coscience-blog

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Sucker Punch Cover.

February cover art for Boston Singers Project. "Sucker Punch" by Andy Santospago. Vocals by Chris Roussin. Art work by yours truly.

http://thebostonsingersproject.tumblr.com/

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January Designers Meet Up

Trek across the frozen wasteland that is Brooklyn for a hot toddy at one of the coziest bars in Brooklyn. All are welcome.

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Resolutions

Drink less. Go to Gym. Happy, healthier, more productive. Wake up and fight (thanks Woody). Make things in real physical space. Tell a great story. Build a community. Water the plants. Allow yourself to feel the bad things too. Explain your actions, but don't answer for them. Give. Destroy the system. Let others plan things. Have long conversations. Reach out to your friends. Leave the phone at home. Dance. Tell more jokes. Interject half as much. Buy a telescope. Ignore the noise. Use the noise. Ride the lightening. Teach the dog to talk. End the war, bring the boys home. Stop apologizing. Write. Play music for people. Have a gallery show. Color diary. Be the good guy. Be inclusive. Commit it to tape. Travel to a beautiful place(s). Be surprised. Change. Open a crepe truck. Retire from billiards. Take an acting class. Forget about the end. Be nice to everyone you meet. Wake up early everyday. Just be yourself, but with these minor adjustments.

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More from the Color Diary.

Color holds memory in a way that is ever-changing. 

http://scienceand.co/color-diary/

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Greenpoint Designers Holiday Meet Up

Come meet and mingle with the Greenpoint Designers community. Celebrate the holidays with like minded design folk. It's like your office holiday party with people you actually want to talk to. Bring friends. All are welcome.

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Color Diary

Over the next year I will be documenting my life through color. Each day I will witness a color, translate it to hexadecimal, then write a sort description of what I remember. The project is called color diary. 

http://scienceand.co/color-diary/

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Greenpoint Designers Meet Up 11/07

I live in Greenpoint Brooklyn--with hundreds of other designers, coders, and media and advertising professionals. Please join me in a few weeks for the first official Greenpoint Designers Meet Up, which I'll be kicking off. A drink special or two and maybe some prizes, but really just a chance to meet the design community you didn't even know you were a part of. Hope to see you there!

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Something beautiful

Busy year after getting married. I look forward to catching up. In the mean time, here is this beautiful thing:

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Pencil to Pixel

I had the honor of attending the opening of the Pencil To Pixel exhibit put on by Monotype here in NYC. Lots of treasures including the original hand sketches for Gil Sans, Avant Garde, and Serif Gothic. It only runs through the end of the week (May 9th), so check it out while you can.

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Science & Co. presents Parlor Tennis

Challenge Dr. Marcus, beat the high score, play now.

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Ryan (heart carved in tree) Jamie

Designing for others is hard because it often means more to your client or collaborator than it does to you. As a creative it's hard to relinquish this role, as the one whose heart is in it most, but when you do you may find yourself making something wonderful. Something that merges from two hearts, or three. This was the case this summer when I worked with some close friends from California to create their wedding invitations and save the dates.

Jamie and Ryan's invitation (front).

First we talked and talked. Then I took a printing class. Then we exchanged pinterests boards, theirs and mine. Then my fiancé got involved. Jamie loved some colors. Ryan said world's fair. I said carve your names in a tree then send me a polaroid. Then I sent them some ideas:

Some sketches I sent for the Save The Date.

My favorite part of the process was learning the process. For this I turned to my new friends at The Arm—a small studio in Brooklyn who have several restored Vandercook presses that they are nice enough to show you how to use for a small instructional fee. I then did some experimenting. Grace bought some paper. I bought some ink, and a table top press (which I do not recommend). We played around with envelopes and folding technics. I bought some ribbon. Then I sent my files to boxcar press who cooked up some polymer plates.

Light blue separation set up on the Vandercook.

After we printed, cut, folded, then packed them into a box, I personally flew them from New York to Los Angeles to deliver them myself. This is true. A few weeks later we received the invites we created in the mail. It felt like a message from two close friends, courtesy of myself.

Invite and RSVP.

Inside detail.

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Sorry I've been away for so long. I've posted photos of my summer vacations here. 

Let's catch up soon!

