Shake it all up, all the time.
Don’t Poke the Bear
Usually you choose not to poke a grumpy bear because you are uninterested in being mauled. What is more interesting, though, is poking a different kind of bear in an unexpected circumstance. What are things that get poked? Voodoo dolls. What is another kind of bear? Teddy bear. What if the bear being poked was a teddy bear voodoo doll? What is awkward? Explaining to your wife and daughter why you are burning candles around a torn up stuffed animal.
A Pregnant Pause
A simple contrast of letters can often do more to illustrate a point than trying to beat someone over the head with literal representation. Viewers will themselves feel clever that they are in on the clever joke as well—which creates a greater memory. Don’t forget the supplemental “body language”: softer, more delicate typographic style and symbolically understood color.
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Hell no, I won’t be your neighbor. I always thought this was a strange thing to say. As if there had to be a secret reason why it began with “won’t”. So, why not explore that and see exactly why you wouldn’t want Mr. Rogers as your neighbor? Pop culture, busy silkscreen-like layers, messy colors, and attitude are all things I normally don’t get to create-—so why not play with that?
Turnabout is Fair Play
Something about this phrase immediately struck me as feeling Shakespearean. So, in addition to breaking the tip of the finger in order to turn it in on itself (suggesting several layers of meaning), the whole thing is rendered as if it were a theatre poster for Hamlet, Othello, or Macbeth.
Donald Trump
Whether you are a Republican or Democrat you will get no reprimand from me; my politics are contextual rather than dogmatic. This piece is not an anti-conservative nor pro-liberal statement. It is merely a visualization of a man and his mouth. A mouth he uses in an often acrimonious way.
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth. Or, a pink unicorn.
Beauty is Only Skin Deep
There is much debate and acrimony between Modernist and Postmodern designers. One of the lynchpin arguments centers around the idea of utility versus expression. But why subscribe dogmatically to one camp or the other when both directions can be used with success? Here a more postmodern approach utilizes a painterly texture of typography to suggest the mood and feeling of this phrase instead of a conceptual or intellectual explanation.
Tastes Like Chicken
Everything is supposed to taste like chicken. Everything? What if that notion was taken to the extreme? This ridiculous level of exaggeration is so far fetched as to bring a smile to your face.
The Current State of Interactive Design
Design patterns, UI kits, standards, low cognitive load, statistics, trends, blah blah blah. Sure, I get why all these things are “best practices”–damn I hate that phrase–but there is currently zero originality or creativity in the world of interactive design. All anyone seems to do anymore is copy every other website’s stuff. It makes my eyes bleed. Plagiarism masquerading as being-in-the-know.
