Miriello Grafico

We just said good bye to Michele Angelini from Angelini Design in Rome/Torino. He decided to come hang with us at MG for his August vacation, instead of tanning-up in Sardinia or going off to Cuba with is buddies for the “everyone to the beach” August vacation.

It was good for Michele – and it was good for all of us at The Logan too. When you have someone asking questions about how you ran a meeting, brainstormed a solution or the tone of your voice on a conference call, you learn a few things about yourself in the process.

Michele also blew us away with a lunch time showing of the work of their Rome/Torino/Paris studio and their latest effort for LANCIA/FIAT called TrendVisions. Still in it’s very early stages, it’s a grand concept we’ve offer to help and support from the US.  That means sending in both our conceptual work and the work and creative we are inspired by around us- to post on http://www.lanciatrendvisions.com/.  LANCIA is sponsoring the effort as a way to support  and build community and exposure for upstart innovation and idea generation. They are offering in return for the sharing of ideas, opportunities to have work prototypes, realized, and exhibited.  A careful balance between supporting work and getting free ideas…but they ‘ve put their money down on the side of supporting creative in the broadest sense. Ideas outside their core business.

So Miriello Grafico will be posting on LanciaTrendsVision and also heading to Torino later in 2010 to contribute to the venture first hand.

Good call on San Diego over Sardinia this summer Michele…

Dr. Lakra and Pedro Alonzo at The Logan

Jaime Rojo & Steven Harrington, co-founders of BrooklynStreetArt.com ,wrote about it this way:

Last night, The Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego (MCASD) courageously opened the dialogue and its arms to embrace the chaos of the evolving street art scene. Smartly and incredibly in this city that has been described by Shepard Fairey as conservative, the installation is citywide and outside. It’s geographically expansive scope underlines the shows’ commitment to street art as a movement and may represent an important turning point in the recognition of it in the American public sphere. Naturally, much art is displayed in doors, which always begs the question, “Is this street art too?”. Well, no.

The urban environment of an industrialized world is home to the majority of the planet, so naturally the vernacular of graffiti, advertising, graphic design, photography, signage and all other visual communication has become fair game for the street artist. “Viva la Revolución: A Dialogue with the Urban Landscape” is curated by Pedro Alonzo and it’s variety of artists well represents a freeze frame in the current scene. Not all of the artists are strictly street artists, and many began in graffiti but few have participated in a group show that has this much sanctioned access to public space.

The Logan building got called into the show after touring curator Pedro Alonzo through Barrio Logan and talking about the long-standing and essential tradition of street art native to the Barrio. “It would be a mistake to bring artist from around the globe to San Diego  and not recognize the founding fathers of this movement.” we said.  Pedro replied by sending Oaxaca, Mexico tattoo artist Dr. Lakra to art-out our building – The Logan. All of it happened in less than a day. The lift arrived, The Doctor blew-in, climbed on and painted non-stop for hours. A phenomenal work ethic and talent. In the end, he’d brought to life on our north wall, three of his hundred of tattoo sketched he carries around with him.

Dr Lakra's tattoo sketches

Come by and see what the Doctor created. Or take the bike tour of all the installations. And don’t miss the inspired show at downtown’s MCASD.  And the MCASD has people joining as members now that have probably never breathed their air before. Pedro did La Revolucion right.

The Doctor at work

How do we inspire kids to make smarter food choices? That’s the question we attempted to answer with the short film, Finding Strange. Directed by Jeffrey Lamont Brown of Tallgrass Pictures, written by Jennifer de Poyen and produced by MG and the San Diego Italian Film Festival, this short film casts a new light for kids about making better choices in the foods they eat.

The film, running just under 5 minutes, premiered at the San Diego Italian Film Festival’s CineCucina festival, on May 22, to over 700 people. It will also be screened before every film during the 2010 San Diego Italian Film Festival, and widely distributed to schools in the U.S. and Europe.

I’ve always liked the way Marty Neumeier thinks. For decades I can say that. He thinks first – designs second. The way it should be. Now he’s got a better way to disseminate his ideas- and even encourage us to “Steal This Idea”. I completely agree with his take on the power of making/ prototyping- ” Through the act of prototyping—using sketches, models, maps, mockups, simulations—the “making” step puts options on the table that weren’t there before.” And one reason we just installed an Epilog Helix 24″ CO2 laser cutter here at The Logan. A phenomenal prototyping tool. Can’t wait to see wait comes out of that magic box.

