Nick Garrett

Author: nickgarrett

  • Charles and Ray Eames stamps

    Back in January, I wrote that the United States Postal Service would release Charles and Ray Eames stamps featuring the Eames Wire-Base Table, the Hang-It-All, the Lounge Chair and Ottoman, the House of Cards, the Molded Plywood Lounge Chair, the Aluminum Side Chair, the Molded Plastic Side Chair, the Storage Unit, the Wire Chair, and the La Chaise. Well, the time has come folks. You can pick up your own pane of 16, self-adhesive 42–cent Charles and Ray Eames stamps ($6.72) at your local post office. That’s right, if Eames furniture wasn’t already out of your budget, stamps now cost 42 cents. I plan on framing one sheet, and saving another for letters to my favorite design-fiend friends.

    Thanks to Casasugar.com

  • You want to be a quality designer?

    Then you already are… you have entered the path

    Learning how to master…

    SHAPE: MICRO DETAILING


    I learnt how to recognise and deliver balance and (profile) shape characterisation for furniture and accessories design from an apprenticeship as a typographic designer and sign-writer.

    Task:  draw ‘C, E, O’ (or whatever) with pencil and eraser a 22cm height Helvetica, Franklin, Bodoni, Univers and Gill, accurately and you have the basis for the first rung of exceptional detailing skills. Then repeat at different sizes a few dozen times.

     

     

     

     

    Checking

    Then check the forms by drawing a box around each letter, 25mm off and not touching and drawing the void space.

    Above: here we see how the void between objects draws the forms by default. Apply this method to check accuracy and ‘follow’.

     

     

    Image above:  ‘2 Pears’ by British artist, Euan Uglow.  Lower image: type layout drawing – I used these a lot in signwriting – above there are some minor errors around the cascade of the curves… like the relationship between the internal curves and the external and where they converge into straights. Thanks to brad.sussex@gmail.com

     

    Analysing Shapes and Voids

    APOLOGIES FOR LOW RES IMAGE BELOW –

    THE TICK MARKERS LOWER LEFT INDICATE A BULGE THAT COUNTER BALANCES THE OPEN AREAS OF THE OPPOSITE SIDE AND TOP RH QUARTER SECTION.

    THE HELVETICA ‘e’ HAS A SLIGHTLY HOOKY FEEL BECAUSE OF THE COUNTER BALANCES, ESPECIALLY NOTE THE PULL IN TO THE DESCENDING TOP RIGHT QUARTER COMPARED ALSO TO THE OPPOSITE UPPER LEFT QUARTER WHICH FEELS MORE LOADED.

    ON THE BOTTOM LEFT QUARTER THE SECTION IS FULLER BETWEEN THE MARKERS – THESE ARE COMPENSATIONS FOR THE VISUAL BALANCE OF THE LETTER. ALSO NOTE HOW LIGHT THE CROSS BAR IS. 

    Special thanks to Roger Leworthy, Giorgio Morandi, Chris Chamberlain and Euan Uglow.