January 2010
65 posts
Scale Issues
The general public perception of NASA is that it’s an inefficient, unnecessary drain on the US budget. How bad a drain? Bad Astronomy quotes The Space Review:
In a just-completed study, we asked respondents what percentage of the national budget is allocated to NASA … NASA’s allocation, on average, was estimated to be approximately 24% of the national budget (the NASA allocation in 2007 was...
Feedburner
Hi Folks,
Just popping in here quickly to ask the RSS-included readers to update their RSS address to this feedburner one: http://feeds.feedburner.com/fchimero
The old feed will continue to work, so no action is needed, but I’d appreciate if you’d switch over so I can get some information, like if anyone is reading this thing.
Thanks,
Frank
10 Ideas in January
I’m taking a break from the blog this week, because I need to put some glue in my chair and get some work done. I thought this would be a good time to take the ideas that have been maturing in the blog the past month and summarize. The ideas have been flying a mile a minute around here lately, and it’s time to slow down, reiterate and try to make these ideas stick in my head. (This is...
“You don’t like ideas? Why would you be creating a magazine if you don’t like...”
– Another gem from George Lois:
“The design was the idea. I don’t design, if you know what I mean. If you want Andy Warhol being devoured by his own fame in a can of Cambell’s soup, you just put the can there and you have him drowning in it. Case closed. You’re knocked down by the idea, and the fact...
“Fundamentally I teach because it makes me feel good. It’s helped me certainly...”
– Milton Glaser
“When learning something new, many students will think, ‘Damn, this is hard for...”
– Aaron Hillegass’s Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X
Some things are just, well, hard.
Inertia
Frank: Sent. Finally found that old email. Funny. It was from January 28, 2009. Almost a year ago.
Duane: Wow.
Frank: I don't know if this is an example of time moving quickly or things moving slowly.
Duane: Exactly!
Frank: I've felt this way about everything lately.
Duane: Time. What an odd concept.
Frank: It's rushed past. It's crawled by. Both at the same time.
Duane: Right on the cusp. Always on the cusp
Frank: Every thing that happens gets you half way there. But you can split something in half for infinity and never get there.
Duane: Ugh. So damn true. So close, yet so far. We're never really done, are we?
Frank: I guess not, Duane.
“There is much to be gleaned about the artist by the way they create, and that in...”
– The Methods Filter
“The digital revolution allows us to do mass-communication without...”
“Online, the basic trait is interaction and the basic need is connection.”
Making a difference →
bobulate:
For those who have ever heard, “Those who can, do, and those who can’t, teach:” Taylor Mali, on behalf of educators everywhere, on what teachers make:
I make kids work harder than I every thought they could.
I make parents see kids for who they really are.
I make kids wonder.
I make them question.
I make them criticize.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them write write...
Oh Conan, My Conan
Hair illustration by David Penela
Our pal CoCo is in an interesting spot, isn’t he?
His show is through, and whatever he chooses to do next is going to have a massive amount of momentum behind it. His fans are rallied.
But his fans are also a bit of an enigma. For the most part, they’re between 20 and 40, and I’d venture to say post-big-media. The paradox is that Conan has...
0D 1D 2D 3D 4D
Zero dimension: A dot.
First dimension: A line.
Second dimension: A plane. Height and width.
Third dimension: A form. Depth.
Fourth dimension: Time.
Music, movies, film, video games and performance are 4D. Time is a necessity and a crutch. It creates an experience. It’s good.
Most graphic design is 2D or 3D. It lacks a dimension of time in relation to the audience. Delivering the...
Common Answers for Common Questions
So, the most frequently asked questions. You know, the first 4 questions that always get asked whenever you go see a designer speak. I secretly loathe being asked these questions.
What inspires you? How do you find inspiration?
Everybody’s inspired by the same things: the stuff they come in contact with. No exceptions. If you’re not inspired, you either need a vacation and to leave...
Anonymous asked: How does your time at home/time at studio ratio look? Also, do you own a TV?
Anonymous asked: Mine is a two-part question: Are you represented by an illustration agency? If so, do you feel it's important for illustrators to be represented?
Anonymous asked: You've got one of the most distinct styles I've seen. What advice do you have for a budding designer to help develop their style? How do you stay true to your style and still satisfy the clients needs?
thomasandrewshimko asked: As a visual artist, do you believe you are what you see? We exist in a time where the internet gives us the ability to zoom through an infinite landscape of illustration + photography. Does surfing blogs etc. become a way of practice or study, in the same way a writer would fill their mind by reading books? Do you think the access we have to this pool of imagery waters down/ paralyzes artists, or...
Anonymous asked: Do you ever regret working freelance?
clubsoda asked: Frank,
Did you start freelancing right out of school. And if not, when & why did you make the decision to do so.
I'm currently working at an Ad Agency that really isn't testing my creative limits and I don't feel I'm adding any decent work to my portfolio. I would love to freelance, but only being a year our of college (with a year of ad...
