My latest obsession is my Moleskine notebook. Though I’ve kept a journal for work, it’s been so long since I used a sketchbook that I look forward to filling it.
The favorite of artists and thinkers for over a century, the legendary book was produced by a family-owned French press until 1986. Revived by a Milanese publisher in 1997, the nameless book was branded as “Moleskine” after the name given to them in the fictional work of Bruce Chatwin.
Today is the birthday of one of my design heroes, Tibor Kalman.
Tibor Kalman was an influential American graphic designer of Hungarian origin, well-known for his work as editor-in-chief of Colors magazine.
He founded the legendary, multidisciplinary design firm M&Co in 1979, which did corporate work for such diverse clients as the Limited Corporation, the New Wave music group Talking Heads, and Restaurant Florent in New York City’s Meatpacking District. Kalman also worked as creative director of Interview magazine in the early 1990s.
M&Co is one of the few studios with whom I’ve wished I’d worked, though I hear it was a real tough place. I’ve always been jealous of the fact that a good friend of mine was fortunate enough to have done some freelance for them.
I was introduced to M&Co through their quirky line of watches, clocks, and paperweights, which combine wit and whimsy with good graphic design.
I received the Askew watch for Christmas in 1987. It is the only watch I’ve worn since. I still enjoy the puzzled look I get when someone notices the watch face with its beautiful, randomly placed numbers and is prompted to ask “How do you tell the time?”
My design work has been influenced by the thoughtfulness of the M&Co ethic. I strive to create smart, concept-driven work. It been ten years since the Perverse Optimist, passed away, I admired his design work, the way he ran his business and how he shook things up. Happy Birthday Tibor!
A lot of families moved to the Bronx just to get their sons into DeWitt Clinton High, an all-boys school, with tough entrance requirements. It was the most competitive school in the city, and it turned out a staggering number of successful intellectuals and artists….. Bronx Kids came of age with armor on their feelings and razors in their brains. They rode the trains south to Manhattan hot with expectations. When the comic book burst suddenly upon New York, they were ready to make it their own. - Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book by Gerard Jones.
I went to DeWitt Clinton and as with any proud alumnus, when the opportunity arises to brag about your school, you do. Notably, this year’s top grossing box office hits, Dark Knight and Iron Man were based on characters created by DeWitt Clinton alumni, Robert Kahn (Bob Kane) and Stanley Lieber (Stan Lee).
Like most of the guys I know who work in creative industries, comics have had a major influence on me. It’s where we learned of story arcs, analogy, symbolism, science fiction, mythology and words such as equinox, endeavor, invulnerable and intangible. Developing characters names, origins and costumes was for many creatives their first foray into the process of research, writing, drawing and design.
Check out some of the comics I collected in high school as well as these two issues of an annual comic created by my peers at Clinton.
In numerology the number signifies impeccability, desire with insight, wisdom with reason, intensity, conviction, adeptship, heroism, self-control, discipline, controlled energy focused.
The retired numbers for former baseball players Hank Aaron, Willie McCovey and Reggie Jackson; the number is sometimes considered to be a “Hitter’s Number”.
A number of legend, worn by great football players Ernie Davis, Floyd Little, and Jim Brown.
Bill Clinton (the 42nd President) and George W. Bush (the 43rd President) were born 44 days apart in the summer of 1946.
The Number of the President Elect of 2009, Barack Obama and our subtle celebrational Tee Shirt.
One night while walking past a public school, I noticed several chairs put out for trash pick up. First thing that came to mind – Skellzies. I’m sure a few people passing by wondered what I was doing wrestling with discarded school chairs, but if they grew up playing in the city’s parks and streets, they would understand.
Skellzies, also called Skully, Skelsy, Tops, Caps, or Loadies, was a game we would play for hours, sometimes for the entire afternoon. The rules varied from neighborhood-to-neighborhood, but basically the object of the game is to flick your top (playing piece) through a series of numbered boxes on a Skelly board, working your way up from 1 through 13.
The smoothest, fastest, most prized tops were those created from the foot of a school chair. Having one meant you popped it off at school without getting caught. We’d add color by melting crayons in them.
From time-to-time I’ll see a Skelly board painted in a playground, but I’ve yet to see any kids playing. Maybe they’re just there to pay homage and stir memories. Like Ring-a-levio, stickball and stoopball these street games just aren’t played any more. Icy Smooth has a online version, but if you want to try the real thing, well, I’ve got tops.
In the early days of Hip Hop, the flyer was the way to get the word out about the next jam. The most memorable were designed by Phase 2 and Buddy Esquire. These flyers incorporated Art Deco inspired ornamentation, cut out photos and transfer lettering.
I recently found four I’d saved from back in the day. If you want to check out more, the guys at Toledo Hip Hip have over one hundred.
