The Bridge of the USS Enterprise

Just saw Star Trek on Blu Ray. Unbelievably fantastic but one camera move really gave me pause. At one point the camera pans out from the bridge of the USS Enterprise, through the viewscreen/window and over the front bow of the ship. I'm no military strategist, but that would be the last place where you would place the command/nerve center of your starship. Worse still is having a well lit window letting everyone look in. Hopefully for the next movie they can invent some form of CIC. Take advantage of the reboot.

AIGA Houston Presents: Pecha Kucha Houston Volume 1

Pecha Kucha (Japanese for “the sound of conversation”) is a fast-paced event where designers get to meet, network, and share their work. A forum in which creative work can be easily and informally shown, Pecha Kucha Night has become a global phenomenon, spreading virally to over 200 cities around the world.

Come join the conversation–creative people talking about creative things.

Date: Thursday, November 19, 2009
Time: 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: Domy Books
1709 Westheimer Rd
Houston, TX

Doors open at 6p for drinks and chit chat. Talks start at 7p.
The event is free and open to the public. Cash bar.
Space is limited so get there early.

Scattered Pixels from Visual Systems

Interactivity meets urban environments. Artists; Oliver Pasquet, Djeff Regottaz, Bastien Ribeiro and Valere Terrier.

Adobe Kuler

Explore, create and share color themes

Discover Adobe® Kuler™ — the web-hosted application for generating color themes that can inspire any project. No matter what you're creating, with Kuler you can experiment quickly with color variations and browse thousands of themes from the Kuler community.

AIGA Houston presents

Jack Gernsheimer

and his new book Designing Logos:
The Process of Creating Symbols That Endure

This essential book for all graphic designers looks at the process of logo design and the criteria used to determine whether or not a logo stands a good chance of being here down the road. Whether you’re an educator, a student of design, a CEO recognizing the need for a corporate identity change, or just a fan of strong design, this book will help you make a more well-informed decision about the quality of logos.

Designers, educators, students, marketing specialists, and fans of design need look no further than this invaluable sourcebook for answers to these questions and many more. Packed with tips and lavishly illustrated, Designing Logos is an accessible reference for the design and implementation of a logo — from the initial creative thought process, through the presentation of logo alternatives to a client, to final implementation, with valuable, practical information.

About Jack
Jack received a BFA in Advertising Design from Syracuse University in 1968 and began his career at J. Walter Thompson in New York. He founded Partners Design with his twin brother Jeff in 1971 and continues to be actively involved in design and creative direction. In 1978, Jack worked in Oslo with internationally acclaimed designer Bruno Oldani. He has designed nearly 500 logos for businesses ranging from Fortune 500 companies to one-person startups. His work has appeared in Communication Arts, Graphis, Print, Novum, and other prestigious international publications. He has lectured, written about, and taught graphic design at Pennsylvania School of Art and Design, and Kutztown University of Pennsylvania.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE
closes at 5pm, September 23

Door prize for AIGA members!
Snacks and Complimentary Drink Ticket.
Copies of Designing Logos will be available for purchase.

Date & Time:

Thursday September 24, 2009
6:00pm – social & book signing,
7:00pm – presentation

Location:

River Oaks Theater
2009 West Gray
Houston, Tx 77019
view map

Pre-Registration Pricing:

$10 AIGA Members
$20 Non-Members
$5 AIGA Student Members
$10 Student Non-Members

Pricing at the door:

$15 AIGA Members
$30 Non-Members
$10 AIGA Student Members
$20 Student Non-Members

For more information or questions, email:
Robin Parrish
Programming Director
events@houston.aiga.org

Retro Album Covers from Flickr

Stumbled across these photos from Flickr. Pretty cool stuff.

The xx: Basic Space

The xx's self titled debut album is a great album for the fall. Moody furtive boy/girl duets is the new black.

If you can't wait till October for it to hit U.S. stores click here to download through Amazon.

AIGA Houston presents DRAW OFF

Thursday, September 10, 2009
Time: 7:00pm-9pm
Location:
Rudyard’s
2010 Waugh Dr
Houston, TX

Teams of 2 will battle in the ultimate game of Pictionary!

