innerspaeth

What does Julia Child have to do with me?

This was the question that Julie Powell asked herself before she started her ‘deranged’ assignment where she spent the next 365 days cooking her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. That’s 524 recipes and she even writes a blog about her adventure. This is the most darling true story, and I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVED IT! I loved the cooking, I loved the baking, I loved the story, I loved the blogging, I loved learning about Julia Child’s life. Please, if you have 2 hours watch this film. It’s purely delicious.

Joy Bauer’s Pumpkin Pudding

If you can find canned pumpkin, after the almost disastrous shortage over Thanksgiving, I recommend trying this recipe. A lovely low-fat afternoon delight!

Letting Genius Catch You

Elizabeth Gilbert has genius, but she’d never go along with “being” a genius. It’s the natural way people thought about creativity and genius in the Western Culture before humans were at the center of the universe and began to refer to themselves as “a genius.” This is her TED talk. I found it funny, personal and surprisingly moving and hope you do too.

Mop Cat

Now, It’s been a while since I posted a cat video. I’m starting to go through withdrawal, and I’m assuming you are too.

Complements of Matt M, the fabulous AIGA DC 50 Chair!

The Man With a Heart Made of Gold.

I’m fairly certain that Michael Osborne has a heart made of pure gold. He has an obsession with design, a true-love for it that keeps him designing round-the-clock for some amazing charitable organizations.

Photo by: Joe Carabeo, Astray Productions

This is a picture of Michael Osborne and I moments after I met him for the first time. It was a unseasonably warm and sunny Sunday evening on November 15, 2009, at a special meet-and-greet gathering held by AIGA DC for the AIGA DC Design Continuum Scholarship Fund Circle donors. Michael was invited to join our social gathering and share some of his work from 1 Heart Press. Among Michael’s many passions is the fine art of letterpress printing. His love for finely set typography and skillful printing required more and more dedication and strict diligence, so in 1991 he decided to open his own letterpress printing shop in San Francisco. Since then he’s been letterpress printing anything from fine books to wedding invitations.

By day Michael is President and Creative Director of the San Francisco-based graphic design firm, MOD/Michael Osborne Design, Inc. Established in 1981, the firm’s work in corporate/brand identity, package design, and print collateral has been recognized by many organizations, and publications and is on display in the permanent collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York, and the National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C.

With Michael there’s always love, or a heart, something he’s become well-known for in his design work. There are many different kinds of hearts in his body of work, but the majority have been created for projects at Joey’s Corner.

In 2004, Michael Osborne created a non-profit 501(c)3 organization called Joey’s Corner, a studio dedicated to providing pro-bono strategic creative services to non-profit groups focusing on healthcare, children’s and social well-being issues. The studio was founded to honor the life of Michael’s deceased son, Joseph Michael Osborne, 1980-2004. Joey’s Corner operates on donations, fund-raising events, and whenever possible, projects may be underwritten by a sponsor or by the non-profit client itself.

Joey’s Corner is the first heart in a series of Michael’s many hearts:

Next he created Valentines Day cards for sale with the proceeds going to Joey’s Corner.

Then Ethel Kessler, Art Director for Stamps, called up Michael and asked him to design Love Stamps for the USPS.

All of a sudden, there were Hearts in San Francisco. Hearts were all over the city, actually and most were designed and constructed by Michael himself.

Then there is Heart to Heart, an orgainzation founded to save babies by teaching doctors abroad the art and science of open-heart surgery for children.

There’s a heart in yoga, The Art of Yoga Project. This organization’s mission is to lead teen girls in the California juvenile justice system toward accountability to self, others and community by providing practical tools to effect behavioral change.

I’ll conclude with one final heart, his work for the Alzheimer’s Association’s Memory Walk.

