the mirage of moving light
“Dreams rise in the darkness and catch fire from the mirage of moving light. What happens on the screen isn’t quite real; it leaves open a vague cloudy space for the poor, for dreams and the dead. Hurry hurry, cram yourself full of dreams to carry you through the life that’s waiting for you outside, when you leave here, to help you last a few days more in that nightmare of things and people.”
—Louis-Ferdinand C’line, Journey To The End Of The Night, 1934, translated by Ralph Manheim, 1983.
smart corporations prefer powerful word marks
“There is absolutely nothing wrong with the new London 2012 Olympics logo, but there is something seriously wrong with the logo-driven branding industry at large.
This new logo clearly proves that as we approach 2012, global society will not respond to conventional logos or graphics, but only to these kinds of insignificant, dysfunctional and obscure design works, which will eventually become branding norms throughout the world. This clearly points to the slow demise of the logo-branding industry. . . .
The release of the London logo half a decade prior to the 2012 games themselves is a strong case in point. Perhaps better than anything it intends to convey, it portrays a future in which the value of a logo will be reduced to a minuscule amount.
Let’s face it, logos are almost dead in this hyper-accelerated society. . . .
The London 2012 games are not at all at the mercy of the new logo, as the ever-unique, powerful and recognizable image of the five rings will provide longevity to the Olympics’ ever-growing brand.
In reality, it’s graphic overload and out-of-control logo treatments that push a brand name identity to the point of no value. What are the logos of Microsoft, Sony or Panasonic . . .
Most smart corporations prefer powerful word marks, as their powerful, recognizable names stand alone in the rough marketplace and are not at the mercy of overblown graphics going through repeated treatments that are commonly labeled as ‘brand positioning.’”
—Naseem Javed, What Does the London 2012 Olympics Logo Prove?, E-Commerce Times, 06/28/07.
The logo is dead! Long live the word mark!
his demure purple eyes
“The prettiest girl in the crowd, darkeyed Susan, is in love with James, the tall young beautiful handsomeboy of the neighborhood who will probably win a prize soon, go to Hollywood and become a basketball star simultaneously and also be sought, because of his demure purple eyes, which he can’t help, (and long-eyelashed languor) by queers of every kind. . . .”
—Jack Kerouac, Visions of Cody, 1972.
a blue rose
“It’s a blue rose, the morning-star is like a blue rose in the Hair of the Archangel.”
—Jack Kerouac, Visions of Cody, 1972.
[A]ll that is essential in typography
“[A]ll that is essential in typography can be taught by writing in the sand with your finger.”
—Peter Burnhill, typography teacher, at the Working Party on Typographic Teaching, 1968; from his obituary in The Guardian, June 22, 2007.
gold, glass and hair
“His face was hidden behind gold, glass and hair; his very teeth were invisible behind the bushy drooping of his mustache. The maiden looked straight into the emptiness of the lenses of his prince-nez. . . .”
—Alfred Jarry, The Supermale, translated by Ralph Gladstone & Barbara Wright, New Directions 18, 1964.
the light from another world
“Dawn was breaking, like the light from another world.”
—Alfred Jarry, The Supermale, translated by Ralph Gladstone & Barbara Wright, New Directions 18, 1964.
looking at a peach for 20 minutes
“I didn’t keep a peyote diary & am writing from memory
there were times when I felt little—i’ll describe the high spots
colors were much brighter & richer when I was high
bright color was the main effect on my senses
everything looked exciting and beautiful, & that made me happy
looking at a peach for 20 minutes I was most fascinated, not by the brightred part of the skin but by the subtle changes of tint in the paleyellowgreen part
objects, for example a garbagecan, had an intrinsic visual significance that had nothing to do with words, attractive
the more i looked at one thing the more it interested me
a friend, high, didn’t recognize a familiar street because there was so much she hadnt seen before
it was not like “normal” seeing, where you dully register only what has a, usually false, relation to “practical” purposes
i saw the bright colors reflected from the oil in flying pigeon feathers
the colors must have been there before but i didnt notice them
on peyote you notice everything that can be sensed, without effort
sitting in my store, i saw there is no color white
my white walls were yelloworange from lightbulbs & there was a strong green from the old coat of paint
an eyechart had an unusual quality like old chinese manuscripts because the paper had yellow-browned a bit from age”
—Jack Green, peyote, newspaper #8, 1959; The Beats, edited by Seymour Krim, 1960.
I love Mickey Mouse
“Girls bored me—they still do. I love Mickey Mouse more than any woman I’ve ever known.”
—Walt Disney.
Advertising is dead
“Advertising is dead, design is the new advertising.”
—Marc Gob’ of marketing expert Desgrippes Gob’, New York, on the “Jesus machine,” the new iPhone, at Timesonline, July 1, 2007.