It all adds up… and besides, it’s just plain wrong to argue with truisms. Find these and more bottom-line calculations here. (thanks Adrian)

Stockholm, Sweden

An intriguing re-telling of the Grimm Brothers’ well-known narrative—information design meets fairy tale. View the cleverly animated piece here.

(thanks Gregor Brandt)

Zürich, Switzerland

Otto Baumberger (1889–1961) was one of Switzerland’s first poster designers. As an employee of Wolfensberger AG in Zürich he gained a sound knowledge of lithographic techniques—which he used to advance the medium as evidenced in his design of over 200 posters. The diversity of his work exemplifies Swiss poster art in the first half of the twentieth century, showing the development from the painterly artist’s poster to corporate design shaped by graphic art. (I feel fortunate to have three of Otto’s posters in my personal collection).

Posters: “Educated shoppers shop at Globus,” 1934; Motor Comptoir, 1932; Qualité for PKZ, 1932; Swan, 1919; Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 1928; Zürich airshows in 1932 and 1937. (images via designboom)

New York, New York

“Barbie celebrated her 50th birthday on 9 March, which marked the opening day of the American International Toy Fair in New York where she made her debut in 1959. The doll was inspired by German doll Bild Lilli, itself inspired by a German newspaper comic strip. Ruth Handler, wife of Elliot, a co-founder of Mattel Inc., purchased three Bild Lilli dolls while vacationing in Europe in 1956. When she got home, she gave one to her daughter Barbara and the other two went to Mattel where the design was reworked—thus Barbie, named after Ruth’s daughter was born.

Like Bild Lilli, Barbie was tall and slim with long legs and a tiny waist. No other doll in the American market looked like her. She was an instant success; Mattel sold some 350,000 dolls in the first year of production. Over the years, over a billion Barbie dolls have been sold in 150 countries—Mattel claims that three are sold every second.

Mattel acquired rights to Bild Lilli in 1964 and stopped its production. But Barbie has remained a subject of controversies—many of which now center on the unrealistic body image she presents to young women—and lawsuits. The most recent of these was launched by Mattel against MGA Entertainment Inc., makers of Bratz dolls. Mattel won a court order banning MGA from selling their infringing Bratz doll on 3 December 2008, a decision that MGA announced it would appeal. Barbie sales are still going strong—she remains the most popular doll for girls. But she may need freshening up for her 50th birthday; last year’s fourth quarter sales worldwide fell 21 percent.”

The above is from the February 2009 issue of WIPO Magazine (World Intellectual Property Organization), a free publication that comes out bi-monthly from Geneva. What the article does not mention is that the sassy Bild Lilli doll (developed by Max Weissbrodt of the O&M Hausser toy company in Neustadt/Coburg) was originally marketed to adults in bars as a joke or gag gift (the doll was based on a racy German cartoon character which itself debuted on 24 June 1952, created by Reinhard Beuthien for the tabloid Bild-Zeitung in Hamburg).

Images: Barbie from 1959; her swinging predecessor Bild Lilli.

Brooklyn, New York

…and then she turns them into art—so don’t say you haven’t been warned. She informed me yesterday that she now has a new website (you guessed it: www.wendyrichmond.com) and you can learn more about her here. Though I was already familiar with Wendy’s writing from Communication Arts magazine, I first met her in person six years ago at Anne Telford’s place in La Jolla—and I’ve followed her privacy-breaching oeuvre ever since.

Córdoba, Argentina

A portrait of (Ronald) Shakespear has mysteriously appeared in the form of anonymous grafitti on a park wall in this central Argentinian city, where the veteran designer was recently invited to talk to students. Says Ronald (quoting MacArthur): “I came through, and I shall return.” We don’t doubt it my friend, we don’t doubt it—though even the finest images can be fickle, and a pipe is not always a pipe… :-)

Boston, Massachusetts

The University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees will be awarding Chaz Maviyane-Davies an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at the University of Massachusetts Lowell Commencement Ceremony, to be held on Saturday, May 30, 2009. In their words (to Chaz): “The Board of Trustees is proud to bestow upon you their highest honor in recognition of your achievements as an international graphic designer who highlights vital social issues. Your commitment to combatting rights abuses in Africa as well as striving to eliminate racial, gender, religious and political discrimination around the world make you a leader in your profession, as well as a role model for countless others. Your courage, character and dedication to these important issues show us the way to succeed as both professionals and citizens.”

I couldn’t agree more… congratulations, and well deserved my friend!

Above, a 2005 photo of Chaz in Breda, NL by Guy Schockaert (via Ahn Sang-Soo’s blog); a sampling of Chaz’s posters below.

Somerton, U.K.

I’ve always loved clouds—while cloudless skies tend to leave me nonplussed. So it was with considerable pleasure that I stumbled across The Cloud Appreciation Society today. View a gallery of nearly 5000 cloud images here. Following is the Society’s manifesto…

~~~~~

WE BELIEVE that clouds are unjustly maligned

and that life would be immeasurably poorer without them.

We think that they are Nature’s poetry,

and the most egalitarian of her displays, since

everyone can have a fantastic view of them.

We pledge to fight ‘blue-sky thinking’ wherever we find it.

Life would be dull if we had to look up at

cloudless monotony day after day.

We seek to remind people that clouds are expressions of the

atmosphere’s moods, and can be read like those of

a person’s countenance.

Clouds are so commonplace that their beauty is often overlooked.

They are for dreamers and their contemplation benefits the soul.

Indeed, all who consider the shapes they see in them will save

on psychoanalysis bills.

And so we say to all who’ll listen:

Look up, marvel at the ephemeral beauty,

and live life with your head in the clouds!

(book review)

Do Good Design: How Designers Can Change The World

by David B. Berman

AIGA Design Press / New Riders (Peachpit)

David B. Berman’s important new book is honest, timely, and hard-hitting, delivered with in-your-face directness—it presents a strong argument regarding the inherent power of design to shape our world and takes on greed, excess, and the scheming tendencies of advertising and “targeted” visual communications. Full of pithy quotations, well illustrated (with wide-ranging examples of manipulative media and manufactured needs) and impressively annotated and cross-referenced, Do Good Design rails against the consumptive excesses of the so-called “developed world” and urges designers to help steer a better course for our planet—before it’s too late. David combines his keen observation skills with courage to question the status quo, expressing his marathon call for positive change with passionate zeal. In his words, “the future of civilization is our common design project.”

I have known David (Duv to his friends) for nearly 20 years and have had the ongoing pleasure of interaction with him on matters relating to design ethics and the role design can play in shaping a more equitable and sustainable future. Thanks for writing this important book, Duv—and keep up the “good” work.

+ + +

I highly recommend that you buy this book, that you read it, and that you then act on it. Next, donate your copy to (or buy another for) your local library—it’s that important. See David’s call to action (from an Icograda talk in Hong Kong) here.

Vienna, Austria

Found signage, letterforms, pictographs, symbols, etc. from many different countries, compiled “with a desire to explore contrasting (cultural) backgrounds, juxtapositions, and motivations re: the shaping of intentional and concrete forms of communication.” (from the site’s German intro, here). Displaying thousands of images (organized by an ‘interesting’ taxonomy) and with almost daily additions to the collection, it’s worth a visit.

(via slanted).