Carson Final

Christina Visconti 11/17/09
Computer Graphics Professor Klinkowstein

David Carson is a graphic designer, born on September 8th, 1955, in Corpus Christi, Texas, but grew up in New York City. Carson traveled all over the world in his youth because of his father’s career. Carson was not originally planning on being an artist. He first worked as a sociology teacher and was a professional surfer as well. His involvement in surfing led him to his earlier jobs, directing skateboarding and surfing magazines and the 1980s. Carson began his career with graphic design in 1980 when he took a two week graphic design course at the University of Arizona. He continued to study design at San Diego University and Oregon College of Commercial Art. In 1983, Carson traveled to Switzerland to study Sociology, and met his first great influence in design, Hans-Rudolph Lutz.
Most of David Carson’s most well known work has a lot to do with typography. Carson uses a wide variety of typefaces and sizes in many of his works. Over the years he has gained a great reputation for this and is now known as one of the greatest designers of the 90s. His involvement in RayGun, an internationally known magazine with a focus on music and its accompanying lifestyles, helped him to gain attention in the design world, as he designed the first 30 issues. He quickly accrued a long list of clients who wanted his work, including high profile companies such as Nike, Pepsi Cola, and Mercedes-Benz.
David Carson has also published four books on design. The End of Print, published in 1995, was co-created by Carson and Lewis Blackwell and is now the best-selling graphic design book worldwide. His three other books, 2nd Sight (1997), Fotografiks (1999), and Trek (2000), have further established him in the field of design. In fact, Carson has won over 170 awards for his work to date. Carson still works in New York, but runs his own company, David Carson Design, Inc., which also has offices in Del Mar, California, and Zurich, Switzerland.
Carson’s work set a precedent for all typography work in graphic design to come after. His lack of fear to play with words in his art helped him to develop his own style and set him apart from many other designers at the time. He made it acceptable to use letters and words instead of imagery to get the point across. Because of this, his work is highly sought after and has inspired many other artists, as well. His work is based off of instinct most of the time, experimentation with overlapping of images and different layouts of text.
Simplicity is huge part of Carson’s work. Less is more seems to be the mantra when he creates his images. His work does not need to be complex in order to catch and keep attention, because he arranges the elements of it in an interesting way, breaking the norms. He is mostly known for his work with typography, though it is not the only type of work that he produces. Carson also creates logos and works with flash animation and even photography as well.
The poster that Carson created for the documentary Helvetica by Gary Hustwit is an example of how he uses the less is more theory, with only the title and creator as the text, but arranges in a visually jarring way, layered over a faded image of food that is not very clear to the viewer. The black and white text is simple and does not take away from the strange but interesting composition of the text and allows the viewer to focus on piecing together the letters to form the words in their own minds.
David Carson’s poster for the Obama campaigns is both easier and harder to read than the poster for Helvetica. The words are all together and arranged in a way that would be simple to read, were it not blocked out by a hulking black figured painted over it, with a question mark beside it. The words in the background speak of hope and change, but the writing over it asks “Can he do it?” as if Carson does not actually believe that Obama can bring hope and change definitely.
Carson’s advertisement for Raybans is not very obvious. The viewer reads the word “orbs” and may not know immediately what it means. Then it comes into focus that the O is actually part of a pair of sunglasses. But we could interpret this in two different ways, the orb is the circular shape of the sunglasses, or the sunglasses are protecting you form the orb that is the Sun. The bright yellow coloring of the background lends to this interpretation as it disappears underneath the lens of the sunlgasses.

Class Notes 3

Illustrator - vector based (infinite possibilities) mathematical equation. can be scaled (enlarged or made smaller) without losing quality
Photoshop - raster based (grid) (becomes pixelized when enlarged)

Start big, Print small.

Highlights, ALWAYS HAVE DETAIL IN HIGHLIGHTS.
Shadows, also need detail. No blacking out of shadows.
Midtones, good gradation of tones.

Human eye can see more than more digital cameras
1000:1 contrast ratio
Cameras 100:1 contrast ratio (magazines/print)
Newspaper 20-30:1 contrast ratio

Design Principles
facilitation - to not control, but make ease for others to take control
control - to have complete control

inflection point - like a turning point

facilitation - no original content, facilitation for others content, (Win7 site) Biggest media company in the world, Google.

control - last year at marienbad

Singularity
- Computational terms change
- Every 18 months, capacity of computational functions doubles.

