HELVETICA

Helvetica is a never ending controversy in the design world. Walk into any graphic design house and say the magic H word and you’ll be swarmed in swooning designers with a bit of a font-crush. To any non-designer, Helvetica is merely a font. It’s just another on a list in Microsoft Word and what’s the difference between that and Arial anyway right?

Guilty as ever, my life is always in Helvetica. The designs I do, the documents I write and the default font for notes on my iPhone are all displayed in Helvetica. Heck, even this blog. As a regular user, I decided I should educate myself; sitting beside the computer one night to watch Helvetica, the film (2007).

Helvetica emerged in 1957, toward the end of modernism, created by Max Meidinger and Eduard Hoffmann. It came from a need of rational typefaces that could be applied diversely. Die Neue Haas Grotesk, it's original name, was too much of a mouthful, instead replaced with Helvetica which literally means ‘Switzerland’ because of the Swiss style (AKA International Typographic Style) of which it was born from.

The question above all others: Why is Helvetica such a big deal? Why has it been the love of typomaniacs since its creation? Because it's neutral. "It should be neutral. It shouldn't have a meaning in itself. The meaning is in the content of the text and not in the typeface" - Wim Crouwel. On it's own, it can be a statement. However, as the font is so perfectly simple, the viewer focuses on the meaning of the words- the font not taking away from that and drawing attention to itself.

It's described as Intelligible, legible, clear, human, efficient, smooth, firm, ultimate, readable, beautiful and timeless. An example is given of American airlines. Their branding in Helvetica, they are the only airline that hasn't changed their identity in their 40 years of establishment. The considers the relationship between negative space and the ink, balanced between the two. It was underpinned by designers of idealism: While other fonts require thorough checking, Helvetica is right almost every time - not as manual as those before it. Kerning and readability almost never an issue. It comes with hundreds of weights and styles (insert swooning designers). Though not drawing attention to itself, the font compliments the words written in it, as Massimo Vignelli says "You can say I love you in Helvetica. And you can say it with Helvetica Extra Light if you want to be really fancy. Or you can say it with the Extra Bold if it's really intensive and passionate, you know, and it might work."

The documentary shows shots of Helvetica all over the world. There's definitely no shortage in trying to capture it. Shots are shown of brands Kawasaki, Target, SAAB, Oral B, Urban Outfitters and American Apparel among many more who use the font as their logo, as well as shows like The Office and movie Little Miss Sunshine. This is where sceptic Erik Spiekermann gets a say: "It's air, you know. It's just there. There's no choice. You have to breathe, so you have to use Helvetica." Spiekermann goes so far as to call the font a nightmare in it's lack of individuality. Type can have a personality the way illustration can. It can be used to convey personality, and he fears that's being lost. Though I don't agree with him going to far as to (half jokingly) accuse Helvetica as creating the war, I agree with his point that it's becoming too much of a default. I believe a true designer should be able to scroll past Helvetica occasionally to chose something else - if only for display fonts. Familiar faces show in film at this point. They talk with Stefan Segmeister and David Carson - renowned for their creative use of type. Carson, the guy we all love to hate, says 'Don't confuse legibility with communication.' Good one. Let's put our articles in Zapt Dingbats and be done with it.

Though this film was more for than against Helvetica, I feel that by showing image after image of Helvetica applied it left me feeling that it's dull, rather than the excitement I've always felt for the font previously. It's saturated. I have a fascination especially with 50's designed hand-lettering, and fonts created with a certain unique charm.
On the other hand, I can completely appreciate the brilliance that is Helvetica. Ask me how to improve it and I cannot reply. It's as perfect as font can be.

Designers, lets have little chats about love for the font. Lets giggle at the joke that we call Comic Sans. But let's not prattle on about it for hours, keeping realistic by remembering, no matter how perfect, it is just a font.

THOSE TO COME

Sometimes I can't sleep for hours. The most effective ways for me to relax are music and doing something creative. Last night I was up past midnight drawing, filling pages of my (almost finished, finally) sketchbook. Feeling influenced by Pläkkikanteletar's drawings, this was my favourite drawing of the night. Listen here.

BOY & GIRL LIVE @ LIMES

On the night of June 21st, I was the photographer for Boy & Girl as they took to the rooftop of Limes Hotel to perform. The venue was filled with smoke and fairy lights, a projection of the logo on a nearby building and the Brisbane City skyline lit behind the stage. Support band Acoustic Alley kicked off the night then the Boy & Girl duo Ben and Jesse were accompanied by three other musicians for their set. They were entertaining and interacted with the crowd with confidence.

FETE DE LA MUSIQUE 2012

Fete de La Musique is an annual event where cities all over the world come to life with music. The festival is free and gives all the opportunity to enjoy. This year, with stages set up throughout the main and outer areas of Brisbane, the city came to life and showcased the thriving scene of local talent. Here are some shots I snapped of my favourite two acts, The Captain's Daughters and The Cairos.

