79NM

// ACADEMY OF ART UNIVERSITY SWEEPS AIGA'S CAUSE/AFFECT DESIGN COMPETITION

Big night for the school of graphic design. Last Thursday (July 9th), was a banner evening for the school of graphic 
design. It was good seeing so many folks out and about. For those of you who
 couldn't make it, here's what you missed. Hopefully, we'll see you next 
time.



The evening began with the first ever meeting of the local San Francisco chapter of the
 Academy Alumni Association. The 79NM gallery was filled with lots of
 familiar faces -- it was a great opportunity to catch up with old friends
 and to make new ones. A really fun start for the evening.  We have Janet
 Preloger to thank for the festivities, and if you are not already on the receiving end
 of her notices, please contact her and get on her mailing list. Hats off as well to Susan Toland and the folks
 at Williams and House.



Meanwhile, just up the street, Academy students were busy with their
 complete and total DOMINATION of the AIGA cause/effect awards. We had
 winners in both the professional and student categories -- including a 
Judge's Choice award. 

Below is a complete list of winners and here is a link to the cause/effect website.


While we are all stoked on the idea of design applied to social change, and
 while we are on a winning streak, I'd like to direct everyone's attention to 
two additional design competitions whose deadlines are upon us:



AIGA (Re)designAwards  The AIGA Colorado chapter has a competition very similar to the cause/effect
 competition. Significantly, however, they have convinced the national office
 to designate theirs as a "national" competition. This means that ultimately, 
there will be more eyes on this one, it would be great if we could crush it
 in the same way we did cause/effect.

Sappi Ideas that Matter  And for those of you who were there for their recent presentation in the 
79NM auditorium, the Sappi Ideas that Matter grant program applications are 
due next week. Again, this would be a great place to have some Academy
 presence.  

Congratulations to all of our winners and good luck in future competitions.



Go team,

phil


The 2009 AIGA cause/affect design competition received 270 entries from six countries.
The following is the list of award winners.  Shown in red are Academy of Art University students or alumns.

Best in Show
“Impact Teen Drivers Campaign ” - Hybrid Design

People's Choice
“826 Valencia Pirate Supply Store” - Office

Judges Choice
“The California Academy of Sciences Exhibit” – Volume Inc.
“Rise of a New World” – Shawn Hsu/Academy of Art University
“WHOLE” – Katy Liao/Academy of Art University
“Hope Transfusion” – Rosa Loves

Community
1st: ”projectOPEN” – BRUTE LABS
2nd: ”FINE Share” – FINE Design Group
3rd (tie): “Back Your Block” – Michelle Brook Design / Digital Pond
3rd (tie): “Sappi Ideas that Matter 2009 Call for Entries” – Weymouth Design

Education
1st: ”Design Ignites Change” – WorldStudio
2nd: ”Reading Pocket Bookmobile” – Tomorrow Partners
3rd: "First Graduate Identity” – Landor Associatess

Political
1st: “Embrace for the White House” – Element Design Group
2nd: “Everything is OK Poster” – MINE
3rd (tie): “Chevwrong Campaign” – Underground Advertising
3rd (tie): "I Want You (I really do)." – Mende Design

Environment
1st: “The California Academy of Sciences Exhibit” – Volume Inc.
2nd: “Clif Bar 2 mile Challenge” – Cliff Bar & Company
3rd: “Open Green Map” – Green Map System

Arts
1st: “SFIFF51- 51st San Francisco International Film Festival Visual Identity Design” - Factor Design
2nd: “Joey's Corner Wrapping Paper” – Joey's Corner
3rd: “The Portland Fun Book 3” – Drew Marshall

Health & Welfare
1st: “Impact Teen Drivers Campaign ” - Hybrid Design
2nd (tie): “Project Well Done” – BRUTE LABS
2nd (tie): “Hope Transfusion” – Rosa Loves
3rd (tie): “Women's Community Clinic Brand Identity” – BARRETTO Co.
3rd (tie): “Quake Quiz” – I Shot Him Because I Loved Him Damn Him

Student
1st: “Rise of a New World” – Shawn Hsu/Academy of Art University
2nd: “WHOLE” – Katy Liao/Academy of Art University
3rd (tie): “Six Degrees - Pictorial Explanation of Global Warming” – Si Yeun Kim/Central Saint Martins
3rd (tie): “The End Paper” – R3/Academy of Art University
3rd (tie): “Lifecycle Book” – R3/Academy of Art University

// ACADEMY OF ART UNIVERSITY ALUMNI EVENT THURSDAY, JULY 9

// ACADEMY OF ART UNIVERSITY ALUM'S JELL-O PROJECT FEATURED ON BRAND NEW

Richard Perez, Academy of Art University School of Graphic Design BFA alum, was featured in Under Consideration's corporate and brand identity blog, Brand New. Perez's project was a vibrant redesign of Jell-o packaging.

In the Brand New post, Armin Vit says, "It’s not common that I’ll bring up student work in Brand New, but this effort by semi-recent graduate of Academy of Art University, Richard Perez is worth celebrating. This redesign of the Jell-O packaging takes the mundane and ordinary conventions of the Jell-O boxes and presents a vivid interpretation of what it could be." Read the full post here.

