Soup to Nuts

This article about the 'neuromarketing' logic for redesigning the Campbell Soup tin left me confused. Especially when it says that Campbell's three biggest sellers—chicken noodle, tomato and cream of mushroom, the soup can labels immortalized by Andy Warhol—will remain the same, but the other labels will be redesigned. Isn't that the holy grail of good design- so good, so deeply embedded in the public psyche that it should be left alone? The old design works for the best sellers- as its done for half a century, but its necessary to retool the others because..?

Tiki

I'm working on Summer 2011 and am looking at a lot of Tiki designs for inspiration. Love the mid century color palette of these orchid vases (nice with the orange background). I also like them for the more primitive Easter Island aesthetic which looks a little more African than the usual kitschy 50's mask versions.

Brad vs Frank

There's been a lot of Brads on the catwalks, in the magazines, lots of horn rims and clean cut American Prep Classics. But inevitably, as it always does, the pendulum swings the other way as witnessed by the arrival of Frank at the D Squared Show. Although Frank opened and closed the show, the in between part was a blood spattered nod to all the young dude vampires and more about goth than androgyny. The goth staples served up - a lot of black, some skulls, leather, metallic chain like acessories, a little make up and they threw in some Hockey (they're Canadian).

In the documentary I just added, American Goth, the Goths interviewed struggle a little with the ingredients that define a Goth. Apparently they have eclectic tastes in music and are pretty well read. They overlap Victorian, fantasy, punk and metal. There's your East Village thrift goth and your Rick Owens Paris Couture goth. I'm curious to see if there is an American Goth look that references the vintage bad boy, outsider, rock rebel aesthetics through to the modern day dark lord sportswear of new designers like Odyn Vovk that can actually have a broad commercial reach.