Years of experience distilled in a moment
Five things from this week
1: One! Hundred! Demons!
I just finished reading One! Hundred! Demons! by Lynda Barry. It’s heartbreaking but filled with hope. You should read it.
At the end of the book she writes briefly about the ink and brush she used to create the drawings. She includes a photo of her brushes with an arrow pointing to the third one and a note that says, “The demons came out of this one.”
The drawings were just coming out of her brush? What?! Were they stuck in there? Did she have to coax them out or were they begging to be released? Did they gallop out gracefully or trip and stumble onto the page?
This casual note might explain what happens when her brush hits the paper but it doesn’t mention anything about what led up to that moment. The demons came out of this one doesn’t say anything about her lived experiences or what she’s learned from years of drawing.
Warm or cold air comes out of my vents with the press of a button. I hardly ever think about the system that heats, cools and circulates air through my house. Architects, builders, electricians and HVAC experts had to work together to allow this type of climate control. I’m doing a simple thing to bring a complicated thing to life.
So yes, the drawings came out of this one, but what allows for this kind of ink flow is the internal HVAC system Lynda Barry has built from years of writing, drawing and making comics.
Years of experience distilled in a moment.
Paula Scher made the iconic Citi logo on a napkin during a meeting with the client.
She said, “It took me a few seconds to draw it, but it took me 34 years to learn how to draw it in a few seconds.”
Years of experience distilled in a moment.
The demons came out of this one and the Citi napkin sketch help me understand the amount of time, dedication and work it takes to be able to do this kind of distilling. It’s humbling because it makes me feel so young and inexperienced. Paula Scher has been designing professionally longer than I’ve been alive. At the same time it’s encouraging because these stories reveal that putting in the time is worth it.
This helps me reorient my priorities from quick career and financial growth to slow and steady personal growth.
I could go on about this but I’ll stop here. I like that this newsletter is a snapshot of the ideas and experiments from my week and not polished essays or even complete thoughts sometimes. I like that “five things” forces me to condense ideas, words and images. I hope you like that, too. Thanks for being here!
2: Is it a bubble?
I showed this animation to my wife and she said, “Is it a bubble?” I said, “I’m not sure, I just drew it.”
What do you think?
3: No Soliciting! (please and thank you)
Lately a lot of people have been coming to our house trying to sell stuff. It blows my mind companies believe showing up unannounced at my front door is a legitimate way to get business. I decided to solve our walking, talking, breathing advertisement problem using visual communication:
This sign was on our front door for two days before I realized I spelled soliciting wrong. Watch out, that third i will get ya.
I had to remake the sign because no professional solicitor will take a misspelled sign seriously. I took the opportunity to more throughly express my feelings:
I presented my work of art to Carly and she said, “Ha! It’s a little rude. Can you make it more polite?” So I did.
I have no idea if this will work because these signs remind me of The Simpsons:
4: Zines, zines, zines and more zines
The Madison Print and Resist Zinefest was yesterday!
I had such a great time sharing a table with some graphic design students from UW-Madison. The students (Erin, Maile, Malee and Eamonn) did a great job at their first zinefest.
I always love talking to people that approach the table. Someone picked up The ‘How to Make a Zine’ Zine, read it, laughed out loud and said, “Yeah, thanks a lot ya jerk.” Someone else picked up Type Size Zine, their eyes got big and they said, “This is the most useful thing I’ve ever seen!”
We got some great stuff, saw old friends and discovered new artists. Bernie & Zuzu, Sean & Mel Dempsey, John Porcellino, Emily Balsley, Mordecai Book Building and Julianne Griepp.
wrote a post full of great reminders about trying to sell stuff at these types of events and all the insecurity, excitement and imposter feelings that come along with it. Click this link to read it.FWIW it’s pronounced zeen, not zyne. It’s short for fanzine or magazine.
5: Animation
“Animation is a medium, not a genre.” –Guillermo del Toro
Click here to read a really great article about this thing we call "animation" from
ALSO:
Last week
suggested that the Nice Weather Paperweight should be a ceramic dish. I love that idea. Does anyone know anything about ceramics?!This cake-shaped zine may help you have your happiest birthday yet – NPR
We got cans with new branding in a package with old branding…
“I can’t watch that, I’m allergic to dogs.”
I loved getting to read about Lynda Barry's Brush and will definitely need to check out her book. The Citi Bank logo was also so encouraging. Thank you for sharing.
you should try a miel latte! honey + cinnamon = :)