LZ Sunday Paper Newsletter: The "Designed Within An Inch Of Its Life" Edition
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Dear Readers,
A book just came out called Design For People. It features the work of the graphic design company Open. The book details the creation story of 12 brands, spaces, and/or products at which Open, and its creative leader Scott Stowell, was at the helm. I am proud to say that two of the brands/businesses I ran are two of the twelve. And the other 10 are interesting and fascinating in their own ways, too. Coincidentally, one of those is actually about the Brutalist-style library I studied in for four years when I was toiling away as a Pre-Med in College. So you could say that I am deeply attached to fully 25% of Open's 12 highlighted projects.
It is so hard to tell the story of how creative projects come together. Scott had to make a Kickstarter to help fund the telling of the stories and creation of the book, so it was definitely hard in that way, but that's not what I mean. It's just really difficult to tell the story of a creative process. It can sound so precious, so self-important. Often downright parodic. Scott and his team do a great job presenting a sense of how a design solution comes to be; what the job's goals are in the first place; how many people are behind the success of what is seemingly singular vision; and, how that vision gets articulated when the fantasy of pure design gives way to the realities of execution: tight parameters, budgets, layers of approvals, and the foe of all hope for unanimous vote: radical subjectivity.
Once the Kickstarter kicked in, Scott had folks fan out and interview many key members of the team that worked on my projects. The result is like an illustrated oral history of two major pieces of my career. One is now defunct but still gets talked and written about frequently, even though hardly anybody got a chance to see it in the first place!
TR!O was a TV Channel that was like the internet before there was one, programming-wise. It was like YouTube and BuzzFeed mashed up with The Peabody Awards. The lower right bolded logo was the "hero" logo of the channel.
Do you notice the punctuation? Likely not. See the "comma, comma, period" at the end of each word? Do you want to read a story about it? Buy the book! To me, it seems like the greatest thriller ever written but to you might seem like dramamine on a page.
Suffice it to say, we really got into it!
The most well known series franchise on TR!O was called "Brilliant, But Cancelled." These were short-lived TV series that were deemed ground-breaking or massively influential, but ultimately didn't reach critical mass. Ironically, TR!O itself was later deemed Brilliant, But Cancelled.
Despite the many, many punctuation--and other--debates with Open, we must have had a pretty good time. Because just a couple of years later we started in on this now-iconic brand:
The takeaway from the Bravo chapter is that it was like the TR!O re-design on steroids. That means we had a lot less time, yet not enough more money, and we drove more people even more insane. And by we I probably mean me. But the business stakes were higher and we were all of a sudden supposed to seem like we knew what we were doing.
This page from "Design For People" is from Bravo's first promo shoot to launch the redesign and the new look, feel, and programming of the channel. You might ask: "How did Howie Mandel, Matt Damon, Jonathan Antin, Jim Lipton, The Queer Eye Guys, Dave Foley, a bulldog, and a woman named Honey Labrador (not related) all belong together?"
They didn't. Luckily, my bosses at the time never asked me that question. The story of how we made it seem like they did is grist for another mill. Scott and the Open story is the one being told today.
It is sometimes also hard to make it seem like all of the stories of the LZ Sunday Paper belong together, but somehow each week they do. From business, politics, and digital to media, film, tv, fashion, sports, literature and general pop culture, something about them all comes together. Hand-picked. By me. For you.
You can peruse the archive at LZSundayPaper.com.
Please send me any items of interest or send questions/comments: here.
Sometimes there's so much interesting stuff out there I can't wait 'til Sunday so I tweet it during the week. Follow me @LZSundayPaper.
And don't forget, follow me at my @LZSundayPaper Instagram. It's a visual funhouse that speaks to the themes of the Paper. And don't forget about @LZFloors. I take pictures of floors. That's it.
Don't forget to vote!
LZ
THE PIC(K) OF THE WEEK:
Graphs That Will Make You Gasp via American Political Science Association
NEWS & INSIGHTS:
Secretive Harvard Club's Official Apologizes For Sexual Assault Comments As School Mulls Clubs' Fate via The Washington Post
Why The Panama Papers Are A Feminist Issue via 50/50 Open Democracy
The U.S. Finally Has A National Monument That Honors Women's History via The Smithsonian
BUSINESS, MEDIA, DIGITAL, TECH:
Do We Really Need An Uber For Women? via The Daily Beast
The Truth About Online Commenters, According To 'The Guardian' via Ad Age
Rebecca Minkoff, Intel, Team Up To Pique Women's Interest In Tech via The San Francisco Chronicle
Bethenny Frankel Gives Lesson In How NOT To Empower A Room Full Of Women Founders via All Digitocracy
A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Mom: Is Domestic Life The Enemy Of Creative Work? via The Cut
ARTS, FASHION, LIT, SPORTS & POP CULTURE:
The Problem With Almost All Movies via The Washington Post
Film Dialogue: 2000 Screenplays Broken Down By Gender And Age via Polygraph
Why Does Hollywood Keep Disrespecting Melissa McCarthy? via Vulture
Amy Schumer Talks Plus-Size 'Glamour' Beef On 'Jimmy Fallon' via Rolling Stone
'Charlie's Angels' Is Making A Comeback With Elizabeth Banks As Director via The Los Angeles Times
'The First Monday In May' Review: Anna Wintour Steals The Show via The Guardian
Saving The World Before Bedtime: Why 'The Powerpuff Girls' ' Feminism Still Matters via B*Media
It Took Broadway A Century To Bring A Musical Like This To The Stage via Ms. Magazine
Could The Broadway Smash 'Hamilton' Keep A Woman's Face Off The Face Of A $10 Bill? via The Washington Post
Does 'Thomas The Tank Engine' Really Need Diversity? via The Washington Post
THE REST:
I Tried A 5-Day Juice Cleanse: I Cannot Do A Juice Cleanse For 5 Days via XO Jane
Why The Last Words Of Anne Boleyn Remain A Mystery via Atlas Obscura
AND WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE ABOUT:
Mischeivous Son Throws Eggs At His Mum For Over A Year via The Daily Mail
The LZ Sunday Paperâ„¢ (It is supposedly trademarked and might be copyrighted--I'm afraid to ask my lawyer again because each time I do, I still don't understand the answer but get a bill for asking) launched at the dawn of 2014. We expose and recirculate interesting content that is about, and frequently by, women in business, with a dose of ultra-relevant culture. We think that culture comes in sizes high and low, not much room for medium. Our audience is vast and not gender-driven. Every week we expect to deliver at least one good laugh. We would deliver mimosas, too, if the internet could do so. Send suggestions, clips, or names of people you think might enjoy this to LZSundayPaper@gmail.com.
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