Destroyed by Madness

Written By Sean Adams

Line Length

I am now going to rant. After looking at many, many incoming portfolios for the ArtCenter graduate graphic design program, I cannot remain silent any longer. I will admit that the majority are excellent and some are truly stellar. There are unique visions, clear passion, and a wide range of points of view, which is wonderful. But once in awhile, there seem to be some very, very, very bad things happening in the world that I did not know about. I must now speak to save my sanity for the future.

I will begin with the most obvious. Spelling. Spell the name of the school you are applying to correctly. ArtCenter is not At Center. Los Angeles has a space between "Los" and "Angeles." Make sure you spell "Graphic Design" correctly on the opening slide.

Evil, evil, evil

Next, line length. What has happened? Where did the world go so wrong? How does one get through any design class with a line length that goes on and on and on? Please help the reader. It's humane and kind.

Hanging punctuation. Please.

Then, Century Gothic. WTF? It's not even Avant Garde, which should only be used in the most expert of hands. If you haven't mastered typography and worked for thirty years veer away from Avant-Garde. Stick with the classics such as Garamond, Univers, even Clarendon. I cannot unsee what I have seen. The endless line length typeset in Century Gothic, rife with spelling errors.

Hanging Quotation Mark

And finally, what's with the cats? There seems to be a current trend to illustrate cats. Not in a cool "I'm a schizophrenic" manner, or even a Margaret Keane groovy big eye cat. Just a cat. Sitting there. Perhaps it is a metaphor for something sexual and I'm missing the message. 

Please don't misunderstand, reviewing portfolios is a great honor and typically inspiring and exciting. But then the eight-point Century Gothic running across the entire page below and ignoring all hanging punctuation. How can one ignore this? As Allen Ginsberg wrote, so saliently forseeing these issues: 

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix, Angel-headed hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night.

Louis Wain, an unquestionable cat fanatic, loving husband & schizophrenia sufferer

Margaret Keane, The Stray

Sean Adams

Sean Adams is the Dean of Visual Art and Communication at ArtCenter, founder of Burning Settlers Cabin studio, and on-screen author for LinkedIn Learning/Lynda.com He is the only two term AIGA national president in AIGA’s 100 year history. In 2014, Adams was awarded the AIGA Medal, the highest honor in the profession. He is an AIGA Fellow, and Aspen Design Fellow. He has been recognized by every major competition and publication including; How, Print, Step, Communication Arts, Graphis, AIGA, The Type Directors Club, The British Art Director’s Club, and the Art Director’s Club. Adams has been exhibited often, including a solo exhibition at The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Adams is an author of multiple magazine columns, and several best-selling books. He has been cited as one of the forty most important people shaping design internationally, and one of the top ten influential designers in the United States. Previously, Adams was a founding partner at AdamsMorioka, whose clients included The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Disney, Mohawk Fine Papers, The Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, Richard Meier & Partners, Sundance, and the University of Southern California.

www.burningsettlerscabin.com
Previous

Color By Any Other Name
Next

1943