Guts and Trust
September 2, 2010 | No Comments | View »
“Guts and Trust” : three words on heavy rotation here at Bluezoom, first flying from the mouth of Tommy Beaver (resident designer, illustrator, leather enthusiast) ca. 2001. It’s not our tag line, but it’s certainly a mantra. If it were to be committed to ink on skin, it might be set in Blackmoor in an arc across the abs, a la Tupac’s “Thug Life”, except with a more pirate lean to it. If “trust” were one letter shorter, the combo would be perfect knuckle tat fodder, too. Oh well.
Seems pretty simple, and on one level it is: if asked, Tommy might argue that it’s the underlying foundation of any great, groundbreaking work, especially in the creative field. Show a great new strategy or design to Tommy, and he’ll say “guts and trust” just like a lawyer says “I rest my case”. Really, it’ll work anywhere it’s allowed (which is the hard part). But while it rolls off the tongue and sounds catchy, Tommy’s credo is really profound: it involves faith and courage, two of the hardest things to muster, much less stick with. Fortitude of character. It can mean trusting the courage of another, or having the courage to trust another, or having both guts and trust in one’s self to be bold: to bear down, defy, and excel. What also makes this dynamic so meaningful is that it works among people, but also among more abstract entities like organizations: clients and agencies, agencies and vendors, teachers and students, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, and on and on.
But it involves new ideas and the unknown, which makes it inherently risky, which gives us the rub. It requires letting go of fear. An idea that requires guts, trust, or both, is never the safest idea on the table. But in the industry of ideas, what’s so safe about something that’s already been done? Wanting what’s already been done to yield groundbreaking results, now that’s a risk that’ll leave you “flat as a fritter” as Grandma says. When you let the guts and trust take over and it works, the elation and reward is unmatched. If it doesn’t work? Take notes for the next time.
Think about anything that’s magnificent in our culture (or another, if you like), and ask yourself if it could’ve happened without guts and trust. If you end up sold on the idea, stop on by–we could (very easily) talk Tommy into giving you a temporary “Guts and Trust” Sharpie tattoo, if you want. Comes right off with Coppertone spray sunblock. Trust Tommy, he knows.
Thanks for trusting us with a few precious minutes,
- BZ
Protect Ya Neck <- And Know Ya Rig
August 26, 2010 | No Comments | View »
By now you might be picking up that we have a penchant for live, street-level musical performance. Full disclosure: we just fully realized it ourselves.
So here’s our latest fixation along those lines:
This quick little glimmer in the turbid shallows of YouTube caught our eye earlier this week (thanks Alex!) and has clearly stuck with us. Besides our apparent love for street performance (and less apparently and unanimously, Wu-Tang), Lewis Floyd Henry’s rendition of Protect Ya Neck inspires us on deeper levels too. For all of our combined love and devotion to Apple and Adobe (please stop fighting, you two, it hurts to watch), this video reminds us that it’s not always about having the most or best equipment. In fact, creativity itself never is. What’s truly essential to any great performance – street, stage, office, or otherwise – is heart, talent, wit, and grit. And, as illustrated by Mr. Henry: knowing the tools at your disposal, no matter how new or how few. It’s so very easy in our line of work to get sucked into the world of the latest, greatest, fastest, and sharpest–in other words, to lose focus. The tools are about design; design is not about the tools. As creatives, we can spend all day creating and tweaking the perfect drum kit, but sometimes we should just strap a tom to a tambourine and go be awesome. It’s no secret that some of the brightest, most innovative solutions in our field (or any other problem-solving arena) come from working within very tight and rigid limitations. Whether they’re self-imposed or come from above, Lewis here makes this foot-stompingly clear. That, and that you just can’t go wrong with a dark suit and shades.
Thanks again for watching, listening, and reading,
- BZ
How to Fold a Computer Screen
August 19, 2010 | No Comments | View »
It’s tricky, but with fresh elbow grease and the right angles, you can fold your screen into a glowing, video-emanating swan. Also true: you shouldn’t believe everything you read online. You can’t really crease your way to that dream swan, of course.
Not yet, anyway. “The fold” however, is a bona fide concept borrowed from a magical era, when news from the day before was printed on paper, then thrown at your house before sun-up by kids on bikes. Strange, wonderful days, those were. The term referred, unmistakably, to the fold in the newspaper. Essentially, you’d want to make sure that your #1-important-don’t-miss material was above the fold line in the front page layout. Anything below the fold was akin to the wrestler in the black trunks: he was at the main event, but all eyes fell elsewhere, on the glittery <cough> “macho” fellow in brighter tights (and at the top of the bill).
The term has been copied and pasted into web design to mark the point at which the initial on-screen experience ends for users: the point at which they’ll have to scroll. Muddling matters is that there are umpteen different display sizes and screen resolutions out there: the content creator doesn’t have full control over how the content is viewed. And there isn’t just one magic fold line, there are numerous possible folds, and the stats on those fold lines are dynamic, changing as time passes, as new screens (and devices) are introduced, and old ones are sent to pasture.
