Treat

Girl of All Work

Office supplies can be fun to buy, but they can look a little humdrum. Girl of All Work creates office accessories with flair. File folders, page tags, and bookmarks never looked so good.

Frank Lucas

Frank Lucas was the first African American illustrator and photographer in Boston's advertising industry. He graduated from the Vesper George School of Art, after being an illustrator and photographer for the Army during the Korean War. He also made a career as a Graphic Designer and Art Director during the 1960s. Read more about the interesting career of Frank Lucas at The HistoryMakers' website.

Logo inspiration

Some inspiring logos that I found from myinkblog.com

Raiders of the Lost Art

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post called Computer Hypnotism, after realizing that I've been personally affected by this phenomena. I've been working so much on the computer that it has become a crutch. It has become easier to use hand and mouse rather than hand and pencil, and this makes it easier to lose one's natural artistic talent. Don't you feel a disconnect when creating on the computer? Doesn't it feel a bit artificial? There's no substitute for hand done illustration.

Frankly, I didn't realize it until my Dad mentioned something about my own work, and it really made me think. Part of what he said helped me to realize that I was forgetting how to draw—which is how I started along the path to design in the first place.

What I decided to do, since I realized that the patience I once had was no longer there, was to start by drawing the objects around me. So, I'm starting slowly, but surely. 

So, Designers/Creatives who have been captivated by the raiders of the lost art, I challenge you too to get away from the computer for a while and go back to the basics. Pull out your pencils, your paintbrushes, your conte crayons, or whatever medium/media you use to use! Take a step away from your computer—actually, go into another room and nurture that natural ability you once had! Afterall, you never know what you might create!

Design Pioneer: Archie Boston

There are so few minorities in Graphic Design, and even fewer African Americans. So, I'm excited that I learned about Archie Boston, named by Graphic Design USA as one of 35 Graphic Design pioneers. He's the first African American recipient of AIGA's prestigious Fellows Award, was President of the Art Director's Club of Los Angeles, and was chair of the Visual Communications Design program at California State University-Long Beach. He also manages his own Graphic Design firm, Archie Boston Graphic Design, which has been operating for over 30 years. In 2002, he published a book he had written called Fly In The Buttermilk: Memoirs of an African American in Advertising, Design, & Design Education, an account of his experiences as a minority in the creative industry.

An excerpt of his interview with Rachel Elnar is below, but you can read the full interview on the AIGA Los Angeles website.

Why did you become a graphic designer?
I became a graphic designer because I realized in art school that I would have a difficult time trying to become a fine artist. I used to love to draw and paint during my first year at Chouinard Art Institute, now Cal Arts. My older brother Brad, went to Chouinard for 2 years before I started there. He got a job at Advertising Designers, Inc. in 1961, when I started college. I wanted to be just like him, so I later decided I wanted to become a graphic designer, and an art director. With those two titles, I thought I could switch between working in an ad agency as well as a design studio. The more versatile one becomes, the better the job opportunities.

How did you get involved with AIGA? Why do you stay involved?
I initially was a member of the Los Angeles Art Directors Club starting in 1963. Don Weller invited me to design the annual awards exhibition in the Equitable Building. Then, I became a board member and serves in various offices until I was elected President in 1976. I was also elected president again in 1982. In that same year, I became a tenured Professor at California State University Long Beach. Around 1992, the AIGA/LA chapter was founded. A few years later, the Art Directors Club of Los Angeles merged into the AIGA/LA chapter. I went down with a sinking ship until another rescued me.

I stayed involved in AIGA on the Education Committee because I wanted to help students with their portfolios, internship, and interact with graphic designers that strive for design excellence. AIGA is an organization where I could network, stay current on the local gossip, and also socialize with my former students.

In your opinion, how has design shaped Los Angeles?
In the early days there were only a few designers I admired. Those designers were the ones I interviewed in my documentaries, but there were other local designers I also respected, and did not interview such as: Deborah Sussman, Rod Dyer, Michael Salisbury, George Osaki, Bill Brown, Bradford Boston, Roland Young, Hy Yablonka, John Miyauchi, Tony Heller, Wayne Hunt, Dan Lennon, John Anselmo, John Casado, Tony Hollander, Charlie White, John Clark and Mikio Osaki.

These, and the 20 designers I interviewed, help shaped design in Los Angeles. They were involved in entertainment, the aerospace industry, and the emerging automotive industry. These designers cared about getting rid of visual pollution by designing great logos, annual reports, brochures, advertising, and architectural signage. These designers also taught at Art Center College of Design, Otis Art Institute, UCLA, Chouinard Art Institute, and the state universities, passing on their knowledge of good design to the next generation.

If you weren’t practicing design, what would you be doing?
I think the answer is obvious, I would teach design. I have been doing that for over 30 years. I have been blessed because I have maintained my own design office, and was given the opportunity to become an author. However, I think I would have become a doctor, or scientist, because I have always had a thirst for knowledge, and enjoyed intellectual challenges. When I was young, I thought that those two professions were more prestigious. Deep down inside, I knew I had to followed my natural ability and passion, which was and still is design.