INTERVIEW: MEI LEE - ARTIST

Mei Lee is an artist based in Malaysia. She specialises in typography with watercolour - her words letters of the heart. Sometimes nostalgic, sometimes heartbreaking and other times full of love, her words are words every person at some time has wanted to say or hear. I interview Mei to find out more about her creative life:

Describe your works in five words.

I posted a question on my tumblr since I didn’t know what to put down and here are the replies: Romantic, Organic, Iridescent, Truthful, Honest, Vibrant, Inspiring.

Where do you find inspiration creatively? I’ve noticed lyrics are a regular in your works, top music taste might I add.

Aww, thank you for the top music taste compliment! Everywhere! I get inspired from seeing other people's art, talking to people, reading books, listening to different kinds of music, etc. I like to make something I feel that I can relate to someone else with.

How have you found the internet helpful in your career?

It’s a huge part of my career, without the internet I doubt the art would’ve reached so many people and bring us all closer. I always get emails telling me that their lives feel a parallel to mine although we’re living continents apart.

You use lots of vibrant colours and I’m constantly impressed with your flawless gradients. Any tips for mixing colours?

I look at nature imagery a lot. Nature has a way of mixing colors that what we normally won’t. The only thing is to keep trying, I know that’s such a common answer but that’s all to it. Try practicing by mixing primary colors together instead of blending the ready colors.

Other than your watercolour pieces, do you produce much creatively?

Yes, I’m a graphic design graduate, I do a lot of hand lettering. I also make those yarn friendship bracelets if that counts as something creative.

Do you have a favourite piece that you’ve done, or are most proud of?

That’s a tough decision, each painting has something I really like and means something to me, but probably the piece of Yuna’s Lullabies (See the pieces here and here). She found the artwork on tumblr, then reblogged them, saying they were amazing. I was all flabbergasted cause I’m a huge fan of hers and it just means a great deal to me when I get discovered.

Who are some creatives you think everyone should know?

Lisa Currie, Chris Piascik and Fatma. Love these 3, amazing bunch.

Any advice for aspiring artists?

Let yourself grow in your art, it’s very easy to get stagnant sometimes. And go out

more often, you’d surprise how much you get inspired when you’re out.

Where can we see more and buy prints of your works?

If you’re from the US, Europe, Australia, etc you can get my work from Society6. Those in SEA, I’ll be launching a web store in about a month’s time, you can find out when exactly at my tumblr.

Click to view Mei's Flickr, Tumblr and Society 6.

MONTVILLE

On sunday, a few friends and I ventured to the ever-so-gorgeous Montville. Samm and I stopped on the way back to take some photos by a tree that had come to life with browns and yellows in the changing seasons. I fiddled with colours in Lightroom and made my first ever action! I also had an idea for an expansion photo which I will add to the post upon completion (I've merged 8 photos so far, ah!)
Samm is super cute. See her photos from the day here and like her facey page here.

20 JUNE 2012

The last five days:

• Saw Wafia and Adil play at the Dowse Bar. You can watch a video I took here.
• Went to World Press Photo again, where I watched interviews with the photographers.
• Went to Shani Bijoux's 'Luna in Love' solo exhibition at Brew. See a funky interview a friend of mine did with her here.
• Two cups of free Chai from the Winter Festival. Scrumptious.
• Spent a day exploring Paddington with Gen. Ra Ra Superstar is a vintage flashback- a room packed with hand-made 1950s-70s clothing. Complete with notebooks, bunting and socks hanging on the walls. The Antique Centre is of course always a winner too. I hadn't been for years, so we spent over an hour rummaging through the treasures the store is filled with. I purchased a pair of old orange gloves and some National Geographics from the 50's and 70's for a friend.
• Saw Pear and the Awkward Orchestra perform at The Powerhouse. 
• Watched the Promo video for Lost Movements - Adelaide and I can be spotted at the start. It gives a great depiction of the night.
• Bought Jonsi's album 'Go.' My favourite is 'Animal Arithmetic'. This album feels like glaciers and fur hats.
• Made a collage. It's called 'The Cat Conductor.' It's a guy from an old National Geographic conducting some cats.
• Surprise night for my favourites. Last saturday I organised a group of some of my closest friends to meet me for a night of surprises. I directed the 12 of us to Kookaburra cafe, where I had ordered a one metre pizza. We then took the pizza to a sneaky spot I know of with a perfect view of the city. I told them to be stealthy, which they were all rather impressive with, and snuck us to a lookout with a full view of the nighttime city. They all seemed to enjoy it, and although they had no idea where we were going I loved that they were all ready for an adventure and trusted me right until we arrived. Just being around those beautiful people meant a lot to me. I'm so blessed to know such kind-hearted and loving people and I really wouldn't trade them for the world.

DIGITAL COMPOSITION

I tried digital composition today- at least that's what I'm calling it. I've never edited my drawings too dramatically, but I wanted to see if it was possible to merge two separate images to create one coloured image. It took me about two a half hours from the beginning of drawing to this final work on the right. It was a mixture of opacities, overlays, masking and layers to create it. Then I decided to give her a jumper (it's winter now, after all...) which was done with a scan of a scarf I bought today.