There’s plenty of debate and study as to how much viewer drop-off there is below the “safe zone”, but it’s safe to say that you don’t want absolutely must-see content or navigation below the fold, as it were. Which fold-line standard you set as your cut-off is a matter of judgement, preference, and knowing your audience.
So, before we run below yet another fold line, here are two links to help you determine where these invisible boundaries lie:
http://whereisthefold.com/ – We love the clean and simple execution of this one.
http://browsersize.googlelabs.com/ – Here’s Google’s take. It adds the horizontal aspect, but it looks like some kid’s first science fair graph.
In creasing,
- BZ
The Highest Form of Art
August 12, 2010 | No Comments | View »
Well, we pointed this way earlier in the week in the short forms, but we wanted to return to it with the longer form here, now. There’s certainly more to be said for and about this art statement/event/installation/performance/display (and video documentation) that extends beyond 140 characters.
But first, just to recap: the Thursday before last week’s First Friday Downtown jamboree (First Thursday, then), a luminary of the Spare Room art/culture initiative came up to the office to borrow the key to our first-floor, uh… spare room.
This is what happened that night, while most of us were snoozing:
Just so cool. Not just because it’s happening in and around our space, seriously. That’s just the cherry on top for us.
What’s so inspiring about this to us? In more than 140 characters:
It’s conceptually air-effing-tight. It’s clear. It’s fun. It’s true. It’s engaging. It’s relevant. It’s perfectly timed. It does everything (and possibly more than) it was designed to do. It inspired freestyle rhymes and beats, for the love of God.
Sounds more like things people say about great ad campaigns, not as much about works of art (minus the freestyle). There’s a discussion starter for you, and a topic that would make this post way too scrolly. Spare Room has a unique take on art, culture, the public, and the teeming dynamics among these elements. Let’s leave it at that for now.
Why this hits us so right is because it does something that anything designed to affect people positively should do: it starts with a truth about human nature and tells it in a new way. “Tell all the truth, but tell it slant.” Say something everybody knows but nobody expects. Maybe that is, in fact, the highest form of art.
If you haven’t already, go love Spare Room: http://lovespareroom.com/
With raised glass,
-BZ
Imprinted Upon Us
August 5, 2010 | No Comments | View »
It’s no secret that we’re quite fond of stamps here at Bluezoom. Especially old ones. They’ve been inspiration and fodder for a danged good number of entries in the Bluezoom visual vocabulary; you need to look no further than the background image of this blog for a choice cut of some free-range, stamp-fed BZ design.
What is it about the OGs of thumbnail images that get us where it counts? Well, it is a lot of things. The intimacy of scale, the intricacy, the style and clarity with which detail is conveyed with a single color. There’s the “character of permanence” (great term, Mr. Woods) of the older engraved stamps that’s straight-up sumptuous. You just don’t get that quality with the ways stamps are printed today. Tiny paper jewels, they are.
Beyond the sensorial, we love what they stand for: communication, authentication, commemoration; the spanning of time and distance. Tiny art that carries an idea or sentiment from one person to another, from one place to another in the real, physical, analog world.
We’re very fortunate to have a beautiful collection of well-kept stamps on hand here at Bluezoom (a second thanks goes out to Mr. Woods). Here’s a short clip that takes a good look at a few of our favorites in the “Old Europe” category. We hope you enjoy it, and perhaps are inspired to start rooting around for some little printed gems of your own.
Impressed,
- BZ
Hey, Check this Out: Brand New
July 29, 2010 | No Comments | View »
When it comes to keeping tabs on what’s up & down in the world of branding & design, the good news is, there’s a virtual plenitude of blogs and other sites that post great content these days. The bad news is, there’s a virtual plenitude of blogs and other sites that post great content these days. One could (and has been known to) spend all day just browsing online resources, especially since invariably, one thing leads to another (cue The Fixx–in a series of tubes, no less). Look, click, look, click… next thing you know it’s lunch time and you’re miles away from morning coffee and that first click–but you sure have filled your head with megabytes of good design to put to good use.
We wanted to take a few to to share one that we visit time and time again. It’s Brand New, a blog dedicated solely to “opinions on corporate and brand identity work“. It’s focused enough and strong enough to be the one and only site you visit when time’s a factor and you’ve got (re)branding on brain. Perusing Brand New serves as a sweet little pulse-taker of current trends, dying trends, good ideas and crappy decisions alike (plus, the headlines are usually pretty snappy). A quick survey of posts, and you’ll be starting with a fresh sense of climate and direction. Whether it’s pure graphic inspiration you’re looking for, or solid grounds to back up a decision, Brand New’s your huckleberry. We use it for both: in a designer’s individual exploration at the dawn of a project and in design presentations to the client–and it works. Clients really (really) like it when you can demonstrate that the maxim you so boldly proclaimed isn’t just something pithy you pulled out of thin air. Clients have been known to like a well-made case.
If you happen to be on the other side of the conference table, a client of creative services (ours or someone else’s), we strongly recommend this site to you as well. The more in tune you are with what’s happening in branding and design, the better your decisions will be as to where to take your brand, and how to best get there. Even if you’re not at that conference table at all, but enjoy watching companies primp and preen all in the hopes you’ll like them even more, this site’s for you. Who knows, it might even give you new stuff to talk about over beers.
