I got to sit down with Mashable’s contest winner and social media guru, Blair Ward, to talk about how he brought home the bacon for Cincinnati.
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We all know the “go big or go home” attitude of the larger than life Superbowl advertisements that captivate us between kick-offs and touchdowns. But who would’ve thought the spoofs of such ads would be equally as awesome, and quite possibly have even more of an impact. (more…)
Cool Shit is CO-OP’s internal platform to share and inspire. Every Thursday we step away from our computers for about an hour and immerse ourselves in presentations by our peers. Topics range from social issues, to personal adventures to technology to a lot more. We would like to share our inspiration with you!
If you’re someone who is as keen to learn about everything China as we are, then this is definitely a book that you need to add to your summer reading list. (more…)
For this week’s Cool Shit, I shared the RSA’s fun, illustrated video narrated by Phillip Zimbardo — The Secret Powers of Time.
Here’s another video worth watching —
Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us.
Some info about the RSA:
The RSA: an enlightenment organisation committed to finding innovative practical solutions to today’s social challenges. Through its ideas, research and 27,000-strong Fellowship it seeks to understand and enhance human capability so we can close the gap between today’s reality and people’s hopes for a better world.
Every Thursday we step away from our computers for about an hour and immerse ourselves in presentations by our peers. Topics range from social issues, to personal adventures to technology to a lot more. We would like to share our inspiration with you! (more…)
Last week we visited some of the exhibitions at Parsons Festival. One exhibition particularly left us in awe, featuring a few students from the Design and Technology program. (more…)
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A recent trip to Amsterdam and Barcelona re-emphasized the notion that cities are “where it’s all happening,” and that each one has something to learn from another.
Mary Choueiter is a graphic designer hailing from Beirut, Lebanon. She brings with her a vibrant sense of play and exploration, which she applies directly to her design work. She is fascinated by both physical and digital media, maneuvers her designs between 2-D and 3-D space, and spends countless hours cutting, scanning, digitally manipulating, and printing on paper. Her sense of play is what drives her to transform a mundane act, such as punching a hole through a piece of paper, into an immersive visual gesture on an epic scale. With a solid background in print design and typography, she particularly enjoys exploring the power of type in alternative spaces (eg, 3-D space) or as a building block in creating a pattern that meaningfully transcends the boundaries of written language.
Mary has received a Merit Scholarship from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon while completing her BFA in Graphic Design. She later completed an MFA in Digital Media at the Rhode Island School of Design and has worked at places such as Lippincott (NY), Wolff Olins (NY), and Atelier Hapsitus (Beirut).
We recently sat down with her to chat about her work, experiences, and inspiration. Here’s what she shared with us:
Where do you get inspiration from?
Mainly my inspiration comes from conversation. I’m always emailing friends in Lebanon and teachers that I’m still in touch with. Looking at other people’s work also gets me excited to make something good, but at the end of the day it’s just talking to people that inspires me. I also read a lot of fiction–mainly children’s books, and that helps to give my work a sense of play and a sense of humor.
Did you always know you wanted to be a designer?
I wanted to be many things. At first I wanted to be a doctor, like my dad. And then I saw his thesis and decided against it because it was a big book! I wanted to be a belly dancer. I wanted to be any form of person who buys things and sells them for twice the price…which I know is terrible, but I think that’s my Lebanese side–I’m a merchant by blood! And I think I went into design because I was meeting very interesting people as I was growing up, and I knew I didn’t want to be an artist–I wanted to do something that’s related to commerce and doing something for people that they could use. Design felt like the right place for me to be…the right challenge.
Why did you decide to live and work in New York?
The first time I came to the U.S. was in 2007. I visited Boston, New York, and Rhode Island, and I fell in love with how tiny Rhode Island was, went to grad school there. I didn’t think twice about New York–I thought New York was just like Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, but only bigger. A naïve perception! Then I freelanced and did an internship for a performance artist during the summer, and I realized New York has exactly the type of energy that keeps you on your toes and puts energy into you! Walking around after work just looking at the buildings, visiting museums, meeting new artists, all of it is very inspiring.
How would you describe your particular style of working?
I’m not very linear in my work. I do my research in the beginning and ask a lot of quetions, but the way I sketch is that I just put down ideas, even if they’re half-baked or just an image that I found interesting, and then I bring it to the table. And again, the conversation that ensues helps me move forward with the work and refine it even more.
What are some challenges you’ve faced in design?
Your creative process–you can’t switch it on and off, but you’re really working in an environment that is 9 to 5. So, that’s been a challenge…how to be patient with yourself and patient with where you’re working. Just sit there and try to be engaged within a certain range and not be like “Oh, the inspiration is going to come.”
How do you see design changing as a field?
I see designers as these great minds that use all aspects of their brains. They can be programmers and designers and musicians that make amazing things. I find that design is becoming less and less about specializing in one thing and more and more about being this one super-human brain that can do everything.
Some of Mary’s work:
Rooster, Peacock, Fa3lan
Beirut, Lebanon 2006
Rooster 1943, Peacock 2005 and Fa3lan (nonsensical word that rhymes with the Arabic pronunciation of Lebanon) – Mary’s undergraduate thesis project at the American University of Beirut on the highly debated stories of Lebanese History. Mary authored, illustrated, designed, and created the typography and calligraphy for this five-part publication.
Enlarged to Show Detail
Providence, RI 2009
This series of anaglyph prints (48in x 48in) explores the concept of random arrangements, pattern making, physical and virtual, and a back and forth between analog and digital work processes. Mary repetitively punched hundreds and hundreds of holes into Orbit gum packages to create patterns that eventually became different color swatches. Enlarged and projected in the 3-D cave at Brown University, the work lends itself to immersive visual color fields and constantly rearranging, random patterns.
Beirut Exhibition Center
Beirut, Lebanon 2010
Arabic and Latin custom typography for Beirut Exhibition Center main signage. Beirut Exhibition Center is designed by L.E.FT.
Sehnaoui Shelving, Tiling, and Door Handle
Mansourieh, Lebanon 2007
Villa Sehnaoui was designed by Atelier Hapsitus in Mansourieh, Lebanon. Mary designed a shelving system in the house based on the Arabic names of the villa owners, Hend and Maurice. She also designed the tiling detail and door handle for the entrance of the villa.
Writing Meander
Providence, RI 2008
Sandblasted Mahogany featuring a Latin and Arabic type composition. The composition was originally laser cut at Bud Saggal’s Precision Laser Cutting in Providence, RI.
Content © CO-OP 2011.
