Hasta La Ideas

Ji Lee’s entertaining book of letters in their most graphic element

Seeing the world through the eyes of Ji Lee means every billboard is a blank canvas, the alphabet has three-dimensional form and words are actually images. The former Creative Director at Google Creative Labs playfully communicates through visual design, depicting clever messages that are sometimes obvious and sometimes abstract, but always on point.

Joining Talk Back and Univers Revolved in the collection of Lee’s independent projects to take book form is Word as Image, which illustrates 100 of his “head-scratching” designs, some of which we first saw in his talk at 99% in 2009. Whether it’s turning the letter “A” into Dali’s famous mustache or reducing Christianity down to a few meaningful letters, Lee’s tongue-in-cheek outlook never dulls.

The book also challenges the reader to take their turn at crafting word images, offering insightful tips on the various ways you can play with letters, eventually reducing words down to a graphic form. Playing with scale, covering letters up or seeing letters as objects are all some of the ways Lee astutely outsmarts simple words.

An entertaining and enlightening book, Word as Image sells online from Penguin and Amazon.

Visitors to Outline Editions gallery in London next week will be able to stamp out Noma Bar’s graphic artworks by feeding sheets of rubber and paper into the maws of a giant hole-punch shaped like a dog.

The machine’s profile is based on one of Bar’s designs and actually depicts a dog swallowing a cat, swallowing a mouse.

The Israeli designer uses negative space around blocks of colour to create a second, unexpected image in the outline of the first.

Noma bar will sign and number each piece produced at the Cut it Out installation, which will be on show from 17 to 30 September at 94 Berwick Street, London, W1F 0QF.

See all our stories about the London Design Festival here.

The information below is from Outline Editions:

Cut It Out at The London Design Festival 2011

Interactive exhibition of new work from graphic artist Noma Bar

For this year’s London Design Festival, Outline Editions has invited the ingenious and award winning graphic artist Noma Bar to create a one-man show, the centrepiece of which will be his brand new installation, Cut It Out.

Noma will be creating an amazing, interactive art-making machine for the event. ‘Cut It Out’ is a specially commissioned, Heath Robinson-esque embossing device /sculpture in the shape of a giant dog, that will allow visitors to feed paper, rubber and other materials into
its mouth to produce their own cut-out Noma Bar images. These will be signed and numbered by the artist as part of a limited edition series. The prints and cut-outs will range in price from £20 to £300.

In addition to the show, Noma will be holding free live drawing and create-your-own-cut-out-art workshops at the gallery during the festival.

With this simple and clever new work, Bar delves deeper into a recurring theme – negative space. Alongside Cut It Out, the artist, fresh from a sell-out show in Paris, will be exhibiting a range of other new prints, displaying his imaginative mixture of ‘double-take’ imagery and biting social commentary. With bold colours, shapes and pared-down iconography, Bar can capture the spirit of a person or the heart of an issue with arresting clarity and humour.

In addition, for the duration of the festival, a separate section of the gallery will be devoted to a display of work by Outline Editions’ unrivalled stable of artists at the forefront of graphic art, including Anthony Burrill, Kate Moross, Beyond the Valley and Klaus Haapaniemi.

Following the London Design Festival, ‘Cut It Out’ will travel to the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead, North East England for their 2011 Design Event Festival, 14th – 18th October.

Noma Bar was born in Israel in 1973 and graduated from Bezalel Academy of Art & Design in 2000. He moved to London in 2001 but it was during the first Gulf War that Bar developed his trademark combination of caricature and pictograms: while staying with his family in a shelter in Israel he sketched the likeness of Saddam Hussein around a graphic symbol for radioactivity that
he found in a newspaper.

Since then Bar has published over 1000 illustrations for magazines and books worldwide, including upwards of 60 front covers. His clients include The Economist, Wallpaper*, The New York Times, The Guardian, GQ, Esquire, IBM, Sony, The V&A and more. He has also released two books of his work, ‘Guess Who – The Many Faces of Noma Bar’ and ‘Negative Space’, to widespread critical acclaim.

