Some days it seems the world is just working against you. This was how I felt a while ago when my roommate Hunter and I set off for the motherland of motoring, Emilia-Romagna. The day began with bad weather — in fact, I’m not sure if it stopped raining the entire weekend. This was followed by missing two trains and having to take a taxi to Ducati, where I realized I had made an error in the schedule. We then attempted to visit Pagani, but missed our stop and ended up in Modena. We decided to take this in stride and go ahead and make our way to Maranello, the home of Ferrari — problem was, we couldn’t find the bus stop! After wandering around for close to an hour, we gave up and decided to head to the hostel. It wasn’t until we were walking the opposite direction that we spotted a sign for the Autostazione.

We finally arrived at the Ferrari Museum and were greeted by the raspy exhaust note of a Ferrari F430. Finally things were starting to look up! The museum was filled with gorgeous old and new Ferraris. I even got to see the new 458 Italia! However, some of the most beautiful objects there were the engines. It was interesting to see a 120-degree twin-turbo V6 used in F1 Racing.

After returning to Modena and checking into our hostel, we asked about a place to eat. The receptionist recommended Trattoria da Enzo. It turned out to be a wonderful, small restaurant with a mom-and-pop feel. As we sat and waited for the food to arrive we watched the owner, an elderly gentleman, straightening the wine bottles and making his way around the restaurant, casually chatting with patrons in an Emilian dialect. It was obvious that even at his ripe age he still had a passion for life and wouldn’t be slowed down. I ordered the pumpkin ravioli with butter and sage. It was very different, but so delicious! The roasted potatoes were delicious as well. It might seem that potatoes are a difficult food to mess up, and in some sense, this is true — you’d probably have to try to make them taste bad. However, once you’ve tasted potatoes done right, there is a noticeable difference. There was a perfect balance between the flavors of the seasonings and the potato. Everything was great. Even a vegetarian such as myself couldn’t help eyeing Hunter’s balsamic roast beef.

The next morning we got up early and caught a taxi to the Panini Museum, home to historical Maseratis, race cars, and many motorcycles. Strangely, this treasure trove of automotive history is tucked away on a quiet dairy farm not far outside of Modena. There was no showy architecture for the museum, just a small warehouse. Inside, the museum had an intimate, hometown feel to it, and it smelled of old oil and vintage machinery, a scent I am font of. Upon entering, I was immediately drawn to the A6GCS. It was probably the most beautiful car there, and possibly one of the most gorgeous cars I’ve ever seen. Everything there was immaculate. Maseratis have always had quite quirky styling in my opinion, but when you’re standing next to them it all somehow works.

We finally made our way back to Modena and decided to head home when the bad luck set in again. Our train from Modena to Bologna was 30 minutes late, resulting in us missing our train from Bologna to Firenze and having to wait at least another hour. There were a lot of frustrating parts to that trip, but the cars were all beautiful and if nothing else I know it helped me learn more about traveling in Italy. I am sure that my journies since then have been smoother as a result of the struggles that weekend.

Earlier this semester, the day I had been waiting for finally arrived: the first screen-printing project in Color and Form. I was excited to finally dive into a medium that I had heard much about but never been able to use. However, the assignment itself was rather challenging—I was to create a poster, using only imagery, that showed a problem in the world, how I would change it, and the result of what I would do. Several obvious things came to mind: energy, nature conservation, recycling, etc. The problem was that I couldn’t seem to figure out how to depict what I was already doing in those areas using imagery. Sure, I could think of plenty of “call to action” type posters, but when it came to showing what I was doing or would do, ideas didn’t come so easily. In spite of this, I kept coming back to something I have wanted to do for a while. At some point in my life, I would like to take time abroad as a photojournalist of sorts, raising awareness about social justice issues while helping those in need. Some people argue that doing such a thing has little value, but I think that oftentimes there are many international tragedies to which we, as a nation, are unaware or inattentive. Even when we do know of such things, it seems to remain as an abstract concept in our minds until we are confronted with an image of a skeletal, starving child or weeping woman grieving the loss of her son. For the record, I don’t want to be the kind of photographer that just takes a picture and then moves on. In the past, photojournalists have felt that it was best not to intercede for various reasons. In contrast, I not only want to take photos of what is happening, but do what I can to help while I am there. The poster below is meant to be a depiction of these ideas. Towards this end, I have enrolled as an art minor with emphasis in photography. I hope that someday I will be able to travel abroad and use what I have learned to truly benefit others. Despite these current plans, I am constantly realizing a couple of things: firstly, I don’t have all the answers, and secondly, I cannot save the world. However, I can make the world a better place and I am always examining such issues to try and find where I fit into it all.

