Category: Inspiration

Dieter Rams Talks Design

July 15th, 2010 · Zac · Design, Industrial Design, Inspiration No comments

NOTE: For those of you who can’t see the embedded video click here.

Dieter Rams, industrial designer who heavily influenced Apple’s product designs, talks about form vs. function and also “Less is More” in respect to contemporary industrial design. In many ways his industrial design process can easily be applied to graphic design. In the design world his “10 Commandments of Design” continue to influence most designers in some way or another.

I love when he talks about design in respect to usability and functionality. He goes on to say …

Design should not dominate things, should not dominate people. It should help people!

What he says here is stupidly simple yet so profound — design should help people! I have much respect for this man and his contribution to the design world.

Valencia

July 6th, 2009 · Zac · Architecture, Art, Inspiration, Spain 09 No comments

valencia_blur

valencia_streets

Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, Valencia

El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía Building

valencia_statue

valencia_sky

valencia_pool

valencia_sunset

Everything in this area was covered in this tiling

Everything in this area was covered in this mosaic tiling

This past weekend I was very fortunate to be able to make a short weekend getaway trip to Valencia and experience a totally different place within Spain. Valencia is a very beautiful and eclectic port city nestled along the western Mediterranean. Even though I didn’t get to see much of what this city had to offer (see also Barcelona post), what I did get to see and experience was enough to have me planning another trip back to Valencia in the future.

In Valencia, we were quasi-isolated near the Ciutat de les Arts i les Cièncieswere (City of Arts and Sciences). This really wasn’t a bad deal because we got to view all of the futuristic architecture created by Santiago Calatrava in the Ciutat de les Arts i les Cièncieswere. Upon walking into this massive strip of green space and colossal structures, I felt almost like I was in a Star Wars movie. It was such an awe-inspiring place and definitely one of the cooler examples of modern architecture I have ever laid my eyes on. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see much else of the city aside from this little area. We did go to the beach, which was located next to the port, and I did get my fair share of sun. In fact, I got a bit too much sun and I got a bit burnt.

My stay in Valencia was a very satisfying, albeit short experience. Much like the rest of my adventures in Spain, the Valencia experience seemed to all be a blur. With the element of time however, I will be able to focus my thoughts and reflect on this whole trip. All in all, Valencia is an awesome place!

Still more to come from Spain.
Stay tuned.
Zac

Street Art in Spain

June 25th, 2009 · Zac · Art, Inspiration, Spain 09, Unsanctioned Public Art No comments

police

artist

car

faces

graffiti_barcelona

graffiti_wall

graffiti_wall2

kid

metro_graffiti

pig

sticker

scooter_graffiti

train_graffiti

walkway_graffiti

Public unsanctioned art is a very touchy subject within most communities in the United States and abroad. Here in Spain, it seems that on almost every street corner you will see some form of street art. I was floored by the fact that in just about any community, big or small, there were wall tags or designs. I’m not sure what some of the laws on street art here in Spain are but I would assume that it is illegal. Illegal or not, it does provide some eye candy for me to look at on top of all of the other visceral sights and sounds that this beautiful place has to offer.

Zac

Goodbye Barcelona, Hello Madrid

June 23rd, 2009 · Zac · Art, Inspiration, Spain 09, Unsanctioned Public Art No comments

More graffiti in Barcelona

Really nice futbol stadium in the middle of Barcelona

Barceloneta Beach

building_2

Architecture outside the Arc de Triomf walkway

Arc de Triomf in Barcelona

Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

Hotel Gaudí in Barcelona

These circle-in-a-square stones were everwhere in Barcelona

Meat booth at the Boqueria in Barcelona

Shellfish in the Boqueria

Pablo Picasso's old stomping grounds

Outisde of Pablo Picasso's old house/Picasso Museum in Barcelona

It feels just like home in Barcelona for some reason...

Christopher Columbus Monument in Barcelona

I have been without internet access since we left Barcelona the other morning so I have been unable to get a post up in the past few days. Nonetheless, we finally arrived in Madrid after a long crazy day. Barcelona was great in so many ways that I can’t do it justice in only one post.

