Raphael Saadiq: Neo-Motown, Smile Inducing Music for the Warm Weather

Raphael Saadiq, Cosmopolite 2009. Foto: NRK P3.

I suppose one cannot technically be “Motown” without being signed to the Motown label (now rolled into Universal), but singer, songwriter, and producer Charley Wiggins (a.k.a. Raphael Saadiq) has a fantastic sound I associate with Motown legends like The Temptations, Diana Ross, The Four Tops, and the Supremes. Though his latest album, The Way I See It, came out just last year, its upbeat nature, use of horns and tambourines, and infectious vocals remind me of my favorite oldies station from back home. He has been grabbing a gratuitous percentage of my music playing these last few weeks as spring breaks in Baltimore, and I highly recommend his album to any and all music lovers out there.

Photo Credit

Jack of All Trades Leonard Baskin

Copyright for this image is held by the Estate of Leonard Baskin

I was asked by my Paper Making and Book Structure professor to research the work of Leonard Baskin: Printmaker, Sculptor, Designer, Bookmaker, and all around BAMF. I have found his creative path through life to be similar to my own thusfar, we share both a passion for design and a love of true craftsmanship and the object as a form of Art. (more…)

Brain Shopping: 40 Tips & Tricks for Getting in the Mood to Get Ideas

Poster containing 40 Tips and Tricks for getting inspired; written by the one and only Ellen Lupton.
Bembo and Aksidenz Grotesk, 18″ x 24″, four color print on Arches cream cover.

Design in Painting

Leashed Dogs; Painting by artist Steve Kim

In my trollings on the internet, I have come across the paintings of Steve Kim, and I am a HUGE fan. I have had the strange, inexplicable desire to paint recently, and his impressive portfolio is only amplifying this urge. (more…)

Searching for Inspiration/Association

1,750 words and symbols I created in one week

Aren’t we all always searching for inspiration? Perhaps you browse CSS Remix to get the gears turning on your latest web layout; or maybe you take a dip in Logo Pond to help your brainstorming on a logotype. Did you ever think about sitting down and using free association to come up with 1,750 “random” words and then drawing each and every one of those words? No. You probably haven’t. But you should, and here’s why:

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Role Model Alert: Stephen Doyle

"Truth," The New York Times, Op-Ed, October 15, 2001

While scowering the internet yesterday for awesome people, I stumbled upon the fantastic work of Stephen Doyle. His largely typographic body of work is rooted in the tangible world; almost all of it exists sculpturally and is photographed for practical application. In an age where people seem to have married computers to the design world, it is refreshing to see someone doing some truly inspirational and effective work off-screen. Now if we can just get that site re-designed so it doesn’t open in a fixed size pop-up window… (more…)