STEPHANIE ORMA :: travel, arts, & design writer » San Francisco http://ormadesign.com/blog Writings on arts, design, travel, san francisco and other creative musings... Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:48:15 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 7×7 SF Article: Archive Vintage Rentals Opens in Wine Country http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/10/7x7-sf-article-archive-vintage-rentals-opens-in-wine-country/ http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/10/7x7-sf-article-archive-vintage-rentals-opens-in-wine-country/#comments Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:42:36 +0000 steph http://ormadesign.com/blog/?p=1130 Bay Area vintage-lovers rejoice: The SoCal bridal staple Archive Vintage Rentals–known for lending their well-curated, one-of-a-kind relics to weddings and events—is now available for NorCal bridal borrowing too.

Read my full article on 7×7.com.

image courtesy Archive Vintage Rentals

]]> http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/10/7x7-sf-article-archive-vintage-rentals-opens-in-wine-country/feed/ 0 HOW Magazine Article: The Daily Taps into the Future of Design http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/10/how-magazine-article-the-daily-taps-into-the-future-of-design/ http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/10/how-magazine-article-the-daily-taps-into-the-future-of-design/#comments Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:29:25 +0000 steph http://ormadesign.com/blog/?p=1122 There’s something so new and super-cool happening in the world of design–but shocker-of-shockers–it’s not happening in the webosphere. It’s exploding on the iPad. The Daily, a magazine-meets-newspaper-meets-the most wow-worthy technology, is taking design to some crazy new heights.

Although you can call it an app, The Daily is more like the wildly re-imagined future of news publishing. Launched in February under the helm of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, The Daily is a made-explicitly-for-iPad national news publication featuring original editorial and visual content 365 days a year. Produced by a group of forward-looking, savvy reporters, editors, and rockin’ designers, the project takes the printed word far beyond the typical user experience.

Read my full article on HOW MAGAZINE.

IMAGE COURTESY OF THE DAILY

IMAGE COURTESY OF THE DAILY

]]> http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/10/how-magazine-article-the-daily-taps-into-the-future-of-design/feed/ 0 7×7 SF Article: Jackson Browne Solo Acoustic Show in Marin! http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/07/7x7-sf-article-jackson-browne-solo-acoustic-show-in-marin/ http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/07/7x7-sf-article-jackson-browne-solo-acoustic-show-in-marin/#comments Sun, 24 Jul 2011 04:22:16 +0000 steph http://ormadesign.com/blog/?p=898 Oh, Jackson Browne, how we love thee; your singing, your songwriting, your guitar playing, and your all-around awesome sauce talent. And thanks to you, ‘70s-loving Bay Area hipsters now have something to look forward to this November besides cold weather and Thanksgiving.

Read my full article on 7×7.com

]]> http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/07/7x7-sf-article-jackson-browne-solo-acoustic-show-in-marin/feed/ 0 Why CMYBacon is Smokin’ http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/03/why-cmybacon-is-smokin/ http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/03/why-cmybacon-is-smokin/#comments Sat, 26 Mar 2011 19:46:40 +0000 steph http://ormadesign.com/blog/?p=653 With a name like CMYBacon how can you not be intrigued? Although Designer Martin Refsal has to “suppress my inner-geek from time to time to ensure that I don’t post too many things about Star Wars and Legos” he is the witty mastermind behind one of newest (and cleverest) design blogs on the webosphere. Launched in April 2010, CMYBacon is chock full of refreshingly unconventional, well-made, and quite often, humorous designs. And a lot of the funny stuff is specifically identifiable to designers too, like the tongue-in-cheek  “I Went to School for Graphic Design – Would You Like Whipped Cream on That?” coffee poster or the “gif peanut butter” image

Read my full article on Print Magazine’s awesome design blog, IMPRINT.

by Tymn Armstrong

]]> http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/03/why-cmybacon-is-smokin/feed/ 0 Tessa Brunton: SF Cartoonist in the Spotlight http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/03/tessa-brunton-sf-cartoonist-in-the-spotlight/ http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/03/tessa-brunton-sf-cartoonist-in-the-spotlight/#comments Tue, 22 Mar 2011 01:05:11 +0000 steph http://ormadesign.com/blog/?p=643 Twenty-eight-year old Bay Area cartoonist Tessa Brunton is finally having her day in the spotlight. Along with her first-ever exhibition held at the Cartoon Art Museum from March 26th through June 19th, her new book for Sparkplug Comicbooks will be published later this year. We sat down with the witty Brunton to discuss her edgy autobiographical cartoons, upcoming exhibition, and the art of being a female cartoonist.

