Articles by Colleen

i just watched Helvetica. for the first time! quite shocking as i am madly and deeply in love with typography.
Anyhow, as much as i knew it was everywhere, and as much as i know the identifying characteristics of this particular typeface, i never realized JUST how much it is used.

I T   I S   E V E R Y W H E R E – and what was more interesting was that most of the designers either worshiped the paper it was typed on or wanted to submit it to the House of Un American Activities Committee. there seemed to be no middle ground.

after watching, i am still not sure how i feel about Helvetica…  i get why it can be the stuff of winners. it is very stable and sure of itself. I know that its overuse bothers the fuck out of me but maybe its just that! – the fact that everyone uses it, it truly is like water, like air, like “fast food” so accessible, so easy to grab Helvetica because it can be anything. can be everything. can be any one…

but then again, who wants to be a part of everyone? i know i dont.
ohh helvetica, puzzles me

dun-dun-dunnnununununununununun!! my question to you: are drop shadows always wrong? no, right? not when an object is clearly casting a drop shadow…right? so what happens when an illustration uses a drop shadow… is the image below wrong?? i like it… have i fallen out of good design because i used a drop shadow where nature would nix it and call it faux?? i dont think so.. no. i kind of think it works… and heres why: maybe, just maybe when an object is already obv. not real and you are already throwing out real life perspective and real imagery– you can do whatever you want to… kinda nice and kind of liberating.. think about it: comic book characters dont always have 5 fingers…nobody stops and questions our beloved 4-fingered batman… meh thats my leap today off my hater box and onto my much larger soap box. : )

SOOOOOOOOO I hate wordpress. i hate it! its so stupid and not user friendly. they need a suggestion box!! hmph. their stupid upload thing isnt working..AND I AM NOT MENTALLY RETARDED! but how am i supposed to write on a blog about design and not post pictures. what the fuck is the secret here..because it’s making me mad.

suggestions? GIVE ME THEM NOW! i wrote a post but cant publish it without my pictures david zobel, i, of course, blame you! (duh!)

ok, so its been a while.. a long! long! lo–yeah actually i guess it’s been never since my last post.

here’s the thing: i currently intern for Harper’s Bazaar and i love it dearly, i really do!  i also know that designing for a magazine isnt really designing at all–or rather I know it now.  there’s a good reason why each page and every issue looks almost EXACTLY like the one before…they use templates..go figure. and maybe that was common sense for you and maybe im just the naive graphic designer that wanted it to be so much more than it actually was! who knows. i just wish theyd throw out those stupid temps and actually start to design!!! it kills me.

and OMG. ok so!!!!!! did you know that graphic design (in the magazine world) ranks dead last on the hierarchy scale of importance!! Yeah, that’s right..we don’t really matter.  Check it out! We know how to use the programs, like legitimately know how they work but the editors (be that E-in-C [provided she ever left her office] fashion, beauty, and yes, even COPY editors) tell us how to “fix” the layout. it blows. meh, it’s just so stupid it makes me so angry. the entire thing..it makes no sense!! and i can’t be the only one to see it.  
you can go and continue to read your Harper’s, subscribe to your teen vogues, and cut up your Elle magazines but for real design we must turn to cool, little, some independent, magazines such as:

lulamag 
i-d (a little more main stream)

actually..fuck it! just go to Barns and Noble and look at any UK//European non-American magazine for inspiration on how to make layouts interesting and how to stay away! from the everyday mass american publication style.

ps. i’d post pictures.. if i knew how! lol not so wordpress savy but atleast i finally logged in.