When Michael Osborne asked if I’d come up to San Francisco in late November to judge at Academy of Art University Design Show I assumed it was for his design students. But after he repeated to me five times that this was their inaugural alumni show for practicing alumni- it finally registered- alumni not students- got it. I spent three days in San Francisco with Mary Scott their graphic design director, Michael Osborne and fellow judge from Wells Fargo Bank creative, Michele Ronsen. We had dinner at Bix, I visited with design friends at 11 and MethodHome and even got around to judging and attending the opening of a very strong design show.

The quality of student work I saw at the Academy was beyond my expectation.  The level of thinking and quality of execution was beyond what I’m accustom to seeing at college level. Mary has that place on the right track and I’m looking forward to scanning their graduates. The alumni from the Academy are now scattered around, working everywhere from Nike and Disney to Tolleson Design and Cahan Associates. Our best of show award when to Cahan designer and alumni Erik Adams.

Learn more about the show and see more pics at The Academy of Art University site.

See more photo-booth candid captures from the opening on Flickr.

    The editor of Top Estate magazine from the Ukraine is Lubov Franchuk., a sharp and professional editor of one of the leading life style magazine in the region. He just sent us a copy of the latest edition which features a wide selection of highly creative architecture and design from far flung places. The Miriello Grafico office is in between a spread on the Bordello Bar from London and Al Rostamani’s latest real estate mega development in Dubai.  Rich visuals throughout, and absolutely no idea what the stories might be about.

Share in the confusion at Top Estate’s website : http://www.top-estate.com.ua

 I had never spent time in Houston before so when Alex Barber, the incoming president of the Art Directors Club of Houston, invited me to help judge submissions to the 53rd Annual Art Directors Club of Houston, I was there.

In some ways Houston was what I expected, a city shaped by the oil industry, big money and conservative politics. But it was also a place of cool surprises, risk-taking creativity and reinvention. The ADCH kept the five judges running all weekend. If we weren’t huddled in a print warehouse evaluating Houston’s creative work, we were eating BBQ or becoming best friends with Houston artists, print makers and designers. With a largely traditional client base, the ADCH has a vital purpose in the Houston design scene where a creative community helps in the role of inspiring, promoting and pushing. Especially critical when the marketplace itself isn’t doing the pushing for them. And let’s face it, the marketplace is rarely the driving force for new creative invention in the end.

The judges group was stellar. It included art director Michael Borosky from Eleven, photographer Jeffrey Brown, illustrator Sterling Hundley and web expert Molly Holzschlag. Saturday night was a blow-out event with Houston artist Wayne Gilbert, a painter and Houston original whose pigments are made from human remains.

The last morning I spotted a bar room sign on the side of the road, ripped-down recently by the devastation of hurricane Ike. 10 minutes after I’d said, “I’d love to have that sign”, ADCH leader Jamie Farquhar was on the phone to her brother, “Get your truck out to highway 56 where it jogs south - right now. I need you to pick up something for a friend of mine.”  I was getting another glimpse of what makes Houston. . . Houston.

Finding a new creative use for  everyday, throw-away objects has a special satisfaction for both the maker and the viewer. Each get a slightly new perspective on things we see everyday. Re-purposed works send an interesting message that art is always surrounding - as long as we’re wearing the right pair of glasses.

These hanging mobile sculptures, made by Ron Miriello, are made from highway barricade sign and used zinc printers plates, cut with a CNC laser and then bent into three dimensional forms. This series was part of the Sanctuary 143 Reinventing The Wheel exhibition and are now installed in the offices of Miriello Grafico.

In support of the advancement of children through the joining of music, the arts and the generosity of sponsors, Angela Brannon pulled off the fundraiser of all fundraisers earlier this month by hosting a top-notch Brazilian Spring Party benefiting her non-profit organization “It’s All About the Kids Foundation”. http://www.itsallaboutthekids.org/about.htm. Featuring a $15 million-dollar home venue, cocktails, food by Top Chef’s Brian Malarkey, Brazilian dancers, a fashion show and silent auction - the event’s proceeds will support a multitude of innovative programs geared toward assisting less fortunate children. Shindy TV and photographer Travis Houston covered it all: http://www.shindy.tv/episode/26/_Brazilian_Spring_Party.      

I like using the example of Sam Lucente, brand VP at HP, to help engineers and non-designer to understand more clearly how branding can work to provide direction and focus for a company. The consolidation of the plethora of button dashboards into one HP button configuration is all about brand recognition, customer familiarity and cost savings. Similar in many ways to other brand monikers such as the grill shape of BMW, the familiar pistol grip of a Nikon or the unique shape of a Weber grill. This graphic below, from Sam’s presentation, is a tight little tresses that requires no works to understand and appreciate.

Here’s an except from Fast Company magazine issue 119 in October 2007: The ponytailed Sam Lucente, who’d become HP’s first-ever vice president of design two years earlier, was in the hot seat. He flashed a slide that showed dozens of HP logos, each created by a different team within the company. The next slide was of a single logo, crafted by his corporate design crew, that could be used everywhere. Lucente predicted that when 500 million of the new “jewel” logos were shipped, the company would have saved roughly $50 million in development and manufacturing costs.

“Now,” replied the boss, “you’ve got my attention.”

Lucente argued that design could achieve equally impressive results with HP’s software, product controls, packaging, enterprise systems, even parts of its supply chain. He promised senior management what he now describes as “tens of millions” in additional savings. Hurd gave his backing to Lucente’s plan to ramp up the company wide design practice.

Read more about Sam Lucente and other brand related stories on this site: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/119/streamlining-hp.html