Leo Obstbaum, Design Director for VANOC 2010 Olympics
My friend and colleague Leo Obstbaum, the creative mastermind behind the designs of the Vancouver Olympic Games, died suddenly in his home of natural causes in the early hours of Friday, August 21st. He left behind his beautiful wife Monice and young daughter Dakota. He was just 40 years old—the same age as I am.
Leo and I spoken numerous times that week and even had plans to meet that day after work to catch up over drinks and discuss a presentation he’d been preparing about his work on the Olympics. It was a talk he hoped to refine and present during Icograda Design Week Vancouver next spring. I’ll never forget hearing the tragic news and trying to come to terms with the fact that my friend was suddenly gone. It really shook me up. As devastated as I felt, I couldn’t imagine the feeling of loss his family was enduring.
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From Brazil and Bulgaria to Sweden and Singapore, worldwide graphic designers are uniting for an exhibition exploring their emotional ties with various countries. Common Thread – October 7 to 17 at Emily Carr University of Art and Design on Granville Island – will feature 20 posters showcasing work from respected contemporary designers such as Namibia’s Frauke Stegmann, Henrik Kubel of London’s A2-Graphics and Silnt from Singapore.
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GDC/BC was proud to bring Michael Osborne, of Michael Osborne Design, to speak at the Salazar Awards. We knew we were in for a treat when he stepped to the podium.
“I don’t apologize for anything.”
(pause)
“Sorry.”
That kicked off a presentation that covered a gamut of material, from his work in the liquor industry (wine, whiskey and liqueurs), down and dirty business advice, and his love of letterpress work. In between, he treated us to vignettes about “weird but real” street signs and photographs.
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The guys from FORMation are at it again! PRESS CHECK is their third and latest iPhone/iPod Touch game. Use accuracy and speed to re-align the printing plates and perfectly register the graphics on screen. The levels range from a two-colour beginner’s set to the expert five-colour job. Think back to art school print class, with the smell of ink and the press humming in the background. For added fun, compare your score with other print lovers worldwide via the international leaderboard. You can also share your score with friends on Facebook or Twitter.
PRESS CHECK features 4 levels of difficulty and 16 challenges. I like the colourful rating system screen that shows your skill across all colour levels, and the wide variety of images to play with.
This latest must-have is available at the Apple App store for $1.99.
PRESS CHECK is designed by Jason Franzen, who created EYE vs. EYE (a colour-matching game) and KERN (an addictive letter-spacing game). FORMation is a design studio based in Dallas, Texas.
Typophile Film Fest 4 is presented by Punchcut in association with the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada
Typophile Film Fest 4 will showcase a rare and unequaled selection of short typographic films. Hailing from Portugal, The Netherlands, Austria, Canada and the US, the films create a visual mashup of motion design, typographic animation and short stories. It includes broadcast motion design, documentaries and typographic eye candy from Trollbäck + Company, Strange Attractors, Heebok Lee, Nick Shinn, Juan Leguizamon as well as exclusive out takes from the acclaimed documentary film Helvetica. Thanks to the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, British Columbia, for helping make this presentation possible.
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KERN is a cool new game designed for both design and typography geeks. Its clean and minimal design is immediately appealing to designers. And it’s pretty addictive, once you start playing! KERN gives letter spacing a fun twist by turning it into a great iPhone/iPod Touch game. You score points when you position the missing letter in a word into its correct position, height and size. As play progresses, some of the font sizes get smaller, but don’t worry! You’ll score more points by getting those right. Don’t go overboard with the kerning or you’ll risk losing one of five ligatures. Once all five are gone, the game’s over. Boing Boing Offworld nailed it on the head by calling it the “iPhone’s first design-nerd game.”
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Graduating in the face of challenge and change, 30 uniquely talented individuals relish the opportunity to do more with less.
The 2009 Grad Show will be held at Harbour Centre, downtown Vancouver, from April 14 – 17, 2009.
The opening gala is on Tuesday, April 14, from 6 – 9 pm.
For a preview of the work of this talented group of students, please visit www.idea09.ca.
GDC/BC, BCID and ACID are very pleased to present the Vancouver premiere of Gary Hustwit’s documentary film Objectified.
Join director Gary Hustwit for a special screening and post-film Q&A.
