New location

Here is my work's new home:

http://www.markbolek.com/

New stuff

Happy 2010 Everyone. Got a new job as an in-house graphic designer at a large local bookstore so I've been busy settling. I am wearing many hats in this job and its been a bit harder to get really inspired. Here is some work I kicked out anyway:

Never see the light of day

A lot of good projects go into the abyss of not being chosen by the client this is an example of one. This 2-color piece is a 9x12 envelope/container for a local furniture distributor whose logo I removed to remain anonymous. Perhaps it was too modern for their liking, or they could not think beyond full color photography.

The taste of restraint is rarely know in these time of excess…

“Trendiness is seductive, especially to the young and inexperienced, for the principal reason that it offers no restraints, is lots of ‘fun’, permits unlimited possibilities for ‘self-expression,’ and doesn’t require conforming to the dictates of reason or aesthetics.”

“Coping with the problems relating to the understanding of design in business, depends a great deal on how well informed, genuinely interested, and experienced a businessman is. Managers responsible for design are chosen, not for their aesthetic judgments, nor for their impeccable taste, but for their administrative skills. Few, if any, understand the intricacies of design, or even the role, beyond the obvious, that design and designers play.

Most see the designer as a set of hands — a supplier — not as a strategic part of a business. Their background is primarily that of marketers, purchasing agents, or advertising specialists, not of connoisseurs of design. It is their uninformed, unfocused preferences or prejudices, their likes or dislikes that too often determine the look of things. Yet, much of the time, they are not even discriminating enough to distinguish between good and bad, between trendy and original, nor can they always recognize talent or specialized skills. In the field of design theirs is the dichotomy of being privileged but not necessarily being qualified — after all, design is not their business.”

–Paul Rand

Holding posters seems to be a fad these days. I wonder how long it will last?

Joe for dinner… cause I can.

Tough time for design…

Long time no post. Well I will refer to Veer to get me back on Track. Here is a cool scarf made out of the the epic font Helvetica that is laser-cut. Let me know what you think.