You can progress faster, accommodate new ideas- and reshape possibilities in your thinking- when you’re able to make stuff. To manifest. Not just work virtually in the digital box- but sampling it in the real world.  I also feel that knowing what goes into “making” increases our appreciation for the efforts and value of the things that surround us. We become better smarter consumers too.

My son can’t change the tire on his bike. Can he appreciate and know the object as much as someone who grew up tearing it down and rebuilding it each month?  Sure, he can probably build a better bike virtually in a modeling program. That’s very cool. Combined with the ability – to make -  it’s an even more powerful combination.  Dirty hands = faster learning.

I find Marty’s feed a definite RRS save and always a great thinking-improver. – RM

What could be a better designers gig that traveling Europe and using your design eye and quirky view of the world – to turn what you see and feel into a new perspective on the ordinary. Check-out what’s up with Russian designer Voitlev Sona- via this New York Times Style Magazine artical…

Consider him a travel archetype: the European graphic designer. He’s the only guy at that cafe in Tallinn at 3 p.m. on a Tuesday who’s not a grumpy Estonian pensioner. He’s wearing funky glasses, he’s tapping on a MacBook, he speaks microscopically accented English, and he can probably direct you to a cool place like Voitlev Sona, a former Soviet bookstore that’s now a nightclub serving Indian cuisine. If only you could run into one of these plugged-in designer types in every European city. If only …

Conceived, fittingly, over a Skype conversation, “Graphic Europe” (Cicada, $29.99) is a new kind of guidebook, written (and, of course, beautifully illustrated) by 31 designers who give us personal, low-key suggestions about the cities they know best — their own.

I’ve been speaking to graduating designers and young professionals a heck of a lot lately (San Diego State, AIGA, PIA, Colorado State). Judging by the feedback (being the lack of yawning and size of the eyeballs peering back) the discussion has been filling a rather important need. In today’s job market, what employers are looking for, willing to value and pay for is more in strategic thinking and networking capabilities, rather than in the creative execution. Education is very focused on teaching skills and tools, with less emphasis on how to generate and implement good ideas, or how to cultivate and leverage your professional relationships. This idea has been at the center of my discussions.

There may be value in these 10 TIPS, beyond the young-and-coming designer. Let’s face it, the entire value-equation of the design profession is under reconsideration now. And we need each other more than ever to shape what will come out of this time of upheaval.

So here are “RON’S 10 TIPS” talking points. (All things I would have loved to have learned sooner.)

1.    Keep a journal. Recording ideas make them instantly more real.

2.    Collaborate don’t isolate. Join, volunteer, invent opportunity, get outta your comfort zone. It’s ALL about collaboration now.

3.    Don’t look for THE JOB. Look to string together experiences- that can lead to jobs.

4.    This is a BUILD OVER TIME profession- not a STAR OVERNIGHT profession.

5.    Be precise on where to spend your resources (time, budget, etc.) Know when it’s time for “pencils down”.  Ask “if I had to present tomorrow- which one would I go with”.

6.    I look for designers (in this order)  a.with a great work ethic,  b.can handle critique well, c. are resourceful by nature, d. know how to continually learn, e. have a strong portfolio

7.    Recognize the creativity in others. Everyone has a valid idea to offer- not just you the anointed “creative one”.

8.    The best ideas come from outside your specialty. Be curious. Always be seeking.

9.   Do your own personal work. Your job alone cannot provide you an outlet for personal creative expression.

10.    You’re the vessel – not the destination. IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU. IT’S ABOUT THEM.

The Linnie Cooper Foundation has awarded Victor Laruccia/ San Diego Italian Film Festival and Miriello Grafico a grant to create a video that communicates with kids about the food choices they make.

It’s finally entering our social consciousness that kids are disconnected from the “where and why” of food. The SlowFood movement has started to bring Carlo Petrini’s SlowFood thinking to the foodies of the US. But more than a trend for hipster adults, the awareness for kids is really where it’s at. How might we help them to make better smarter food choices- when they are surrounded by the mega-corporation marketing of hi-cal, low-qual consumption.

