On Repeat: Toro Y Moi “Blessa”

by Jason Caldeira

There are so many apparent influences in this two minute twenty-three second soundscape of a song by Toro Y Moi that I’m not sure where to even begin. But this is the type of song that lurks in the shadows of an imaginary musical landscape until it decides to leap out of the bushes, grab hold of you by the ears with both claws, and embed itself into your temples bit by bit, slowly overtaking and replacing your head with its own. Your body and new head are now free to dance around the campfire, waving flaming marshmallows in the air like a medieval torch.

What the hell did I just write?

Toro Y Moi “Blessa” from Blessa

Creating Space Within Space

by Jason Caldeira

I’m a sucker for simple “why didn’t I think of that” ideas, especially when it comes to street art. When I was young I remember being floored by Keith Haring painting small boxy dogs on buildings all over Manhattan. There was nothing inherently groundbreaking or complex about the imagery or the message; it just was what it was, and it made people stop, think and often smile. Graffiti: probably. Vandalism: to some. Impactive: absolutely.

Aakash Nihalani uses a similar line-art aesthetic to create simple 3D boxes out of multi-colored tape. Doesn’t sound like much when you break it down, but look at the video below. It’s amazing to me how such a simple concept can be so dramatic and thought-provoking.

Be sure to check out idsgn for photos and additional info.

Objectified in Chicago

by Jason Caldeira

I was lucky enough to attend the Objectified screening this past Tuesday night, and I must say… as much as I really wanted to be in love with the film, it just didn’t grab me the way Helvetica did. This could be largely due to the subject matter; I’m a graphic designer, after all, and Helvetica (the font) has a very special place in my heart. But I think the issue I had with Objectified was more on a filmmaking level than based solely on the subject matter.

To me the most interesting thing about Helvetica was the depth in which designers would go to explain the subtle nuances, the importance, and their love of something that to most people comes off as incredibly trivial. And after all sorts of poetic musings about a designer’s love for a typeface, the film would jump to another designer with a radically opposing view; hatred for Helvetica so deep that one designer actually blamed the font for the war in Vietnam.

Objectified, on the other hand, really didn’t offer up a whole lot of point/counter point, nor did I feel like I got meaningful insight into the minds of some of the world’s top industrial designers. I left Helvetica feeling inspired, confused, educated and cynical all at the same time. I left Objectified needing more.

That being said, I strongly recommend everyone view the film and formulate their own opinion. The director, Gary Hustwit, has something special going on, creating films about subjects that have a very niche audience, but at the same time appeal to everyone. We all use products every day that we barely think about, and these products are the fruits of some design team’s labor. Supporting an independent film that gives these designers a forum to explain why they do, what they do and how they do it is really important to sustaining design as an art form (as well as sustaining independent filmmaking).

ToneMatrix = FUN

by Gregory McClendon

I came across an enjoyable little piece of Flash today. Andre Michelle’s ToneMatrix is a 16×16 grid that plays sinewave tones wherever you click the squares (in a repeated 4 measure pattern).

It simply looks cool and sounds awesome. Grab your headphones and go play (requires the latest flash player).

Below is my 1st little pattern. It’s even hotter if you turn my bottom right square on and off every other time. It would be really cool if somebody actually used one of these in a live performance (with a projector showing a huge version of the player of course).

Sometimes Orange Juice is Just Orange Juice

by Jason Caldeira

No matter how much thought goes into a design (pre- or post-creation) designers need to take themselves out of the equation and think of packaging in terms that the average consumer can relate to. No matter how much you want them to, the average consumer simply doesn’t think “wow… squeezing this cap really brings me back to the emotional connection I have to squeezing an actual orange, like a warm hug from my grandmother when I was a child… blah blah blah.” The average consumer thinks “neat-o. The cap looks like an orange.” Then they twist it open and drink. Done. (Or more likely they think “WTF… how do I open this damn thing? I’m missing Superstars of Dance!)