Yup, two projects completed in one day not bad eh? “River of Shadows” is a book design project done for my Visual Communications 2 class at UCLA with Rebeca Mendez and Bob Stein. My book highlights the waste and maliciousness that is brought to the forefront in Rebeca Solnit’s novel. The book is sewn on both the left and right edge forcing the reader to rip each page to advance.
Please visit my WEBSITE to view the whole project (there is much more to see!)
After about 5 months of research and production, my most recent branding experiment, “Black Tea” has now come to its completion. Please visit my WEBSITE to view the full project.
That compliment will help me get through finals! Today I got featured on two great design blogs, YAY!EVERYDAY and Existing Visual. Both of them highlighted my “Together We Learn Project.”
I wanted to show the world who reads my blog this work in progress by Katherine Slovin. For our book design class she has chosen to print the book “River of Shadows” using the sun! This is an extremely inspiring project which highlights not only the amount of manual labor required of the workers who contributed to the westward expansion (as described in the book) but also speaks perfectly to the photography of Eadweard Muybridge.
I was recently interviewed for a column in TITLE magazine’s december/january issue. TITLE magazine is an art/design mag that was started by high school student Catherine Bui. The magazine is starting to get a lot of recognition in the press, especially this issue (which is good because I am interviewed in it!) Checkout their ONLINE edition or purchase their PRINT edition.
Here is the full interview:
Issue No.5
Gallery- Graphic Design
Interview with Matthew Manos
Age: 21
Hometown: Bay Area, California.
- Are you excited to be getting out of school soon? Any plans you have for the future?
It is sort of sad and happy at the same time. I am very grateful for my time at UCLA. That being said, now that I am leaving, I can put everything I learned to use! I am currently applying to the Media Design Program at Art Center. My dream is to achieve my MFA, and soon after that become a teacher while I run 2 of my own studios. One of the studios in particular is actually in the making as we speak. “A Verynice Design Studio” (or “Verynice” for short) will be one of the world’s first registered 501( c)(3) design studios. We work with other non-profits, people with beneficial dreams, and also on personal projects for the greater good. My idea is that the studio would run off of volunteer designers as well as support from sponsors. My hope is to teach a class at the collegiate level in which the students are given the opportunity to work on a project for my non-profit studio.
-How would you describe your style?
I always say that I do not have a style because I believe that every project calls for its own unique outlook, train of thought, and means of production.
-What is your philosophy behind your designs?
I think that it is important to think outside of the box – the box being the computer. I always like to think of ways that I can incorporate some sort of handmade element or materiality into my projects be they professional or personal or for class. I am also very fond of process. I love to make my process (the way in which I create something) visible to the general public, or at least thought of… Example: “How did he do that?” or “Did he really climb on top of that thing?” Design should be 6 things: Appropriate, Controversial, Useful, Removed, Conceptual, and Clever.
-What is a font you find yourself using a lot?
That is a good question, and this changes on a day-to-day basis. My philosophy on fonts is sort of similar to my philosophy on style (that it shouldn’t really be repeated for more than one project). In the beginning of my design career I was using Helvetica a lot… because I was told to. Eventually I started to branch out. Lately I have actually been using my handwriting quite a lot… OK here goes: top 5 favorite fonts of all time: Bell Gothic, Akzidenz, Din, Georgia, and YOUR (whoever is reading this) handwriting.
-If you could help save the world from distasteful fonts, what font would you want banned forever?
I would not ever ban any font (not even comic-sans!!!). I would instead first ban the misuse of crappy fonts. I think that every font has a place.
-Where do you draw inspiration from?
I first look at what is around me every day. I tend to be inspired by the very little, mundane things. If I am working on a project for a client, I draw inspiration from the client’s inspiration to do what it is they do. I am also constantly reading design blogs.
-What are some of your favorite design blogs?
Speak of the devil… I have a lot of favorite design blogs. The three that I check every single day: Beautiful/Decay, LovelyPackage, and FairSpot.
-Any recommended design books?
A LOT! My room is practically a library. The other day I was looking at my shelf and I was trying to think of what book or books I would grab if someone was going to burn my shelf down. I chose “Made You Look” and “Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far,” both design books of Stefan Sagmeister.
-What do you think the future of graphic design will be?
This is a tough question, something I am planning on going to Grad School to figure out. A lot of people say that print is dying, but I think they are wrong. People spend a lot of time trying to find an alternative to print, so they choose 3D, motion graphics, and web design, but those aren’t the right answer either. The thing that we all as designers and futurists need to figure out is what the perfect medium is. There are some things wrong with print, but there are more things wrong with the use of technology to create design. By using technology to create our designs, we are held custom to the inevitable disease of being outdated. When I got my first playstation, I was shocked by how AMAZING the graphics were for NFL Blitz. Now I look at it, and it looks like a bunch of squares running around. Likewise, 3D animations and music videos look like floating, shiny blobs and websites from 2 years ago look awful in comparison to sites designed yesterday. The use of technology is what holds us captive to this lack of the “timeless,” and the solution that I can come up with is to start creating with our hands again.
-Does living in California in any way affect your style?
Not really, I think that a designer’s style can only be effected by their environment if they live in a harsh situation. We as Californians don’t have much to complain about besides traffic and sunburns.
-Are there any designers/artists out there who you look up to?
I really admire all of my teachers at UCLA (no i’m not just sucking up). The faculty is really amazing, and I am very fortunate to study under them. Other than that, Stefan Sagmeister, Massimo Vignelli, David Carson, and others.
-If you could invent a tool to help graphic designers, what would it be?
I am SO GLAD you asked. I really want adobe to make the super program. One where you can create both rasterized and vectorized pieces, edit photographs and video, and animate all in one program. It would be called Adobe CS (Creative Sweet).
-Advice for someone who wants to be a graphic designer?
It takes time, look at the people around you and see what they do, and you will do good! Always think about how your project can touch someone’s heart.
-What would you do with a million dollars?
I would pay for my grad school education, get my studios started, save money for my kid’s education, and then donate the rest!
-If there was an earthquake right now, what would you grab?
I would make sure the people around me could get themselves out of the situation, and then grab my guinea pigs with my right hand and computer with my left!
Today I laser cut the back cover of my book for my visual communications 2 class. Here is a video so that you can see what laser cutting is and how it works. It is very cool!
This series of four posters were created in collaboration with Kate Slovin to advertise the call for entries for the 2010 UCLA Design|Media Arts Undergraduate Show which the two of us are co-curating with Corinna Loo.
Last night I was invited to be the guest speaker for the Youth Leadership America’s (YLA) creativity conference. I discussed my work, my background, my definition of design, tips on how to market yourself, my thoughts on the future of design, and my plans for the future. It was an excellent opportunity to reach out to high schoolers and let them know my ideas for the future. It was especially exciting to see how eager they were to be a part of it. After the talk, the students (about 80) were asked ot split into groups and collaborate on a new logo for the non-profit, YLA. I was extremely impressed by how well thought out the concept were for these logos! It was great to hear the kids mention various concepts I had brought up in my speech while they were delivering their own pitches.
I just completed my second poster for the Campus Events commission. This poster is for the screening of “Ninja Assassins.” I tried to remove myself from the position of designer and put myself in the shoes of the ninja assassin, using a butcher knife and my fists to make much of the imagery for the poster. My hand writing was used in a frantic matter so as to communicate the idea that the poster is under attack.
