As I know from my own experience, art can inspire and inform design. What seems more uncommon is when design inspires and informs art. I stumbled upon a book last night called International Lonely Guy by Harland Miller, a writer and painter. It contains an amazing collection of his large scale paintings of penguin and pelican books complete with coffee stains and torn edges. The paintings are very graphic and bold, but have a softness and depth to them. Careful attention also seems to be paid to the content of the original books. The paintings have playful titles that reference authors works or pieces of his own life. The book provide me with a refreshing and inspiring interpretation of art and design.

Last night Kurt Vonnegut passed away at his home in NYC. I don’t have much to say, except that he was one of my favorite authors and his work is some of the wittiest and most imaginative writing that I have ever connected personally with. I would like to share my favorite short story of his, Harrison Bergeron, with everyone. If you have not read it, I definately recommend it.

Kurt Vonnegut
1922—2007

Grafik Magazine and Designers are Wankers are currently accepting entries for their Future Perfect writing competition. The aim of the competition is to discover the latest and greatest in design writing talent and is open to all previously unpublished writers. There are five possible topics to select from, including ‘Graphic design’s best kept secret is…’ and ‘Designers are Wankers. Discuss’. There are also some interesting prizes involved, including a MacBook and the opportunity to interview an international design studio for an upcoming issue of Grafik.