Read my full article on SF STATION. And see her fun cartoons below:

by Tessa Brunton

by Tessa Brunton

]]> http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/03/tessa-brunton-sf-cartoonist-in-the-spotlight/feed/ 0 In the Sack at the Exploratorium http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/02/in-the-sack-at-the-exploratorium/ http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/02/in-the-sack-at-the-exploratorium/#comments Fri, 25 Feb 2011 23:30:33 +0000 steph http://ormadesign.com/blog/?p=629 Apparently we spend more than 27 years of our existence doing absolutely nothing. During this time we could be researching a cure for cancer, helping attain world peace, making billions developing the next big thing, having crazy sex, or holding down a beach somewhere, drink in hand. Instead, we’re sleeping. It seems like a total waste of time, right? Well, hold on there, overachievers. “After Dark: While You Were Sleeping” at the Exploratorium sheds light on what goes on in the dark and why it’s important.

Read my full write-up on SF WEEKLY.

image courtesy Exploratorium

]]> http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/02/in-the-sack-at-the-exploratorium/feed/ 0 Paper Theatrics: Alfalfa Studio http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/02/paper-theatrics-alfalfa-studio/ http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/02/paper-theatrics-alfalfa-studio/#comments Thu, 17 Feb 2011 02:52:07 +0000 steph http://ormadesign.com/blog/?p=599 Alfalfa Studio could not have been cast more perfectly as the design studio of choice for innovative Texas-based theatre company Amphibian Stage Productions. Bringing the awesome three-dimensional quality of live theatre to the flat, two-dimensional space of poster design is no easy feat. But when you combine the über creative design skills of the New York-based design firm with the equally risk-taking Forth Worth theatre company – the results are paper theatrics at its best.

Read my full article on PRINT MAGAZINE’s awesome design blog IMPRINT.

image courtesy Alfalfa Studio

]]> http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/02/paper-theatrics-alfalfa-studio/feed/ 0 Matthew Carter Unveils New Typeface in San Francisco http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/02/matthew-carters-new-typeface/ http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/02/matthew-carters-new-typeface/#comments Tue, 08 Feb 2011 07:18:32 +0000 steph http://ormadesign.com/blog/?p=582 Matthew Carter has a letter for web designers, typography geeks, and design buffs everywhere. Actually, he has a whole brand spankin’ new alphabet. On February 2nd, the iconic type designer unveiled his newest commercial typeface, Carter Sans, at the Book Club of California in San Francisco to the delight of more than 80 graphic design glitterati. In a fireside-like chat with Editor/Designer Patrick Coyne of Communication Arts Magazine, Carter shared the behind-the-scenes story of his new typeface, his bemused thoughts on Ikea “scandalously” switching their catalog design from Futura to Verdana, and how the John Coltrane Quartet rocked his typographic youth.

Read my full article on DWELL.

image courtesy Monotype Imaging/Pentagram

]]> http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/02/matthew-carters-new-typeface/feed/ 0 Art Review: Next to Normal at San Francisco’s Curran Theatre http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/02/art-review-next-to-normal-at-san-francisco%e2%80%99s-orpheum-theatre/ http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/02/art-review-next-to-normal-at-san-francisco%e2%80%99s-orpheum-theatre/#comments Fri, 04 Feb 2011 15:55:04 +0000 steph http://ormadesign.com/blog/?p=546 The whole world is crazy, happiness is but an illusion, life equals pain, and we’re all teetering on the brink of a psychotic break. Cue the show tunes!

image courtesy SHNSF

Next to Normal, now playing at the Curran Theatre, is just your average, everyday Tony Award-wining musical starring Bipolar Disorder — wait, what? Show tunes and psychological mood disorders? Exactly. Unlike such classic up-lifters as The Sound of Music where the songs transport you to magical, dreamy worlds of raindrops and roses, Next to Normal keeps you firmly planted in the harsh, realistic, Prozac state of the now. And just like manic-depression, the production suffers from extreme highs and lows.

Read my full review on SF STATION.

]]> http://ormadesign.com/blog/2011/02/art-review-next-to-normal-at-san-francisco%e2%80%99s-orpheum-theatre/feed/ 0 Art Review: Jerry Springer the Opera at San Francisco’s Victoria Theatre http://ormadesign.com/blog/2010/09/art-review-jerry-springer-the-opera-at-the-victoria-theatre/ http://ormadesign.com/blog/2010/09/art-review-jerry-springer-the-opera-at-the-victoria-theatre/#comments Wed, 15 Sep 2010 03:30:37 +0000 steph http://ormadesign.com/blog/?p=321 When the pre-show announcer states, “Please silence your cell phones now — if you don’t, it will annoy the sh*t out of us. .. so sit back, relax and enjoy the f***ing show,” you know you’re in for one heck of a musical ride. But nothing can prepare you for what follows next.


Conceived by a British writing team (with one crazy imagination) and originally produced in London, Jerry Springer, the Opera, is a jaw-to-the-floor shocking, raunchy, and at times hilarious operatic-style farce. That’s right — it’s Opera meets the trashiest of television shows, the Jerry Springer Show, and the combination of the two could not be more outlandish.

Read my full arts review on SF STATION.

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