Miriello Grafico is teaming up with film director Jeffrey Lamont Brown of Tallgrass Pictures and writer Jennifer de Poyen to produce and direct a film-short geared towards middle to high school age kids. The intent is for the film to address this topic in a way they can relate to, that makes smart-eating THE thing to. The project title is “Contraband”, which tells you a bit about the approach.

The distribution will be broad and viral in scope, and will serve as a public service announcement before film festival screenings. Come May 21, the film will premier at CINECUCINA, the SDIFF+SlowFood Urban event. It will then be shown at the 2010 San Diego Italian Film Festival events. It will be available on-line for showing at all public and private schools.

Those interested in testing for parts in the film (ages 13 – 16) email to:  casting@jeffreybrown.com

Thanks for your forward-thinking and underwriting Linnie Cooper Foundation!  -RM

You gotta love Italian films- and even if you don’t, you gotta love good food. The San Diego Italian Film Festival for 2010 has a year-long schedule of events that combine Italian Film +Slow Food in Cinecucina. And also an Anti-Mafia + Italian Classics series. And they are still running their October Film Festivale.  Miriello Grafico designers Lauren English and Tracy Meiners just completed two of the three posters Miriello Grafico is contributing to the San Diego Film Festival 2010 event schedule, along with the complete event branding.

The poster designs are inspired by the Italian piazza tradition of wall posters being re-pasted over old editions. creating overtime, a natural and organic collage of events and images. Typical of what you find in a place that let’s thing evolve over time.

Watch for these SDIFF posters in a coffee shop near you. For an events schedule click here.

I believe more and more that design is really more a language. And when you like some one’s work- when it speaks to you, more often than not- you’d usually like the person who made the work. Not always, but most of the time- it’s been true for me.

I’ve always had a policy of looking up designers or artists I respected whenever I travel. It’s been a very cool way to conceive a trip. And so much more fun than seeing museums and the best cafe in town. Spending time with a designer in the place they work is almost the single best way I’ve found to learn and get inspired. Think of it as “design-travel” instead of eco-travel.

So now I want to go to Lisbon, because I’ve seen the work of Portuguese designer Cristiana Couceiro.  A lover of images of the Victorian past and the clean modern organization of the Bauhaus present, she creates work of very deceptive simplicity, boldness and power.

Here’s what Cristiana says about herself . . .” I have been making collages since I was a kid. I used to sit on the floor and tear up magazines for hours, joining pieces of paper of different shapes and colours together. Later I learned how to use a pair of scissors and some glue and started filling notebooks, walls, furniture or any kind of plain surface. Then I just learned how to edit pictures on the computer and stopped gluing everywhere.

I collect memories, personal and collective, national and international. My collages are made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new one. They may include newspaper titles, classic and vintage photos, pieces of paper, portions of other artworks, book pages, glued on a new piece of paper.”

Think I’m gunna like Portugal….rm

I was in Ft. Collins CO last week to speak at CSU’s Liberal Arts College on design as part of the Monfort Fellowship occasion. Great few days with great people out on the foothills of northern Colorado. But before I checked into my hotel, I managed to find the newest point of pride in Ft Collins, the New Belgium Brewery, home of their famous Flat Tire Ale and now IPA.

I’d been watching this place grow from a tiny micro to now a regional micro brewery. And they’ve kept the magic alive along the way. First off – they’re employee owned, which doesn’t mean a lot unless you’ve got everybody dialed-in and heart-committed. And they seem to. From the moment I dropped into the sampling bar- I was home with friends, dogs, enthusiastic servers, visual richness and an overall infectious energy. When I asked one of the staff about who did their advertising work- she said- “We do, right upstairs. We just use a media placement firm to organize the traffic.”  (I was amazed that she even knew that much about their ad strategy- hell she may have been doing the artwork too for all I know.) And that artwork in all over the walls- wall sculptures really. Check out some of the New Belgium fun pictures posted here on Flicker.

You can preach branding all you want. Do detailed brand books, like we build at MG, but there’s no replacement for a “culture” that gets it in their blood and is living the brand, not just mimicking.  I was neutral on New Belgium before I went there. Now I’m sold on New Belgium. The shear energy alone. Doesn’t hurt that they also have a killer product to deliver too.