David Carson

In college, I think my whole class was a fan of David Carson. His work broke all conventions (not that we really knew back then what commercial conventions were). Below is an entertaining, somewhat flippant talk he gave a few years ago.

Ray Ban US 'Never Hide' Campaign

I really like these contemporary illustrations. It probably took some guts from Ray Ban to develop print ads that ignore the category conventional images of 'high-fashion' models posing in dark glasses. The designer is Sebastian Onufszak, who has also done some very cool work for Nike, Red Bull, Ed Hardy and L'Oreal.

Wim Crouwel

To be honest, Wim Crouwel wasn't well known to me prior to the Helvetica Documentary (more my fault than his). But since then, I've stumbled across a few interviews and examples of his work. Wim is a well respected Dutch graphic designer and typographer – he has designed numerous fonts, logos (including Rabobank) and many series of postage stamps in the Netherlands. He was also the Director of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. He is an interesting, passionate, articulate speaker. I've posted an interview below.

Louis Vuitton Sprouse Collection

Louis Vuitton recently launched their latest Stephen Sprouse collection in New York. In an effort to out-do the regular fashion launch experience, they opted for a cocktail party and art exhibition, followed by a mini concert by Debra Harry. My invite must've got lost in the mail, but from the pics I've seen, it looks like a great party. I love the way they celebrated Sprouse's punk couture aesthetic with neon colours, graffiti and huge TV screens.

Sprouse, who was part of Andy Warhol's crew, became famous in the 1980s for pioneering the uptown pop punk look – a random and edgy mix of elements including day-glo colours, high-tech fabrics, sequins, velcro, sophisticated tailoring and hand painted silks. He passed away in 2004.

Chip Kidd

Chip Kidd came to Sydney in 2007 as part of the AGDA International Speaker series. I couldn't attend for some reason, which I regret. Chip Kidd is an internationally renowned Book Designer (as well as writer and author). He has definitely done some inspirational work, but it can also border on being a little austere, and lacking visual and emotive engagement (but maybe I'm being a little harsh). What I like most about Chip Kidd is his personality. He doesn't take himself or his work too seriously. But he is passionate about what he does, and approaches his creativity with a sense of humour and intelligence. I've posted an interview and some work examples.

Another useless fact about Chip Kidd is his mention on the TV show Jeopardy on US prime time TV. Show number 4179, air date 31 October 2002.

Topic: Design (for $400)

Question: His work at Alfred A. Knopf made Chip Kidd a superstar in designing these

Answer: What are book covers

Objectified

Looks like another cool film is on it's way by Helvetica Director, Gary Hustwit. Objectified should be an entertaining insight into industrial design.

Thanks to Maestro Damo for putting me onto it.