So now that we’ve built it all up, we’re gonna pipe down and proffer up the link. Check it, bookmark it, subscribe to it, love it:
http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/
A click away,
- BZ
Now is the Time on Sprockets When We Dance
July 22, 2010 | No Comments | View »
Well, not just yet–best save that for the weekends. But, “swimming like the salmon” Dieter may be the first Dieter many of us knew of–and perhaps still the only one some know and love. If that’s the case, it’s (high) time you meet Dieter Rams. Very much like Milton Glaser, he’s part of the elite club of revered elder pillars of the design industry, and shares a passion for the direct and simple. Loves Helvetica, and is one of the most likable opiners in Helvetica. Very much unlike Mr. Glaser, Rams’ focus is on industrial/product design. Also, he’s German (and wears round-lensed glasses almost exclusively, just like salmon Dieter). So you know there’s no room for anything sans-purpose.
Aside from designing the best orange juicer ever made, and being the man and mind behind the entire Braun aesthetic (and perhaps the Godfather of the Apple ideology), Dieter penned a set of design principles titled “Ten Principles of Good Design”, oft mispronounced as The Ten Commandments. Whether you agree or disagree with Dieter the Designer, let’s agree that it’s certainly worth your while to have taken his ideas in–and have a take on them. Remember when The Passion of the Christ came out, and it was culturally mandatory to have a take on it? It’s a bit like that, and nothing like that.
So read on, and take away:
http://www.vitsoe.com/en/gb/about/dieterrams/gooddesign
That’s all the time we have. Until next time,
auf wiedersehen!
- BZ
Treasure Trove: Cover Browser
July 15, 2010 | No Comments | View »
- { No, no, not the unexpected! Featuring the Man Who Collects Worlds. Fitting. }
The modern ability to archive is just ridiculous and wonderful. The internet is where hoarders, packrats, compulsive browsers, sifters, and panners all come together to dance in their respective bee suits like the girl in the Blind Melon video.
And for those of us you that don’t ask for, want, or need brontobytes of content on a single subject: suffice it to say there’s enough for you, too. So, for hoarder and persnickety sifter alike, we present to you another beautiful marvel of the internet: Over 450,000 scanned, indexed, and archived covers: books, magazines, comics. You name it, you got it. Have at it:
(in case you’ve forgotten: right-click is what you’ll be wanting to do)
Covered in covers,
- BZ
Treasure Trove: Vintage Ad Browser
July 8, 2010 | No Comments | View »
No one needs to conjure an excuse to scan or scour vintage ads. There’s history, culture, fun, nostalgia, entertainment, inspiration, fashion, style, good, bad, and ugly–a lot of a little something for everybody.
With that in mind, we’re just going to get out of your way and point you towards over 100,000 vintage ads, dating as far back as the 1800s. Apologies to any superiors, spouses, teammates or dependents that may have been counting on you this afternoon.
http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/
Click on,
-BZ
Lessons from Milton, Episode I
July 1, 2010 | No Comments | View »
Pardon the tease, Lit professors, librarians, and epic poem enthusiasts: we’re not reading from John Milton today, we’re looking into some Milton Glaser this time around. But don’t leave just yet; you might like it all the same. Mr. Glaser is one of those men that is an institution unto himself. “Milton Glaser, Inc.” kind of speaks for itself–or himself, doesn’t it? Without getting into a biography of Milton Glaser, let’s say in short that he doesn’t just churn out timeless and era-defining, industry-shaping design work that you know whether you know it or not, but he’s also luminescently, radioactively wise.
On November 22, 2001 he gave (and later published on his website) an AIGA talk in London titled “Ten Things I Have Learned” further defining what it means to be a designer and beyond. It’s a long, glorious read. But we know these days it’s more likely to be digested if served as a many-coursed meal, so we’d like to serve you some Milton in episodes. Even one at a time, it’s plenty to chew on. So, if we may now quote Mr. Glaser:
So here we go, one of ten:
“1: YOU CAN ONLY WORK FOR PEOPLE THAT YOU LIKE.
This is a curious rule and it took me a long time to learn because in fact at the beginning of my practice I felt the opposite. Professionalism required that you didn’t particularly like the people that you worked for or at least maintained an arms length relationship to them, which meant that I never had lunch with a client or saw them socially. Then some years ago I realised that the opposite was true. I discovered that all the work I had done that was meaningful and significant came out of an affectionate relationship with a client. And I am not talking about professionalism; I am talking about affection. I am talking about a client and you sharing some common ground. That in fact your view of life is someway congruent with the client, otherwise it is a bitter and hopeless struggle.”
Think on that one for a while, and your bound to rethink a few things yourself. So awesome. New-school agency talk from the elder statesman. Kind of running on the same rails is our whole “chemistry” thing, which we’d expand on, but after this, do we really need to? It’s just pretty cool to know we’re “Glaser-powered” in a sense.
There’s a lot more to explore from and about Milton, a good portion of which can be found right here. Do check it out.
Until next time,
- BZ
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