Windows of New York

162 Stanton

Windows of New York is a project by NYC-based graphic designer José Guizar. Each week Jose draws different windows he sees during his travels around NYC. You’re probably thinking, windows? Why would anyone be inspired by windows? As someone also living in NYC, I can attest to the large variety in architecture that appears throughout the city. This is such a simple idea and José illustrates his area of exploration so well. This project really speaks to his skill as an illustrator! So take a trip through NYC with José and his Windows of New York. See the entire project here.

290 Lafayette

461 W. 47th

617 9th

199 E. 4th

962 Lexington

See them all here – Windows of NY.

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Foundry Co. – Designing in Dallas

Today while exploring the wonderful world of Pinterest, I stumbled cross the work of Foundry Co, a Dallas,TX-based design collaborative. Quickly I feel in love with their typography, crisp vector work and layering, which seems to signature of work from this studio. I particularly enjoy their sensitivity to color, which is apparent in several of their different projects. If you find yourself working for one brand (ie, an in-house situation, as I do), it is quite refreshing to see work from independent studios that cover a range of projects and brands. I enjoy seeing the freedom from these independent studios and finding ways to push my brand forward.

So let’s see some of the work! First up, Weld: A collaborative photo studio

Weld is a collaborative creative space in the industrial district of Dallas, therefore the building and space is the product that sells and furthermore the brand itself. Our goal with the logo was merely to accompany the space so we had to do something in the spirit of the building: industrial, clean and simple.

Urban Organics is a local organic food co-op that retrieves crops from local farmers and brings them to the city, allowing members to purchase local organically grown food direct from the farm.

Emporium Pies is a boutique pie shop in the Bishop Arts District of Oak Cliff Dallas.

And finally, here’s a sampling of some of their branding projects.
I particularly love the branding for Ashlee Renee (below).

How awesome is this church branding?? Can I get an amen?

If you’d like to see more of what Foundry Co. is up to, check out their website, blog and see their work in progress on dribble.

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2000 & Counting

It’s been a while since my last post but a lot has happened in the last few months! No longer am I an unattached freelance designer, free to design for any client of my choosing. I’ve entered into an exclusive long-term (design) relationship with …. Moroccanoil! In a few days I’ll have been there 2 months. Time really does fly. While adjusting to a full-time work schedule, I’ve tried to blog here and there but I haven’t been able to get back into my grove, but I plan on changing that soon. I have a huge list of artists, designers, illustrators and photographers I’d like to share, and hopefully some new work of my own too.

I also want to celebrate that for the past FOUR consecutive months, I’ve hit 2,000 page views. While that pales in comparison to many design blogs out there, it’s miles away from the 17 views a months I had back in May 2010. This blog has been a great outlet for me to share inspiration and put into words my goals and passions, especially when it comes to design during my two years at Pratt Institute. Blogging turned into cheap therapy for a grad student that never felt at home in an MFA program. Good bad and ugly, it’s all here. And some really GREAT things have come from this blog too!

While studying abroad, I blogged about Scandinavian Textile Design and was featured on a few blogs about my travels through Sweden, Finland and Denmark. Blogging about the artists we saw and the showrooms we visited ignited my interest in learning more about textile design and writing about design in general. It also gave my blog a particular focus. Last summer I was completely shocked when I was invited to interview with a creative director that has and continues to make work I greatly admire. Last month my thoughts on resume design and interviewing were featured on another blog, also to my surprise. So while this remains a side hobby, no matter how small, your hobbies and interests can open doors! So here’s to opening new doors in the coming months and sharing more stories.
-Daniel

See more of my pin’d type quotes (here) on my pinterest.

Lastly, a quote from one of my favorite posts, and read more about Marimekko here.

 

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Lotta Kuhlorn: Book Designer

Earlier in June, I blogged about Lotta Kühlhorn, the Swedish pattern, textile, product and graphic designer. I was first attracted to Lotta for her beautiful pattern and textile designs that cover tea towels, cutting boards and trays in many Scandinavian stores, but she’s done an impressive amount of book cover design, the holy grail of graphic design. I wanted to take a moment to look at this work more closely. So sit back and enjoy more of the work of Lotta Kühlhorn, and if you’d like to see her pattern/textile designs, check my earlier post here.

I also really like this style of her illustrations.

Hope you enjoyed seeing more work from Lotta Kuhlorn.
Check out her website here.

