White lights lead to Red lights, Red lights lead to exits.

Razzle-Dazzle

Initially used during the First World War, its intent was to misguide enemy submarines by distorting the ships position, direction and speed. The monotone white-to-black color schemes were thought to break up the ships silhouette, not concealing but confusing would-be predators. Was it a success? Studies gauging shipping losses before and after it's use were found to be inconclusive, but it didn't keep it from being used, albeit sparingly, into the Second World War.

Read more here.

Miller64

Relaunch of a shitty beer looks amazing. Great typeplay and COLOR. Great "modern with retro hat tip" work.

The Miami Marlins debut their new logo and uniforms. A nation mourns.

I don't even know what to say really.

According to various articles, the teams new colors, red-orange, blue and yellow are said to represent sunsets. And oranges. And the sky. And the Sea. And the diversity of Miami. Well, that's quite an order buddy. Are you going to eat all of it?

I believe it was designed in-house, which means the Marlins Design team was too creatively sapped pumping out beer-coozies, cheap ponchos and bobble-heads to back the creative truck up and look at the big picture. It's not their fault. They probably work their fingers to the bone getting out the multitude of deliverables a MLB team needs. But ownership should have brought in a new fresh team or contracted the job to a reputable design studio. If this is how it went.

What irks me is the historical opportunity wasted here. It's not the tshirts to the local Fourth of July softball tourny. It's a symbol of an entire city and the closest thing America has to a national dress. A baseball hat is uniquely American as much as a kilt is Scottish. It represents where you're from (Northerner? West Coast?) and a bit of your outlook on life (Boston = Fanatic, Yankees = Classic, Chicago = Dreamer, etc).

It's not that hard. Design is not cancer research. It's a communication problem solved with taste and craftsmanship. This logo didn't need to allude to 7 things. It simply needed to state 2. The city it represents and the profession it occupies. These two simple ideas are where they had to revisit every round of designs. If you go back to the brief, you'll never lose sight of that target. But when you don't, you end up trying to shoehorn into a mark too many "brand messages", while ignoring the rich aesthetic history of your client's world.

And you can do that many ways. With simple colors. With a nice, solid wordmark. Well, like this team, the 1968 Miami Marlins.

Have knife, will travel.

About a month ago, while helping friends man a fresh mozzarella stand at the Williamsburg, Brooklyn food bazaar Smorgasburg, a simple question came up.

There was a moment when we needed to cut some rope and I called out for a knife. Someone responded, "Who carries a knife?" Well, no one nowadays. But my grandfather, a market vendor coming from a long line of fruits and vegetable sellers at Cincinnati's Findlay Market, always had a knife on his person. And he still does to this day. His knife is his lifeline. A symbol of utility and craftsmanship. Today, the most ubiquitous item we carry is an IPhone. And since that is fucking sad, I vowed to get myself a knife.

The next day I noticed a little write up on knives in Field & Stream. I've never been into knives per say, but I thought that this nice-looking, classic French designed Opinel was what I wanted.

Manufactured since the 1890's in the French town of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, this time-honoured peasant's knife has since become the iconic symbol of French culture and lifestyle. Pablo Picasso used an Opinel to carve his sculptures and the Savoyard alpine guide Roger Frison-Roche never made an ascent without one. The Opinel was also selected in the 1985 Victoria and Albert Museum's "100 Most Beautiful Products in The World", alongside the Porche 911 and the Rolex watch. It's handsome, sturdy and has a great history. Online is costs about 40 dollars with my name engraved. Someday, I'll pass it down to someone equally appreciative of history and craftsmanship.

(Note that I bought the auxillary version with corkscrew, making it even more useful until I master the French Shoe trick.)

Next. Someday. Tomorrow

Imagery via designer Jcnaour.

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No photoshop but the results of a fire in Linevo, Russia.

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Labour

Ran into two buddies of mine this weekend. Ryan Dunn and Wyeth Hansen, founders of creative studio Labour, whom I've always been a fan of. This creative duo always manages to interject their laid-back style and humor into all their design work. Stand-Up cats they are. Check out reel below.

Labour Show Reel from Labour on Vimeo.