Latte Cups

I don't even drink coffee, but I want this cup. Entered in the Melitta Lattea competition, this cup is probably one of the prettiest coffee cups that I've ever seen. I'm a huge fan of simplicity and this cup takes the cake on that.



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Urban Benches

Alexandre Moronnoz's series, Urban Seating, looks cool. But is it comfortable? Strangely enough, it seems like it might be. Plus, they're environmentally friendly, which seems like it's a big selling point on pretty much anything these days.



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Wall growth.

Want plants but have nowhere to put them? Like to look at yourself? Then the Grass Mirror is for you! h2o architectes have designed this piece as a way to contemplate the world and it's take on nature. A reflected view, chopped up by bits of nature, though I'm not quite sure of what it's trying to get across, whether it be an introspective look at oneself, or a look at the world as we know it (not very green.)



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iPhone Tour Guide

Of course there's an app for that. This particular app seems a bit more interesting than useful to me. A database of interesting architecture, based upon your iPhone's current location. It takes the GPS of where you are and points out architecture it thinks it interesting, and even gives you some background information on it. It's free to try, so why not?



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Canned Sound

This is not what you think of when you think of speakers. I can't imagine what they actually sound like, but it brings me back to the days of childhood, playing telephone through two cans connected by a piece of string. Those things never ever worked.



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This is Beautiful.

Mark Mawson has taken something that people have obviously done before, and re-created it. These photographs really fill the viewer with awe, stunned at the moment in time that is being portrayed for them. I think that all of these shots are beautiful and amazingly composed.



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Your very own subway sign!

Subway signs are simple. And that's what modern art is all about, right? Simplicity? So why did it take us so long to figure out that we could use Subway signs as art? It's begging for us to do that. I mean, it IS New York City after all. Everything is art, even the signage on the street (or under it I suppose.)



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High Security

In many movies you might see a high tech secured room protected by all sorts of systems. Fingerprints, retina scans. But who thinks about vein scans? Hitachi did. No need for keys anymore, when a machine can see inside your fingers and read your veins!



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Boxee Too Big?

DVRs and the like are very popular right about now. People are busy and like to watch their favorite shows on their own time, not when the networks dictate it. But Boxee's new product seems a little bit too much. Where are people gonna put it? It seems far to big and strangely shaped to fit on anyone's entertainment systems. But will this have a negative effect on its sales?



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Toast Printer

Never before have I wanted a toaster so badly. Designed by Othmar Mühlebach, this toaster took second at the Berger Design Awards. I would have given it first and then promptly taken it home with me to make some toast! Clever and useful, this little appliance is the perfect thing for the computer nerd who loves breakfast.



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New-Fangled Gingerbread Houses

Fake Christmas trees, and now this? The modernization of Christmas is kind of disheartening, but in this case, I'm intrigued. These gingerbread houses look like something I'd want to actually live in! An added bonus, these are in a competition, but will be auctioned off, and the proceeds will go to charity.



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High Class Flying

I've never flown on anything other than coach, so this plane kind of blows my mind. Emirates' super-deluxe A380 is the ultimate in luxury, for flying at least. Each seat has a built in massager, there are bathrooms with showers, and huge TV screens for each seat. Jet Blue has nothing on these planes.



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United Books of America!

Now THIS is an interesting way of organizing books. Do it by state! All my favorite books would go in New York of course. Not so sure how I would fit anything in Long Island, though. Maybe a pamphlet or two? Certainly an interesting way to store books, though maybe not the most space saving.



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Russian Cell Phone Dolls

Kyle Bean's Russian Cell Phone Dolls may not be made to scale, but he certainly gets his point across. His models get smaller and smaller as they fit inside of each other, portraying the gradual "down-sizing" that we have all come to see in the revolution of cellphones.



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Abandoned Shopping Centers

I've always been a big fan of the photography of abandoned buildings. And while most of these images seem creepy and haunted to me, the imagery by photographer Brian Ulrich, is more natural to me. Nothing seems to be wrong with what I'm seeing in these first few photographs, it's simply a day where no one is shopping. And honestly, working in retail, I'd be okay with that kind of day.

