The Wildfire Companion

A Kickstarter Worth Every Penny – Expedition Denali

April 10, 2013

I am very excited about this kickstarter project. If we want to have outdoor spaces in the future then we need to create and foster stewards from the youth of America, which by 2040, or sooner, will be majority-minority.

“A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled surfaces. We need wilderness whether or not we ever set foot in it. We need a refuge even though we may never need to set foot in it. We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope; without it the life of the cities would drive all men into crime or drugs or psychoanalysis.” – Ed Abbey

I believe this project aims to create role models, and open doors for a huge population that wouldn’t otherwise even know to care or have a reason to care for our wild places. That’s why I backed this project. I hope that together we reach the goal! Come on people!

http://kck.st/ZFIuEw

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Video – Paula Scher on Design

September 6, 2012

Paula Scher is a design hero of mine. I look back at her identity for the High Line, whenever I need to be inspired and reassured that simplicity and elegance are the correct ways to solve a problem. Well in this video she talks about how it only took her an hour to come up with, which makes sense.

She also talks about how the most beautiful design solution is meaningless if a company has no control over it’s different departments. Preach it Paula!

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Best of August – Spotify Music Discoveries

September 3, 2012

Spotify makes music discovery super easy with apps (like Pitchfork, The Guardian, and Last.fm), and the related artists button. I feel like I did during the Napster days, listening to artists I would have otherwise. Check out my best of August playlist here:

Are there any songs I missed?

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Streaming on Netflix Instant: Art and Design

August 20, 2012

Eames: The Architect and the Painter
This documentary tells the story of the husband-and-wife team of Charles and Ray Eames, widely considered America’s most important designers. Their creations include furniture, photography, interiors, multimedia exhibits, games and much more.

Helvetica
We use it every day on our computers, we see it on street signs — and we take it for granted. Now, Gary Hustwit’s unique documentary introduces us to Helvetica, a font whose readability has made it the most popular in the world.

Objectified
Discover how manufactured objects that surround us such as cars, phones and chairs influence our daily lives with this revealing documentary, which features top industrial designers discussing their creative processes and professional objectives.

Exit Through the Gift Shop
Amateur filmmaker Thierry Guetta’s project to chronicle the underground world of street art takes a fascinating twist when he meets Banksy, an elusive British stencil artist, in this Independent Spirit Award winner for Best Documentary. Unimpressed with Guetta’s footage, Banksy takes over filmmaking duties while Guetta reinvents himself as a street artist and — much to Banksy’s surprise — instantly becomes a darling of the Los Angeles art scene.

The Invention of Dr. NakaMats
This hilarious documentary from director Kaspar Astrup Schroder profiles prolific Japanese inventor Yoshiro Nakamatsu, whose contraptions range from the whimsical (motorized roller skates) to the kooky (a mental-enhancement “Cerebrex” machine).

Urbanized
The third part of Gary Hustwit’s design film trilogy, Urbanized looks at the issues and strategies behind urban design, explores a diverse range of urban design projects around the world, and frames a global discussion on the future of cities.

Cave of Forgotten Dreams
In this spellbinding documentary, filmmaker Werner Herzog offers an unprecedented examination of the Chauvet Cave, a cavern in southern France that contains the oldest human-painted images yet to be found on Earth.

Art: 21 – Art in the 21st Century
The experience of viewing art moves from static to dynamic as this PBS series takes its audience into the studios of contemporary American artists to witness their processes, hear their thoughts and see their art outside a gallery setting. With each episode focused on a single theme, viewers are treated to everything from sculptor Jeff Koons on the topic of fantasy to photographer Cindy Sherman on transformation.

TEDTalks: Rebel Design
Rebellious creative designers craft elegant solutions to our most unshakable problems and turn the mundane into the marvelous. Through art, objects and computer programs, these TED presenters are changing our concepts of beauty and practicality.

Is there a show, movie, or documentary not on this list? Let me know!

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“Trends are about extremes”

August 9, 2012

I discovered these fashion trend discussions down at the Outdoor Retailer show a few years ago and have gone to them now every show for inspiration to my graphic design work.

They usually center around a few inspiring future stories like space exploration, or the Olympics, and create an entire look complete with colors, fabrics, and a style that reinforces that inspiring story.

This year I started seeing a big picture emerge and that’s what I wanted to write about today. I should also mention that I am severly unqualified to talk about any of this. It’s a hack job at best. Anyway..

The future in fashion trend panel started with a look at rethinking about what the outdoors means. More people are moving to cities, and in 30 years we will see ~70% of the world’s population living in urban environments. The urban outdoors needs to be a consideration with these outdoor companies.

The big discussion in the room centered around creating something that looks high fashion but functions like performance gear. Outlier was mentioned multiple times as a company that is excelling at that. Outdoor companies are coming from performance centered and high fashion is coming from.. looking good? The middle ground has not yet been met according to the room.

Outlier was also mentioned as a brand that is starting to pull influences from the lightweight backpacking movement. Because more people are living in cities and commuting by foot or bike now we need gear and clothing that is minimal and lightweight to make it easy for us to get around.

Also, one of the panelists was using a desert inspiration story to showcase a possible future trend. When asked about why we are seeing more desert inspiration this season another panelist Jeanine Pesce (@depescemode) commented that trends are about extremes. I will get to this point more in a second.

In a fashion presentation later that day, they were pulling inspiration from the occupy movement, anonymous, using a militant + techno twist to tell a fashion future story.

All of this is starting to sound pretty bleak to me. You’ve got worst case climate change influencing our looks through a mad-max desert future looking glass. There is uncertainty about November, and corruption at the top influencing a militant look. We’re all moving to mega-cities, influencing our need to double-up on fashion and performance-wear, and needing lightweight gear so we can move around all day. Where is the bright future? Where are the happy dreams?

It seems to be coming in two forms. One is a preppy, 1%-erish, glamping style that wants people to get back to their roots and meditate on a better tomorrow free of smog and gas-guzzling trucks.

The other (and for me, more exciting) hopeful dream is coming from high-tech fabrics like Colombia’s omni-freeze, data-gathering apps and devices like the Nike Fuel band, and Energy-creating accessories like backpacks and shoes that can power up our devices. These nano-tech fabrics and devices being developed right now will make us stronger, more resilient, and better prepared to deal with the current state of affairs.

The big picture story: Everything is screwed, but not to worry, technology will save us!

I realize that this view is probably just a reflection of my own fears and dreams but it was fun to put together a big picture poetic story.

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Summer IPA Label Tests

July 26, 2012

Im kind of hitting my limit here trying to realize this concept. Lot’s of grilled meats and the killer heat here in Wyoming serve as the inspiration for this summer beer label. I would love to be able to actually burn the words IPA onto the label.