Paul Rand In His Own Words (And Animated)

For Paul Rand's posthumous induction into The One Club Hall of Fame, Imaginary Forces created this short film, combining original animation with a videotaped interview of Rand himself, that encapsulated his unique and timeless contribution to the design community.

This week Imaginary Forces reposted the film on Facebook. It is worth revisiting.

For Paul Rand's posthumous induction into The One Club Hall of Fame, Imaginary Forces created this short film, combining original animation with a videotaped interview of Rand himself, that encapsulated his unique and timeless contribution to the design community. http://www.imaginaryforces.com/featured-work/experience-design/paul-rand-film/ director - Mark Gardener producer - Cara McKenney designers/animators - Jeremy Cox, Joey Salim, & Liz Centolella animators - Andrew Chung, Sean Eno and Chase Massingill editor - Corey Weisz sound design - Derek Lee

Feeling Sad Makes Us More Creative

Last year, Forgas ventured beyond the lab and began conducting studies in a small stationery store in suburban Sydney, Australia. Forgas placed a variety of trinkets, like toy soldiers, plastic animals and miniature cars, near the checkout counter. As shoppers exited, Forgas tested their memory, asking them to list as many of the items as possible. To control for the effect of mood, Forgas conducted the survey on gray, rainy days — he accentuated the weather by playing Verdi’s “Requiem” — and on sunny days, using a soundtrack of Gilbert and Sullivan. The results were clear: shoppers in the “low mood” condition remembered nearly four times as many of the trinkets. The wet weather made them sad, and their sadness made them more aware and attentive.

There are two important lessons of this research. The first is that our fleeting feelings can change the way we think. While sadness makes us more focused and diligent – the spotlight of attention is sharpened – happiness seems to have the opposite effect, so that good moods make us 20 percent more likely to have a moment of insight. The second takeaway is that many of our creative challenges involve tasks that require diligence, persistence and focus. It’s not easy making a collage or writing a poem or solving a hard technical problem, which is why sometimes being a little miserable can improve our creative performance.

via wired.com

A conversation with 2011 TED Prize Winner: JR

via tedprize.org

I love his work. His large scale images of faces, eyes, shifting the perspectives where they are displayed. Love also that he refers to himself as a “photograffeur” (graffeur is French for graffiti artist.) Very curious to hear his TED wish and even more curious to see how they handle his presentation during TED 2011 since he is anonymous.

Paola Antonelli + Benoit Mandelbrot Discuss Fractals, Architecture, And The Death Of Euclid

via seedmagazine.com

A fantastic conversation, a small tribute to the life of Mandelbrot.

The Gettysburg Address Animated

Lincoln's speech revisited. Read by Mitch Rapoport. Design and animation by Adam Gault and Stefanie Augustine. Sound design by Chris Villepigue | songloft.com Additional animation by Carlo Vega.

via motionographer.com

This is truly beautiful. Gorgeously executed. One of my favorite motion graphics of the year.