But in all seriousness, these photographs evoke a certain calmness that I really enjoy seeing.



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ABC Brands

Designer Jason Dean recently created this poster, "The ABC's of Branding." You'll definitely notice some of your favorite (and least favorite) companies on there. I love this because it really shows how much we need and notice company branding in this world. The immediate recognization of most if not all of these logos shows how powerful branding really is.



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Christmas Tree Art

I've never seen Christmas trees that look like this before, but the "Oh Tannenbaum" 6th Christmas Tree Exhibition has some pretty interesting stuff inside of it. Like the saw tree, for example. Now if that's not irony then I don't know what is! It's good to see new interpretations of old traditions.




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Aspirational Goals

- Learn to play guitar
- Travel to Europe (specifically England)
- Publish a book of my photographs
- Design my own house
- Own an Audi dealership

David Carson

David Carson is a graphic designer born on September 8th, 1955 in Corpus Christi, Texas, but grew up in New York City. Carson traveled all over the world in his youth because of his father’s career. Carson was not originally planning on being an artist. He first worked as a sociology teacher and was a professional surfer as well. His involvement in surfing led him to his earlier jobs, directing skateboarding and surfing magazines and the 1980s. Carson began his career with graphic design in 1980 when he took a two week graphic design course a the University of Arizona. He continued to study design at San Diego University and Oregon College of Commercial Art.

Most of David Carson’s most well known work has a lot to do with typography. Carson uses a wide variety of typefaces and sizes in many of his works. Over the years he has gained a great reputation for this and is now known as one of the greatest designers of the 90s. His involvement in RayGun, an internationally known magazine with a focus on music and its accompanying lifestyles, helped him to gain attention in the design world. He quickly accrued a long list of clients who wanted his work, including high profile companies such as Nike, Pepsi Cola, and Mercedes-Benz.

David Carson has also published four books on design. The End of Print, published in 1995, was co-created by Carson and Lewis Blackwell and is now the best-selling graphic design book worldwide. His three other books, 2nd Sight (1997), Fotografiks (1999), and Trek (2000), have further established him in the field of design. In fact, Carson has won over 170 awards for his work to date. Carson still works in New York, but runs his own company, David Carson Design, Inc., which also has offices in Del Mar, California, and Zurich, Switzerland.

Carson’s work set a precedent for all typography work in graphic design to come after. His lack of fear to play with words in his art helped him to develop his own style and set him apart from many other designers at the time. He made it acceptable to use letters and words instead of imagery to get the point across. Because of this, his work is highly sought after and has inspired many other artists, as well.





http://www.davidcarsondesign.com/?dcdc=top/s

Recycled Wood Stools

These wooden stools designed by Nicolai Czumaj-Bront are made entirely of recycled wood. Each stool has the same form, but no two stools are alike. These unique seats show that you can create something of substantial style and substance out of waste that no one else could use.



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Agricultural Waste Has Some More Use

Who knew that agricultural waste could smell good? Designer Gilles Belley has created a series of objects that use agricultural waste to diffuse fragrance into the air or absorb unpleasant odors. This is certainly recycling at its finest, these items don't look like they were ever waste at all.




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Hand Warmer, Function Without Style?

So I understand that in the winter, your hands get cold, and gloves can be a hassle when you try to do things with your hands. I'm sure that this USB rechargeable hand warmer does the trick, but at what cost? I sure wouldn't be caught dead walking around with this thing on my hands.



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Metal Cans, Outdated?

I've never thought about it much, but on core77.com they bring up a good point. Why do we still package paint in metal cans? They're so difficult to close and open again when you need to continue painting or do touchups. The EcoPrazi lid is not only an easy way to store your paint, but it also stores the paintbrush that you used, so you don't need to wash it and waste all the paint still left on it.

Vision in White

I've often wished that I had the money to completely redesign my room every few months, but I've never thought that much about white. This apartment designed by I-Beam Design is a vision in white, almost more of a gallery than an apartment. So simple I think I could probably recreate it with a little trip to Ikea.



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Rearview Cameras?

We all know what a rearview mirror is. But a rearview camera? Now that's news to me. Not only is this a cool technological upgrade to a car, but this also helps reduce drag on the car and increase fuel efficiency. Though it would certainly take a while to get used to looking at a screen inside your car as opposed to a mirror outside your car. I even look for my rearview mirrors when I'm not driving!



