Below is a collection of layouts from an old exhibition in Tehran showing various graphic design from Iran in the 1980’s. Enjoy.

Mark Kulakoff lives in downtown Los Angeles in the Hellman Building, which was supposedly the tallest building when it was built in the early nineteen hundreds. He has one roommate and a dog that is his. Interview by Devin Dailey.

When you were teaching at BIOLA in La Mirada, how did you prepare students for the field of graphic design—and life—outside of college?

The school is really fine arts driven, so I’m just trying to help them separate their work outside of those fine art contexts and put their image making and ideas into a context where there are consequences. If I give them constraints they are going to be good at it, like living by the law. In some ways I don’t know if I should give them so many limits because a lot of the kids here are very religious and have lived with a lot of restrictions all their life. But they still need those limits with regards to the whole professional aspect of design. I don’t try to push the professional side of design, instead I try to push experimentation, within a given set of limits or rules. In the real world they’ll have even harsher restrictions. I believe education is a time where you are free to experiment, develop and grow. I want the students to be really founded and grounded in their mind and heart and learn how to articulate ideas by integrating type and image. I try to relay information so they can grow and become makers of ideas and images.

With regard to pushing the students’ level of experimentation, could you define that in your terms or what that means in the educational environment? What do you consider “experimenting” and how do you teach that?

It’s tough and cliché. “Experimentation” has become cliché and has to be made new. As a teacher, I’m there to serve each student and to look at each student individually, where they’re coming from and where they can go. Experimentation is new to them and I have no right to say it’s not experimenting even if it’s been done before. I consider each student and if it’s new for them and something they haven’t done before I think it’s good for them. I encourage them to look forward too. I try to push them to do things that are being done currently, but keep them ahead and not do the things that are now, but something further. It’s a hard and dangerous way to talk, but it’s more about being able to serve them and let them enjoy life and enjoy image making and practices. I don’t want to ruin it for them.

You graduated CalArts in 2004. What were some of the reasons you where attracted to study at CalArts?

I was attracted to CalArts because I had come from a very weak tools-based graphic design program. We really only focused on forms like brochures and pamphlets, which was a joke. We were never taught how to think or how to make an image and make it speak. It was a very shallow to some degree. I was at a school in Chicago and saw Ed Fella and Elliott Earls’ work and thought their stuff was amazing. I then I saw other work like Gail Swanlund’s, which blew me away. I had never seen anything like that before. A teacher talked about CalArts as if it were in the heavens, and after seeing work from the faculty I thought I had to go there. During my undergrad studies I wasn’t really conceptually-minded, it was just about beautiful images and making cool stuff. I was pretty naïve when I arrived at CalArts, but then I realized there was a lot more going on. I love the essence of the school, there was a spirit about the place that was very interesting. It was a paradox compared to how I grew up, for my background was completely the opposite. I had never encountered people like I did when I was at CalArts.

What were some of the skills that you acquired while at CalArts?

The best thing was starting to learn how to think. I had never been challenged to think conceptually and also think through image making. I learned I could work intuitively and use intuition to communicate and how to make my work more conceptual. I think intuitive people believe they aren’t very conceptual, but I think if you go back and understand your process, you find that it’s rooted in ideas. Sometimes your ideas can be more interesting than people who are conceptual right from the start. I have the storm before the calm—destruction—and when eerything settles down, it’s “Ah, that’s what it is.” I don’t want to separate the two but it’s more about how to think and how to make images. I had never really made images before; it was either clip art or Dingbats. Everything was different to me: the people, the books that people were reading, how people thought about life and what people thought about clean and unclean. Philosophically, Spiritually, Emotionally and Mentally it was very eye opening to me; I can’t even explain what it did.

Can you be more specific about your process and what that entails?

I never really think about my process. I guess I should probably think about it more but I’ve always just let it kind of happen. It’s not very interesting. All I do is think about an idea or a concept that need to be betrayed and try to find some sort of abstract metaphor or some abstract connections that are cliché or somewhat off the wall. Then I start building images from that. I’m much more image driven. I try to find essence then put it into a stew. I push those idea and forms off the nest. I poop them out like an egg and then push the babies out and let them fly. Then they turn into something; sometimes they absolutely crash and die onto the ground, but hopefully they end up taking off. I’ve always tried to not think and just go into the darkness. When you have darkness or some kind of unknown it allows you to discover things. Every time I have gone into something I’ve always known that I can fail really badly. It’s all about knowing that each project can fail and I’m open to that and ready for that. If I go into a project without thinking that I can fail my work doesn’t fall into place.

Do you set any criteria to make sure that you head in the right direction?

No. If I start feeling the fear that it’s not working and think “okay, I’ve got to get this working”, I go back and start asking: What is the image’s connotation? What are they signifying? Can people understand what the images mean? Composition? What are the most important things to have? I go back the basics. Foundations are always the key. Those are my guidelines. Even in communicating. I don’t how people can judge if you are thinking conceptually because I‘ve always thought that if you are conceptual what you make is communicated. I’ve always thought the images where to serve people. To edify them, to make them grow and become better people. If your work is conceptual it should be full of ideas. You want your stuff to build other people up.

