Wherever you’ve been…
I stumbled across this lovely little collection today, an “image stream and information resource devoted to the art of luggage labels and related travel ephemera. Luggage labels are fascinating bits of hotel history from the golden age of travel, roughly the 1900s to 1960s. During this time these labels were used by hotels as advertising and eagerly applied to steamer trunks, suitcases and all sorts of luggage by hotel staff, mainly bellhops.”
When I was a kid our family used to vacation in Lugano (and the nearby beach village of Agno in the Ticino)—takes me back… See the collection of luggage labels here.
Atlanta, Georgia
Forty years ago today, Martin Luther King, Jr. was gunned down in Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 39. Baptist minister, world-renowned civil rights leader, and powerful advocate of non-violence, King’s influence fundamentally changed civil rights for African Americans in the United States. In 1964, he became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his efforts to end segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means.
“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
—Martin Luther King, Jr.
Winnipeg, Canada
Adrian Shum, a designer colleague at Circle, recently discovered a great online reference resource for illustrators—this from his blog at MUHSASHUM… “Andrew Loomis (1892-1959) was a highly talented American illustrator. His series of influential, instructional books are out of print and yet still highly sought after and nearly impossible to find. Luckily there is the Internet, with sites such as this where you can view scans of the books. I highly recommend you take a look at Mr. Loomis’ work… he’s likely influenced more of today’s artists than you know…”
Thanks, Adrian. Keep on drawing…
Winnipeg, Canada
Time certainly does fly when you’re having fun… today marks 32 years since the birth of Circle (we share that birthdate with this little company called Apple Computer :-)—and we continue with gusto…
1976 was an interesting and memorable year in many ways, locally and around the world—in South Africa, anti-apartheid riots began in Soweto; Israeli commandos pulled off the Entebbe Raid in Uganda; in China the Tangshan earthquake killed 242,769 people; in the UK punk enters the mainstream; in the U.S. Jimmy Carter was elected as president; and out in space, the Viking 1 orbiter lands on Mars. 1976 also saw the introduction of the first laser printer by IBM (the Model 3800); The Band’s farewell concert The Last Waltz; the deaths of blues-singer Howlin’ Wolf, artist Alexander Calder, and revolutionary Chairman Mao; and the births of chanteuse Martha Wainright and Brazilian footballer Ronaldo. Here in Canada, the Eaton’s catalogue and Time magazine’s Canadian edition were discontinued; the Summer Olympics were held in Montreal (highlighted by 14-year old Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci’s perfect scores and five gold medals); René Lévesque’s Parti Québécois wins a majority in the Quebec elections; and the CN tower went up in Toronto.
Winnipeg, Canada
Yesterday evening I gave a presentation entitled Pushing the Envelope to the Winnipeg Philatelic Society—founded in 1900, it is the oldest stamp club in Western Canada. I showed developmental sketches, shared the process of designing stamps, and answered questions of the many enthusiastic participants (I’ve had the honored privilege of being involved in the design of over 20 Canadian stamps to date).
Some of the commemorative stamps we’ve designed at Circle: 1999 Pan American Games, 125th Anniversary of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Fishing Flies, Canadian Recording Artists.
London, United Kingdom
The universally recognized (and easy-to-reproduce) peace symbol, called the “most famous postwar logo without commercial purpose,” turns 50 years old tomorrow. The symbol, created in the United Kingdom by the irascible pacifist Twickenham textile designer Gerald Holtom a half a century ago (for the fledgling British disarmament movement), still radiates emotion as it approaches its momentous anniversary.
Seoul, Korea
The historic Sungnyemun gate (Namdaemun in Korean, meaning “Gate of Exalted Ceremonies”) in the heart of Seoul was destroyed in a devastating fire earlier this week. Considered South Korea’s premiere cultural landmark and the capital city’s oldest wooden structure (completed in 1398), the iconic gate was for Koreans “a historical link that survived 600 years, multiple wars and disasters,” as Icograda president Don Ryun Chang wrote me this week. “We are at a loss for words but hope there might be critical lessons to be learned for the future of cultural sustainability and civic governance in our country,” he stated (with reference to the 70-year-old malcontent who has confessed to arson). I had the chance to visit the gate during the Oullim (Great Harmony) Icograda Millennium Design Congress in 2000—seeing the pictures of Namdaemun in flames this week was sad, and brought back profound memories…
Photo of Namdaemun gate at night by 南宮博士.
Menlo Park, California
Communication Arts magazine (CA) has launched new websites in the past weeks—in the process, links to legacy feature articles previously accessible online have been lost. PDF versions of some of the international design features that I’ve written for CA since 1995 are now available here (click on the country name, average length 14-18 pages, PDF size 4.8 MB): Russia (1995), Japan (2001), Brazil (2003), China (2004).
PDFs for more recent features can be accessed here: Cuba (2006), Australia (2007). Enjoy…
Images: Playing cards by Jelena Kitajeva, Moscow; Picture book of original fonts created at Inter Medium Institute Graduate School, Akio Okumura, art director/designer, Hiroko Matsubara, designer; Brasilero typeface by Crystian Cruz, São Paulo; Panda/Mickey-morph poster by Ma Degang, Shanghai.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma, Gandhiji, Bhapu to some) was assassinated 60 years ago today in New Delhi. His frugal, exemplary life of non-violence (“My life is my message.”) continues to be an inspiration to millions around the world—on 15 June last year the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution declaring 2 October (Gandhi’s birthday) to be the International Day of Non-Violence.
On a trip to India a few years ago I had the chance to visit Ahmedabad (where Mahatma Ghandhi established two ashrams in 1915) as well as the house in Mumbai where he spent years in house-arrest. While there, I picked up a copy of his remarkably forthright autobiography, The Story of my Experiments with Truth…
Winnipeg, Canada
Today is Robbie Burns Day (my namesake) as several Scottish clients and co-workers have pointed out to me… and coincidentally (it seems) Adrian kindly gifted me with two old unopened bottles of Scotch (the beverage) with the explanation, “No one in our family drinks Scotch, and it’s been in the back of the liquor cabinet for decades…” Sweet—we lads just sampled a wee dram or two (the fine “Special Old Reserve 12-Year-Old Single Malt” is now in its mid 30s), and all we can say is Slainte Mhath! (Good Health) and the responding Slainte Mhor! (Great Health). Read Rabbie’s complete works here.
Born January 25th, 1759 in Alloway, Scotland’s most famous poet and favorite native son produced a massive body of work in his short life of 37 years. “Rabbie” Burns’ carousing and his stick-it-to-the-man attitude endeared him to both his contemporaries and to ensuing generations. (Detail of painting by Alexander Nasmyth, 1787).