School was a bit tedious at first, but once I got settled in and got the initial projects out of the way, class assignments became more engaging. The following was the second project for my Drawing and Illustration class, with the objectives of redesigning a bottle and creating a visually interesting final image. We were instructed by our professor not to be overly concerned with making a bottle that was practical, but to be primarily concerned with creating a final image that was aesthetically appealing. I decided to redesign a bottle of Archer Farms Italian Soda because I felt that the current design was simple enough that I could rework it in many different ways.

As inspiration for the bottle redesign, I began looking at vintage food posters. I enjoyed the organic, curvilinear forms and the vintage bottle shapes. In class, my professor suggested that students begin by creating silhouettes of bottles and labels using colored paper. I tried this method, but it felt a bit too concrete at that point, so I went back to the drawing board and sketched various bottle and label concepts. While considering the labels, one thing that bothered me about the current design was an inconsistency between the product name and some of the other text. A label at the top read “Bibita Naturale D’Italia,” while the brand on the lower label read “Archer Farms”—not so Italian. I decided that to resolve this conflict I would abstract the Archer Farms name into an “AF,” while retaining the trademark rooster so that the brand would still be recognizable to customers.

I continued on to the paper silhouettes, which helped me work out labeling for my five best concepts. After modifying the forms and receiving critique from classmates, I narrowed them down to the top two in the image on the right. I began considering which of the two would be best. I chose the concept on the left because it was a more modern, original design and because the one on the right had a shape that carried connotations of alcoholic beverages.

I then began to work on modeling the new bottle. We were allowed to use any medium for this, and I chose to render it in Google SketchUp. Once I had constructed the bottle in SketchUp, I created the label in Adobe Illustrator and applied it to the bottle as a texture. At first I had some difficulty implementing the abstracted Archer Farms logo within the teardrop-shaped label. I decided to try repeating the teardrop shape, and this resulted in a readable logo that fit well with the rest of the design. I then exported the bottle to Photoshop as a Google Earth file. I found that the best way to create a sense of depth with a 3D object in Photoshop is to layer the object using different blending modes and fills. The resulting rough can be seen at the left.

The class critiqued each other’s works again and I made changes accordingly. I knew that I wanted to include multiple flavors of the Italian Soda in the final image, so I created new labels. In the process, I realized that the complementary color scheme I had been using did not translate well to other flavors. This motivated me to change to a monochromatic color scheme, which resulted in a clearer sense of what the flavors actually were. However, I was still struggling with how to make it an interesting image. Then, it dawned on me—around this time I had seen a few designs that used repetition, which I found very striking. They made me want to use repetition in my own work, and the multiple labels I had created presented the perfect opportunity. I fired up Illustrator and Photoshop once more and combined a ground of repeating labels with the new bottle design, creating an image that was both eye-catching and understandable. Overall, I would say that this project taught me to be willing to give up what I initially thought was best and try something different. I also learned to be open to spontaneity and to react to the design, rather than forcing it to conform to preconceptions of how it should be—in short, to let the design change itself.

The Archer Farms name & Rooster Design are registered trademarks of Target Brands, Inc.