Spartina

The temps are getting a bit warmer, so preparing for that beachside vacation doesn't seem so far away. Spartina 449 in Hilton Head, SC has some cute "beachy" accessories that really make you think "ahhh....vacation." Find handbags, luggage tags, towels, cosmetic bags, wristlets and more from this island inspired company. Andrea Glover, one of Treat's very own, is the Graphic Designer behind the brand identity, photography for Spartina. She's even contributed to designing a bag or two. Check out her interview on Treat. Way to go Andrea!

Milton Glaser

One of the Graphic Design greats.

Computer Hypnotism?

Are you a Designer/Creative who has become hypnotized by your computer monitor? Do your pencils, Prismacolors, chalk, or whatever creative media you used to use have dust on them? Are your drawing skills looking a bit sketchy? (sketchy: not meaning a rough outline, but I mean a bit questionable) Well, guess what I discovered on DRAWN.ca? 75 Ways to Draw More! Illustrator Michael Nobbs has created a booklet to get you started. And...the booklet's free! Download the book from his Flickr site, 75 Ways to Draw More.

My Design Youth Forum Update

Just wanted to let you know that the Design Youth Forum that took place on Friday, March 27th at UIC (University of Illinois at Chicago) was a success. The students took a class in Graphic Design, Fashion, Industrial, Multi-Media, Interior Design, or Architecture with the theme being Sustainability. The students had so much fun, and I did too. It's amazing to hear the thoughts of young kids. They see ideas that older adults take for granted. So, it was refreshing to hear they're thoughts and see their brightened eyes and smiles when we exchanged ideas. So, if you ever have the time, it would be great to meet some of my Treat readers at one of the Project Osmosis events. I'll be continuing to post events in the future, so be on the look out!

Wiley Valentine stationery

A paper goods line created by two Designers who wanted to create work they were passionate about.

Wiley Valentine is also a 100% sustainable paper company.

Attention high school students! Design Youth Forum

Click image to view larger, or read information below.

The OSMOSIS Education Mentoring Initiative™ Design Youth Forum is a day-long event in which area high school students choose from workshops in Industrial, Multi-Media, Graphic, Fashion, Architecture, or Interior Design. Along with emersing students in a college learning environment, the Design Youth Forum provides instruction in the following:

• Basic principles of design
• Career opportunities
• A design project and critique

Students will be addressed by the college design and admissions faculty regarding the details of their particular design programs. In addition, students will be encouraged to register for candidacy in the OSMOSIS Education/Mentoring Initiative™ Mentoring Program.

STUDENTS! Register today. Walk-ins welcomed!

Space is limited. First serve basis. Giveaways and gift bags for every participant! Design Youth Forum Packets (Registration) will be mailed upon reservation.

RSVP by March 20th, 2009 to info@projectosmosis.org or call 773-779-1352

Please provide name of school, e-mail, and contact information with your reservation. 

Sponsored by Richard and Jean Coyne Family Foundation and AIGA.

Bob's Your Uncle

When I discovered this shop, I thought, what a catchy name; Then I wondered what it meant. After a quick Google search, I found out that Bob's your uncle is a British idiom that means "you're all set" or "there you have it." So, for example, if I said, "Check out this new shop for all your gift needs, and Bob's your uncle! In this case, you really should check out Bob's Your Uncle, located in Boston, MA. Here are some of my favorites.

 

1. 8 Days-a-Week Planner Pad
2. Wine Bottle Gift Bags
3. Shop (till you drop) List Pad
4. Open Sesame Password Reminder Book
5. Limbo File Folder
6. Punctuation Page Markers

Jen Skelley's shop

Love these cute  illustrations by Jen Skelley. Her Etsy shop also houses her colorful illustrations in the form of calendars, posters, t-shirts, buttons and more.

Click image to view larger
 

Party planning? Kick up your e-vite style

Ok, so it's too late to use this service for Superbowl, but maybe you have another event coming up or you're hosting an Oscar party (the movies were much better this past year than they have been in years). There are two web sites that I've discovered which are design friendly to plan your next event—Pingg and Mypunchbowl.

These two websites seem to have the best choices in terms of design. Pingg has a variety of fun and lovely designs that are free as well as a Designer Series. Some of my favorite Designers at Pingg are Ashley Mills, Lenny Williams, Stephanie DosReis, and Photographer Larry Vogel.

On the other hand, Mypunchbowl.com is a central stop for complete party planning. The site not only provides you with reasons to celebrate, but you can import your contacts to create a guest list, poll your guests for the best day for the event, manage RSVPs, design and send the invite, and keep track of who's bringing what for pot-luck gatherings!

 

Some of my favorite designers on Pingg: Lenny Williams, Ashley Mills, Stephanie Dosreis, and Larry Vogel.

Party organizing site mypunchbowl.

Butterflies Kiss

Donna Wilson of Etsy shop Butterflies Kiss creates wedding stationery embracing diversity, whether it's ethnicity or lifestyle. Her richly textured prints with the watercolors are my favorites. Also check out her web site.