In other news, today I worked from home then did some photography around New Farm and the city for work. Then I bought some Creme Brulee tea from T2 (and sneaky samples of Red Green Vanilla and Riotous Rose), was given a free bottle of Lipton Tea and passed the Hazard Perception Test.

Song of the day: Robin Hood - Ben Wells and the Middle Names

13 JUNE 2012

My life over the last few days:

• Arrived home from camping at Wivenhoe Dam over the long weekend. I loved the photo I took of a tree at Coromant Bay (first photo) which immediately reminded me of Big Fish. I also got a good few hours in knitting, as seen in the forth picture along below.
• Saw the latest works at the Gallery of Modern Art
• Got my 50mm F1.5 lens fixed
• World Press Photo 2012 at the Powerhouse. This exhibition is the best I've ever seen. The images displayed were so technically flawless and had my friends and I wondering 'but how?' As the exhibition are the best photo journalist images, each one speaks well over 1000 words. There were graphic images of all sorts I'd rather not describe - complete devastation and hopelessness of so many people portrayed in just a couple of rooms, which I found very confronting. There were a few images that really got to me, including one by Massoud Hossaini depicting a young Shiite woman among victims of a suicide bombing; a photo taken on my birthday. It made me sick to think almost all of these images were created by man-made causes. And to think we can become ignorant to all of it with the simple click of the 'Off' button on our tv remote. The exhibition wasn't all images of despair - they also showed interesting cultural practices and parts of nature such as Carsten Peter's nature story image of Hang Son Doong in Vietnam - believed to be the largest cave on earth. I could go on about this exhibition and the many issues it raised for me, but it's worth a look yourself.
• You may recall I went to the last Mad Scientist Tea Party last month. Last night was the second of the event. I thought the most interesting speakers were Catherine who is a Taxonomist and a guy who studied in Panama and is now working with the science behind beverages and cocktails- he is now aiming to create a cocktail where illuminant pearls are suspended in the liquid. The event finished with main speaker was new media artist Keith Armstrong.
• Downloaded the Triple J Unearthed Mixtape. Grab it for free here
• Downloaded Matt Corby's 'Made of Stone' Mini-Ep which you can get for free here (Thanks Gen for the link!)
• Looked at the link on my darkslide from my polaroid 600 film
• Made a collage today which is up on flickr
• Spent this afternoon listening to Dear Catastrophe Waitress by Belle & Sebastian after buying it yesterday. I dig every track of the album. Song of the day for today is Belle & Sebastian's 'Step into my office, Baby.' 'If She Wants Me' has also been a regular in my most played lately.

HEY GERONIMO! AND BABAGANOUJ LIVE

The Hideaway is a small venue tucked away from the friday night filth of Fortitude Valley. On the 8th of June, Hey Geronimo and Babaganoüj take to the small space for an intimate gig.

THE LANEWAY COCKTAIL MENU

Cocktail Menu I designed for The Laneway bar in Brisbane.

The Laneway is tucked up into the second level of a little laneway in the streets of Brisbane's CBD; truly living upto it's name, and claim to be the bar that started Brisbane’s underground bar scene. The space is a small, hip and stylish bar. Bartender Pez is friendly, with a smile the size of his beard. The bartenders here are all the cream of the crop - Pez heads to the World Class Bartenders championships in Sydney next weekend. After I photograph the Johnnie Walker Platinum, he gives me the drink- my first taste of whisky. Having matured for 18 years it tastes warm and smooth. The Laneway is the only bar in Queensland, and one of four in Australia to have released the Platinum whisky.

I photograph my menu with Pez's pick cocktail, the Kalimoxto ($19.00, serves two). The menu concept is a combination of the Brisbane train line and cocktails. It shows an integral part of Brisbane culture - the train lines - as well as each cocktail representing different places on those lines. The menu is powerful with the bright yellow as an ultimate contrast to the black. Each cocktail has a quick summary, as well as the top cocktail picks by bartenders at The Laneway.

Drinks are an average of $16 for a cocktail

See it for yourself through the Urbane entrance at 181 Mary Street Brisbane QLD 4000

HERO

He'll fly downtown

And turn up at the scene.

He'll walk in slow motion;

Every woman's dream.

There'd be the letter 's'

Printed on his chest.

That famous blinding logo,

To show he is the best.

His cape will whip around,

His muscles so defined.

For a damsel in distress,

Tonight, me he'll find.

He'll parade in the door,

Flash a smile so white,

His fists will be clenched

For a villan, for a fight.

I'll politely approach him

And introduce myself.

His fists will loosen,

'I thought you needed help?'

'There's nothing you can do sir,

You've left it far too late.

There's no point in you being here,

In coming here today.

Not even a superpower

Can make a difference in this world.

And there is no such hero

Who can save this girl.'

Written October 10th 2008.

TRIPLE J ONE NIGHT STAND

Eleven friends piled into a rented van ready for the three hour drive from Brisbane to Dalby. The weather forecast is rain and we don't care, filled with the excited anticipation of Triple J's One Night Stand.