You have been working on a personal project called Teenocide, Can you describe this project of yours?

There was this video that Lorraine Wild showed in her Design History class about this kid that was driving too fast and the girl driving with him was say “slow down, slow down”. Then the last thing you see is the girl’s face all bandaged up and it says “Teenocide”. I thought that represented our culture so well. When I think about Teenocide I think about this consumption of everything. I’ve always thought teens were kind of weird. When you are a teen you want to forget that reality and when you’re an adult you want to be a teen. Ladies are trying to look like girls. Men are trying to look like young dudes. Everyone wants to look young and be relevant. No one is content. This culture is very much based in the identity of being youthful. Teenocide also about teenagers being selfish and devouring everything they see. Everything is about them. Teenocide is just a hilarious commentary on people and people’s nature. Teenocides are killing themselves and never thinking about consequences. They are just thinking about Friday night and the weekend. It’s about that spirit of destruction, lust of flesh and lust of identity. Cultures’ narcissism and how it seems like it’s just going to destroy it. It seem like nothing is pure anymore, everything is tainted by something. I’m not really sure how it’s going to turn out, but it’s my way of making moving images. It’s teenagers destructing themselves.

Any wisdom that you can offer up to any students at CalArts to propel careers or themselves?

My confession in regards CalArts is that I was very selfish. I wasn’t able to serve my neighbors. I wish I was there for my fellow students and served them in greater ways. Try to help each other more and be there for each other. I think the best thing is learning how to serve, which will take you so much farther in the real world. Honestly, in regards to design education, you’re going to get that at CalArts. When it comes to going out in the real world it is really about relationships. I would say the biggest thing is learning to not always think about yourself, but learn to think about your friends around you. I think if you try to break free of selfishness it will be more enriching in the future.

Below is an image collection of the socialist magazine, The Masses.

“All my life I’ve kept scrapbooks, collected printed material, books, posters, pages, cards, bits and pieces…always with the intention of getting back to it someday. Frequently I do, but the material keeps piling up, way beyond anything I’ll ever need or use…here’s an opportunity to do something with some of it: post it and pass it on.” -Ed Fella

A detail from a 1930 Norman Rockwell illustration: A determined art student…could be Miss Lucy (coming up next…)

Mrs. Lucy Carrington Wertheim’s 1947 book on her 1930’s gallery “adventures” with two examples from one of her discoveries: the painter Christopher Wood with “The Yellow Horse” and “The Yellow Man” (circa 1920’s I assume, since he died in 1930)… turns out (thanks to Google) he’s a famous British artist whose work is in the Tate.

Some antique art: A 3 minute painting from the 1880’s and a book cover and title page from 1884. Double jeopardy!

Three example pages from my “Daily Archive” sheets: the first one composed of those little bits left on the walls after the poster is ripped down, the others are of the “under the radar” graphic design that surrounds us.

An Allen Hori, Richard Bates ad from 1996 and a 1990 page by David Frej, classmates at Cranbrook in the late 1980’s.

The wonderful Canadian lettering artist, Marion Banjtes sent me this several years ago…it took me a while to figure it out that it was addressed to me.

My 3 year old grand daughter made me this Holiday card. I take it those are ornaments in the front, the back is “writing”, or so she thinks…

Stay tuned for more Faculty Finds.

The Australian show Designer People did an episode on Ed Fella who is faculty in the graphic design program at CalArts.

Below is an image collection of various text book covers and spreads (writing, math, science) from Iran given to me by my parents.

PlayLab, Inc. is a studio based in Brooklyn, New York. They are two guys, Archie Lee Coates and Jeff Franklin. They mostly design for print.

Below is the care package that PlayLab, Inc. sent me as a part of their interview. They sent me items such as: Summer Sausage, Twilight Heart’s Desire Chocolate, their newest print piece (the cover of People magazine), and some really fun, colorful foam blocks. They also sent their entire interview in an audio format for your listening joy. You can download the entire audio here.

What was your undergraduate experience like? Did your school have a good design program?

We met in Virginia Tech’s undergraduate Architecture program. PlayLab started then, and we’ve been exploring ideas ever since. The architecture program was a very good experience that encouraged experimentation and taught us how to question and think.

Why did the two of you decide to pursue Graphic Design rather than Architecture after graduation? How are they related?

We’re not only pursuing graphic design, but we have focused on it because those projects are currently the most attainable (architecture has taken a beating). We have a background in graphic design, illustration, printmaking, architecture and industrial design. And we love and would like to pursue them all, in due time. They are related: they are working to solve problems, and helping the people involved. Graphic design and architecture may differ in their scale, scope and result, but they both have constraints and require working towards a solution.

What advice do you have for design students that are just starting their design educations and ones that are about to graduate and go into the real world to start their design careers.

Question everything, make mistakes. The real world is littered with shit. Doing something worthwhile is better than money. You have to work much harder to find the beauty in everything, but it’s there, and the designer’s job is to bring it out. Do what you love, and the money will follow.

Why do you guys call yourself PlayLab, Inc.? It seems like your studio name is something you two live by. Is work really play?

