hitters, IDEO, who created their brand identity and packaging, used Pangea’s sustainability platform as jumping point to design their eco-conscious packaging. The 35 product line’s packaging utilizes compostable and/or fully recyclable materials, as well as screen printed labels which eliminate the need for harmful glues traditional labels require. Additionally they donate 25% of their profits to sustainability research and education. Despite being made of all natural plant materials, it doesn’t taste very good. Trust us on that one.

Support them and look good doin’ it: www.pangeaorganics.com

Good Magazine - Sold wherever smart people hang out, GOOD is quarterly magazine that encourages and inspires conscious readers to band together and “give a damn.” With articles running the gamut on subject matter, GOOD delights readers with insightful thoughts on everything from politics and the arts, to the cultural zeitgeist at large. Balancing the sometimes heavy subject matter with an optimistic point-of-view, smartly designed layouts, photography and illustration, the editors keep the magazine accessible without losing it’s decidedly smart edge. Carolyn O’Hara says the editors “want to reshape national discourse. There’s just no reason not to do it in style.” Amen.

Printed on recycled paper, the magazine has an earthy, yet upscale feel. With a predilection for good design, the editors make sure each edition will captivate those of us with the most discriminating of taste. And we’re not the only ones who think so. GOOD was awarded a People’s Design Award by the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and the Smithsonian Institution.

You choose whether you’d rather pay $10, $20 or $50 for a subscription, with 100% of that going entirely to the non-profit of your choice. Get your GOOD on.

Read it, love it, support it: www.good.is

Toms Shoes - Want to look like a BoHo chic surfer dude or dudette while still giving back? Well then Toms has the shoe for you. Also awarded a People’s Design Award from the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and the Smithsonian Institution, Toms creates funky, casual shoes designed for summer living. For every pair purchased from the company, they will give a pair to a needy child in a developing country.

Made from renewable resources and recycled materials, the espadrille style shoes are completely vegan and have a low impact on the environment. We rock ‘em while cruisin’ the beach or the studio. Comfy, cool and caring.

Learn more: www.tomsshoes.com

Whole Foods Market - How much do you love going to Whole Foods Market? It’s like a field trip for us organic junkies. Aside from the tasty samples and cute hippie chicks, they have such a great design aesthetic. From cool recycled plywood signage to compostable containers, Whole Foods Market understands the value of good design. Their newly designed private label packaging utilizes recycled and compostable packaging and looks way cool. We were there the other day playing I Spy for the new designs.

Their commitment for sustainability is hard to match. Not only do they seek to offset their impact on our globe, but also to educate the community on ways to improve their quality of life now and for the future by introducing them to many sustainable initiatives. One of the central ideals of the sustainability movement is locality. Buying locally made/farmed materials and foods is one of the easiest ways to make a big impact on our globe. Whole Foods Market is so dedicated to this idea, they created the Local Producer Loan Program, providing up to $10 million in low-interest loans to small, local producers. In doing this they are able to help out the farmers and producers, help out the local economies and help out good ol’ Mother Nature. Kudos y’all.

Check out the long list of ecological commitments on their website: www.wholefoodsmarket.com

Mrs. Meyers Clean Day - Using biodegradable ingredients and easily recyclable packaging, Mrs. Meyer’s is committed to the health of the planet. We use the stuff and can’t get enough of it. As Thelma A. Meyer says it “works like the dickens on dirt.” We couldn’t agree more. And as the label suggests, it smells like heaven in a bottle. This is one of those designs we wish we had done. Vintage inspired and infused with lots of fun, we give these guys an A+.

Be the envy of all your neighbors, get some for your self: www.mrsmeyers.com

Finnish designer and illustrator Maija Louekari must be a really...

Fri, 08 May 2009 07:40:43 -0600

Finnish designer and illustrator Maija Louekari must be a really happy person. How could you be sad and still create such crazy happy work? In 2003 she won a contest staged by the University of Art and Design in Helsinki and Marimekko (the ubiquitous Finnish textile designer). Since then she’s continued creating her playful designs for Marimekko, as well as a host of other stuff I wish I was doing.

Check out an interview of her on Marimekko’s site. She even looks a little bit like one of her designs.

Let’s build one! see more on re-nest & the owners...

Wed, 06 May 2009 12:37:37 -0600

Let’s build one! see more on re-nest & the owners blog.

Rex Ray, Paper God

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:50:31 -0600

Went to T Gallery and MCA here in Denver this weekend to check out the Rex Ray dual exhibit. It was an inspirational feast for the eyes. What an incredible artist and innovator. We want to be like him when we grow up. Please excuse the poor quality, clandestine iPhone photo. It’s 2 panels of a 5 panel piece. In total it must be 40-50 feet wide by 13-15 feet high. He even created custom wallpaper to dress the entire wall behind it. Truly beautiful. See more

Ryan McGinley

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 15:30:16 -0600

Really interesting work. We love the color and unexpected compositions. see more

Alexander Girard

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:07:21 -0600

Recently our favorite vintage design enthusiasts over at Grain Edit interviewed Andy Cruz (Co-owner and art director) of House Industries about their decision and process of re-releasing lots of incredible works by Alexander Girard. It’s a great article with lots of great imagery from the career of Girard. Read it here

When did airlines get so boring? Bring back color!

