Graffiti Legends, Passport Patriotism, and Iconic Brands
Banksy gets the New Yorker treatment this week with a lengthy article that makes for a helpful introduction to the work and persona of the mysterious street artist. No, journalist Lauren Collins doesn't reveal Banksy's famously withheld identity, but she does provide extracts from an email interview she conducted with the man himself. The New Yorker's website also has a Banksy slideshow that includes a black-and-white image created especially for Collins--with no less cheek than you've come to expect.
The days of the merely functional passport are apparently over. The State Department has rebranded the once-humble document, which now bears the title "American Icon." The new passport's visa pages feature background images of Mt. Rushmore and the Liberty Bell; the American flag, the head of a bald eagle, and sheaves of wheat adorn its signature pages. The New York Times went to designer Michael Bierut and others for opinions on this patriotic passport redesign.
Hollywood is preparing to deluge us with 3-D live-action and animated movies (at least a dozen are set to open by 2009). The first Digital 3-D live-action release will be U23D, a 90-minute concert film starring (yes) U2. Director Catherine Owens says of the film, expected to open this fall, "It's like being on the wings of a bird flying around the concert stadium."
What makes a brand iconic? STEP inside design's Jonathan Ford explains the role design plays in creating--and updating--modern icons in the web-exclusive article, "Who Wants to Be Iconic?: Designing Futures for Iconic Brands."
Great article.
I represent a graffiti artist who's work has been applied as commercial illustration including for client such as Electronic Arts EA, and the Washington Post. These images can be seen at: http://salzint.com/pgs/manone.html