I have a huge pet-peeve when it comes to design. One that I often see other designers overlook: the use of line-breaking hyphens. To say I hate them is an understatement. I think they are ugly and unnecessary, and as such you will never see them in my finished design projects. Today's desktop publishing software has advanced enough, developing tools that allow for a fluid and balanced character placement without the need to use line-breaking hyphens. Designers who clutter up their layouts with hyphens show nothing but a lack of attention to detail.
I think unfortunately the simple beauty of the written word itself is often overlooked as a graphic feature on a page in the world of graphic design. To a non-designer's eye, the words are just text. But for most designers, text when seen as a collective unit, has its own defining artistic elements. How you set the leading, how tight you make the kerning, determine an overall look. Do you full justify or leave a ragged right edge, or left? Knowing how much, or how little, to say on a page not only defines its readability, but also its beauty. I think these elements of design apply both online and in print.
It is easy to get "too close" to a design. After a while all of the elements on the page start to meld together. That is why it is so important to take a step away from it awhile, particularly in the editing phase, so you can see with fresh eyes. When doing so, look at the whole page, large detail and small, and look for those dangling hyphens jumping out at you. Getting rid of them will take your layout to a higher level of perfection. I promise.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
The colorful beauty of Chihuly Glass Art
As part of this year's summer vacation to my hometown of Tacoma, Washington, this year I got to learn more about famed glass artist Dale Chihuly. He was born in Tacoma, and as such, several locations downtown, including the Tacoma Art Museum, have permanent installations of his artwork on display.
The photo taken above is part of a glass ceiling display of the "Glass Bridge" that pedestrians can take to get to the Tacoma Glass Museum down on the waterfront of Commencement Bay.
According to Wikipedia, Chihuly's largest permanent exhibit can be found at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. In 1983 Chihuly returned to his native Pacific Northwest where he continued to develop his own work at the Pilchuck Glass School, which he had helped to found in 1971. Throughout the 1970s, influenced by the great glassblowing tradition of Murano, Chihuly experimented with the team approach to glassblowing. Working with a team of master glassblowers and assistants has enabled him to produce architectural glass art of a scale and quantity unimaginable working alone or with only one assistant.
In 2010 the Space Needle Corporation submitted a proposal for an exhibition of Chihuly's work at a site in the Seattle Center, in competition with proposals for other uses from several other groups. The project, which sees the new Chihuly exhibition hall occupy the site of the former Fun Forest amusement park in the Seattle Center park and entertainment complex, received the final green light from the Seattle City Council on April 25, 2011. It opened May 21, 2012.
If you ever have the opportunity to see his work, I encourage you to do so. Photographs just don't do justice to the vibrant colors and the intricate sculpting shapes and contortions of the glass art.
According to Wikipedia, Chihuly's largest permanent exhibit can be found at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. In 1983 Chihuly returned to his native Pacific Northwest where he continued to develop his own work at the Pilchuck Glass School, which he had helped to found in 1971. Throughout the 1970s, influenced by the great glassblowing tradition of Murano, Chihuly experimented with the team approach to glassblowing. Working with a team of master glassblowers and assistants has enabled him to produce architectural glass art of a scale and quantity unimaginable working alone or with only one assistant.
In 2010 the Space Needle Corporation submitted a proposal for an exhibition of Chihuly's work at a site in the Seattle Center, in competition with proposals for other uses from several other groups. The project, which sees the new Chihuly exhibition hall occupy the site of the former Fun Forest amusement park in the Seattle Center park and entertainment complex, received the final green light from the Seattle City Council on April 25, 2011. It opened May 21, 2012.
If you ever have the opportunity to see his work, I encourage you to do so. Photographs just don't do justice to the vibrant colors and the intricate sculpting shapes and contortions of the glass art.
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