Did you start freelancing right out of school. And if not, when & why did you make the decision to do so.
I'm currently working at an Ad Agency that really isn't testing my creative limits and I don't feel I'm adding any decent work to my portfolio. I would love to freelance, but only being a year our of college (with a year of ad...
Questions Are Back On →
I’ve turned questions back on for the blog. I’ll leave it on for a bit and answer questions through out the day. Looking forward to it!
“Flow is the feed. It’s the posts and the tweets. It’s the stream of daily and...”
– Stock and flow « Snarkmarket
Robin at Snarkmarket hits this out of the park. Way to articulate an idea I’ve been grasping at how to describe, mister.
I get a lot of questions from creatives just beginning (or about to begin) in their respective fields about how to get started...
Confidence for good
What you actively spend time on, and (far more difficult) what you choose not to do, who you choose not to spend time with, and who and what you decide to say no to — what you choose, then — is how you mark time, I believe. We, unlike so many, have the ability to choose. Moment by moment, we can choose who and how we want to be in the world. But we should never do so at the expense of good.
via...
Stephen Malkmus - Jenny & The Ess-Dog...
“I think records were just a little bubble through time and those who made a...”
– Brian Eno Interview, The Observer
De-optimizing
If the 20th century was about optimizing everything, I bet the 21st is about de-optimizing certain things. By de-optimizing, I mean making decisions about what is important, what is useful, and what is a distraction. Then, making the distractions less accessible, harder to get to, and more difficult to embrace. Think of it as a digital Walden. You optimize the important stuff, and de-optimize the...
“China has become a very curious case. As Liu noted to me, “We are included in...”
– Google vs. China - NYTimes.com
China paradox.
“You shouldn’t let other people get your kicks for you.”
– Listening to Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited today. This line pops out amongst the others and knocks the wind out of me. Perfect for the weekend.
WatchFran Lebowitz on Jane Austen. So many doozies in here. Fran Lebowitz is a quote machine. But everyone knows that. A few of my favorites:
…it may be impossible to be popular for the right reasons. You know, anyone who possesses the right reasons would be probably pretty unpopular.
…people are consistently told “What can you learn about your own life from this novel, what lessons will this...
Noted without Comment
Movement of the hands of conductor Riccardo Chailly while conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Mahler’s Symphony No 4, first movement. Carnegie Hall, New York City, 10 February 2000. By Morgan O’Hara. via
Untitled by Saul Steinberg
growdesignwork-deactivated20100 asked: Hi Frank:
I was wondering if you've read this, today?
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/business/smallbusiness/14sbiz.html?ref=business
Is there a way to stay small, sustainable and connected as a designer? Not by giving the customer what they ask for, but by what they actually need?
Hope that makes sense ...
I was wondering if you've read this, today?
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/business/smallbusiness/14sbiz.html?ref=business
Is there a way to stay small, sustainable and connected as a designer? Not by giving the customer what they ask for, but by what they actually need?
Hope that makes sense ...
nerdski asked: I'm scheduled to graduate with my BA in graphic design in the Spring. Any advice for someone who's about to head out in the professional field?
eins-ah asked: Which idea/project/venture happening in the next 12 months are you most excited about?
unrequiredreading asked: How important is it that graphic designers be good at drawing? Will a lack of drawing skills hinder designers in the future with so many talented combination designers/illustrators popping up everywhere?
colleenromike asked: If there was one problem you could solve with design what would it be?
enricolimcaco asked: How do you know when to stop working on an illustration?
randallzaitz asked: As a young creative, do you think it is important to try and find your own specific "style" and only show that on things like a digital portfolio, or is it better to try and be as diverse and experimental as possible? It seems like the lines between illustrator, designer and artist are blurring, and that makes this topic confusing for me.
luxuryluke asked: Why did you decide to go with tumblr as a blogging platform and a few of your biggest concerns/hurdles/sacrifices in making this decision…
stewf asked: As a successful illustrator with a distinctive style I’m sure you find a lot of copycats. What is your attitude when you come across imitation?
thefieldworker asked: Hi Frank! What ratio of time do you spend between 'The Real World' and the 'Sitting in Front of a Computer With Red Eyes World'?
jbrewer asked: When are you coming to SF? And could your little popup studio be here? :)
withoutbones asked: How do you pronounce Chimero? Is it like Chai Tea + the Mero from Camero? Or more like Kai + Mero, like how you say Chimera?
nqa asked: Favorite movie of 2009?
woodswoodswoods asked: What are you looking forward to in Portland, and what will you miss?
waxandmilk asked: Besides Paul Rand and Alvin Lustig, who are some other designers or people in general who inspire you? Sub-question: Why is late 50s/60s design so awesome?
modernevolution asked: Do you have any time-management tips?
strake asked: What do you use for wireframing?
ggamel asked: What would you recommend to younger, less-experienced designers wanting to start selling printed goods? Anything that might help make the venture successful & rewarding would be great ;)