egad, i'm going to go off the deep end, recommending a book i haven't even read. well, it wouldn't be the first time. i've at least two thousand books in my storage locker, piled right up to the front door. have i read half of them? hell, no, yet that doesn't stop me from buying them. my whole life spent in libraries, looking for the answer. have i found it? more than once. then lost it again. i just order the universal principles of design online.
you see, i know i'm being affected and manipulated all the time, good ways and evil ways. last night i watched a documentary on vidal sassoon. great guy. and i spent years responding to his haircuts on women and the dresses of mary quant. they created a seductive and strong image. i swear women would not be taking over the world if it weren't for them. it's like michael jackson, the source of barack obama's success. we react to thriller images, in dance, in the movies, in books. and with a formula, they yank us onto the road to perdition.
speaking of roads, i just drove home from the cafe, in the rain, and after reading words black on yellow the most memorable, i noticed street signs, the digital sign on the local bus, yellow turn-signals. watch out! opportunity! danger! i've certainly no objection to the signal lights. they've saved my life more than once. what alarms me: my own lack of observation. and i think the key to understanding our world and leading a life independent of it, depends upon reading all the signs.
it occurred to me the other day: without the dress, there'd be a lot fewer weddings. those wedding magazines all about the white uniform. no wonder all eyes on the bride walking down the aisle. bingo! i'm center stage for once in my life. however, marriage dying out around the world as women take the limelight every day. power and design, there's certainly an essay in that. and i have read 100 things every designer needs to know about people, backwards and forwards. we're not talking about gods wielding divine power. no, about the smart human beings who've learned how to control all the rest.
this said, artists, writers, dentists, all kind of creative people could benefit from this knowledge. there, i've attempted to sell a book without having read it. it always works on me.
here are a few designs of my own, found around the house, inside and out: http://www.pbase.com/wwp/tex
added more ipad drawings:
http://www.pbase.com/wwp/ipad
http://www.pbase.com/wwp/nf
