davidthedesigner

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.

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.

does life imitate art, or vice versa?

More white stripes - from miss_kcc.

the white stripes

Fascinating. The work of Zander Olsen.

(Found via vormplatform.)

olympic gold

I've been doing a bit of sorting out recently (in a vain attempt to become a little more like Alix), and I came across this lovely little book. It's a catalogue (measuring 115mm x 153mm) for the Hundertwasser Exhibition which toured New Zealand and Australia during 1973 and '74. I bought it in Germany in 1974 (or maybe it was 1975: you know, I was there, so I don't remember).

Actually, for something that was printed in the 1970s, the production quality is amazing (including lots of foil blocking). So much so that I really think I ought to send it to Richard, who I'm sure would make a far more eloquent assessment of it's print qualities.

But the reason for me showing it to you is to let you know about the poster that Hundertwasser designed for the 1972 Munich Olympics. Here it is. And I want you to read Hundertwasser's description of how it came about.

Isn't that lovely?

five alive

Well, here I am - five years old today and just about managing to hold on to the notion of blogging. Whether I'll manage to hold out for another five, only time will tell. Because I do get a very real sense that blog years must be equal to at least 15 regular years, if not more. Not least because those I started out with are beginning to fade away: not all of them, by any means; but many seem to have lost the will to post, or at least post on a regular basis. And I'm not at all sure that the same won't happen to me. I'll try my best not to let that happen, though. Because I really would miss all the good things, and all the good people, that this blog has brought my way.

In the meantime, and assuming that you're still with me, thank you for listening.

popping up all over the place (but mostly in america)

I still haven't made any decision on what I might do about a print version of the 52 fonts, but it's nice to see that the project continues to have a life of its own. Just in the past week it's been quoted by Scott Miller at the University of California, San Diego and BiblioBuffet.

Any other countries like to join in?

this afternoon i have mostly been listening to...

vantheman.

could this be the end of the road?