Michael Osborne came to Washington, DC to give a presentation to the local AIGA Chapter on the work he’s produced at Joey’s Corner. His presentation moved the audience. A dozen plus people came up to me after the presentation to thank me for inviting Michael to our chapter. A few even marked this as one of their top 3 AIGA DC events, ever. I just couldn’t be happier.

Thank you Michael for coming to DC, but mostly for your boundless ability to inspire and delight designers and change organizations so their messages are finally heard.

Throwin’ it Back to Shoulder Pads! (#19)

That’s right you faithful Innerspaeth reader, you. Throwback Friday is BACK with a vengeance. Today I’m throwin’ it back to shoulder pads.

This idea came to me over the weekend when I was helping my mother clean out my grandmother, AKA Busia’s sweater collection. I was about to try on a sweater (that I actually liked) and, low and behold, sewn into the shoulder were shoulder pads! I couldn’t believe it. My mom laughed then told me that they’re back in style. Allow me to repeat that. My MOTHER told ME that shoulder pads were back in style.

“No. They most certainly are not back in style,” I said back to her.

Then I realized… wait, maybe Mom was right and I had better do a little research.

The beginning of the shoulder pad craze first started in the 1930s when fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli included them in her designs of 1931. Shoulder pads were shaped as a semicircle and then stuffed with stiff materials like wool, cotton or sawdust. They were the perfect extension of the shoulder line and fashion designers loved it! Interestingly, they became especially popular after World War II when designs became more militarised. Jackets and coats in particular, were influenced by masculine styles and shoulder pads became even bulkier and were positioned at the top of the shoulder to create a solid look.

Joan Collins was the queen of shoulder pads, in my humble opinion. Seen here during her years on the prime time soap opera Dynasty.

I Googled “shoulder pads” and found a surprising number of images from 2009!

Victoria Beckham, Rihanna and Katy Perry in shoulder pads

Beyonce wears shoulder pads

Gwyneth Paltrow wears shoulder pads

I’m beginning to think Mom is right. So, there you have it. Clean out your closets this weekend ladies, it’s time to dig up your shoulder pads! Sport your favorite jacket or sweater to work on Monday and start the trend back up with the celebs. You’ll thank me later.

I love Joan Holloway

Last night John and I watched the finale of MadMen, Season 3. We always end up watching the Sunday episode after it’s aired, so inevitably we hear comments about the episode on Monday morning (via twitter, facebook, and just general discussion.)

This episode WAS worth all the hype everyone was making over it. Not only was I glued to John’s new and very manly entertainment center (yes, it’s really amazing) it was funny! There were a few choice lines by Roger Sterling that really made me howl, more so than any other episode.

But now comes the waiting game, and I hate waiting. I want to know what happens with Sterling Cooper Draper Price NOW! *Sigh*, but in due time. I have been wondering what will happen with each of the characters. Who will be on the show, who’s off and what happens with Betty! Brian Moylan posted an interesting story yesterday outlining his idea of who’ll be back for the next season.

If nobody else, I want need Joan Harris (aka Holloway) to return. To be honest, I don’t even care if Don Draper HIMSELF returns. Joan is my all-time favorite character. I was so sad when she left Sterling Cooper. I was just about ready to throw the whole series out the window until she appeared in Episode 8 when Peter drops by the Bonwit Teller department store with Mrs. Lawrence’s dress and discovers that Joan has taken a supervisor’s job there.

Joan looking amazing at Bonwit Teller, as usual.

There are many reasons why I love Joan, but here are my top 10:

1. She’s absolutely gorgeous.

2. She cultivates her curves.

3. She makes decisions and doesn’t think twice about them.

4. She never succumbs to male pressure (only when she can get pleasure out of it).

5. She’s got style:
“Try to stay away from pattern prints. Stick with solid colors. Your mother wears pattern prints, not you.”

6. She understands effective branding:
“Men like it when you smoke their brand. It makes them feel like you have something in common. Nothing is steamier than red gloss wrapped around your man’s favorite smoke. But when out with girls always smoke Pall Malls, Marlboros are for tramps.”