"The objective," says Perez on his website, Skinny Ships, "was to reposition the target market toward kids, and still appeal to adult consumers familiar with Jell-o from their childhood. By introducing a cast of fun stylized characters and a visual vocabulary that feels fresh and fun, the new Jell-O identity burst with vibrancy and joy. The simple graphic fruit characters, bright color-palette and naive typography makes the brand feel playful and pop without veering into overtly saccharine or Saturday morning cartoon territory."

Perez's fun, vibrant Jell-O characters decorate the windows of 79NM.

// FREE EUNA LEE AND LAURA LING: COMMUNITY VIGIL

Free Euna Lee and Laura Ling: Community Vigil

NEXT Wednesday, June 24 @ 6 PM

[San Francisco] Students, alumni and faculty of the Academy of Art University, along with other community organizations, are leading a community-wide vigil to join the nation in solidarity for the release of Euna Lee and Laura Ling. 

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady, Maria Shriver and 2009 Oscar Award Winner Sean Penn are expected to attend.

Both Asian American journalists were sentenced to 12-years imprisonment for the alleged illegal crossing of the North Korea boundary while working on a story of human trafficking for Current TV, headquartered in San Francisco. Euna Lee, an alumna of the Academy of Art University, earned her BFA in 2001 in the School of Motion Pictures and Television.

The Lee and Ling families have expressed their appreciation to event organizers and supporters.

WHO:    Anyone wishing to express their support for Euna Lee and Laura Ling

WHAT:      San Francisco community-wide vigil: Free Euna Lee and Laura Ling

WHEN:    Wednesday, June 24, 2009

TIME:    6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

WHERE:    491 Post Street (x Mason), San Francisco, CA  94102

A complete list of organizations and participants will be issued prior to the vigil.

// ACADEMY OF ART UNIVERSITY STUDENT PROJECT FEATURED ON BEHANCE

Current Academy of Art University School of Graphic Design student, Jason Permenter, created a magazine that was featured on the Behance Network's main page.

Permenter's project, BULLSHIT Quarterly was an assignment for Arvi Raquel-Santos' Typography 3 class, which focused on making a cohesive, specialized magazine from scratch. "The course focused heavily on brainstorming and concept for much of the semester, with all of the content and design having the concept as the origin," explains Permenter. "For the BULLSHIT magazine, I decided that the typography and structure should be evocative of more rigid, scientific style, without looking like a textbook or scientific paper."

Before switching gears and becoming a School of Graphic Design MFA student, Permenter worked as a volcanologist for over ten years. His passion for reason, critical thinking, and the scientific method played a key role in the development of BULLSHIT Quarterly. "Our culture throws out so many untruths throughout our lives that it's often hard to separate fact from fiction," said Permenter. "I'm a proponent of sifting through all the nonsense to get as close to reality as possible, and BULLSHIT was one way to underscore the absurdity of unreasonable thinking."

Unicorn on the Cob: A recipe from BULLSHIT Quarterly.

With articles such as The Sasquatch Diaries (which reveal Big Foot is really just looking for a date) and The Joy of Crypto-Cooking (recipes which use ingredients like aliens, faeries, and unicorns), Permenter definitely achieved this objective.

// ACADEMY OF ART UNIVERSITY AND AIGA SF ARE JOINING FORCES

The Academy of Art University, the Art School of Art Schools, and the AIGA professional association for design are joining forces to offer ongoing design education and opportunity, both in-school and out. Here are some of the ways the Academy of Art University is becoming involved with the AIGA San Francisco chapter:

Dave Gottwald, School of Graphic Design student and faculty member, is the Education Co-Chair for the AIGA SF. As such, Gottwald serves as an advocate for student concerns, aids the board of directors in planning student events, and works to promote AIGA on campus and in the student design community at large.

Elizabeth Vereker, a current School of Graphic Design student, is the Student Liaison to the AIGA SF Board.

Laura Milton, Academy of Art University undergraduate instructor, is the AIGA Student Chapter Faculty Liaison.

Mary Scott, Exectuve Director of Graduate Studies for the Academy of Art University School of Graphic Design is on the the advisory board for the AIGA SF.

Phil Hamlett, Director of Graduate Studies for the Academy of Art University School of Graphic Design, founder of Compostmodern and Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the AIGA Center for Sustainable Design, is also a member of the AIGA advisory board.

// ACADEMY OF ART UNIVERSITY ALUM-DESIGNED EARTHQUAKE WEBSITE FEATURED ON COMMUNICATION ARTS

Communication Arts profiled a fun, interactive, flash-based website, designed by Academy of Art University School of Graphic Design alums Carl Bender (MFA 09) and Michael Jeter (MFA 09), online on their 15th Interactive Annual and in CA's 50th Anniversary Issue. The website, QuakeQuizSF, is sponsored by the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management and aims to inform San Francisco residents about what to do before, during, and after an earthquake. The design, illustration and creation of the website was done by Bender and Jeter, working at I Shot Him Because I Loved Him, Damn Him, under the creative direction of Ben Davis, Asketic SF.

