April 2006

March in April

This Saturday, April 29, we take to the streets to end the war in Iraq, support immigrant rights and women’s rights, and to oppose war against Iran. I designed a broadsheet that the organizing coalition will distribute. It’s a two-color, tabloid-sized, eight-page booklet in English and Spanish with statements by the organizers, emergency contact info, and maps of the affinity group assembly areas, march route, and peace festival.

It was a challenge giving the different messages equal weight without flattening out the design. Because of the politics of the coalition, this was a big requirement. It was also my first chance to play with the City’s official NYCMAP data, which was fun. The cover image extends the Statue of Liberty image used in the existing flyers, but pushes it back to make it a little more ambient and less iconographic. It was a rush job and stepping back, some of the type treatment feels a little heavy-handed. But I’m otherwise pleased with it. We’ll see how it works on newsprint. Maybe the heaviness is appropriate.

>  27 April 2006 | LINK | Filed in , , , ,
Dining for Darfur. “A fundraiser... at restaurants around New York City (and beyond) on Sunday April 30th, coinciding with the Save Darfur rally in Washington DC. Participating restaurants have agreed to donate 5% of their gross sales for the evening of Sunday April 30th to the International Rescue Committee’s humanitarian relief efforts in Darfur and in the refugee camps in Chad.” Or why not a potluck teach-in?
>  25 April 2006 | LINK
Dear Mr. Leno. “When you think of gay people, it's funny. They're funny folks.... Gay people, to you, are great material.” Jeff Whitty pens a stinging rebuke.
>  24 April 2006 | LINK | Filed in ,
The New Yorkers' Guide to Military Recruitment in the 5 Boroughs. “A free 64-page, pocket-sized book including everything a New Yorker needs to know about military recruitment and resources for counter-recruitment in NYC. Profiles of former soldiers sit side-by-side information on the enlistment contract, military myths, the No Child Left Behind Act, action/legal resources, a Harper’s-style index of facts, and much more. At the heart of the book is an opt-out form that students can tear out, fill in, and hand over to their school administrators to prevent their contact information from being released to recruiters.” You can order a copy, pick up a free copy around town, or download a PDF (2.9 MB). (via)
NYC Counter Recruitment Guide NYC Counter Recruitment Guide
>  21 April 2006 | LINK | Filed in ,
State of the Planet. A few information graphics for Earth Day from Seed Magazine.
co2 tons
>  21 April 2006 | LINK | Filed in ,

San Francisco Passes Peak Oil Resolution

On Tuesday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved resolution 060442, Peak Oil Plan of Response and Preparation, “acknowledging the challenge of Peak Oil and the need for San Francisco to prepare a plan of response and preparation.”

An SF Informatics / San Francisco Oil Awareness press release notes the role of the U.S. Department of Energy’s own study on peak oil, as well a poster used in its advocacy work:

Peak Oil Poster“Among the high-visibility tools used by the groups is a colorful poster called The Oil Age, created by SF Informatics in association with Global Public Media. The poster traces the history of oil production worldwide and displays relevant energy statistics from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, BP Statistical Review and other industry sources. The poster was hand delivered to dozens of Bay Area elected officials in January, including the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, The Department on the Environment and the Communion on the Environment.

‘The poster is a great way to open up city officials’ doors,’ said David Fridley, a scientist with the Lawrence Berkeley Lab and a member of San Francisco Oil Awareness. ‘It’s a very effective passport into the halls of power because of its polished and professional quality.’ Co-member Jennifer Bresee agrees: ‘Plunking down this poster in front of a supervisor is a lot more effective than trying to explain it in words alone,’ she says.

Copies of The Oil Age poster can be purchased at www.oilposter.org. To date, over 1,600 posters have been donated to teachers worldwide. And thanks to Congressman Roscoe Bartlett, the poster has been distributed to every member of the U.S. Congress.”

>  21 April 2006 | LINK | Filed in
>  15 April 2006 | LINK | Filed in
Official 2010 Olympics. A parody in the style of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics site challenging the Olympic committee’s representations of indigenous peoples and the image of Canada it projects. (via)
>  15 April 2006 | LINK | Filed in , ,
When is design legitimate?.
Icograda Web poll results:
34%   Yes. Design must address a social need.
21%   No. Design can be commercial and still have value.
48%   Maybe. More designers should ask this question when choosing projects.
>  15 April 2006 | LINK
Mapping religion in America. Geography of God, by county.
>  14 April 2006 | LINK | Filed in

’Til You Drop

Camouflage Shopping Bag

Now on newsstands across NYC is the cover of this week’s Time Out New York, an events and listings rag. The camouflage shopping bag is intended to evoke martial metaphors: tactical tips for your bargain hunting strategy inside.

But it struck me as quite an elegant, visual link between War and The Market!

>  14 April 2006 | LINK | Filed in , , , , ,

Commodify Your Dissent, 2

Where is the Outrage?

Saw this tonight on Bleeker Street.

Where is the outrage? It’s for sale at Marc Jacobs in the West Village.

There’s also a joke in here about white people, but I can’t seem to find it at the moment.

Otherwise, I do appreciate the sentiment and the public display.


See previous post: Commodify Your Dissent

>  12 April 2006 | LINK | Filed in
Forms, Contracts, and Agreements. A selection of pre-fab legal documents for designers and the people who hire them.
>  10 April 2006 | LINK | Filed in

Logo Repo

El Nuevo Diario reports that 1,420 Nicaraguan banana workers have died as a result of the illnesses caused by the pesticide Nemagon. 9,500 are seriously ill without access to adequate healthcare.

In their battle to collect on their compensation claim, the workers have seized an unexpected asset.

From the Nicaragua Network, 1/18/06:

Nemagon victims put lien on use of “Shell” trademark

“On January 13 the law firm Ojeda, Gutierrez, and Espinoza put a lien on the multinational Shell Oil Company against which the firm’s clients won a multimillion compensation claim in Nicaraguan courts.  The clients are 500 former banana workers from the Chinandega area whose health has been severely affected by their exposure to Nemagon.  Over a hundred of the former banana workers traveled to Managua to take part in the task of placing banners about the lien over the word ‘Shell’ at Shell gas stations in the capital.

Attorney Angel Espinoza explained that, since his clients won their claim for US$486 million compensation against four multinationals (Dole Food Company, Dow Chemical Company, Shell Chemical Company and Standard Food Company [Dole’s name in Central America]), they have not received a cent from any of the companies. ‘The companies’ failure to pay up has resulted in our decision to go ahead and place a lien on the use of the Shell trademark,’ says Espinoza. The law firm has already filed claims against Dole Food Company and Dow Chemical Company.

The gasoline and other products sold at Shell gas stations in Nicaragua are sold by the company Shell Nicaragua, S.A., which pays a monthly sum to Shell to rent out the trademark. The lien applied by the Chinandega farm workers and their lawyers does not affect Shell Nicaragua S.A.’s ability to continue selling its products, but the company can no longer do so under the trademark Shell unless company officials agree to start paying the Nemagon victims the monthly sum they have been paying to the Shell Oil Company.

Continue reading "Logo Repo" »

>  6 April 2006 | LINK | Filed in
Only 11 percent of NYC subway stations are wheelchair accessible. That’s 53 of 468 stations. The MTA’s $192 million earmarked for wheelchair accessibility through 2009 will make 15 more stations accessible.
>  4 April 2006 | LINK | Filed in , , ,


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