7. She’s blunt.
“Roger, if you had your way, I would be stranded in some paperweight with my legs stuck in the air.”

8. She offers great advice.
“Go home, take a paper bag, cut some eyeholes out of it. Put it over your head, get undressed and look at yourself in the mirror. Really evaluate where your strengths and weaknesses are. And be honest.”

9. She’s realistic.
“He may act like he wants a secretary, but most of the time they’re looking for something between a mother and a waitress.”

10. There’s no other Joan.

Recommended Reading

While on my way to my hometown of Coopersburg, Pennsylvania to visit my parents and my girlfriends this weekend, I’m taking a minor detour to Lancaster (which isn’t exactly Amish Country, but it’s the same county). I’m visiting an AIGA student group of graphic designers at PCAD, whom I worked with while at the National AIGA Design Conference in Memphis.

As I began to consider what I’d speak to the students about, I kept going back to books. I love books and I’ve always loved books. While working towards my undergraduate degree from RIT in Graphic Design I was always in the library. Not only did I continually have the maximum number of books out (25) I worked there too, at the RIT Archives and Special Collections. This is where I developed my love for gorgeous books. These books were my extended education. They became my bible for design inspiration, encouraging me to think beyond the project.

So, I prepared my top 10 list of all-time favorite books. Some are current, some are historical and some are pure inspiration. Enjoy!

1. History of Graphic Design by Philip Meggs

2. The Cheese Monkeys: A Novel in Two Semesters by Chip Kidd

3. Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst

4. Lester Beall: Trailblazer of American Graphic Design by my former RIT professor, R. Roger Remington

5. How To Think Like a Great Graphic Designer by my mentor, Debbie Millman

6. The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier

7. The Elements of Dynamic Symmetry by Jay Hambidge

8. Inside the Business of Graphic Design by Catharine Fishel

9. Design Literacy: Understanding Graphic Design by Steven Heller

10. Obey the Giant: Life in the Image World by Rick Poynor

Here are two more books that are really important for anyone to read (designer or non-designer):

1. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

2. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Tuesday Photo #1

My first night at the Kennedy Center.

365 Days of Creativity

Recently, my great friend (and former RIT roommate) Katie (she also goes by Kate) decided to start a little project called 365. During this project you’d take one photo a day for an entire year. Katie’s project isn’t new, in fact this kind of project has taken many different forms. Each one is unique and displays the creators personality, inspiration, skill and motivation. Here are two other examples:

1. Ze Frank’s “The Show”
The Show with Ze Frank was a short video program produced Monday through Friday for one year from March 17, 2006 – March 17, 2007. I was absolutely obsessed with this show. Ze usually filmed the shows in the morning and by the afternoon they were loaded up and posted to his website. Each show included current events, a funny thought and usually an overview of what Ze was doing that day. At the beginning the video was rough and the interface was basic. As The Show progressed, he developed programs for community involvement, a new interface to display the videos and a huge following. My favorite on-going project was probably Friday Fabuloso where the audience (AKA “Sports Racers”) got to suggest what Ze would say during the show. My all-time FAVORITE show was Austrian Arrows from May 8, 2006:

2. 52 Weeks
If 365 days sounds daunting, you might want to consider the 52 Week project where you take a picture of yourself each week. The photo you take of yourself should represent a little bit of what happened that week and what’s on your mind. Jim Darling, my good friend and fellow designer, is currently participating in the project and you can see all of his pictures on his Flickr page.

On Sunday after seeing Katie’s photos, I decided I wanted to do a similar project. Then I realized that my blog is pretty much the same thing, but might happen a little less often. Then I thought, what if I devoted one day a week to this concept and posted my images here, for all you wonderful Innerspaeth fans to see!? Yes! So today I will start the project. Tuesdays will be, for the next year, my photo of the week day! Stay tuned for today’s photo!