Zacaroni and cheese.

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 15:05:01 -0600

Zacaroni and cheese.

Really cool cartography. This is two of many maps charting the...

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 09:36:00 -0600

Really cool cartography. This is two of many maps charting the historical paths of the Mississippi river. Be sure to check out all the other cool maps/charts. See more

See more irony...

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 08:15:00 -0600

See more irony at:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/04/02/business/economy/economy-user-photos.html?hp#/business-17/

Another Great Word Train

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:17:05 -0600

Another Great Word Train:

Gabe Dance, doin’ it again y’all!

Looks interesting.

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 08:37:42 -0600

Looks interesting.

Good work by: http://frankchimero.com/

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 09:59:38 -0600

Good work by: http://frankchimero.com/

Sign it.

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 09:58:50 -0600

Sign it.

Nice design to help explain a not so nice problem.

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:34:31 -0700

Nice design to help explain a not so nice problem.

A poster of President Barack Obama, [above], by artist Shepard...

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:25:00 -0700

A poster of President Barack Obama, [above], by artist Shepard Fairey is shown for comparison with this April 27, 2006 file photo of then-Sen. Barack Obama by Associated Press photographer Mannie Garcia at the National Press Club in Washington. Fairey has acknowledged, the poster is based on the AP photograph. (AP Photo/Mannie Garcia/ Shepard Fairey)

The Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston is launching a solo show today of work by poster artist (and semi-official Obama iconographer)Shepard Fairey. [Update: Shepard Fairey is in court in Boston today facing graffiti-related charges. He was arrested on his way to the opening party for his retrospective at the ICA. Seems the Boston police are as savvy as ever about pop culture.]

But some in the design community feel the “by” in that first sentence is in question, since many of Fairey’s images are based on preexisting photos and illustrations. And this week the issue exploded: The Associate Press accused him of copyright infringement for his ubiquitous blue-and-red Obama poster—which they claim was based on an AP photo—and Fairey retained Anthony Falzone, a lawyer and executive director of Stanford’s Fair Use Project. Milton Glaser wades into the fray.

Fairey has referred to what he does as “referencing.” There’s certainly plenty of precedent for making reference to older artwork in new ones. How does one distinguish between plagiarism and reference?

The process of looking back at the past is very accepted in our business—the difference is when you take something without adding anything to the conversation.
We celebrate influence in the arts, we think it’s important and essential. But imitation we have some ambivalence about, especially because it involves property rights. It probably has something to do with the nature of capitalism. We know that in other cultures, Chinese culture for instance, imitation is seen as a tribute, because you wouldn’t bother imitating trivial works. But in those cases the influence is acknowledged and the skill required is obvious.

For myself—this is subjective—I find the relationship between Fairey’s work and his sources discomforting. Nothing substantial has been added. In my own case, when I did the Dylan poster, I acknowledged using Duchamp’s profile as an influence. I think unless you’re modifying it and making it your own, you’re on very tenuous ground. It’s a dangerous example for students, if they see that appropriating people’s work is the path to success. Simply reproducing the work of others robs you of your imagination and form-making abilities. You’re not developing the muscularity you need to invent your own ideas.

One of the things that really bothers me is Fairey’s use of the famous Swiss photo of a woman’s head from below. There are too many unique observations that the artist made. It’s just too close to the original observations of the photographer. It doesn’t seem clean to me. The distinction between these things is ambiguous, but when we look at it we feel, “Something is not right.”

Fairey is riding the line between fine and commercial art. Does that affect how we see his use of other people’s work?

Perhaps so—what’s most important to the graphic arts is communicating clearly, and sometimes that means using the vernacular of the moment. For the fine arts, the most important thing is being personally expressive. There aren’t that many unique voices in the world.

For myself, if any form of art makes you attentive (in the Buddhist sense) is performing the highest purpose that art can achieve.

Is appropriation of others’ work is more common now?

Perhaps but usually designers don’t get as celebrated for doing it. It’s awkward to criticize another member of your discipline. But it’s important for students to understand that any idea can be exploited, but not simply reproduced.

For more on this topic, check out Steven Heller’s blog post about Esquire’s recent Fairey-derived cover. The AP offers its take here.

Milton Glaser (b.1929) has had the distinction of one-man shows at the Museum of Modern Art and the Georges Pompidou Center. In 2004, he was selected for the lifetime achievement award of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. He opened Milton Glaser, Inc. in 1974, and continues to produce an astounding amount of work in many fields of design to this day.

Pulled from: http://www.printmag.com/design_articles/MiltonGlaseronShepardFairey/tabid/492/Default.aspx

Great song. I like their creepy lips.

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 19:53:26 -0700

Great song. I like their creepy lips.

Video

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 16:51:03 -0700

Kanye West is a tool. That’s all.

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 21:15:14 -0700

Kanye West is a tool. That’s all.