A visit to Anabliss and Ironton

Its always a pleasure to be invited into someone else's art space. I want to thank Matt Coffman of Anabliss and Jill Hadley Hooper of Ironton Studios for welcoming us, (Brian Liester's Practices of Design class at UCD) into their art space and sharing with some of their history with us.

Anabliss:
Matt, the founder of Anabliss, walked and talked us through his space. His staff was friendly and willing to share their experiences. Each had a unique story that led them to the doorstep of Anabliss. Thanks for sharing.
I learned there is a distinct difference between practicing graphic design and branding identity. "Its not just a website [per se], its a complete branding initiative" says Matt. It comes down to controlling collateral. Consistency flows through all aspects of business collateral.













He mentioned Joe Duffy's book, Brand Apart, as a great reference of brand strategies.
Anabliss does a lot of Pro bono work. A current project in the works is the Warren Village Project. Matt talked about how the design process gets started. Words of wisdom: design around copy. Having a good copy writer can be essential to good design work. It helps focus a project in the right direction.











Know what your value is.
Overall Matt was quiet and humble about his work. His passion for design was evident by the way he talked about his work and his design process. I enjoyed seeing the diversity of work completed since he started his business. What a great insight into the business of design.

Jill Hadley Hooper:











There was a distinct difference between the sleek quiet interior of Anabliss humming with the sound of Macs and the, in the trenches, rusting metal facade, smelling of turpentine, feel of Ironton Studios. Jill walks the line between digital design and illustration. Right next to her studio space was a voluminous expanse of white walls used for display. A gallery.











It's something to contemplate. As a mostly digital designer I rarely face the blank wall of judgment, yet there is something elemental about nailing up a piece of your work and giving it the space to be, to settle, to grow. Much of digital design is about meeting deadlines and pleasing clients with hardly time for a breath in between. Jill manages to walk in both worlds successfully.
"Cuter, pinker, rounder, neuterer," says Jill of the pressures of the commercial illustration world.
After hearing some of the stories behind her work I began to see the appeal of having a white wall available for use. The ying and yang of art. That which feeds us can destroy us. Thus the white wall, which on reflection I secretly named Moby Dick. Then I jumped into my vehicle I affectionately call Pequod, and drove away.















"... truly to enjoy bodily warmth, some small part of you must be cold, for there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast. Nothing exists in itself. If you flatter yourself that you are all over comfortable, and have been so a long time, then you cannot be said to be comfortable any more." — Moby-Dick, Ch. 11

Dead Trees

The Daily Green:

The variety of paper out there in the world is amazing.

The people at xpedex, a great paper resource, are familiar with each and every kind.

Kind of like the tea plantation owners in India.  

They know all the variety and then some.

TMI

Recycled  paper intrigued me.

PWC  post consumer waste %

You can choose.  

There is even 100% PWC paper out there.  

As a designer it is becoming more cost effective to use recycled paper and non-toxic inks.

Pro Bono D-day

I was scheduled to talk to Robin today but we haven't connected yet...
I feel like I'm just shy of harassing her, leaving messages, sending follow up, just in case emails.
Well, she has my email, my number, my questions, knowledge of my intention and of my deadline.

In the mean time I've been researching her on the internet.
She founded Bluegg Creative Design in 2001.
No record of a website exists of this company.
There is a Bluegg Design in Cardiff, England that is hiring.
Check out their website. They create clean modern designs.







Robin is now working for Interweave Press, a national craft media company. She is helping this firm, who seems to be stuck in a "craft" 80's ish aesthetic, to develop a cohesive vision that will translate through all their departments; advertising, web, print, and launch them into a 21st century aesthetic. Take a peek at their current website and you'll understand what I mean. Despite their audience it needs...something...less. I found the book "Don't Make Me Think" by Steve Krug, a great resource about juggling a company's many diverse needs and balancing that with successful user interface design. (*A Brian Book, recommended in one of his classes)

She has two pro bono projects listed online:
Voices For Children/CASA of Boulder County
vfccasa.org




Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers
www.rfov.org

Pro Bono Research Project

I contacted several places with few results...
Out of state:
Ogilvy and Mather
SS+K
In state:
Factory Labs
White Ink
Ones that responded:
Robin Strelow
Karen Steenekamp

The Pro Bono Project involves investigating the world of pro bono design work, interviewing the actual designers, and detailing their design process as described in the AIGA article "Why Design."
Not many responses to date and most didn't have time.
A crisis of perception for sure in my opinion but as Kurt Vonnegut says "so it goes...."

Karen Steenekamp of Open Design was great to talk to. She graciously shared the client design strategy and the questionnaire she developed as a result. On pro bono work... she was definitive, '"it is... "-not something to jump into. Given the constraints of that type of work it can be a challenge for a small design firm without a lot of resources.
I've been invited to talk with Robin Strelow tomorrow. She did a spread of brochures in Communication Arts developed for The Rocky Mountain Institute. Her style reminded me of the work by Ogilvy. Her pro bono work is simple newsletters or letter heads. I shall find out more tomorrow.

My process:
When I realized all great designers, even not so great designers out there were not dying to talk and give advice to an impressionable design student, I was up against a business park wall so to speak.
My Strategy:
Go local. I got results when I dived into the local scene, the real people, the humble median, those still looking for their 7 minutes(?) of fame.
My Interview:
That has yet to occur but I sent an outline of my topics and questions in an email to Robin. I developed it from the AIGA article "Why Design." Some of the steps outlined in the article seemed contrived and repetitive, so I used Burrough's cut up method.


I found a great link about famous graphic designers...
Design Talkboard