Every once in a while, I start getting it in my head that I’m good at design or that I know what I’m talking about in any way at all. And then I see Stephan Sagmiester cover a wall in Bananas that spell out messages as they age and I realize that I should just start an application for Taco Bell now and quit while I’m ahead.
I really enjoyed the Hillman Curtis series. I promise you that in about 5 months, I’m going to start uploading my own versions of these, assuming that I ever meet interesting enough artists to make these for. I think these little videos are great for portfolios and they seem super easy to make.
There are two aspects of the design that I want to address: The individual designers and the design that Hillman used.
First, I think that it was interesting to see all the varying levels that the different designers had. Some of them, like Stephan Sagmiester, are completely out there (course, he’s more of an artist than a graphic designer). Giant inflatable monkey? Sure. But he’s very different than James Victore, who is legitimately out of his mind.
That brings me the second thing: Hillman cut the videos to match the artists. The James Victore was a lot more brash and quick than the slow moving, semi-rambling one for Stephan Sagmiester. And that was excellent. As someone who wants to make documentaries, I think that it is important to utilize the style of your subject when you make a film about it. I hope that I can do just that.