Every designer has one - a hit list. The list of typefaces so gut-wrenching to that designer that he or she would do anything short of selling their soul to the devil to purge its very existence from the face of the earth. I have my own, and I’ll probably end up ranting about quite a few of them on more than one occasion. However, one that seems to be popping up more and more is Copperplate (aka Copperplate Gothic). I was reminded of it recently when I saw a bottle of San Pellegrino water while dining in an Italian restaurant. I realize that the Pellegrino logo does not actually use Copperplate, but the typeface is similar enough that it makes me think of it whenever I see their logo. Strangely enough, it actually doesn’t bother me when it’s on their bottles and I can’t seem to explain why. One obvious answer is that it’s different enough from Copperplate that it actually becomes, well, attractive. Another possibility is that I’ve gotten used to seeing that style typeface in a given setting, so it bothers me when I see it used [profusely] elsewhere. Yet another possibility is that Copperplate is the ugly twin that does everything wrong. Side by side, you notice that Copperplate is rather squat, and certain characters [such as the G and R] lack the same finesse seen in the San Pellegrino logo. At this moment, I can’t explain it and I may never be able to. To relate it back to food, perhaps it parallels my inexplicable feelings concerning mushrooms: I love fresh mushrooms, but canned mushrooms are a completely separate entity to me, despite the similarities.

This weekend I took an early weekend and returned home to surprise my brother for his birthday and to watch a school play. My parents and I were worried that my brother had caught on and knew I was coming, but our fears were not well-founded. He didn’t know and was very surprised.

The night I arrived, we went to the Greater Milwaukee Auto Show as it has been a tradition in my family to go [almost] every year. Over the past couple years, my interest in cars has been pushed aside somewhat by newer ones, so it was interesting to come back to it, especially with a little more design knowledge than in prior years.

One of the first cars I saw upon entering was the new Audi R8. I was stunned not only by the fact that it was at the Milwaukee Auto Show, but that they had even put it on the floor, rather than raised on a platform. It is a truly stunning car and a fine manifestation of the exotic Audi two door that I have been eagerly awaiting. I only wish that they had sold one at International Autos while I was working there. It would have been great to experience it firsthand.

While there, I stopped [briefly] at the Saturn showcase. I have never been a fan of American auto makers, and Saturn has always been among my least favorite. However, recently Saturn has introduced a new design aesthetic to their lineup and I must that I actually like it, perhaps more than Ford’s current designs. I wondered [was even optimistic enough to hope] that their utilitarian quality had improved along with the aesthetic. However, upon stepping into a Saturn Sky, I was quickly disappointed. The interior materials, especially the plastics, failed to meet or even attempt to keep up with its competitors’, such as the Mazda MX-5. This trend unfortunately carried over to GM’s prodigious Corvette Z06. The interior is notably improved since the prior generation, and has gotten rid of some of the GM blandness as a result of overly-universalized parts. However, despite the improvement it is still seriously lacking for a car with a price tag just south of $70,000. I think Saturn’s changes are a good move on GM’s part and they might profit from doing similar innovations with their other brands, but they also need to work on their material quality. After all, “details are not details. They make the product.” - Charles Eames

Another car I have mixed feelings about is the new Subaru Impreza. The first Imprezas were extremely attractive in my opinion, and the 2001 redesign made me ecstatic. However, it was a downhill journey from there. In 2004, the WRX received a face lift, which I initially disliked, but came to appreciate. However, I never did understand why it was necessary. Then, 2006 came around and everything went horribly wrong. The WRX once again received a redesigned front end, only this time I simply could not be as forgiving. Now Subaru has redesigned its Impreza once more. My first reaction upon seeing the redesign was that it looked like they had taken the current Toyota Corolla, smoothed it out, made it a little more aggressive, turned it into a station wagon, and changed the badging. Seeing the WRX STi in person changed my mind a little. Just a little. I took a brief seat in it and was pleased to find that the transmission seemed to have been updated to eliminate some of the notchy-ness and brute force required in earlier WRX’s. However, shortly after I wandered over to Mitsubishi’s display where I found the new Lancer Evo X. It is mean-looking, stylish, and has the power to back it up. Mitsubishi truly went out on a limb with this one. It is possibly the most change between model years seen with the Evo. Contrast this with Subaru. Presumably due to criticism received over the Impreza’s [numerous] redesigns, Subaru started with a clean slate and produced a new, fast, powerful…and bland Impreza. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi has completely redesigned their Evo with a very fresh and innovative look. Trying to please everyone, Subaru opted for the safe way out and produced a relatively plain WRX; not ugly, but not horribly attractive either. However, given the competition, safe isn’t safe for Subaru.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the auto show and had tons of fun just taking pictures. You can view all of them on my Flickr page. And just when I thought I had seen it all, I snapped this in the parking garage on the way back to our car.