Davis wanted to create an informative, yet entertaining, website to promote earthquake safety awareness. “People tend to block out information about earthquake preparedness," says Davis. "Our goal was draw people in with strong graphics, gentle humor and an engaging interface. Also, with a shoestring development budget and no marketing budget, we needed a site that people would want to share with friends and relatives. Given these challenges, the site has enjoyed amazing success.”

Speaking of success, QuakeQuizSF was also the Adobe Site of the Day on October 30, 2008.

// ALEX CORNELL'S WES ANDERSON FILM FESTIVAL TRAILER GETS ATTENTION

Wes Anderson Trailer from Alex Cornell on Vimeo.

Alex Cornell, Academy of Art University School of Graphic Design student, created a trailer that had the internet buzzing and Wes Anderson fans raving with excitement, thinking that the director was to have a film festival this October in Texas, until they realized it was actually a student project from Hunter Wimmer's Integrated Communications class.

"The project," says Cornell, "was to create a hypothetical film festival centered around a director of our choice. We had to design all of the collateral that would support the festival; posters, catalogs, tickets, schedules, signage, products, a website, trailer, and DVD packaging. The style was to be reminiscent of the director without copying the existing visual branding that surround the films."

The trailer follows a short history of T. Allen Fenway (local SF actor, Phil Mills) who, late in his life, refused to leave his house much, except of course, to go to the Wes Anderson Film Festival. "We wanted the trailer to remind you of Wes Anderson, make you laugh, and eventually turn you on the the festival."

The trailer can be found all over the internet, from movie websites such as Cinematical, to Wes Anderson fansites such as Rushmore Academy. The other promotional materials Alex Cornell designed for the fictional Wes Anderson Film Festival is hosted (and has been featured) on the Behance Network and observed on Design Observer.

DVD sleeves Alex Cornell designed for the faux Wes Anderson Film Festival.

In the beginning of his project, Cornell had a few directors in mind, but chose to center his project around Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited) for many reasons. "First of all I like every one of his films, which I can't say for any other director. His films are packed with beautiful imagery and all adhere to his very distinctive visual tendencies and style. Second, I love the world his stories take place in; everything is so quirky and weird in just the right way and I enjoy watching characters of such familiar strangeness fumble their way around. I also love how involved he is in all of the film's creation, from every standpoint. He really owns his work."

Cornell felt that Wes Anderson's films seemed to have the most exciting and appealing visual possibilities in terms of what he could create for the promotional material. To achieve a style that is similar to Wes Anderson's, he chose to use tilt-shift photography and the director's typaface of choice, Futura Bold. "The use of Futura Bold is a direct tip of the hat to his style, and is recognizable to anyone familiar with his work," said Cornell.

Billboard designed by Cornell advertising the film festival.

To hear more about the process behind the project, and Cornell's own observations, visit the following links:

1. ISO50 blog post: Art of the Title Sequence
2. ISO50 blog post: Process Post / Student Project
3. ISO50 blog post: Festival Project Process / Stickers
4. ISO50 blog post: Wes Anderson Trailer / Student Project
5. ISO50 blog post: Film Festival Project Completion

// ACADEMY OF ART UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRAPHIC DESIGN SPRING SHOW WINNERS

The Academy of Art University's 2009 Spring Show was a huge, gelato-filled success. Freelance journalist and gelatobaby, Alissa Walker, was in attendance live-blogging, tweeting, flicking, and vimeo-ing the event. Judges came from all over to get a peek at the amazing skill and talent the School of Graphic Design has to offer, and judged accordingly. Each winner received a book from Fabrica and $1,000.

This year's School of Graphic Design Spring Show Scholarship winners are:

Graduate:

Ashley Ciecka
Boisset Family Vineyards Award for Design Excellence

Carl Bender
Chipotle Award for Design Excellence

Undergraduate:

Kathryn Kuo
Boisset Family Vineyards Award for Design Excellence

Katherine Nieh
Chipotle Award for Design Excellence

Congrats to all!

// ACADEMY OF ART UNIVERSITY'S PHIL HAMLETT TO PRESENT AT AIGA LEADERSHIP RETREAT

Phil Hamlett, Director of Graduate Studies for the Academy of Art University School of Graphic Design, Compostmodern co-founder, and AIGA's Center for Sustainable Design Co-chair, will be speaking at the annual AIGA Leadership Retreat held June 4-6 in Portland, Oregon. Hamlett will be presenting his experiences with Compostmodern, a sustainable design conference, as a success story to the 400+ AIGA chapter leaders on Saturday, June 6, during the Inspirational Stories Opening Session. "I'm looking forward to presenting Compostmodern as a success model of how a 21st century design conference should behave," says Hamlett.

Hamlett and fellow Compostmodern facilitator Gaby Brink, Tomorrow Partners, will also be hosting a luncheon during the Retreat, where they will be able to speak more about Compostmodern.