Encuentros: Opening Minds

 Poster design © Taylor Barnes and the Encuentros Leadership Project, 2011

I just finished a design project near and dear to my heart for the Encuentros Leadership Project. I created a poster to help kids stay in school. In the process of trying to come up with an image that would simultaneously reach out to young Latino students culturally, as well as deliver a message to stay in school, it struck me once again the power of design in public places.

This poster will go up in hundreds of classrooms and meeting places where it will become part of the subliminal background of these student's lives. This particular image delivers a positive message but what about the multitude of negative and racial stereotypes they will visually encounter on a daily basis? As a designer I feel a responsibility to put as many positive images into the world as I can.

Once, when I had my multicultural publishing company, Miller Brewing approached me to design a line of images that would target young African Americans for a fundraising event. It posed an ethical dilemma since I knew they did extensive advertising in the African American community, where alcoholism among young black men was a problem. I risked discussing this moral dilemma with the Vice President at Miller Brewing and in the end we decide to minimize the presence of their logo since the money was going to provide college scholarships to historically black colleges. I remember feeling awkward bringing the subject up but in the end we were in agreement that we wanted the money to go to a worthy cause. At least it was a decision I could live with.

One of the reasons I love graphic design is the power to affect people's lives and become part of the fabric of their memories. Of course it could also drive us to drink - and smoke - and a million other things we shouldn't do. Designer's can't always afford to take the moral high ground (since we still need to pay the bills) but when we can, we should.

New Christmas Card for Max & Mia

The studio has been active this holiday and I thought I would show you one of the new pieces. The color is unexpected for a holiday card but somehow it all worked. This card is for a clothing line called Max & Mia.

It's Starting to Feel a Lot Like Christmas!

 

Santa in the Forest ©Taylor Barnes 2010

Sagittarius - A Seeker of the Truth

 

Sagittarius © Taylor Barnes 2010

Sagittarius is an interesting sign to welcome us into winter. They respect truth above all else and avidly seek independent thinking. In the cold darkness of winter truth is obvious - there is no time to be languid about the decisions we make. In ancient times winter was dangerous and carried the threat of death. Only in the light and warmth of spring did we experience rebirth and celebration of another year. So is it any wonder that Sagittarius is a sign that seeks truth and ideas? It is internal and self-motivated. Between now and spring we are dominated by signs like Capricorn - that make rules, Aquarius - who dream big dreams, and Pisces - who invent the future through their psychic connection to humanity. Sagittarius is an extension of the winter pattern of internal thinking and psychic exploration that begins with Scorpio. But unlike Scorpio, Sagittarius does not tolerate secrets or deception, they want facts and truth.

Sagittarius is a fire sign and concerned with creativity and expression of ideas. Aries and Leo are fire signs also but each one expresses their energy along the lines of tkarmic evolution through the signs of the zodiac - Sagittarius being the most evolved. The more evolved Sagittarius focuses on high ideals and expressing the truest good of humanity - the less evolved will be self-righteous and concerned with their individual idea of the truest good of humanity.

All of this exploration into astrology does have some bearing upon how human beings have adapted to survive our environment. As we gain control  over our environment we have less connection to or threat from nature, resulting in a loss of our sense of rhythm with nature. The blood in our veins and the chemicals in our brains still respond to the changes in nature just as it was for our ancestors, so it would behoove us all to pay attention to where we evolved from. 

How often you have spent a vacation far from the city and experienced the awe of a truly black night only lit by stars? Or felt the calmness that descends upon your body as you sit on a beach and listen to the waves beat upon the shore. That is who we are and as we move away from that connection some of our humanity is being lost too. 

When I examine the signs of the zodiac it is not so much from a belief in astrology but more from a curiosity about the mindset of ancient man and what they were observing in nature. I can gain a glimpse into the mind of ancient man from observing history, philosophy and science. I try to remain open - not naive - but analytical. I have not bought the "technology is God" idea. I wish to believe that some day the laws of nature and the laws of technology will meet in the middle and truly improve the quality of life.

Fantastic Machines

I had an interesting conversation with another "pre-digital era" human being today and it felt like I was part of an exclusive club. But that conversation did get me to ponder the two worlds I straddle – digital and analog.

I have watched people from my generation embrace technology as the new God but others are frightened and confused by it. I am somewhere in-between. However I think we need to watch how we embrace these changes with caution. We are very confident in our abilities to create and manipulate this digital world but as we focus so heavily on our virtual reality are we loosing touch with REALity?

People that are growing up in a completely electronic age may be loosing the ability to communicate with human beings face to face as they text, blog, and live their lives online. It is a very good time for the emotionally dysfunctional – they never need to show their faces in the real world. But what about the subtleties of reading human expression and body language? I think the current generation may be more awkward with these skills that mine but I would have to test that theory further.

