davidthedesigner

the drawbacks of being a designer #4

As you'll have seen (if you're paying attention at the back there), I was on out on the road yesterday morning. And as well as seeing Angie tootling by, I got stuck for a while behind a Waitrose lorry. And there was something that caught my eye. Something that wasn't quite right.

Can you see what it is?

Well I'll tell you: whoever had applied the vehicle graphics had managed to get the s in the logo upside down. And more to the point, it was bugging me. And it bugs me still.

You see, only a typographer would know that there was anything wrong. The rest of you don't know how lucky you are.

And if you don't believe me, this is how it should be:

things in life that i completely fail to understand #8

Well maybe I was wrong about those white range rovers being predominently a man thing. For yesterday I spotted one on its way to be united with Angie (there were trade plates in the front):

Admittedly it's not quite so pimped up as many others I've seen - but hey, Angie, you're going to need to take out a car wash season ticket if you're going to be driving that thing around Hammersmith on wet January mornings. Mind you, like the men, I bet you've got well trimmed hair in a certain place - perhaps so well trimmed that there's none at all, if you see what I mean :)

the fine art of spotting hearts, and suchlike

Apropos my orange spot that I was talking about last week (of which more later), it perhaps comes as no surprise just how many times Milton Glaser's brilliant original 'I heart NY' concept has been appropriated by others down the years.

Why, here are just a few:

i spot dh t-shirts (or the spot is calling the kettle black)

Remember my bit of fun with the 'orange spot' t-shirt last week? Well the heavy hand at Hirst headquarters has beaten me around the head and threatened me with an 'infringement of copyright' notice.

Which sort of makes me wonder why he thinks it might be fair for him to do it, but it's not, apparently, fair for me to do it.

After all, the orange spot could just as legitimately be claimed as the copyright of david the designer (it's been there a long time):

And there's no law, as far as I'm aware, that prohibits me (or anyone else) from using the font American Typewriter. So maybe it's my initials, DH, that he's claiming sole rights to? Go tell that to David Hockney.

Anyway, it seems to me to be just a little bit rich coming from someone who has the brass neck to appropriate (like hundreds before him) and then lay claim to Milton Glaser's brilliant original concept as well as every damned spot under the sun.

So since we can't have the spot, let's have something else instead:

Oh, and by the way, if I ever do sell any of these t-shirts (which, to be frank, I consider to be highly unlikely) I'll donate all the profits to charity. You know, sort of like Damien Hirst had to do when he got into copyright trouble over that sculpture.

happy new year!

Image half-inched from Culture Victoria (I hope they don't mind).

A very happy new year of the dragon to you all. May it bring you health, perhaps a little wealth, and maybe more than just a smattering of good cheer.

Being an ox, my relationship with dragons is apparently one of uphill struggle. Oh well.

speaking of spots...

...as I was.

Which reminds me of the old joke:
How did Bob Marley like his doughnuts?

Wi' jam in.

this made me smile #174

Sunshine pills by Vaulot&Dyèvre.

the sliding scale

I expect you've noticed that it went a little quiet around here prior to last Friday. It's a sign of one of the small changes that happened to me in 2011: the failed discipline of making myself (or a guest blogger) post at least every working day of the week. But in a way it neatly summarises my relationship with 2011: it was a year of small changes and nothing very much happening. I went into it thinking that it was going to be a year of enormous change. Which it was for millions of people around the globe. A year of momentous changes, and very few of them for the better. And here am I contemplating that nothing very much happened. Maybe after all that's an achievement by itself.

And I stopped talking about design very much, as well. Did you notice that? But after all, what was there to talk about. It was hardly a vintage year for design, was it? Can you remember anything you saw and immediately thought "I wish I'd done that"? No, I can't either. It was more likely an inward sigh and a thought of "well, at least the money must be good". Lucky for those who can sniff it out.

But 2011 had to be about something, didn't it? And I'll tell you what it was for me: the year of being surveyed.

I couldn't move without being asked to fill out an online survey about the 'brand experience' I'd just enjoyed. Brand experience, my ass.

You know what? I caught a coach. From one city to another (and back again). Not something that I do very often. But enough to catch the attention of the National Express brand police. Could I complete a short online survey to help them to improve the 'brand experience'?. Sure, no problem. Question: 'did you use the on-board toilet?' (or words to that effect). Answer: 'No'. Next question: 'did you find the toilet to be in a clean condition?' (or words to that effect), 'yes' or 'no'. And so it went on, five more questions about the toilet, each to be answered yes or no. And I can't move on to the next page of the survey until I've answered all these toilet questions. Oh, OK, I'll just make them up then. Anything to keep you happy. But I'll make sure not to use the toilet next time I catch one of your coaches.

And what about the BBC? They're no better either when it comes to nonsensical survey questions. 'How often do you visit the BBC site for local news?'. Easy: once or twice a day (I like to keep abreast of what's going on around me). 'What do I like or dislike about the site?'. Oh, it's getting harder. Now I've got to have opinions about it. Can't I just have a look, catch up with the news and get out again (preferably as quickly as possible)? No, I thought not. 'How easy is to find sports news?'. Look, buddy, you're talking to a man who's dedicated his whole life to the avoidance of sports news. Can I get out of this survey now, please?

And so it went on. Completely disgruntled on a scale of one to ten.

And what's 2012 got lined up for us? Oh yes, I forgot. That.

Sigh.

this made me cross-eyed #7

Available from here, should you feel the need to own one.

Oh, and yappy hew near.