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Michael Freimuth & the Glass Shop

Today I’m sharing a beautiful project by Michael Freimuth. The Glass Shop is a coffee shop in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood and in 2009, Michael created a new visual identify for the place. I’ve seen this project on several design blogs and have always been curious about the project and his work. Here is a little about the project:

Glass Shop sought to establish itself by communicating its local, neighborhood commitment as well as its dedication to classically prepared espresso drinks. Catering to a younger demographic in this new and emerging area of the city, it was important for the venture to not appear overly polished or pristine – the antithesis to a Starbucks or conventional chain coffee house. A dual-sided poster distributed guerilla-style throughout all of the New York City boroughs helped launch Glass Shop – and once on the premises, clientele are discretely greeted with collateral, messaging and environmental design that strive to represent the retailer’s perspective and values. -September Industry

Back side of poster.

Detail (above and below

).

The Glass Shop itself, at 766 Classon Ave.

So if you find yourself in Crown Heights looking for some great coffee, hit up the Glass Shop. And if you’re looking for some great design work, check out Michael Freimuth’s portfolio site here.

 

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The Joy Project + Thesis book!

Hey guys – this is my last thesis-related post (I promise) … and why the last?? This week I turn in everything signed-seal-delivered to Pratt. It’s been quite a drawn-out process but I guess that’s to be expected trying to finish and thesis and working full-time. But in the end, I’m so happy with how everything turned out. I spent the last few weeks designing my thesis book and I’m thrilled with how it looks. I’m going to post a few of the spreads in this post, but you can flip through the entire book here. I’ve also spent a bunch of time tweaking my website and trying to polish it up, check out the progress at dcwdesign.com

So now that my Pratt MFA thesis is done – it’s time to plan for the next 5 years. I was talking a few weeks ago about how everything I’ve done post-Appalachian was to get me to this point, living/working in NYC with my masters. So what’s next? I’ve had an amazing job these last few months so I’m off to a great start. I’d also like to start creating my own work again and possibly send another round of letters out for The Joy Project. So lots on the horizon, lots of things simmering in the kitchen – stay tuned to what comes next!

Joy, Delight and Growth: Harnessing the Power of Joy in Design
by Daniel Wiggins

In order to strive for a remarkable life, you have to decide that you want one. -Debbie Millman

Maira Kalman spread about And the Pursuit of Happiness.

Spread with my poster for the United Nations Youth Pre-Conference,
Summer 2010.

The Joy Project spread.

10 Things I Did in 2010 (need to work on the 2011 version of this!)

Take your pleasure seriously -Charles & Ray Eames.

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This is new. This is old.

Warning: another “woe is me” MFA/Thesis post.

Above is my proposed logo for our 2011 PRATT MFA Exhibition. Last week we (mostly) agreed on the concept of “New” for the theme. Our program is new, our degree is new, we are all new designers, new ideas, etc. I love the theme and think it’s a great idea. I spent a few hours creating mock-ups of a poster and logo applications. Then on Friday, per usual, my shinning bubble of optimism is quickly popped, stepped on, and thrown out the window.

The professors referred to my concept as “stickers.” It’s a marvelous feeling having something you put a lot of thought and time into, to be reduced to stickers, and brushed aside. I’m trying not to be a sore looser, but this serves as another prime example of how my interest in design has no place in my program. It’s not about my design not being chosen, I feel like my work never translates. I spend a lot of time and effort on the work I do, making it look as good as I can. Which routinely gets me no where. It gets me a B-

Last weekend I finished reading the Happiness Project, and felt I turned the corner to begin thesis writing and exhibition design. I felt so accomplished and happy. Then I get an email about another student who’d designed this amazing flawless pdf of her thesis ideas fully articulated (and designed). One step ahead … ten steps behind. I spent all Sunday and Monday night reworking my thesis project into mentioned pdf format. While this took hours, it was incredibly helpful, and I encouraged my other studio mates to do the same. I show this said pdf to one adviser and my list of issues continues to grow. My bibliography is light and I need new sources, despite my aversion to academic reading – this is still a terminal degree, and I have to take everything more seriously and academically. The working abstract statement one teacher approved, another finds issue in. One step ahead … ten steps behind.

