This looks like a great book. I particularly like this quote: “As the tortoise draws its limbs into its shell at need, so the artist reserves his scientific principles when working intuitively.” 8

22/09/07 – Excerpts from The Elements of Color: A Treatise on the Color System of Johannes Itten Based on his Book ‘The Art of Color’:

“In the realm of aesthetics, are there general rules and laws of color for the artist, or is the aesthetic appreciation of colors governed solely by subjective opinion? Students often ask this question, and my answer is always the same: ‘If you, unknowing, are able to create masterpieces in color, then un-knowledge is your way. But if you are unable to create masterpieces in color out of your unknowledge, then you ought to look for knowledge.’” 7

“Doctrines and theories are best for weaker moments. In moments of strength, problems are solved intuitively, as if of themselves.” 7

“Knowledge of the laws of design need not imprison, it can liberate from indecision and vacillating perception.”8

“As the tortoise draws its limbs into its shell at need, so the artist reserves his scientific principles when working intuitively.” 8

“Color is life; for a world without colors appears to us as dead. […] Light, that first phenomenon of the world, reveals to us the spirit and living soul of the world through colors.”8

“The eye and the mind achieve distinct perception through comparison and contrast.” 17

“Once a theme has been conceived, the design must follow that primary and ruling conception. If color is the chief vehicle of expression, composition must begin with color areas, and these will determine the lines, he who first draws lines and then adds color will never succeed in producing a clear, intense color effect. Colors have dimensions and directionality of their own, and delineate areas in their own way.” 18

“It is always advisable to juxtapose the hues to be employed in a composition, using a preliminary sketch to check color effects, before proceeding to execution.” 54

“Now that these elements of color harmony have been suggested, it should again be emphasized that the choice of a chord and its modulation as the basis of a composition cannot be arbitrary. All procedures are governed by the subject matter, presented representationally or abstractly. The choice of a theme and its execution are a must, not a capricious will or a superficial maybe. Each color and each group of colors is an individual of unique kind, living and growing according to its immanent law. The idea of color harmony is to discover the strongest effects by correct choice of antitheses.” p. 74

“To compose in color means to juxtapose two or more colors in such a way that they jointly produce a distinct and distinctive expression. The selection of hues, their relative situation, their locations and orientations within the composition, their configurations or simultaneous patterns, their extensions and their contrast relationships, are decisive factors of expression.” 91

“It is not the means of expression and representation that count in art, but the individual in his identity and humanity. First comes the cultivation and creation of individual; then the individual can create.” 94

via Oliver Tomas | Text Proportion Utility » Blog Archive » Johannes Itten’s The Elements of Color.

Not necessarily packaging, but very cool nonetheless. French designer Julien Madérou has created a paper dock for the iPhone, free to anyone to download, print out, and assemble. Visit his website to to download one yourself!

via TheDieline.com: Package Design: Creative Dielines: iPhone Paper Dock.

Sweet vintage Porsche poster collection over at grain edit. Thanks to AisleOne for posting and grain edit for the collection.

Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

This is nice.

Reading a newspaper, I saw a picture of birds on the electric wires. I cut out the photo and decided to make a song, using the exact location of the birds as notes no Photoshop edit. I knew it wasn’t the most original idea in the universe. I was just curious to hear what melody the birds were creating.I sent the music to the photographer, Paulo Pinto, who I Googled on the internet. He told his editor, who told a reporter and the story ended up as an interview in the very same newspaper.Here I’ve posted a short video made with the photo, the music and the score composed by the birds.Music made with Logic.Video made with After Effects.The newspaper story about my work O Estado de São Paulo: tinyurl.com/l4qdbg

via Birds on the Wires on Vimeo.

I just came across this post over at AisleOne and could help myself from sharing it. In 15 years of working as a graphic designer, I have never came across this designer. I’m excited to look closer at his work. I agree with the following post… his logo work is of the best quality. And from his biography… he was very passionate about his work.

[Stefan Kanchev was not just talented but also exceptionally industrious artist. All of his works to the last letter were drawn by hand. His passion was so great that often he worked night and day without stopping. The artist’s wife remembered that he was working at his drawing table till the last moment when he was taken to the hospital. Stefan Kanchev died in 2001 at the age of 85.]

Stefan Kanchev 1915 – 2001 was one of the most prolific graphic designers to come out of Bulgaria. He’s designed numerous book covers, posters, postcards, advertisements, forms and envelopes, post stamps, labels and packages but he’s widely recognized for his excellent logo work. He’s considered one of the best logo designers along with Saul Bass and Paul Rand.The simplicity of the logos created by Kanchev is what really stands out for me. They all work in a solid, single color and a minimum amount of shapes and lines are used to create the visual. Stunning.

Via Steve Kirkendall

via Stefan Kanchev • Blog Archive • AisleOne.