Who Are We (Part:13)...

The past few weeks I have been talking about designers from either the distant past or my relative geographical proximity so this week I feel as though I should expand on my boundaries a little. In order to do this I am heading across the pond to a island called the United Kingdom, more specifically London. A friend introduced me to this designer over the weekend (we were at a bar enjoying a cocktail at an Irish bar ... Happy St. Patty's day) and so I checked him out and decided I would like to feature him this week. So without further ado, this weeks designer for my weekly Who Are We posts is a man by the name of Kam Tang.

Tang is not unlike most designers out there that like to think of themselves and a combination of artist and designer. A student of both the old and new ways of creating graphic images, Tang is able to appreciate the intricacies of well thought out simple graphic or a elaborate flowing image. With educational training in Illustration from the Royal College of Art, his understanding of design is nothing to be overlooked. His client list is impressive enough to make some large design agencies blush and yet this man is doing it all as a free-lance artist. Just to give you a feel for who Tang has done work for, here is a list of some of his clients. I think you might have heard of a couple: The Guardian, Wired, Arena, Wallpaper, Adidas, Nike, Sony, Gnarles Barkley and the Royal Mail. Not so bad in my book. If your interested in who this designer is you can check out his Wikipedia site. His website is worth checking out but unfortunately there is only a limited amount of art (google images has much more of his work).

Let me know what you think of this weeks addition to the Who Are We family. As always, if you have a designer in mind that you think I should look into, leave a message and I'll check them out. You could see them up here sometime soon.

What Makes Your Cube Creative...

In a working world surrounded by four free-standing walls, it is hard to find great inspiration from your surroundings. That doesn't mean that it isn't there, just that you need to look harder. Some people take their work space and turn it into some sort of theme park, others litter the walls with notes and other assortments, but what ever you do, it must speak to you.

I'm interested to hear what other designers and creative individuals out there do to make their work space more conducive to the nature of their profession. You can post a picture, describe it in word if you'd like, you can even make a crayon drawing and submit it. I'm just very curious to see the lengths some people will go to make their environment creative.

I'll start things off...

My "cube" is four walls covered with notes, color palettes, thumb-tacks, and posters. My shelves are littered with books that focus on design and help stir my creativity. Out the door is a window that looks over downtown Denver. It helps me feel like I'm not trapped in a cell. Computers and monitors consume most of the space on my desk but their is still room for a notepad when I need to sketch up an idea. It's not the most creative environment but I'm still in the process of making it my own.

-Chris Nuernberger-

Who Are We (Part:12)...

I'm a few days late with my Who Are We post and I'm terribly sorry about being tardy. It's been a busy week with very little time to sit down and find a graphic designer that I think you should know about. You need not worry though because I have stumbled upon a designer during my reading that I think not too many people have heard of. Maybe you have heard of him but you don't think of him as a designer. This designer is different from the rest in a unique way. He was born in 1860, back before computers were even a distant thought. He is proof that our profession has been around for a while.

Alphonse Mucha was an artist in the purest sense. Lived the stereotypical life of an artist. He was drawing before he could walk. Born in the Czech Republic in a time where artist were creating masterpieces. This influx of art from the masters into mainstream society gave Mucha only one choice, he must move to Paris. He moved there in 1887 and from there his career took off (in a very loose sense). He had moments of success followed by periods of little work. During this time Mucha was called upon to create a poster for Sarah Bernhardt's play, Gismonda. His design was something completely new and sparked a little movement called "ART NOUVEAU." I'm sure you've heard of the movement but most people don't associate Mucha with graphic design but more with painting. Back then they were more one in the same rather than being separate. From here his fame spread and Mucha had finally made it. He paired up with a man by the name of Champenois and started doing postcards and other things.

He is a very good artist and designer. I'm not sure I can say that he started the graphic design profession but being able to say that you helped start a movement isn't a bad thing to have on your resume. If your looking for a designs to give you a traditional feel then I would have to recommend Alphonse Mucha.

A thing to keep in mind as your looking for inspiration among the design community. You can never know where you are going if you don't know where you've been. I hope you like my selection for this week's Who Are We post. Let me know your thoughts and if you have anyone I should look into, please don't hesitate to send me an email. I promise I'll look into them and you might see them up here on my blog.

A Golf kART and the Open Road...

Every once and a while there are those people who make an impact on the world we know through extraordinary efforts and vision. They pursue a dream in which they hope to capture a moment in life and immortalize it through some means of art, diction, or word. Their hopes vary in detail and medium but their overall goal is one in the same: to bring people together through exposure of a common interests.

You might be asking yourself what does all this have to do with a golf kART and an open road. Well, before a couple months ago I would have said nothing. In most cases a golf kART and art are found on completely opposite sides of the spectrum. From today on they will find themselves mingling for the first time and in time, they may become synonymous with each other (its a stretch but it could happen). This fusion of art and kART is possible through the vision of Jeremy Make and Andy Raney and an amazing trek across america.

On April 19, 2008, kART Across America will embark on a 12,000-mile, 130-day, 48-state journey on a golf kart to discover the art of America. While on this art-seeking endeavor Jeremy and Andy will be interviewing, documenting, participating, discovering, and observing all forms of art in hopes of sharing it with the world. At the end of this some-what odd yet still entirely inspiring expedition they will be turning what they have learned, filmed, and experience into a documentary film, a book, and a sue-do MySpace web site where you can post your own art and share your opinions. It will be interesting to watch as people all over the United States share their art forms with these two. Keep an eye out for them as you are driving around where ever you are. Even if you are not lucky enough to run into them be sure to ask yourself, what is your art? You might be surprised by what your response is.