Cut It Out runs from 17th to 30th September 2011 at: Outline Editions, 94 Berwick Street, London W1F 0QF

Opening times: 1100-1900, Mon-Sat

Live drawing and create-your-own-cut-out-art workshops with Noma Bar (free) on 17th and 24th September from 1400-1700 at Outline Editions.

See also:

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Dog or Bitch at Konarska-Konarski	Happily Ever by Kim HyunJoo	Cardboard dogs by Burnt Toast

The first retrospective book on the 20th century’s film title master

Saul Bass, best known for transforming the way movies begin, was in fact a designer of incredible versatility. As design historian Pat Kirkham shows in his forthcoming book on Bass (co-authored with Bass’ daughter Jennifer), the legendary “visual communicator” also applied his graphic wizardry to album and book covers, typefaces, packaging, retail displays, a hi-fi system, toys and a postage stamp. He also illustrated a children’s book, collaborated with architects, directed films and developed identities for companies including Quaker, United Airlines, Dixie, AT&T, Kleenex, the Girl Scouts and more.

For much of his prolific career Bass worked side by side with his wife Elaine. Together, they came up with beautifully simplified concepts—many that still serve as benchmarks for intelligent design—and led the duo to work with and be revered by masters in their fields like Martin Scorsese, Milton Glaser, Massimo Vignelli, Otto Preminger and Alfred Hitchcock.

Defining himself simply as “a creative person in the deepest sense of the word,” Bass allowed his imagination to guide the way, toying with metaphors and abstract symbols until he reached a point where it would make sense to his audience, yet purposely leaving out one element for the viewer to fill in. “The ambiguous is intrinsically more interesting, more challenging, more involving, more mysterious and more potent,” he explains. “It forces reexamination, adds tension, gives it life.”

Perhaps Bass’ most significant contribution was his ability to make Modern Art relatable to everyone. While his style experimented with abstraction and other contemporary tropes, his artistic interpretations were still easily digestible, having emotional impact no matter the project or medium.

Despite being one of the most sought-after designers of the 20th century, he never denied how terrifying a blank page can be. His tenacity, trying idea after idea even when they weren’t working, was a significant part of his process. “A modest amount of imagination with a great ability to persevere can produce an important work,” Bass proposed. The approach also speaks to the advantages of working on a range of projects. “By simultaneously working on a variety of problems, I find that one creative problem helps me solve another.”

With more than 1,400 illustrations—including many never-seen-before storyboards—”Saul Bass: A Life in Film & Design” is an incredible look at the inner workings of his genius. The monograph will be available beginning October 2011 from publisher Laurence King, where you can sign up to be notified of its availability. You can also pre-order it from Amazon.

Removable fabric wall decals designed to help kids get crafty

Kids are fickle. Keeping them entertained is a never-ending problem for parents. Enter Sticky Tiki, a creative solution in the form of reusable wall decals, originally hand-painted and printed by a crafty couple in Napier, New Zealand. Made from rip- and wrinkle-proof fabric, the graphics are backed with a low-tack adhesive for easy transfer— either to reconfigure the shape, apply them outdoors or to take them with you if you move.

The printed fabric is also washable, so they not only encourage cognitive thinking through creative application, but allow for messy kids to go wild with them—perfect for interactive storytelling.

Sticky Tiki wall graphics last three to five years, and have been tested for long-lasting strength after repositioning, which work up to around 140 moves. Leaving no marks on the walls when moved, if your little one outgrows the design, there is no need to repaint the room.

The decals come in a variety of styles and range in price, typically spanning $25-150. Pick them up online from the official website or Etsy shop, where you can also contact the makers about customization.

Un-structured structures.

Hand-Inked on 220g/m2 Fabriano paper
330 x 240 mm.
E-mail me for more info, price and shipping options.