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Stackers

I love to see new takes on older ideas. David J. Irwin's new stackable aluminum chairs are simplicity at it's finest. There is always a way to create a useful product that is appealing to the eye as well, and Irwin certainly achieved that with these chairs.



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Quite The Illusion

Felice Varini has created an illusion the size of an entire town. As I found on core77.com he has created an optical illusion that is one correctly viewed room from one singular point. From any other views it just looks like a bunch of random lines on buildings. Pretty cool.

"There's an app for that."

Now this is taking Apple's slogan for iPhone apps to a whole new level. An application which shows you the best car to get on in the subway for your fastest exit from it when you get to your destination. I honestly do believe now that there's an app for everything!

High Class High Chair?

Does your baby REALLY need the most high tech and up to date accessories? Things like the MacLaren strollers (which can be over 200 dollars!) and baby clothes that cost more than they ever should, seem to be taking things a little bit too far. I suppose that it's useful, but honestly, does your kid need the coolest looking high chair on the block? I'm pretty sure the other babies don't care much about how their high chair looks, and I doubt your baby will either, so why spend the money on that?

Strollers with Style:
Juicy Couture
Kate Spade



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Going out of style

In this article, The New York Times asks us what products will be rendered useless by the progression of technology. Gas cars? Newspapers? Books? Well, what about phone booths? I don't think I've ever even used a pay phone in my life, let alone recently. Nowadays pretty much everyone's got a cell phone, and the pay phone seems to be becoming obsolete. So what do we do with them? One clever idea is to turn them into charging stations for people to use when their phones or computer run out of charge. The government in Spain is actually putting this idea into action.

Portable Stoop

This is not your average park bench. It's not even your average stoop, but that's because it's portable. Yes, a portable stoop. Josh Owen has created this light white stoop as a means of seating anywhere. But would you really want to bring that with you somewhere? It seems awfully large and annoying to travel with. Am I missing the point?



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Scarf With Pockets

Wintercheck Factory has come up with a great idea, for some people. This scarf with hidden pockets is a great idea, for people who don't carry a lot of stuff to begin with. I'm a girl who carries around a huge bag with at least 3 other bags inside of it! This thing is not capable of that capacity. Maybe just as a way to keep the most important things within reach, but certainly not as a replacement.



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Retro Headphones

I've posted before about headphones, and it's simply because I love headphones, but these ones really grab my attention (and make me want to buy them.) WeSC has designed these headphones to look retro, but still perform at the height of digital technology. They come in a great range of colors. These ones are definitely my favorite, though.



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Solar Parking

No, not parking on the Sun. Parking lots underneath giant solar panels, to keep your car cool, preventing it from baking under the sun all day long. I love this idea, because then I don't have to blast my A/C for a solid ten minutes when I get back into my car. I'd like Hofstra to think about this in the warmer months. I'm sure we could use the energy.



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Bicycle Transport

It may have been quite a long time since I've ridden a bicycle for more than 10 minutes, but if I were an avid biker, like my father (he's crazy,) I would more definitely need this in my life. The AeroTech Evolution bicycle case looks pretty complicated, but from the little I learned about bicycles growing up, it looks genius. Shame that it's over a thousand dollars, or I'd know what I'm getting my Dad for Christmas.



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Stone Bluetooth

Most of the time, bluetooth kind of freaks me out. I never really know whether someone is talking on their phone or to themselves, or even to me. But even I can get behind a good design. Designed by Johan Birge, the stone bluetooth headset is a smooth and simple design. I'm not sure how comfortable the design really is, or even if it would fit everyone. I personally have issues with most headsets, my ears being smaller than the average person. I may never actually find a use for a bluetooth headset, being that I'm not much of a phone person to begin with, but this one certainly might be in the running.




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Space saving?

This interesting post on core77.com is less about the product and more about the terms used to describe it. The design featured, a "space saving" new spice rack, which doesn't seem to save much space at all.
The author of the post questions the design, saying " Is it me, or does it take up just about the same amount of space as it would if it had a lower shelf, and the jars on the bottom were not inverted? What are you saving, half an inch?" I for one agree with him. All this seems like to me is a fancy magnetic spice rack, and I'm pretty sure that's all there really is to it.