Charge it, please

"I am Eloise. I am six. I am a city child. I live at the Plaza Hotel." And so opens the hilarious tale of the precocious troublemaker in Eloise (1955), aka one of my all-time favorite books as a child. Along with her pug Weenie and turtle Skipperdee, Eloise takes readers through her daily adventures (and misadventures) around 1950s New York City. She is brought to life through beautifully expressive illustrations by fellow Long Island-native, Hilary Knight. The drawings are as charming as they are hilarious; Eloise "skibbless", "skidders", and "scampers" around the pages in whimsical black and white, accented with just the right amount of pink.

I have a number of blog posts in the making, but seeing as I am "rawther tired tired tired", I think I may have to postpone till tomorrow. Cheerio!

And the Oscar goes to.....

Actually, there isn't really an Academy Award for best opening credits, but don't you think there should be? Especially given these fabulous candidates! I mean Saul Bass--HELLO! He is truly the father of motion graphics, famously creating opening animations for The Man With The Golden Arm (1955), The Seven Year Itch (1955), Vertigo (1958), Anatomy of a Murder (1959), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), and Advise & Consent (1962).


The Man With The Golden Arm
This is probably Bass' most famous and regarded opening sequence. Using simple shapes and forms, he still manages to capture the mood of the film.

The Seven Year Itch
This animation would be considered so primitive by today's standards, and yet at the time was totally innovative. I still think is is super adorable!






  

Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Today, after a brief hiatus of oh maybe twenty to thirty years, creative well-designed motion graphics and kinetic type pieces are making a comeback, especially in film. Many even directly reference the motion pieces of the 1950s and 60s, as with the amazingly clever opening credits for the 60s era Catch Me If You Can. The designers, Paris-based animators Olivier Kuntzel and Florence Deygas, meticulously recreated the period look.  Even Kuntzel notes, ''Spielberg wanted a sequence in the spirit of that '60s era, like Saul Bass." Well, they sure delivered.

 

You know the drill. Daily Drop Cap "A". Allelujah.

Bust a (Nursery) Rhyme

Georgie Porgie pudding and pie,
Kissed the girls and made them cry
When the boys came out to play,
Georgie Porgie ran away. 

-17th century nursery rhyme

That one actually has a pretty scandalous story behind it....oooh la la. Ok, back to business. Nursery rhymes and poetry books have been popular among children for years, and it is no doubt thanks to beautiful illustrations like those of Jessie Wilcox Smith, the American artist and illustrator. Smith's subjects are often innocent portrayals of children, as with her illustrations for Mother Goose, Alice in Wonderland, and other children's fairytales. Smith is also well-known for poster campaigns for the Red Cross during World War I. At a time characterized by fear and suffering, Smith's comforting images of family and home helped with the American war effort. She also was a contributing artist for Good Housekeeping magazine and the Ladies Home Journal, illustrating covers from 1917 through 1933. As a child, I had an alphabet book that featured her lovely illustrations which I always loved to peruse (especially that Good Housekeeping cover with the two girls reading--that one has always been a favorite!). Her work has definitely had an impact on my illustration style so thanks Jessie!

 

No time to be creative.....aka back to The Daily Drop Cap. Thanks Jessica Hische for this pretty swirly, twirly "G"!

001 Country Per Year

I am using this post as a little shout out to Flight 001, which is a really amazing travel design company that I am currently interning at. While I work in many different facets of the company's design department, from product, pattern, package, and web design, one of my favorite things to design is for their sub-brand 001 Country Per Year. The goal of this brand is to encourage people to travel to one new country every year! Check them out!

 

Here are mockups for some souvenir-style pins I have been designing. These will eventually be narrowed down to have one pin for every single country. Now that's a lot of pen-tooling.

Designer Profile: Mélangerie Inc.

'Tis the season.....for weddings!

I can't help it -- I love a good wedding. Especially now that everyone is a-buzz about the soon-to-be-royal wedding. And while little old ladies in London are pre-ordering their William and Kate china, locals, Elana and Lesley of Mélangerie Inc. are busy creating some of the most lovely and creative wedding paperie on the market!

Mélangerie Inc. is a Brooklyn-based design consultancy that specializes in bespoke paperie, gifts, memorabilia and event details for all occasions, big and small. Their work has been featured in Martha Stewart Weddings, Daily Candy Weddings, Real Simple Weddings, Town & Country Weddings, Brides Magazine, New York Brides (clearly, lots of love from happy brides!), Target, and the GAP, among others.

This past fall semester, I was fortunate to work with Mélangerie as a design intern. Even before I met Elana and Lesley, I was aware of their work and knew them to be purveyors of whimsical custom paperie, deliciously illustrated screenprints, and fine art prints.  It was love at first tote bag. So when I heard they were looking for an intern, I jumped at the opportunity! I can honestly say that my experience at Mélangerie was a true delight. Personally, I could not ask for two sweeter or funnier bosses!

Unlike many interns who fetch and re-fetch coffee and make photocopies all day, I really felt valued as both an artist and designer and was constantly challenged to think creatively. I collaborated on a variety of visual projects including web and print design, and assisted at photo shoots, trunk shows, and client meetings. I was even given the opportunity to conceptualize, design, and produce a holiday parlor game that was featured on the popular Daily Candy Blog. Not only has my portfolio of work benefited from this internship, but the experience of working in a professional creative environment has given me many opportunities to present my work to the larger design world. I have also learned so much about the industry that can only be experienced outside the classroom, including basic business and networking skills, as well as successful press and promotion.

Visit Mélangerie's website to see their latest projects and check out their Etsy and NewlyWish  storefronts!

Gustav Klimt: The Original Bohemian

Aside from being one of my all-time FAVORITE artists of the 20th century, Gustav Klimt has been sneaking his little bohemian Austrian head back into fashion design of recent years. His portraits of women have a distinctly modern look, mixing influences of Eastern tribal art and bold geometric shapes with romantic florals. As a leader of the Vienna Secession movement, Klimt helped guide the "bohemian spirit" throughout Europe. One cannot help but note similarities between Klimt's brilliant jewel-toned patterns speckled with gold to the couture collections of Oscar de la Renta, Anna Sui, Christian Dior, and most recently Ralph Lauren. For his Fall 2010 collection, Lauren elevated "Boho chic" mixing gold embellished floral gowns with Edwardian tailoring, beaded necklaces, beanies, and fingerless gloves, achieving a look that has been described as "Bohemian gypsy".

Even at this month's Academy Awards, which often establishes the fashion styles for the coming season, more than one starlet paid homage to Klimt. Both Cate Blanchett and Gwyneth Paltrow looked positively ravishing in gowns that combined structured tailoring with delicate femininity. And gold.

 

For this Drop Cap, I directly referenced the beautiful geometric patterns characteristic of Gustav Klimt's paintings. The "A" was inspired by letterforms of the Vienna Sezessionstil.

part & parcel

Check out this AMAZING stop motion video created by Part & Parcel for the Kate Spade: Live Colorfully Campaign.

"Each month in 2011 Kate Spade will be collaborating with different artists and designers to create short films based on a color. We were given Pink for the month of February of course. We “blacked” out the windows at studio and got to work with frequent collaborator Ian McAlpin on this stop motion piece."

LOVE IT!!!!!!!