What makes us human is in direct opposition to the digital age. Human is using instinct instead of logic, its being creative and taking an out-of-the-box approach to a problem, its hearing all the sounds in the music as one, it is "knowing" without proof that there is a higher power. I have to wonder how are we going to integrate our humanity and our current love affair with technology?

Nature is suffering because of our disconnect from our need for nature. We can't connect the idea that the food we eat needs to be grown, or raised, or slaughtered, or watered. We can't seem to connect the idea that the water we drink has to come from the clouds first before everything else. We are not fully understanding that technology will not grow our food, build our houses, create water, or life. It can only assist.

So I have to ask... are we in danger of destroying ourselves for worshiping this false God? Maybe it wasn't so bad when I had use my finger to arduously dial that rotary phone or I only had three TV channels. With all this information has come misinformation and a responsibility to think more about the truth. Am I am willing to watch the fall of humanity rather than give up my MAC laptop and my Blackberry? Hmmmm…

Halloween - an artist's favorite holiday

www.limagegraphics.com

 
I love October - I love Halloween. The light changes, softens and grows darker as we head towards winter. The air smells different. By the time October 31st rolls around the mood has been set by Mother Nature and we are ready to prowl the streets at night.

I discovered that there are many websites that have attempted to interpret the spiritual and ghoulish aspects of Halloween into online applications (you can find them in the Halloween book pictured above at www.limagegraphics.com). One site was an online Quija board – or "talking board" as they called it. This is an interesting interpretation considering that it is the spiritual energy that supposedly moves the pointer to answer questions. How does spiritual energy work online? You can be the judge. http://www.museumoftalkingboards.com/WebOuija.html

Halloween is a version of so many ancient rituals that were meant to ready human beings for the rigors of winter. Is it any wonder that it is a celebration of moving on, death and the mysteries that surround it? The imagery of Halloween is rich and ready to be plundered by any artist. It is just too tempting – skeletons, ghouls, vampires, jack-o-lanterns, bats and on and on. The color palette – lots of black and orange, iconic. As a designer you have to be careful when pairing black and orange any other time of year because it is instantly perceived as associated with Halloween.

The connection to the afterlife is the most fascinating aspect of this holiday. In witchcraft "All Hallows Eve" is supposedly the night the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead is the thinnest, which allows the ghosts to cross over and speak to the world of the living (and vice versa.) It is the new year in Wicca and other cultures. In Mexico, on November 2nd (in conjunction with the Catholic holidays of All Saints Day and All Souls Day) El Dia de los Muertos or The Day of the Dead is celebrated. A day when family members honor their loved ones who have passed. Once again all the great symbolism of the afterlife is dressed up in Mexican finery.

Dia de los Muertos in Oxaca, Mexico

I will always be fascinated by Halloween. The costumes, the rituals, the dark side. It is a moment when we all stretch our imaginations and for one night reinvent ourselves. The reinvention is our being reborn into another year of possibilities. Halloween is so much more than what we were taught as children.

Libra the Balancing Act

Libra design available on zazzle.com (©Taylor Barnes 2010)

Today was the autumnal equinox and the beginning of the astrological sign of Libra. The equinox is one of two times in the year when the day and the night are of equal length and Libra represents the sign of balance. So it seems fitting to reflect at this moment on balance in design and life.

As artists we strive for balance in our work. We try to create a visual that is weighted equally between many elements (type, illustration, color, etc.) and allow the viewer to take in the whole message without distraction. But there is the opposite end of the spectrum – that rare designer that can take chaos and orchestrate it so artfully that it is a delight to feel "off-balance."

But if you dig deeper the working artist also needs balance in the home and studio. Emotional distraction (such as my daughter just now walking into the room to yell "hi" to me as I am writing this blog post) or financial imbalance can retard the creative process. 

I once knew an artist who taught me this lesson (ironically he was born under the sign of Libra.) I noticed that although he worked a full time job he was very productive in the studio and always showing his work. I asked him what his secret was and he said that he had simplified every other area of his life so that the most complicated thinking happened when he was making art. He had five white button down shirts, five pairs of jeans, he ate the same lunch every day, and kept to this routine no matter how boring it might seem. But he produced a lot of work and seemed very happy.

I tried this for myself and found I did get more done. I have also discovered that whenever I give in to my caprices and let go of structure I get nothing done creatively. I end up "giving away" my creativity to my teaching, my child or my clients. In the end I am disappointed, out of whack and want to get back to center artistically. My survival instinct as a creative will kick in and cause me to do something to correct the situation but that causes a new imbalance as well.

Balance – the equinox of ebb and flow of ideas, money, love and harmony in one's life. That is the goal. However... that being said, it is the chaotic times that have produced some of the greatest inspiration in my life. Being human is not easy!