Handpulled for Haiti | Mayday by Karen Koch

From W+K Studio: A benefit show for the Haiti relief effort, all PRINT proceeds go directly to Mercy Corps. Our friends Karen, Curt and Steve are part of the effort with some lovely posters. The opening was February 4th in Portland. You can visit their online store to make a purchase and help the cause.

Frustration by Curtis Pachunka | We Need Somebody by Steve Denekas

Woman on Webster by Jason Hardy

Over the years we have all adapted to new ways of interacting with media. One area that I have paid particular attention to is my relationship with photography, and more specifically, the actual taking of pictures.

It has changed in a number of ways since my early days of snapping pictures for the yearbook or shots of my skateboarding friends, but one of the most dramatic changes came when I switched from shooting film to shooting digital. All of the sudden I had the instant gratification and unlimited undos that come standard with personal computing, all applied to the way I took photos. And so it changed the way I took photos. Read the rest of this entry »

life on the virtual frontier

From PBS FRONTLINE, a report on the digital revolution and how it’s changing our lives.

Within a single generation, digital media and the World Wide Web have transformed virtually every aspect of modern culture, from the way we learn and work to the ways in which we socialize and even conduct war. But is the technology moving faster than we can adapt to it? And is our 24/7 wired world causing us to lose as much as we’ve gained?

Living Faster, Relationships, Waging War, Virtual Worlds and Learning Web Exclusives go further, from iPods to drone attacks to how Google saved a school. 

From this lover of FRONTLINE, consider me really looking forward to my (digital) weekend.

I enjoyed this video by El-P from Pitchfork’s Surveillance series (from last year’s ATP). Nice to see a little keytar action these days.

UPDATE: Strange coincidence that the day I post this video I also see rumors of El-P’s label, Definitive Jux, possibly going out of business. Let’s hope its not true.

A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn.

Why we like to share.

Howard Zinn, a truly remarkable figure in our society, passed away last week. I have always thought of him as a sense maker and a truth teller. Both those things can certainly get you into trouble in America, especially when those in power are directly in your line of fire. His most well-known work, A People’s History of the United States (history from the view of its unknown participants) has been a trusty companion for my outlook on the world. As has Passionate Declarations: Essays on War and Justice. And now The People Speak brings these ideas to life through wonderfully inspiring performances you can view on the History Channel: “Democracy is not a spectator sport.”

Democracy NOW!, one fine independent media network, has quite a tribute to this historian/teacher/activist. It’s a look at how he challenged the status quo and the standard myths most Americans are taught in school. But more importantly, it shows his willingness to be a participant in the great movements for change that have shaped our modern world. He was there. On the front lines. In the shit. Raising hell and speaking truth right in the face of power. He was active. And because of his example, his understanding of the world, his ability to move people with his conviction and his humor, he was able to change people’s perspectives and raise their consciousness.

He will certainly be missed. But his view of the world, “the countless small actions of unknown people” that lead to those great moments that enter the historical record, a record that you simply can’t begin to understand unless you look at those countless small actions, will certainly live on in the millions of people who were inspired by his life. You can’t be neutral on a moving train, and because of him, you know the history of those people who stood up on the side of equality, justice and peace, and you know it’s possible to do the same.

A diverse array of hundreds of the nation’s most talented visual artists under one roof to celebrate that role and join with our gay (LGBT) friends, family members and co-workers to demand full and equal rights for all Americans.

We believe in FULL & EQUAL RIGHTS for ALL Americans with no exceptions.

Art plays a pivotal role in creating cultural momentum, and this is your chance to get involved. 

HERE: ManifestEquality.com

I don’t know what it is about time lapse videos, but I dig ‘em. The one above “Another Cloud Reel” by Ben Wiggins was shot, for the most part, around San Francisco. If you can get past the music it is a pretty amazing piece of video. Since I live here, I find this of particular interest. The part at 3:34 with the airplanes landing at SFO really trips me out. I found this video on the Illusion360 site, where if you search for “time lapse” you find a bunch of pretty good stuff.

