Since school is back in season, the inner tubes are deflated, and football is on the tube, I thought it was worthwhile to look back at ten notable summer events in the world of design.

1. June 17: Eames stamps stick
The US Postal service honored the design legends we’ve been admiring for years. The furniture, graphics, films, and innovation of design duo Charles and Ray Eames are monumentally depicting on these miniature stamps, designed by Derry Noyes (granddaughter of the Eames’ dear friend Eli Noyes). If you haven’t yet, get your set! (I bought ten sheets!) See all USPS latest stamps here:

2. June 24: Pseudo-seal is retired
A new visual for the Obama campaign was unveiled at a mid-June presentation for Democratic governors, prominently displayed on the podium face. You won’t see this seal again. It’s similarity to the presidential seal left the voting public outraged, even called the “audacity of hype” by ABC news. Note the “O” logo within the eagle, the Latin translation of campaign slogan “yes we can,” and the curved typography eerily similar to the presidential seal, presented by a presidential hopeful.
From Shepard Fairey’s graphic for the masses of Obama, the abstract “O” flag hanging on the post outside of design firm Pentagram in New York, the elegant typography of John McCain, to the tshirt competition hosted by Hillary Clinton, this summer has provided great fodder for political visual analysis. See CNN’s comparison of seals here:

3. July 12: Radiohead innovates with video
Radiohead’s In Rainbows album has been an experiment since it was first downloaded for free, blazing new territory for musicians, listeners, and viewers. The video for “House of Cards,” created without a film crew or cameras, is no exception. Lasers, 360-degree high-tech scanners and massive rendering shaped a new paradigm for music visuals. See more here:

4. July 15: Iran tests missiles and photoshop
In early July, a photo on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps website depicted four missiles as a testament to the nation’s missile testing program. The image was presented on hundreds of reputable websites (BBC, NY Times), and even the cover of the LA Times and Chicago Tribune. Inspection of the photo reveals elaborate photoshopping and and one missile too many: the clone tool may never have been used for such political agenda. Analysis here:

5. July 18: Dark Knight posters are worth the hype
Warner Brothers designers released some stunning visuals to promote the latest Batman film: Dark Knight. The posters worked! Opening weekend shattered box office records. Movieweb’s gallery of stunners here:

6. July 21: New Yorker cover satires to mixed reactions
Artist Barry Blitt sent tongues wagging with the satirical New Yorker cover dated July 21 of Barack and Michelle Obama. The exaggerated cover “The Politics of Fear,” intended to call attention to the outrageous misinformation of political campaigning but was labeled “tasteless and offensive” by Obama’s team. Paula Scher called the illustration “bad art direction” and analyzed it brilliantly here:

7. July 27: Mad Men season premiere delights
Everyone is talking about the second season of the Golden-globe winning Mad Men. A sitcom on the AMC channel, Mad Men depicts the experiences of a New York advertising executive confronting shifting values in 1960s American consumers. The opening titles, designed by Imaginary Forces, artfully poise vector and raster-based images in a fresh way. Enjoy here:

8. August 8: Beijing Olympics are over the top
The Beijing Olympics was full of visual vitality: from the intimidating, thrilling drummers of the opening ceremony at 8:08 on 08/08/08 to the savvy icons designed by Min Wang, (design director and professor at China Central Academy of Fine Arts and formerly of Adobe). He writes of the work: “this is a ‘weiji’ moment in china’s design field. ‘wei’ means crisis, ‘ji’ means opportunity. From crisis, opportunity arrives.” The Olympic crescendo was the photo finish of the 100M butterfly race, won by Michael Phelps over Milorad Cavic of Serbia by .01 seconds, the smallest increment measured by the clock. The underwater fram-by-frame photos demonstrate a convincing victory for Phelps, while live action was uncertain. See Sports Illustrated’s documentation of the finish here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0808/oly.phelps.sequence/content.1.html

9. August 11: Actor Dane Cook critiques poster
My harshest critic from art school could share a point of view with comedian Dane Cook, who found the promotional poster for his upcoming film My Best Friend’s Girl “boring / odd and has zero to do with the movie.” Read his criticism here.

10. August 15: Vogue India’s fashion is faux pas
A multi-page spread featuring the latest fall fashion trends offended the subscribers of Vogue India. In a presentation of the impoverished modeling couture, a child models a Fendi bib, a barefoot man holds a Burberry umbrella over a mud floor, and a working mother wears a Birkin bag while commuting to work sideways on a moped with her two children in tow. Editor Priya Tanna defends the feature, saying “fashion is no longer a rich man’s privilege. Anyone can carry it off and make it look beautiful.” See images here:

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