PlayLab is a process of letting loose all the possible ideas, ridiculous as they may seem, stepping back, taking a look at them in a critical away, and then working towards a solution based on those results. We encourage constant experimentation and mistakes. The Inc. is official, incorporated in the State of New York. There’s a balance between business and fun, and we’re still working that out. We’ll sometimes slip into our business-robot outfits and have to climb back out. We’re here to explore, discover and learn. We can’t do that without play. Human innovation starts with human imagination.

How do you like Brooklyn? How is the design community there?

We love Brooklyn. It was always our dream to move here and open the office. Back then we were in love with the idea of Brooklyn, filled with rustic lofts, neon signs and beautiful women on segways. We have come to love Brooklyn now because it is constantly inspiring, has amazing food and beautiful women on segways. The design community is very present here. However, we get the sense that much of them keep to themselves.

You have a beautiful studio, does it ever get really messy or is it always clean like the photograph on your website?

Oh thank you. We are both obsessive compulsive, so it only gets messy to a certain degree. The bookshelf in that photograph collapsed one night. That is the biggest mess we’ve ever had, and we shit our pants when we saw it. Since that photograph was taken, we’ve moved into a client’s studio as an experiment. We’re now in a ground-floor warehouse space, which is all used for steel-working. Our current situation couldn’t be dirtier from our last, but it’s refreshing in some ways, which is why we did it. However, our portion of the studio is by far the cleanest and neatest in the whole shop.

How would you say the work environment is at PlayLab?

A constant battle between boredom and fun. We share the space with one of our clients, an architecture firm called Face Design & Fabrication, which started as an experiment in what could happen when two separate design practices moved in together. They weld all day, and there’s steel dust all over our computers. It’s been interesting. The office is a nice place to work, but we always think best outside of it.

Do you collaborate on all projects? What are some positives and benefits?

Yes, we collaborate on everything. And we mean, EV-ER-RY-THING. That is how we prefer it, and we wouldn’t have the office if that didn’t happen. For us, it is an essential part of working. More heads equals more ideas, and more filters for those ideas.

Do each of you bring something different to the table when working on projects? Do you always like each others work?

Sure, but we’re very different people. For everything that we agree on, there are just as many things that we disagree on. That is a good thing when working collaboratively. It is what makes the filter work, and it would be boring and unproductive if we liked every thought or decision that the other made.

Do you guys have a process for projects?

We get stuck at some point during just about every project. It’s an inevitable part of the process that we are still learning how to deal with. Every project is different and has a new set of problems and constraints. So we try to have a process that is loose and can adapt per project. We start by freely producing ideas, both visually and verbally. And when we hit a wall, we go back to that and/or get out of our normal environment.

What materials do you use for your work? How does the balance of pencil and mouse work for you? Do you think it’s beneficial to not be bound to the computer and experiment with more fine art materials in design work?

People should work in a way they’re comfortable with. Ours involves a pen and something to write on. After that, it’s up for grabs how things get done. We let our minds and conversations wander, and at some point we rope things back in and make something.

What is your driving force, what is it you two want to say with the work you’re putting into the world?

The goal is to be satisfied. We hope to do this by creating and sending things out into the world, no matter their scale, that our beautiful, smart, cared-for and appreciated. We want to give the world things that it didn’t know it needed, and if we could get paid for it, that’d be even better.

What designers/illustrators influence you today?

We are easily influenced by everybody and anything. We met a prisoner named Randy who used to run Alabama’s largest meth lab. He somehow had more wise things to say than anyone we’ve ever met. Randy and Outer Space are at the top of a long list of influences.

With all of the design blogs/websites out there, for us and students all over what would you like to see with FISK?

Show us more than pretty pictures. Make something that is inspiring for all people, not only designers. Ask questions that make people sweat.

Why did you guys stop twittering?

We started twittering? (question).

Dream client or job? Worst client experience?

Dream: NASA.

Worst: The clients that won’t let themselves go, and trust.

Do you wear patterned/designed socks, plain socks or no socks?

Toe fetish (refer to Figure 1A). These are the only socks that we wear.

Thank you PlayLab, Inc. for one of the most adventurous interviews I’ve ever done!
Visit their studio at www.playlab.org and their flickr here.

View the entire zine, spread by spread below. Enjoy, Happy Holidays and New Year.

Pantone owns color.

CARLSTADT, N.J., Dec. 8, 2009 –Pantone LLC, an X-Rite company (NASDAQ: XRIT), and the global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design industries, today announced PANTONE® 15-5519 Turquoise, an inviting, luminous hue, as the color of the year for 2010. Combining the serene qualities of blue and the invigorating aspects of green, Turquoise evokes thoughts of soothing, tropical waters and a languorous, effective escape from the everyday troubles of the world, while at the same time restoring our sense of wellbeing.

“In many cultures, Turquoise occupies a very special position in the world of color,” explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “It is believed to be a protective talisman, a color of deep compassion and healing, and a color of faith and truth, inspired by water and sky. Through years of color word-association studies, we also find that Turquoise represents an escape to many – taking them to a tropical paradise that is pleasant and inviting, even if only a fantasy.”

Links: Pantone