When: Tuesday, May 5 @ 6:30pm
Where: Rio Theatre, 1660 Broadway East, Vancouver, BC
Cost: General public $20, Students, GDC, BCID, ACID members $15
Tickets will be available through the film’s website - get them while they last!
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DOXA Documentary Film Festival Needs Our Help
Graphic designers don’t often participate in documentary filmmaking, which is a shame. Just as our craft helps shape culture, documentaries are powerful storytelling vehicles, often revealing subjects, issues, and even entire movements we’d otherwise never understand. Heck, Gary Hustwit’s documentary film Helvetica was a good example of this and I was proud we were able to bring it to Vancouver, and his next film, Objectified, is soon to be screened here as well.
Anyway, I hope no one minds me sharing a little about my passion for documentaries. I recently joined the fundraising committee supporting the DOXA Documentary Film Festival and would like to ask for your help. You see, we’re proud to bring together a variety of awesome films from around the world to Vancouver each year, but with the current economic climate and resulting arts & culture cut-backs, our festival requires the support of people like you to remain viable.
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Welcome to 2009! What better place to start than a recap of last Thursday’s GDC BC AGM & Social?
With a tagline of “vote, learn, eat, drink and mingle!”, it wasn’t too surprising that nearly 200 people attended the AGM. To be fair, the order of events was something more like eat, drink, mingle, drink, eat, drink, vote, learn about where Michael Strassburger (of Modern Dog fame) finds inspiration, eat, drink, mingle…well, you get the idea.
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The Ride to Conquer Cancer benefiting the BC Cancer Foundation is a history-making ride from Vancouver to Seattle that will take place on June 19-21, 2009. It’s not a race. It’s a 250 km ride over two days and one camp-out, which will take in some of Pacific Northwest’s most spectacular scenery. Whether you are a weekend rider or a seasoned cyclist, this epic journey is for you! All you need is motivation, a bike, and a helmet. The rest is history. Be part of something BIG in the fight against cancer. You’ll be fully supported from the time you register until you cross the finish line in downtown Seattle. Transportation back from Seattle is provided as is all of the logistical support (meals, medical, mechanical, security etc.) along the route.
Check out The Ride to Conquer Cancer website at www.conquercancer.ca
Thanks for your help!
Rarely does my gingerbread house have to bear the load of snow, yet it has a pitched roof. Seldom is my cookie-abode configured with electric light, yet it sports no skylights. The gingerbread man doesn’t know how to drive, yet the house features a two-car garage and a driveway.
What ever happened to “form follows function?!”
This November, 10 modernist architects will change all of that, in Creative Room’s Gingerbread Competition and Celebrity Auction.
Bidding begins on November the 19th. Buy tickets today for a gala opening & judging event at Vancouver Special on November 25th that you won’t want to miss.
(Photo credit: v1ctory_1s_m1ne)
[on behalf of GDC member Casey Hrynkow]:
I am the designated Vampire Cheerleader here in BC to encourage members to donate blood under the Partners for Life Program with Canadian Blood Services. They are in desperate need of donors. I can’t donate again until later in November. I would encourage everyone, in BC or anywhere else in Canada to make a donation. First timers, I swear it’s not that terrible! You feel SO good in making the effort! If you do go into the Oak Street Clinic in Vancouver, please sign your name in the Partners for Life binder so that your donation will be counted under GDC/BC. If you’re elsewhere in Canada, please consider starting a Partners for Life group for your own chapter.
Thanks!
Sigh. I’m glad to be back home again, but the HOW Design Conference in Boston was an experience I won’t soon forget.
Two of our local GDC Chapter Execs, myself and our Web Communications Chair, Steve Mynett, attended this year’s conference in Boston keen to discover the latest trends in the design industry, network with like-minded designers from across North America, participate in workshops of all kinds and learn from the best and brightest—not to mention represent GDC and Canadian designers!
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Heard of Web Directions North? If you haven’t you should have. What is it and who is it for?
Web Directions focuses on practical and inspiring concepts, technologies and techniques for people whose day to day job is building web sites, applications and services. It’s for web designers, front and back end developers, product managers, Information Architects, and anyone else responsible for building great web solutions.
Beyond that, here is a list of some of the speakers: Jeffrey Zeldman, Andy Clarke, Kimberly Elam and a whole lot more! Check ‘em out.
Well Web Directions North is coming up and runs form Jan 28th to Feb 2nd. If you’re involved in the web at any level you should check it out!