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10 Rules For Being a Graphic Designer

Industrial designer and list maker Dieter Rams wrote a mini-festo in 80s called "Ten Principles for Good Design". It's hard to disagree with but I always felt it lacked a practicality that a student or someone early in their career might find helpful. Although I have years before I can consider myself a master like Rams, I thought it would be useful to post my own list of what I've learned so far. Here are ten I find most important.

1. The computer is a production tool, not a design tool.

Design is both a noun and a verb. A design is something you create, a technical drawing, a digital comp, or a set of instructions. To design is to imagine then articulate; it is the act of forming an intention. The latter takes place in your head, then must be translated and worked out with a tool--the less restrictive the tool the better. I recommend a pencil.  

2. Understand the golden ratio and use it.

I like to think of 1.618 as the Pi of rectangles. Just as Pi describes the relationship of a perfect circle to its radius, The Golden Ratio describes the relationship of a perfect rectangle to its diagonals. Because graphic designers work almost primarily with rectangles, (e.g. computer screens, paper, televisions) it is important to know how to use them correctly. Oddly enough, the ratio also describes the shape of spiral galaxies and just about every system in nature. There is much to learn, so read up. 

3. Do not reinvent convention, use conventions that make sense.

Convention is something that is adopted by a user group or society, more than it is created by a single designer. Think of it as a process of consensus that over gets harder and harder to change over time. Asking a user to adjust to something unconventional is asking for their time, most users are only willing to spare a little before jumping ship.

4. You, the designer, must decide what is most important.

Hierarchy is what separates something that is designed from something that is not. It is a tool to create a linear narrative, even if the experience is non-linear--such as with most websites. Users left to there own devices will create a wide range of experiences for themselves, but most will take the path of less resistance. It is your job to make that path lead somewhere.

5. Tell a story.

Design is communication. Communication at its most basic level is the telling of a story. A good product or brand is an extension of our personal story. Our smart phones, our sports cars, our clothes. Anything that says something about our personality and the choices we make. Graphic design is a big part of how that is story told.

6. Done is better than perfect.

I once took a class with Ed Benguiat, a legendary logo and type designer who drew most of the fonts you use everyday with his hand. Reflecting on a long and prolific career he once said, "I never made a single piece that I liked". This is the rub of being a perfectionist; you are never satisfied, you are never finished. Unfortunately clients don't think the same way and judge you by the work you actually produce. At a certain point, often before you're ready, you must hand over your masterpiece.

7. Making good work is difficult.

If you're tired, frustrated, and are thinking of a career change, you're probably making progress.

8. Understand typography and use it.

Developing your typography skills is akin to learning how to play the piano. Playing a note is as easy as pushing a key. There are a few simple tunes you can pick up quick, but mastering arrangement, rhythm, and cadence takes time and practice. Like music, type has subtleties that are not easily explained--it just has to feel right. There are a few rules too. Find a great teacher.

 9. Be a psychologist.

Clients are often terrible at saying what they really mean or even knowing what they really want. The reasoning behind their decision making often has to do with factors that have little to do with a good design, like what they think their boss will like. Use design rounds as a way of understanding what they want, not as a way of gaining their approval. Convince them a great idea is theirs--they are paying for your council and your expertise, not your ego.

10. Learn to love the process not the product.

My first drawing class in college involved making countless three minute gesture drawings in charcoal, which were thrown away at the end of class. After a few classes our teacher gave us the chance to really show our stuff, telling us to spend an hour and a half on one drawing. When we were finished he instructed us to throw those drawings away as well, without sharing them with anyone. It was a special kind of torture for a group of young art students who were eager to impress, but it was an important lesson.

In design, anything worth doing will involve a team of people and most likely someone else's money. Falling too much in love with your own vision will not only prevent you from accepting other's good ideas, it will cause friction from your co-workers. Love what you do and let the good work happen on its own. 

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Iceland photos now on photos.scienceand.co

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Checkout my Paris photos on photos.scienceand.co

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Photos & Co.

Since upgrading to the new iPhone I've become compulsive about taking photos with Instagram. You might have heard of the app, as the company was recently bought up by Mark Zuckerberg via a drunk text for a billion dollars. Posting so many photos started to fill the blog with more pictures than words, so I created a photos feed���a steady stream of type and design related images, in between portraits of my girlfriend and my dog Emma. Enjoy!

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Printing Press 101 @ The Arm NYC (Taken with instagram)