This isn’t some typical Pictionary game we grabbed off the shelf at Target, it’s our own concoction of design related objects, people, actions, places, or the dreaded “difficult”.

Word cards are randomly selected, the timer is activated, and players begin scribbling frantically as they race to beat the clock in 60 second intervals. Correct answers are rewarded with a point. First team to reach 10 points advances to the next round and competes to the CHAMPIONSHIP round.

Championship Prize:

Bragging Rights
Free Entry into AIGA Houston’s next paid event
Secret Prize

Please arrive between 6:30 & 6:50 pm to sign up with a partner or we will provide a partner if you’re flying solo.

Everyone is welcomed! Bring business cards as always because you never know who you are going to network with!

For more information or questions, email
April Guzik
Member Activities/Volunteer Chair
memberactivities@houston.aiga.org

Photos from Paris Trip

Below are some recent photos from our Paris trip last month. Had a marvelous time there.

Big thanks to Arizona for loaning me her rig.

Brad Pitt, Personal Valet

Latest commercial for Softbank by Director Spike Jonze starring Brad Pitt.

Monster Milktruck!

The map is not the terrain, well, unless you are inside a Monster Milktruck!

Today I had to research some features for Google Earth and came across this site. You can enter virtually any location on Earth and Monster Milktruck will teleport you there and you can drive around the terrain. I got a chuckle simulating my daily commute and visiting some old haunts. I wish more people would upload more building models.

Below are some images of virtual H-Town.

Bob and Weave: Houston's Creative Showdown, August 25, 2009

The Fall 2009 Networking Social Event

Join H-Town's top creative professionals as we come together to mix it up.

AD2 (AD2)
Crystal Land, President

American Advertising Federation Houston (AAFH)
Natalie Gonzalez, President

American Institute of Graphic Arts Houston (AIGA)
Robin Tooms, President

Art Director’s Club of Houston (ADCH)
Alex Barber, President

Only in Houston (OiH)
Dwight Cook, President

University of Houston Graphics Alumni Partnership (UHGAP)
Daniel Bosse, President Elect

When and Where:
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
5:30pm - 9:00pm
Continental Club
3700 Main St

Video of Lisztomania off of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

The new album from Phoenix is currently on constant repeat on my playlist at work and in the car. It's one of those rare albums where I don't have a favorite track; every song is a highlight.

BBDO Dusseldorf in Die Haus

Interesting recruitment ad from BBDO Germany courtesy of the missus. Although it will be hard to get a passport and work visa with all of my felony convictions. Sigh.

TRON Legacy

Woah, I've waited 28 years for this. Disney is releasing a sequel to Tron with soundtrack by Daft Punk due out in 2010 from Disney. Pretty sweet combo all around.

Click here to view the HD 1080p trailer.

Toyota IQ Typeface

A pretty cool new typeface utilizing the new Toyota IQ to create the letterforms.

Two typographers, Pierre & Damien, and a pro race pilot, Stef van Campenhoudt collaborated to design a font with a car.

The car movements were tracked using a custom software, designed by interactive artist Zachary Lieberman.

Click here to down load the typeface.

HP iPhone Calculators

Feeling a little nostalgic and craving some Reverse Polish Notation? Indulge your inner old school CPA with these two retro iPhone Apps from HP; the HP-12C Financial Calculator ($15) and the HP-15C Scientific Calculator ($30). My mom's HP-12 got me through most of middle school and although the new incarnation won't necessarily fit in your shirt pocket for the price they're pretty jazzy.

555 KUBIK

“How it would be, if a house was dreaming”

This project from Urbanscreen is a pretty cool merging of architecture, video mapping and motion graphics.

Reverie Sound Revue - An Anniversary Away

Amazing video and song from Reverie Sound Revue.

LP by Discovery

Discovery, the side project featuring Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij and Ra Ra Riot's Wes Miles, has released LP. While somewhat of a misnomer, the album clocks in at just under 30 minutes, it is probably the perfect summer electro pop album. Favorite tracks include "Orange Shirt", "Osaka Loop Line", "Carby" and the a cover of The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back".

Josh Keyes

There is something wonderfully absurd and absolutely meticulous about Josh Keyes' paintings. His diorama fusions of the natural environment intersecting with the modern urban landscape is all at once delightful, awkward, poignant.