Clear Magazine‘s latest issue, “Dream Weavers,” debuted at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York this past week. In honor of the event, Clear produced a collector’s edition, tree-free, 100% recyclable fall issue, and it’s being distributed throughout the week at related venues: in Tents at Bryant Park, and at hotels and galleries throughout the city. The limited-edition issue was printed on YUPO® synthetic papers, and was printed by Tepel Brothers Printing.
Pick one up, or visit clearmag.com for more info. And check out my latest reviews plus interviews with Sagmeister, Miru Kim, Ross Lovegrove and Todd Bracher in the issue or on the writing samples page here (in the next few days). Thanks!
above: images from Stefan Sagmeister’s 2008 book, “Things I’ve learned in my life so far”
Absolut Vodka‘s ads are immediately recognizable, and over the years, their campaigns have become truly iconic. However, the company’s newest tv ad campaign, produced by TBWA/Chiat/Day, is a bit too similar to another icon’s work for my liking.
While beautiful, the ad’s imagery and tagline (“Doing something differently leads to something exceptional.”) are incredibly similar in look and concept to graphic design star Stefan Sagmeister‘s 2008 “Things I have learned in my life so far.” A successful design book and exhibit at Deitch gallery in NY, “Things I have learned in my life so far” was inspired by a list of life lessons Sagmeister jotted down while on sabbatical the year before, and then spelled out using creative environmental typographic tools – everything from hangers to body paint, furniture to food, lightboxes to giant, white inflatable monkeys.
I interviewed Sagmeister in 2008 right after the book came out for Graphis. Just this week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sagmeister again for the upcoming fall issue of Clear Magazine. He returns to NY from his latest sabbatical year (in Bali) in September, and told me that when approached for this tv spot, he declined to work with the firm, as he’d committed to only personal design work over the year, and wasn’t taking any new client work.
Take a look for yourself below. And check out my interview with Stefan Sagmeister for Graphis by visiting my Writing Samples page or clicking here: The Art of Introspection.
Photographer Miru Kim is an urban explorer. The Korean-born, New York-based artist spoke at the 2008 TED Conference about her ongoing series, Naked City Spleen. Juxtaposing her own delicate human form with haunting, industrial ruins, Kim’s work alternately reveals extreme loneliness and a bold fearlessness, and contrasts the living, supple world with a decaying one. In Naked City Spleen, we follow Kim’s fictional main character through abandoned factories, hospitals, subways and catacombs around the globe. Kim is also the founder of Naked City Arts, a New York-based organization dedicated to promoting young artists in the city and drawing artists down to lower Manhattan.
To learn more about Miru Kim, check out my interview with the artist in the upcoming issue of Clear Magazine.
