Amazing design advice

While perusing Young Jerks/Dan Cassaro's portfolio, I came across the following bit of wisdom, a tidbit from his 10 Tips:

There are two types of designers: Lennons and McCartneys. As a John Lennon, you create work that is message-driven, stark and serious, but you run the risk of seeming pretentious and/or naïve. (In John Lennon's defense, he was unfortunately married to the world's worst art director.) To be a Paul McCartney, on the other hand, means creating beautiful, meticulously crafted graphic design pop music, heavy on style but light on content. While either can be successful on its own (I love Wings), the best design employs both ideology and style. (See: popular music group "The Beatles").

Kind of a brilliant analogy, no? Be sure to check out the rest. I got a good laugh.

Posters of Fortune

This idea is pretty rad.


As described on the site,

The Type Directors Club in conjunction with Cardon Copy presents POSTERS OF FORTUNE: 21 Fortune cookies, with 21 distinct fortunes, have been sent to 21 internationally renowned designers. The designers have in turn transmuted these personal divinations into richly imagined typographical posters. See them, bid on them, come hear the designers discuss them.

POSTERS OF FORTUNE is on display at the TDC from April 5th – May 12, 2011. The end event and final bids will take place on May 12th from 6:00 – 9:00pm

Some of my favorites:

Music Philosophy

Music + quotes + design? Yes, please.

Live the Questions

This poster is on my wish list—if only it didn't say "SVA" in the corner (Pratt's rival!).
Awesomeness by James Victore, quote I love from Rilke.

Philosophy of an artist

A good philosophy. John Maeda's haiku via Clifton Burt's print.

Please don't go.

A sweet poster inspired by Where the Wild Things Are.

Impossible

A fantastic little quote.

Be good.

Chad Hagen on Overcoming Creative Block:

Staying creative is hard work. Honestly, I don’t think when I got into art school I was very talented at all. I struggled to stand out. I struggled to stay in school. Staying creative was hard work. BUT, the one thing that kept me focused was my desire to be good. I wanted to be really good. I wanted to be as good as those people that WERE talented. I used to think I would eventually, if I worked hard enough, master art like a math equation and then I could relax and just make great stuff and let everything else follow. That time definitely never came, and I know now I never want it to, because the most important thing that keeps me creative is my wanting to be good. So if I’m ever in a rut, the best things to get me out of them is to put myself in places that engage that desire to be good. In a general sense this means to get out and be expose to others creating. In my opinion, there is no better way to trigger your own creativity, than to see what great things others have made or are making. Going to museums, galleries, shows, etc. always inspires my mind in a way that make me want to get back into my own work and make good things. Be good.

(image by Chad Hagen)

A Salinger quote for Salinger

"Do you know what I was smiling at? You wrote down that you were a writer by profession. It sounded to me like the loveliest euphemism I had ever heard. When was writing ever your profession? It's never been anything but your religion."

Goodbye, J.D. Salinger.

Revenge

A good quote..and poster.

Everything is an experiment.

Just a little sketch I did for a project I was working on...about pencils...and Tibor Kalman.

Birds of Sadness

A nice letterpress print from Studio on Fire, with a great quote:



“You cannot prevent the birds of sadness from passing over your head, but you can prevent their making a nest in your hair.” - Chinese proverb

(via Studio on Fire)

Words from the wise

I hear this kind of thing about 10 times a day at school...and I have to say, it's true.

(Image from Conversations with Students by Paul Rand, via inchmark)

And a great quote.

"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."
-Anais Nin

(Thanks to my sister for this one)