Artists

Clockshop is an arts organization in Los Angeles, working “at the intersection of politics, urban space, and cultural production to explore the forces that shape our lived environment.” They do a lot of site-specific programming involving locations and communities in the city.

I recently had the opportunity to collaborate with them on their website. They were happy with the visual style of their site, originally designed by Nicole Rodarte, but had found their programming archive had outgrown the handful of static HTML pages they were serving. So we moved the site over to WordPress and iterated on their information architecture. The new platform presents site visitors with a better understanding of Clockshop’s work, and provides the room they need for what promises to be an exciting year of programming growth.

Visit website

Posted Sep 05, 2015

I had the opportunity recently to collaborate with Elana Langer on her project, What I Live By (WILBY). As described by the New York Times,

The artist Elana Langer host(s) pop-up shops as part of her hybrid performance piece “What I Live By,” an exploration of luxury that attaches a new label to everyday accessories.

In a conceptual work, it’s important that all choices reflect the intention of the artist. The pleasure of these collaborations, for the designer, is in gaining an understanding of the artist’s objectives and helping translate those into the material and graphic forms that effectively engage and communicate with the the audience.

The first version

Examples of the original What I Live By patch, produced by Elana Langer.

Langer is one of my longtime friends, and we’re often bouncing ideas off each other. Thinking about this design began over a year ago, when she asked for feedback on a flyer she was putting together for a proto-WILBY show in Toronto. We got to talking about fonts and I mentioned that in The Vignelli Canon (PDF) the master endorsed a number of classic faces, and that she might consider either Futura or Bodoni from his list. Langer kept this in mind when designing the first version of her WILBY patch, choosing Futura.

The updated design

Tests of the updated WILBY wordmark, stamped in leather and embroidered on a patch.

When preparing for the next phase of the project, we discussed the success of the brand thus far and the merits of extending the identity to include a symbol/logo. In the end we decided Langer’s initial instincts were correct; that simply setting the phase in Futura was the way to go. But we determined that the mark would be strengthened by returning the spaces between the words and shifting to a heavier weight. The other graphically important change was to lock the letters within a larger frame, so that the whitespace would signal the sparse design’s intentionality.

The certificate

Crossing the Line 2015 attendees receiving their WILBY patches and certificates.

The new design made its debut at the French Institute Alliance Française’s arts festival, Crossing the Line 2015. We considered all aspects of the presentation, the “product” and engagement with the festival’s attendees. One of my favorite aspects is a secondary object that accompanies the patch, called a “Certificate of Affirmation,” where the purchaser is invited to express their “what I live by” statement, which is then signed by the artist.

For more information on WILBY, check out the project’s website.

Posted Oct 04, 2015

Next month I’ll be teaching a workshop, Websites for Artists at LIFT in Toronto. It’ll take place Monday, December 14 and Wednesday, December 16 2015, from 6 to 10 pm. From the programme:

This two-evening workshop provides an overview of how to establish a web presence to compliment your artistic practice.

Participants will learn basic web theory and an understanding of how websites are constructed. You will learn to how choose the right hosting platform and design to meet your goals; how to register your domain name; as well as how to prepare content and publish it to your site.

We will examine the creative potential of the medium as well as its use as a promotional tool. We will review a variety of artist’s websites, discussing how design and content choices reflect each artist’s unique practice.

Each participant works at an individual iMac station. Students should be familiar with the Mac interface. No previous experience with web design required.

I hope you’ll attend! Register in person at LIFT or by telephone: 416.588.6444.

LIFT (The Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto) is a member-driven non-profit organization that provides affordable access to equipment, education and space for those who want to make films, out of a passion for, and commitment to, the practice of filmmaking.

Posted Nov 09, 2015

I’m happy to have launched the website for artist Mel Chin’s land art project, The Tie That Binds, part of CURRENT:LA Water, Los Angeles’s inaugural public art biennial.

Originally from Houston Texas, Mel Chin is known for works that require multi-disciplinary, collaborative teamwork that conjoin cross-cultural aesthetics with complex ideas.

The Tie That Binds begins at an 18-acre post-industrial lot along the LA River known as the Bowtie . Visitors, who are guided through eight unique, drought-resistant sample gardens, can then commit to creating a mirror garden in their own yard. Participants receive a blueprint for one of the​ 512 different designs and instructions on how to plant, establish, and maintain their mirror garden. The newly planted gardens in yards all over the city are meant to reflect a future drought-resistant, collective landscape for LA.

Our team worked closely with Mr. Chin to determine the website’s direction, establishing that its primary purpose would be to drive public visitation to the Bowtie (rather than, say, serve as a “catalogue” or archive). The website, along with the project’s identity and graphic materials, was designed by LA-based designer Tom Kracauer; I provided WordPress and mobile-responsive front-end development; and Amanda Wiles, of Mel Chin Studio, handles maintenance of content.

Thank you to the project team for a great experience; and thanks also to LA arts organization Clockshop for putting us all together!

Check out The Tie That Binds.

Posted Aug 02, 2016