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Michael Aron

Wall Street or Sesame Street

By Commentary

Yesterday’s presidential debate was unremarkable in most respects. One item stands out. About 15 minutes into the debate Mitt Romney tries to explain what programs he would cut. “I’m sorry, Jim, I’m going to stop the subsidy to PBS. I’m going to stop other things. I like PBS, I love Big Bird. Actually like you, too. But I’m not going to − I’m not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for. That’s number one.”

In response to this we developed a site where you can comment. Which side are you on?

wall street or sesame street

Or register you opinion here on Facebook.

Vintage Psychedelic Posters

By Commentary
push-pin-graphic-no-52

Push Pin Graphic no. 52

My father is a graphic designer and in the 1960s he was one of the lucky recipients of the famous Push Pin Graphic periodical, a promotional mailer highlighting the work of (left to right) Milton Glaser, Seymour Chwast and James McMullan. Some issues of the Graphic were fold-out posters drawn in a psychedelic style typical of the period. He brought them home and I hung them on my bedroom wall. Eventually I grew up, became a designer myself, and went to work at Push Pin Studios. Life imitating art I suppose. I have the original posters to this day. Maybe I’ll go get them framed.

Herb Lubalin Drove a Racing Green Volvo P1800 ES

By Commentary

Herb Lubalin was my teacher, mentor, and boss. He was virtually mute, ambidextrous, and amazingly talented.

Early Herb Lubalin Design Studio Sign

Early Herb Lubalin Design Studio Sign

I rescued this brass sign from the trash when I worked there back in the 1980s. Read his brief biography here. My favorite memory is driving around with him in his fantastic Volvo P1800 ES, a tour de force of automotive design. Herb definitely had style. This sign definitely is the work of Tom Carnase, and you can see a resemblance to the New York Magazine logo he modified years later.

Signage Sightings in Nolita

By Commentary

Spring arrived in New York and a lazy walk down to Chinatown and Little Italy yielded a trove of type treasures.

Moe's Meat Market

Moe's Meat Market, Nolita, NYC

I’m glad that the Moe’s Meat Market sign is still hanging, even though you can only buy rather uninspired art within. Read More

How to get a job in graphic design

By Commentary

 

I recently made a presentation to students at City College at the invitation of another Cooper Union alum Ina Saltz and her colleague Donald Partyka. Rather than show a portfolio I showed my job history as it related to my teachers and classmates. I’m posting this to my blog because it has had over 500 views on SlideShare in one day so it must strike a nerve.

Large Website for BigLaw Firm

By Favorites, Law Firms, Websites

Debevoise & Plimpton

The home page featured a series of photos that illustrated “creative problem solving”—a perfect description of the superior advocacy offered by this top international law firm. This photo is one of my favorites. It shows a man using two chairs to cross a large puddle in a Paris park. The site has hundreds of pages and displays in several languages. For the recruiting section, we produced candid video interviews of dozens of partners and associates about cases, life at the firm and other relevant topics.

Debevoise Recruiting

Client: Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
Firm: Ross Culbert & Lavery, Inc.

 

Bleu O Noir by Jacques Villeglé

By Commentary

A recent visit to the Museum of Modern Art yielded this wonderful piece I’d never seen before. “Bleu O Noir” by Jacques Villeglé, Done in 1955. Paper on canvas.

Bleu O Noir

He calls this art methodology “Ultra-Lettrist psychogeographical hypergraphics.” That’s impressive.

Read More

Rand’s El Producto Cigar Album

By Commentary

This modernist package is one my favorite possessions. I purchased it for a few bucks at a flea market in Philadelphia.

Paul Rand El Producto cigar box

Paul Rand El Producto cigar box

It was designed by the legendary Paul Rand and features a photogram on the cover—hence the title “Cigar Album.” Read More