The House of the Devil - Film Poster by Neil Kellerhouse

New York Magazine has a great slideshow of poster comps for “The House Of The Devil,” designed by Neil Kellerhouse. Be sure to check out Neil’s portfolio site, Kellerhouse Inc., which is chock full of brilliant graphic design.

Jason Hardy (left) and Justin Kemerling

The Match Factory idea began in 2002. We, Jason Hardy and Justin Kemerling, looked out on the landscape and saw the need to make things. This merged with our development as designers and continues to this day. The Match Factory became a place to put our attention, ideas and projects. Version 3, this blog site, is the beginning of our next steps.

The content that will make up this site is centered around the things that inspire us. But more importantly, it is a place for documenting our projects and discussing how they fit into our view of the world. Our changing world of the last decade and the thinking crucial to our role as designers converges on many levels; personal, professional, cultural, political. It is manifested here. A pathway from what is now to what could be tomorrow, consider this a philosophical collection of what we think it means to be a designer.

We both work the day to day as designers, but each have our own individual focus and intentions.

Meet Jason Hardy.

Goals: Story-telling, using art/design to contribute to our collective culture.
Some Background: “What is there to say really. I guess I got into design because I like telling stories, and design felt like another way of doing that. As a younger man I studied journalism and intended to become a writer, though in the back of my mind something never felt quite right about that (though I still miss it). I graduated with a degree in Journalism and promptly found a job as a graphic designer. Go figure. Over the years I have found design to be both a way to make a living and a vehicle for personal expression, though those two things are sometimes mutually exclusive. I am very interested in the line between art and design (and whether or not that even matters). Design as visual poetry, or is that art? Is it art if you use a computer to make it? Who cares? Should I care? That kind of stuff. I am most attracted to making work that is evocative, emotionally resonate, entertaining, useful or just plain beautiful. At the end of the day I’m an average conflicted 32 year old American man who makes things to look at, play with, learn from or ignore. Though in the end, I hope that my work contributes to our collective culture.

I am currently an associate creative director for a digital agency (Odopod) in San Francisco. I am also a freelance designer for The Criterion Collection, who are located in New York. That being said, I am a proud Nebraskan and believe in the greatness and beauty of the American Middle-West. Onward.”
More: www.jasonhardy.info

Meet Justin Kemerling.

Focus: Community Activist Design.
Some Background: “I consider myself a collaborator, community activist and midwest. I turned 30 last year. I’m a citizen, advocate, progressive, cloudy optimist, writer, thinker, screenprinter, lover and designer. And I have a really hard time deciding what to do at any given moment. So design has worked out well for me so far, as I get to explore a lot of different areas of our society. The types of projects I really get into explore our visual culture and our ability to create a common goal for a greater good. The work I’m most proud of focuses on the specifics of a place; picking a side, and giving image, clarity and distinction to specific causes. Whether dealing with social justice, peace issues, sustainability and climate action, student organizing, or art culture, the thinking is to design positively and make it beautiful. Really though, consider me an extremely interested party in how America exists in the world, what it means to be a global citizen today and the responsibilities that come along with that. I’m just trying to make sense of it all just like everyone else. Through design and design thinking I see more and more opportunities for people to make a difference where we live and to be active participants in our changing culture.”
More: www.justinkemerling.com

Moving forward, we both see our world changing in profound ways. Change itself is a process. Consider this part of our process of continuing to look out on the landscape and use design to participate in that change.

DesignforHaiti.com: A creative call to action to design.

Design for Haiti is another design project from Aaron Perry-Zucker (Design for Obama, makeUSgreen). The mission: to collect Haiti posters that either advocate relief efforts or visualize information leading to a better understanding of the situation in Haiti. “We are especially seeking top notch info graphics that give the audience an ‘ah-hah’ moment where they learn something and perhaps see the situation differently.” Consider it a creative call to action to design. The following images are several fine examples.

Ayudemos a Haití by Neos Brand | The Living sleep among the Dead 2 by Christopher Griego

Help Haiti by Xhengis | Aid Within by deedee914