Taking pictures is narrowing your view in a good sense. Looking through the square hole makes you focus on the composition, colour and details of what you see. It’s all about making choices.
When I was 12 years old I got a camera from my granddad. It was an Agfa, that I know for sure. But I am not sure anymore whether it was a Click or a Clack.
All these years I was convinced it was a Clack-II, but googling pictures of it made me wonder. The image in my memory resembles more of the Click-II.
There are good signs and there are bad signs. To know the qualities of good signs we just have to look around and experience the signage that surrounds us.
Don’t you agree that a lot of signs are confusing? Our environment is so full of messages, promotions, and both visual and auditory noise, that it’s hard to focus on the signs that we need at a specific moment.
Still, some signs are marvellous. In a way, it’s a pity that the better the design is, the less we notice the signs because they do their job instantly and without complicating things.
I was a graphic designer for 35 years, so I had to develop several technical skills over time. When I started in 1985 fax machines were quite new and there were no computers in the offices in the Netherlands.
Most printers had offset, although there were a few that still used letterpress printing. Designs were made on the drawing table. The design drawings were transposed by phototypesetting. And, we can hardly imagine this, there were no mobile phones, let alone the smart ones.
The main conclusion throughout the years was that the techniques may change, yet the rules of corporate identity will not.
When I was living in the Netherlands I made abstract, sculptural ceramics. You can see the sources of inspiration and the results of what I made in another article, but here I want to answer the question “Can you make ceramics at home?”.
In order to work properly, you do not need your own atelier – several of my students used their kitchen table – although a place you don’t have to tidy before every meal is an advantage.
The space I used was a small building located in the garden, which suited me perfectly. It was my atelier where nobody disturbed me and I could work quietly. And where I taught my students, so at times it was not quiet at all!