STEPHANIE ORMA :: travel, arts, & design writer

Can the process of buying digital typefaces be any less inspired? There’s just nothing inherently exciting, creative, or cool about it. You purchase, download, and install. Whoop-de-do. Sure, online font shops are an undeniably fantastic resource for designers, but for something that’s purchased so often by so many creative folks specifically for creative purposes, you’d think someone would’ve tapped into all that creative consumerism (and passion for typography!) by now. Well, the Denmark-based design agency, e-Types, has done just that.

Read my full article in COMMUNICATION ARTS MAGAZINE online or below (click pics to enlarge):

As a contributing writer for Print Magazine’s awesome design blog, Imprint, I recently had the fantastic opportunity to interview noted graphic designer and silkscreen artist, Josh Higgins. Josh conceived the unique idea for the phone-based photography exhibition, Phonography, featuring renowned creatives such as Robynne Raye, Joel Templin, Paul Frank, Woody Pirtle, Christopher Simmons, and Jessica Hische, among others. Phonography is not necessarily intended to be seen as “art”, as it is an exploration into how we express our artistic side through the medium of the phone.

Photo by designer/typographer/illustrator Jessica Hische

Aside from the opportunity to write about an original exhibition featuring creative folks who I truly admire, one of the best things about interviewing Josh was that I absolutely LOVE his silkscreen posters. But I didn’t even realize until I started perusing his design work in preparation for the article exactly who he is –  the creator of some of my absolute favorite silkscreen posters as seen on the pages of Communication Arts Magazine! I love his work so much, I have hearts and stars drawn next to his work (which I won’t show out of pure embarrassment!). But check out his amazing work:

by Josh Higgins

by Josh Higgins

He’s crazy talented, right? Read my full article on his Phonography exhibit at IMPRINT.

Besides drooling over beautiful typefaces, amazing graphic designers, and the creative work featured in Communication Arts Magazine, I LOVE classic cars. The design, innovation, history, craftsmanship – I’m fascinated by all of it thanks to my awesome Dad who introduced me to their timeless beauty as a young girl. So I couldn’t be more flippin’ excited to announce the annual Tiburon Classic Car Show on Saturday, June 19th, 2010!

For the price of…well, nothing…Dad’s get to drool over the most rare and beautiful classic cars ever built while taking in the beauty of the most picturesque waterfront community on the San Francisco Bay. Set against the breathtaking backdrop of Tiburon Waterfront Park (with amazing views of San Francisco and Angel Island), the Tiburon Classic Car Show is a BEST BET for a fun, family-friendly way to celebrate Dad’s Day weekend.

After the daytime Tiburon Classic Car Show festivities, evening celebrations abound as the event moves a selection of their stellar cars to downtown Main Street. All attendees will receive fabulous budget-worthy coupons from local merchants (that will last throughout the night and into the following week!) Drink, eat, shop, celebrate, and ogle over the last remaining 1950’s factory team XK D race car – one of the most rare and extraordinary Jaguars ever built. Sure beats getting Dad a lame tie again, don’t you think? Oh, and did I mention – it’s totally FREE.

Details, Details:
Neighborhood: Tiburon, CA
Ticket Price: FREE!
Event Date: 6/19/10
Time: 11am-9pm
Street address: Shoreline Park/Tiburon Waterfront Park, Tiburon, CA (Paradise Drive – near ferry landing)
Phone number: 415-297-2615
Email: tomaoneill@comcast.net
Website: http://www.tiburonclassiccarshow.org

(originally appeared in SF Examiner 04/27/10)

It’s that time of year again – call for entries. Try as we might to escape it, reminders are everywhere: in our mailbox, our e-mail, advertised on our favorite design sites. And all the big players are pushing hard for our attention: Communication Arts, HOW Magazine, and CMYK, to name just a few. Frankly, I personally found the lure too enticing too resist. Last week, I caved in and shelled out nearly $200 on design competition entrance fees. I was even contemplating entering another, when I was suddenly stricken with a bad case of “graphic designer’s entrance fee remorse.” $200 is a lot of money – especially if you don’t win. So with the economy still on shaky ground and clients few and far between, one has to ask: are design competitions the best place to spend our precious marketing dollars?

You have to admit, the idea of your work featured in one of the best design annuals in the country – if not the world, is pretty darn alluring. These are the same books and magazines that were “required reading” when we first entered graphic design school. The ones we spent hours upon hours pouring through (and for that matter, still do), in awe of the incredible talent gracing the pages. And now is the very real chance that our work could appear side by side with the best in the industry. Sounds pretty darn exciting to me!

Sure there are some designers out there who say they don’t care about winning awards or having their work featured in annuals. These are probably the same designers who’ve received tons of accolades in the past…the handful of “famous” designers we all know by name. But as a newbie to design competitions, I’ll be the first to admit that receiving recognition for all your sweat and tears sounds nothing short of being paid the highest industry compliment. Not to mention, priceless PR.

On the other hand, placing too much importance on competitions can be dangerous. If you think about it, winning boils down to a very small jury of people saying they like your work. Congratulations. You are now worthy. And if you seriously need validation from other people to tell you your work is good, well than, therapy might just be the best place for those marketing dollars.

Of course, there’s the most common design competition scenario, “I entered, but I lost.” If your work fails to make the cut, yes, you’re in the hole a good chunk of money. But you also took a chance and invested in yourself. And that definitely counts for something. After all, if you never put yourself in a position for good things to happen, they never will.

I’ll never forget when I was 17 years old and had the opportunity to enter a statewide flute playing competition. I’d been seriously playing the flute since I was about 12. But for whatever reason (nerves, shyness, fear of failure, etc.) I never went through with the competition. Who knows what would have happened…maybe nothing, maybe something great. The point is, I’ll never know. And life is just too short to be filled with a series of regrets for what might have been.

So are design competitions worth their hefty entrance fees? To quote the legendary Clint Eastwood, “…you’ve got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?” Me? I’m a gambling girl. I’ve entered my best work and all I can do now is hope I’ve got a winning hand. Come on graphic design jackpot!
(originally appeared in SF Examiner  5/14/09)