Last week I tired to convince myself that I’d made the right choice, but now I don’t know anymore. We’re spending so much time on the verbal/written part of our thesis process, and so little on visual. I can’t constantly redo my writing and still hope to move forward on visuals. My whole thesis is supposed to be on the joy of creation, experience, and making. None of which I’m doing. Or at least I’m finding absolutely no joy in this experience. There are moments of happiness, but I’m quickly brought back to reality with something else that is due, how far along someone else is, why my thesis isn’t academic enough. It’s wrong to compare myself to others, a losing battle, but I’ve yet to receive positive reinforcement from professors. It sounds stupid, but time to time I need encouragement, I need a “gold star,” as Gretchen Rubin says in the Happiness Project.

I like the work I’ve produced, and I’m proud of how far I’ve come. As much as I try to say that’s enough, during this dark and stressful period, it’s not. Perhaps I’m being dramatic, but I’m so emotionally on-edge, an email from my adviser almost brought me to tears. One step ahead … ten steps behind.

Maybe “One Step Ahead .. Ten Steps Behind: A Thesis on my Joy in Design,” should be my new title …

// End bitching.

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Final Projects Fall 2010

St. Vincent’s Hospital “Place Project” — Full View

Here are screen shots of my finals projects after my first semester in Pratt’s MFA program. This year I was in three studios, Graduate Seminar, and Thesis (17 hours — before this point, I had never taken more than 9). While some classes I really enjoyed (Visual Language and Transformation Design), one in particular I felt absolutely no connection with (Technology Studio). Despite my lack of enthusiasm for Technology Studio, I’m really happy with my final project, “Romantically Uninvolved: 2010 Annual Report” — an annual report on my “dating life” (of lack there of) during 2010. Once everything is posted and presented, I will spend more time talking about each project. So enjoy the pictures, they’re probably better than whatever BS MFA artist statements I’ll come up with later

Close-up of St. Vincent’s Poster, 26×42 Poster, Visual Language Studio

A peak into my “Creative Process”(a mess). 30×30 Poster, Transformation Design Studio

Close-up of “Process” Poster, “Let your haters be your motivators”

Cover of “Romantically Uninvolved: 2010 Annual Report” 20-page Report, Technology Studio

Interior Spread

Close-up of NYC Map in Annual Report.

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St. Vincent’s Project Update

This quote that goes perfectly for what I assume was the mission of St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City. The hospital was NYC’s last remaining Catholic hospital and found itself in the center of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, eventually creating the first care center for AIDS patients on the East Coast. It’s an interesting juxtaposition, a religiously-back hospital, helping the very people the Catholic Church preaches against. How did the attitudes change? St. Vincent’s was flooded with funding for their work providing HIV/AIDS care in the 1980s, which helped keep the hospital alive. Some argue the advancement of HIV medication, and the reduction of AIDS patients, is one of the factors leading to St. Vincent’s closing in Spring 2010. Interesting indeed.

(Almost) Final Version

Close-up of poster.

 

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Pratt NGO Project

Here is the Pratt project I will be hanging tomorrow at the 63rd Annual United Nations DPI/NGO Conference. My solution is number 6, which I’ve already discussed on this blog … now here is some info on the project:

This exhibit was produced by graduate candidates from the Communications
Design Department at Pratt Institute in New York City. The class, entitled
‘Design Advocacy,’ invites students to use creative thinking skills to
frame challenges, seek opportunities, and offer innovative ways to conceive
and execute projects for social change.

Given the opportunity to exhibit at the 63rd Annual United Nations DPI/NGO
Conference, we chose to focus on the theme ‘Global Health’ as it relates to
the United Nations ‘Millennium Development Goals,’ specifically, addressing
goal number 4 and 5: improving maternal health and reducing child mortality.

We invited experts in the field to provide an in-depth understanding of the
topic and its underlying causes, both at home and abroad. Students were
required to research, strategize and create a meaningful solution to the
problem brief—one that works across multiple mediums and makes a compelling
argument to a new generation of both men and women. Given the
audience for this exhibit, we decided to position our design concepts not
simply as artifacts but as strategies to be employed by NGO’s.

For these designers, this class offered an occasion to ground their creative
process in a complex social issue. We hope for you—as an NGO leader,
a health worker, a politician or an activist—this exhibit will offer some
fresh ideas on how design might play a role in supporting your constituencies
and communicating on the issues you care about.

check out some of the photos from the project!

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