New Work: Sketches for Book cover

This is a sketch for a book cover i'm working on for Penguin UK.
I like combining squiggly line drawings with photography.
I'm working on the hand lettering for the title as well but can't show that yet.

Inspiration: Marc Jacobs

Watched this documentary on Marc Jacobs AGAIN on the wknd. Directed by Loic Prigent and originally shot for french TV.
It's a great window into his creative mind and process which includes really interesting inspiration boards + lots of panic, self doubt and cigarettes.
j'adore marc jacobs.

Influences: Wallpaper Designer Tracy Kendall

Last night attended an evening with UK wallpaper designer Tracy Kendall. I've admired her work for several years - especially her fantastic cutlery series. Her enormous knife fork and spoons are so bold + beautiful and were a definite influence on me when I created my oversized book covers and scissors. They definitely fall under the category "Wish I thought of that first!

She is now moving into wall coverings with 3 dimensions. On display were several of her new designs including wonderful papers made of buttons and puzzle pieces. Must also be mentioned Tracy wore great argyle leggings and red shoes. Very 'quirky British'.

Textiles: MissPrint

Love this new textile company Missprint which Maxwell of Apt therapy featured on his 'Best of the ICFF' list. The wallpapers, wall stencils and lamp shades are designed and hand-printed in a small East London studio by Yvonne and Rebecca Drury.
My favorite is this Muscat design which reminds me alot of Lucienne Day's patterns from the 1950s.

Data Visualization: Lists tell a story

Ever since listening to Spark's podcast about the Feltron report I
have been thinking of ways that data can tell stories. This amazon receipt for example tells a story about my summer vacation.

Stockholm prep: Josef Frank

Detail of above


yum!
I'm going to Stockholm next month (i know lucky) so am making a list of design shops to visit.
Top o list is Svenskt Tenn: Home of Josef Frank textiles.
I love Frank's incredibly vibrant textiles which explode in a riot of big blooming flowers + fantastical birds. Methinks it would be hard to feel sad while sitting on one of his chairs. He sounds like a great guy: described as a designer who was fueled by curiosity and a roaming imagination - who was able to move from textiles, architecture, furniture design, glassware and lighting with ease. wow.

Harvey Faircloth

I have been following the blog of Abby Clawson Low, former Senior art director at Kate Spade for about a year so was very excited to learn that she has teamed up with her friends Katie Hatch and Mara Papa
to launch a clothing line called Harvey Faircloth.
I predict it'll be a huge hit.
I love the bio and "inspiration wall" they have included on their website and their use of the phrases 'plucky pioneering spirit' and 'fearless panache!'

Manicules

Nick Shinn's talk was great.
Among many items I learned that the Victorian pointing hands I've always liked have various names including a manicule and bishop's fist.
There is even a flickr group specifically for manicule watchers.
Speaking of... here's a photo of my completed manicule needlepoint.
When I sew the 2 sides together it'll be an eyeglass case.

April 30th 7:00 p.m. at The Urban Gallery (beside Swipe Books),
401 Richmond St. $10.00 All Welcome.

Type designer Nick Shinn is speaking tonight at TYPE club. Should be a great talk for anyone interested in typography.

Data recording on steroids: The Feltron Annual Report

Detail

Listened to a Spark podcast tonight and discovered The Feltron report:
a data based "portrait of a year" produced annually by Graphic designer Nicholas Feltron. Personal statistics in the report include number of books read, miles travelled and "Least kosher meal eaten".
In the interview Nora explored, among other things, the question of why we have become so obsessed with self reporting and cataloguing all our data and whether it actually serves a purpose. One point I thought particularly interesting: Feltron feels the reports become more + more interesting as the years go on and predicts they will one day serve as heirlooms. hmmm.
I love the idea of data collection as story telling.
Great interview. Highly recommended.

Hillman Curtis: Pentagram film

Watched Hillman Curtis' short film on the history of Pentagram today.
It's narrated by Paula Scher speaking very quickly.
(I think Hillman actually sped up the tape) Her zippy fast voice over combined with quickie diagrams jetting about the screen somehow made the entire history seem terribly funny.

Timex military watch

Timex recently joined forces with J. Crew to create this fetching new military watch . The design was inspired by iconic styles from the 1940s. (My favorite fashion period.The black face has been distressed to look vintage which is abit well.. distressing! but i will admit -I still want it.
Love the ribbed nylon strap and bright red second hand for that "camping chic" feel.

ps. This post is the first in a new feature I'm beginning called Wrist Watch Wednesdays Each week I'll feature one watch in depth. I'll also have posts which celebrate both the watch and it's owner. It's a way to explore my love of time pieces and also an excuse to contact interesting people. Stay tuned.

Lessons from Paul Rand: Cutting paper is fun

My immersion in all things Paul Rand continues.
I am too rushed today to summarize all the work + theories that I find inspiring (Plus I am starting to think that most people don't read illustrator blogs anyway- they just look at the pictures!) so for now will just focus on one of his strengths: Collage.
Rand loved the spontaneity of collage and used it through his career.
I've been looking for ways to move my style forward in a more immediate and minimal direction and I believe collage is the ticket.
Looking for a starting off point I decided to create a little 'homage collage'.
I began by colouring paper with pastels in quick strokes. I then cut out pieces quickly and glued onto a piece of cardboard.
*Note: The shape + colour of the flowers are taken directly from Rand's children's book titled I know alot of things.
This IS an homage. Ahem.
It was very refreshing to cut the letters out rather than draw them.
The technique ensures the piece has a fresh look that is not overworked.
This is definitely the direction I'd like to take with my illustration.
Studying Paul Rand's oeuvre and reading about his theories is like finding the brilliant, curmudgeonly design teacher I never had.

i love Google Analytics

Boy do they know how to slice data.

Dress Code Design form

Through Grain Edit discovered dress code design firm. Dress code = young whipper snappers Andre Andreev and G. Dan Covert.
Great design and copy writing.



A page from their recently released book Never Sleep (an advice guide for young designers)






Business cards designed for Van Toeffler President of MTV.
Really unpretentious. Great.

My website is live

alannacavanagh.com is finally live
Would love you to visit and send feedback. Don't be shy.
Many thanks.