Saul Bass, Master of Minimalist Movie paMphlets

     Saul Bass is one of the names to know among budding graphic designers. He was responsible for many memorable opening and credits sequences across four decades of movies.
     As a new graphic design student, I was recently introduced to his portfolio of movie posters. Most all of them featured only five colors at most (two of them almost always being black and white) and consisted of only barely edited shapes. Even so, they got their messages across as well as any other sort of poster. Observe:

   (Now, I can't really say this one was made by Saul Bass himself--his style is often imitated due to its popularity--but it's a nice sample of what he was known for.)

(Note: I'm not sure if I can count this post as finished. I'll leave this notice here, so I can remember to edit it later.)

Who Names a Game "Kern"?

So I played a "kerning" game earlier. Yeah, I didn't know what the word meant at first, either. Wikipedia tells that it's a typography term, referring to "the process of adjusting the spacing between characters in a proportional font, usually to achieve a visually pleasing result." Fittingly, the game involved adjusting misplaced letters in word after word while being scored for accuracy. I'm surprised and satisfied with the score I got.

eMagine 2014 - A Post-Event Recap by Someone Who Wasn't There

Keeping a conflict-free schedule helps a lot when you're trying to get good grades. Sometimes, though, it seems as if the school itself wants to make that difficult. Being in E-Communications, I was expected to attend an important event last Saturday. My Forensics grade needed a boost that week, so I had signed up to debate at a tournament on Friday. (When you tell the teacher you want to go to a tournament, you can not take back that signature unless it's an emergency. I learned that the hard way.)

That tournament lasted until 8:30 pm. I woke up a few hours late the next morning, too groggy to do my homework until the next day. In the fatigue I must have forgotten my e-Comm obligation. Thanks to my obligations clashing yet again, the following recap will have to be restricted to a third-person perspective.

The eMagine Media Festival was held at Olathe Northwest to celebrate the many skilled students in the Kansas City area. By "skilled," I mean creatively skilled, as a good amount of the contestants are involved in the E-Communications program. They've made graphics, animations, and short films that they're proud enough of to let be judged by professionals and displayed to perhaps a thousand other students. The best of the best earned their creators medals, certificates, and a clear, cubic statue called the Pixel Award. To make a long story short, it's sort of like the Oscars.

One of the winning short films was shown to my Animation class. I wasn't sure about its plotline at first (it involved a man with a gun, and I hate the sight of those things), but the sudden twist at the end left me speechless in an enjoyable way. I believe its creator deserved whatever he won for it.

Artists at the Nerman, pt. II

Art and religion are actually kind of similar. Hey, don't get offended just yet - think about it. They're hard to comprehend sometimes. In the wrong hands, things get messy and people get mad. And when the really provocative questions are asked, everyone gets uncomfortable. See? They're similar. At least, in the mind of a sir Dylan Mortimer.

We all want something that is a little more edgy, sparks some debate, challenges us, makes us think in a different way than we had. (sic) That’s the point, to me, of both art and religion.

                                       ~Dylan, "Kansas City Artist Dylan Mortimer Wants You To Activate His Halos, Or Not" by Laura Spencer of 89.3 FM

Seeing more in common with the two than some, the artist has blended the two in creative ways since attending Kansas City's Art Institute. He's edited many a street sign with Photoshop to feature Christian allegories, and has established nine "Prayer Booths" (see below) in Kansas City, New York City, and the space in between. His work has earned him some hateful feedback, as one might expect, but he's alright with that.

I know that sometimes, in some people’s opinion, it’s been too far, too preachy, or too this or too that. But I have no problem with making those kinds of mistakes in public, and trying to navigate and learn from it, and see what comes of it.

                                      ~Dylan, same article

Artists at the Nerman, pt. I

A couple of remarkable artists had their work displayed lately at the local Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art. Chances are, you've seen that odd statue sitting in the front. In case you somehow didn't notice it:

The articles I've seen written about "Companion" here were quick to note how its attire resembles that of a certain mouse. Brian Donnelly - or as more people may know him, "KAWS" - originally created this...thing for display in Hong Kong. According to him, its design came to him when he saw where it would sit.

Originally it was in Hong Kong for Harbour City. When I was invited to do the piece, I went and saw the site. And immediately I was like, “God if I had to sit out here, I would just be mortified if this many people walked past me.” And that’s how that pose came.

                       ~KAWS, in an interview with The New York Times Style Magazine

The man has a very diverse portfolio to his name. He started off as a graffiti artist in Jersey City; from there, he went on to design things from vinyl toys to a limited edition beer bottle, work on a few Disney cartoons, and parody iconic characters like The Simpsons through sculptures and acrylic paint. Yeah.