Barcelona was a great city with a very interesting and complex people. Although the people were a very passionate and hard working bunch (from what I noticed), they also seemed to value the arts and leisure. Barcelonians definitely knew how to have a good time and this was made apparent when we walked along Barceloneta Beach at night. The nightlife was definitely very lively and energetic, even until the wee hours of the morning. Aside from the nightlife, there was just so much to see and do that it was almost impossible to experience everything that the city had to offer in just three days. Each morning I would wake up to the sound of just a few trucks humming about but as the day progressed other peripheral sounds and scents would seep into the airwaves. I shouldn’t forget too much about Barcelona, at least how it looked, because I took close to 530 pictures. Yeah, 530 pictures.

We did get into Madrid safely but not without a few crazy moments with airplanes and taxi drivers. All is well though and I am comfortable in this new place that I will be calling home for the next few weeks. More to come from Madrid!

Happy late Father’s Day Dad!

Zac

Kentucky to Barcelona

June 18th, 2009 · Zac · Inspiration, Spain 09 No comments

Our First Plane Out of Nashville to Atlanta

Mediterranean Coast Line of Barcelona

Graffiti Out the Window of the Metro Train

Barcelona Street Level

Our Hotel Rooftop Getaway

View from the Rooftop

I have arrived in Barcelona after spending a very long time on a couple of planes. Jet lag is already setting in and hitting me hard but I have managed to stay alert enough to get my way through Barcelona via the Metro and footing it to the hotel. After being in Barcelona for only a short while, I can already tell that there is much to do and see in this town. It is a beautiful place and we couldn’t have been greeted by better weather. It is very sunny and around 80 degrees!

I’m very excited about the trip and I think it has finally hit me that I am in a totally new place. It is unfortunate that we will only be in Barcelona for a few days because it is such a rad city. By the way, when I speak of we I am speaking of the student run ad and PR agency Imagewest that I am traveling and interning with.

Check back soon for more updates, I have only just begun to explore Barcelona and Spain. Again, for quicker updates check out my twitter.

Zac

Interesting + Inspirational + Bizzare

June 2nd, 2009 · Zac · Art, Inspiration No comments

Check this out.

article-1190002-05277c79000005dc-644_636x422

I won’t go into too much detail because you can read it all at that website but basically a man named Alan Brown found out that he gained the ability to draw and paint soon after he had brain surgery after a stroke he had suffered. Prior to the surgery he barely considered himself an artist of any type.

This story definitely made me analyze and rethink the ability and skill aspect of being a fine artist and where it all comes from… Is it a trained ability or is it a natural ability? Or both? Who really knows?

Pretty amazing story that I just wanted to share!

Zac

Random Nostalgia

February 26th, 2009 · Zac · Inspiration One comment

Just an image that reminded me of playing soccer in my more youthful days. I was thinking about it and I just realized how much of my life was devoted to the sport. This image was via Dropular.

Dropular, just in case you were wondering, is a great new site that is much like FFFFOUND in that it is an image bookmarking site. The main difference between the two will be that Dropular will allow anyone (assuming they register without any problems) to be able to “drop” any interesting image from the world wide web onto the site. Not sure of the other details involved in the registration process but it should be interesting as soon as it leaves beta. As with FFFFOUND, Dropular will be a great place to find inspiration or just relax and have a random view of the web and perhaps have a few laughs/sighs in the process.

Zac

BOXI

November 18th, 2008 · Zac · Inspiration, Unsanctioned Public Art No comments

I always try to stay on top of the trends that float around within the design world but I also like to keep an eye on some of the other creative happenings around the globe. Over the past year I have had an increased interest in the public unsanctioned art realm. It has been very interesting to see all of the art floating around the streets of the globe. Berlin, Germany rite now is home to a few stand out street artists. One in particular uses multi-layered stencils to create almost photo realistic wall art. BOXI is his street name and the work he produces is amazing. Most of it is sort of a commentary on how graffiti and public unsanctioned art in Berlin (and around the world) is trying to be done away with. Very interesting stuff. His personal portfolio with most of his work can be found at http://www.boxi.eu.com/ . By the way, the last picture depicts street artist Brad Downey being wiped off the wall. Very clever.