Drug-induced enlightenment?

I'm pretty sure that it was Oscar Wilde that once said, "All art is vile."

While I don't entirely agree (I'd say that only some art is vile) ... the man had a point.

Which leads me to the subject of visual enlightenment. Enlightenment is relative. What enlightens me won't necessarily enlighten you — and vice versa. Likewise, the art you love isn't necessarily the art I shall love. Just because you love your design work doesn't mean I should ... yada yada yada.

But, the subject does trigger some serious curiosity — and I am curious as to what are the most commonly referred-to mediums for enlightenment (visual and intellectual) today? Is it books? Is it the internet? Television? No-frills holidays? High-street fashion retailers? Booze? Class-A drugs? Myspace?

I can say, at least for me, it's probably a fusion of all types of media, art and literature ... and travel ... but this can't be true for everyone as I meet so many people who never read and have no idea what's going on in the world ... I meet others who could care less if trees were green and people purple.

Modernism breeds apathy and society today is the most apathetic it has hever been , I would say.

So what enlightens you?

Newspagedesigner

This is a beneficial site for anyone interested in Newspaper design... you can check out various portfolios (it's brilliant that one can browse by journalist or category).

It's also a good forum to share work and get feedback ... what I enjoy most about this site is that it shows a great cross section of work from various cultures and backgrounds and levels of experience and styles ...

A brilliant way to learn about the cultural nuances of media design and engage in a positive and constructive discourse.

Andrew Pommier

Andrew Pommier from Toronto is a great artist. I have always liked his style and he has illustrated for many skateboard, apparel firms and tonnes of magazines. I think he even has a book out in England. Anyway, I just found his site. Trust me, no one draws a bunny rabbit like this guy.

I love Harry

I have a wonderful friend back in Canada that I missdearly,named Harry Gils. He is a great photographer. and we met about eight years ago when we both worked for the same skateboard magazine in Toronto. I was working as a writer and he as a photographer. We became wonderful friends and collaborated on a bunch of stories. I'm getting nostalgic... you readers of this won't care about any of that, but Harry is a great photographer, he's the product of Dutch immigrants to Canada and you should check out his website if you have a minute... he's a big deal in Canada. Harry rules.

Top 10 Books ...

Funny trivia discovery: Australia's (as a nation) favourite books, as posted on ABCnet.au.

The list is pretty predictable, I'd say, for any "Western" English-speaking country.

It is as follows...

1. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein
2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
3. The Bible (Various Contributors)
4. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
5. Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
6. Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (Book 5) by J. K. Rowling
7. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
8. The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams
9. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown and Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
10. A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey

My personal list of top ten ... if I had to go on personal favourites. (Disclaimer: I love reading and this is not a definitive list simply out of the fact it's next to impossible for me to limit my

1. Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
2. Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut
3. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
4. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
5. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
6. A Taste of Honey (a play), by Shelagh Delaney
7. Generation X, Douglas Coupland
8. Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown
9. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
10. The Alchemist, Paolo Coelho

OH ... and 11: Famous Five (series), Enid Blyton

For the love of Italian design

THERE is something about Italian packaging design that makes me sigh. It's gorgeous. I can't think of any other country that has a history and tradition of such beautiful packaging. I attribute the global popularity (and successful commercialization) of traditional Italian products not simply to good quality (clearly other nations produce good quality products too), but to their beautiful and timeless design that has always captured and offered a feeling and taste of the good life. This isn't limited simply to foodstuffs, but extends to all facets of commercial and product design. I have been studying and cross examining numerious images of traditional Italian products and packaging, to identify what key elements transcend all of the items - clearly it's the work of different designers who all manage to, in some way or another, create the same effect. Of course, other than the use of classical typefaces and very little (if any) "white space", the traditional Italian (flag) colours of deep crimson red and emerald green are unanimously popular among Italian designers. Oh, la dolce vita, indeed ...