Who has an industrial espresso machine in their office? Who has teas I couldn’t pronounce just over top of that espresso machine? Who has black glass along the wall that you draw on with white magic markers? It’s none other than only the best internship ever: Derooted Design Agency. In fact, interning almost seems like an understatement for what I did and learned at Derooted; I truly felt like part of the team.

Being an undergrad student it seems that interning is a given with almost all programs. Mandatory or not, interning is said to be the best way to meet people in industry and gain experience. I hear this again and again. However, having done several internships in the past I’m sure I’m not the only one to say that many intern positions don’t hold up their end of the bargain in the sense that what the intern does isn’t in fact ‘experience,’ it’s simply invisible; it’s ‘invisrience’. Granted, these invisible things are unavoidable and need to be done, but when these things become your only obligation YOU start to feel invisible.

So having said that, my favorite part of being at Derooted was that my designs were taken seriously. They weren’t roughs that a client would never see. What I made, was exactly what was presented. Derooted let me make my stupid mistakes and deal with them, most of which I did because I was nervous, I swear! To me, that’s experience: it’s real, it’s never perfect, and it’s always visible as can be. Simon didn’t let anything go unnoticed so he could bring up every flaw and make me face it, explain it, and fix it. And honestly, no matter how humiliating I’m really glad he did! It’s what let me know that what I did really mattered.

On top of that I got to see the industry for what it is, hard work, tight deadlines, meetings outside in the park (weather permitting), dealing with clients, wine after 4pm on Fridays, etc. In short, the good, the bad, and the in between. Being with Derooted was fun, insightful, and truly a great VISIBLE interning experience. Thanks guys!

-Irina Zabelina

I recently rediscovered the beautiful work of Canadian graphic artist Marian Bantjes.

She spent many years as a graphic designer, then decided to follow her own style and shifted into the realm of art. Her work still maintains strong typographic and design elements, but is very personal. The designs she creates are different from what we usually see in modern art and design. Rather than being simple and easy to understand, Bantjes creates ambiguous, intricate, and ornamental work.

Part of what bothers me about some modern artists is the feeling that “anyone could have created this”, a sentiment that is shared by many casual viewers of art. I have a hard time appreciating a piece that has little labour put into it. While an art critic can theorize on the deep meaning in a work like that, I feel like I need something more from art—a sense of amazement and appreciation for the process and hard work that went into producing the artwork. That’s part of what I like about Bantjes’ work: her talent and skill are evident, her detailed work is amazing, and the results are works of art.

- Anna

Located in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Mosaic Vineyard Church has made a decision to stand out with their religious outspokenness, and a redesigned logo. A church “compelled by love to reconcile all people of God”, this is a facility that takes pleasure in serving a multicultural community. Designer, Adam Ladd of Ladd Design Communications, explains:

“Mosaic Vineyard Church is an inner-city church and ministry where there is racial and cultural diversity. Many of those who come are urban youth. The church also likes to be described as “a church without walls” because of its value regarding reaching out to the community. The typography in the logo breaks out of the walls of the mosaic shapes for movement and interest.”

The simplification of mosaic stain glass windows is a clever start, and the colour choices are well balanced and long lasting. It’s unfortunate though that the colours are so bland and do not express the diversity of the church, which is really what they represent. The hierarchy is top to bottom, however it would have been worthwhile to invest in a few other typefaces – to accent the word “vineyard” and “church”. The jagged-shapes create great flow and motion to say activity, but the middle-triangular shape is extremely sharp. It peaks outwards and distracts from the balance of the design; instead of saying breaking out, it feels like the church will cut you up and break you. The t-shirt and the website are a letdown, and it is disappointing that the energy and excitement of the logo shapes aren’t replicated in these applications.

• On Strategy: 2/3
• On Logo: 2/3
• On Application: 1/3

-Edward

I am often burdened with the cumbersome task of trying to explain the difference between an artist and a designer: or perhaps more specifically, the difference between art and design.  As articulate as I would like to believe myself to be, I have yet to draw a definitive line between the two.  I don’t believe the case to be that my analysis has failed to render a clear definition for each, rather that the definition for the latter is not one that postulates a disambiguation that removes it from the former. In fact the two, at least as concepts, are inseparable: it is akin to removing orange juice from an orange. Yes, one can remove (or extract to be more precise) orange juice from an orange, but one cannot remove orange from orange juice, so to speak.  Namely, design is an inherent part of art, a component that despite being one that can be isolated, will always evoke the whole.

Up until quite recently, the term used to describe a person whose profession involves creating visual interpretations (tangible or intangible), which are intended to solve a client’s inability to generate revenue, was graphic artist. I am not quite sure about the history of this terms evolution, but am certain that at some point, it’s transition to graphic designer was at least in part due to a consensus among  “artists” to want to be removed from the association to the very commercial and consumerist culture they were so ardulently opposed to.  I am also almost certain that designers where only too relieved to be disassociated with the preconceptions associated with being labeled an artists.  The fact is however, that in creating a work of art, an artist must pay very close attention to it’s design, and in order for a designer to succeed in exceeding said client’s expectations, he must strip it of it’s art.  This may sound cynical, but it may be better illuminated by referring to what I believe to be the most concise definition of the term art I have ever come across: a German poet and playwright named Bertolt Brecht once said that “art is not a mirror held up to society, but a hammer with which to shape it”.  Art, as a discipline, exists to redefine universal truths, and to challenge at all times the conventions that stagnate progress.  A designer cannot afford to employ this methodology.  A designer’s aim is to solve a practical problem, using language and form: he cannot attempt to redefine the world around him to eliminate the problem; it is inherent in his approach to attack the issue post hoc.

I received my BFA from The Ontario College of Art & Design: a university which has struggled with clearly identifying the difference between the two, and which has suffered in purporting a solid identity (evident in the fact that it has had 3 different names in the last 15 years).  OCAD University (as it is now known) offers two undergraduate degrees: BFA and BDes.  The two faculties divide the student body, which adds to the confusion.  Design cannot stand alone, and neither can art for that matter; the two are in a constant state of inter-connectivity.  When OCAD U students are asked to choose a major, essentially they are being asked to be defined as either an artist or as a designer.  I happen to believe that this is erroneous, but I found a way around it, as I always do —the good designer that I am—  I did my minor in Communications Design.  So yes I am a classically trained artist, poised to challenge the rigid parameters of reality.  I am also a designer, aware of the tactile world my ancestors worked so busily to create, and trying to find ways to build upon that foundation.  What’s the difference between art and design?  My best answer is: I don’t know.

- Ruben