Impressive facade overlooks the city.

I have to say that this fabric shading system not only looks beautiful, but it is very effective as well. I wish others in Puerto Rico could see that effectiveness of such an instrument. Concrete coverings are not the only solution to certain problems.

You know me, there needs to be some typography involved.

Impressive spatial sensation is provoked by the space.

A nice vertical play is at work in this interior space. Massive columns are actors in this play of architecture.

I really wonder if any of these vaults are filled with clay jars, just like it happened at Iglesia San José.

Even though it is a national icon, it still remains a church for those who wish to meditate, talk to god, etc.

Graphic tiles. Nothing less could have been expected.

When more is just definitively more.

More ceiling vaults.

And just in case, just a bit more ceiling vaults.

I wonder if this organ still works… but I have a feeling it does.

Huge space. Makes me feel so small.

6:00pm was rung when I was standing here. Ouch!

Of course, first thing is first. I have to hunt down some nice typography.

I am always surprised that more typography like this is not found in Puerto Rico.

Maybe I am the only person who finds this odd, but a young man searching to take care of older people… hmm, suspicious in my book.

Bar Europa. Strongly recommended by my father, mother and uncle. After enjoying it, I fully endorse their recommendation.

Small, cozy place.

Menu of this bar. It had some of the tastiest ham croquettes I have had in my life. (and if you know me, you are aware of my experience on the topic. jeje)

Caught my eye.

Right across from the bar.

Today I used Renfe’s Ave train as a means of transportation from Madrid to Sevilla. I had heard a lot about it before, but I had never used it. I have to say that I am very impressed with it. More so, I am even more impressed with the graphic and visual landscapes which are born when the train reaches very high speeds. Probably I am the only person in the world who like it but you can be the judge for yourself.

This past thursday 3M Company of Puerto Rico held a fashion show to promote some of their Post-it products. For the event, I was commissioned by my friend Lorna Ramos to execute the event’s decoration… all of it made out of Post-its.

This video documents, in under 2 mins, the 15 hours spent playing with squares of colored paper. For photos of the setup, see here.

I want to point out that frame after frame you will consistently notice the collaboration of Miguel Ortiz, a young architect with whom I am currently working on a series of projects. I also want to thank Lorna, Juan Carlos Rubayo, Denisse Rodríguez and Sofía Acevedo who came out to help.

——

To make the video more interesting, I used the music track Again and Again by The Bird and the Bee. As of October 11, 2009, the official website of the band is offline and the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine was not useful in accessing its contact information. I will keep trying so that I can ask for a formal permit to keep the song in the video. If it is not granted, the song will be removed immediately.

Recently I have been playing with a new toy that has me thinking I am Eadweard Muybridge. So far I am only playing to learn the features and its quirks (as in the timer is always on). Here a small peek into this morning’s sunset.

This group of Puerto Rican military personnel works to exterminate rats, and every other kind of rodents, via asphyxiating gases. From Puerto Rico Ilustrado, 1921, No. 582

from Puerto Rico Ilustrado, 1915, No. 274

from Puerto Rico Ilustrado, 1915, No. 278

Before Sports Illustrated, Life and the image-based version of National Geographic (can you believe it began as a text-based academic publication?), Puerto Rico had it’s very own image-based weekly: Puerto Rico Ilustrado.

It was published from March 6th 1910 through December 27th 1952, a length of time during which it amassed a collection of 2227 issues. Content wise, the pages primarily chronicled life in the island, while it also included writings and images on international events of the time.¹ On average, these were about 16 pages, with about 6 of them dedicated to advertisements (which are fabulous in their own right). It was printed on a kind of dull paper, originally in black and white, but slowly 2 color printing makes its way into the covers. In the later years, covers are then produced in full color (which in many ways diminished the visual impact of earlier compositions)

During the last few weeks I have been scanning directly from about 15 years worth of issues, and the more I look at it the more I marvel at the typography contained in the mastheads of the issues, particularly their visual exploration which shows a struggle between looking man-made and machine-made, with an observed preference on the former.

My study on this publication is only beginning, but I have scanned a series of typographic treatments from a few years’ worth of the publication to begin a process of sharing them.

from Puerto Rico Ilustrado, 1915, No. 274

from Puerto Rico Ilustrado, 1916, No. 315

from Puerto Rico Ilustrado, 1916, No. 318

from Puerto Rico Ilustrado, 1921, No. 569

from Puerto Rico Ilustrado, 1922, No. 661

from Puerto Rico Ilustrado, 1923, No. 657

from Puerto Rico Ilustrado, 1923, No. 681

from Puerto Rico Ilustrado, 1923, No. 700

from Puerto Rico Ilustrado, 1924, No. 750

from Puerto Rico Ilustrado, 1926, No. 826

from Puerto Rico Ilustrado, 1926, No. 832

from Puerto Rico Ilustrado, 1926, No. 833

from Puerto Rico Ilustrado, 1926, No. 834

from Puerto Rico Ilustrado, 1926, No. 837

(from top left to bottom right: Cady Bean-Smith, Ryan Clifford, Rebecca Tegtmeyer, Lauren Waugh, Caroline Prietz, Marty Maxwell Lane and Alberto Rigau.)

From October 17th through the 19th a group of us in the Masters Program drove up to Baltimore to attend AIGA‘s Social Studies Education Conference, held at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

In the lobby of the event, there was small setup with an iMac running the Photobooh application, so that we could take pictures with our friends to create a visual guest-book of the conference attendees (I so wish we had thought for our symposium last year).

These are some of the photos of us playing around…

Lauren Waugh and Caroline Prietz

(Ryan Clifford, Cady Bean-Smith, Lauren Waugh, Rebecca Tegtmeyer, Caroline Prietz, Marty Maxwell Lane and Alberto Rigau.)

(Cady Bean-Smith, Ryan Clifford, Lauren Waugh, Rebecca Tegtmeyer, Caroline Prietz, Marty Maxwell Lane and Alberto Rigau.)

(Cady Bean-Smith, Lauren Waugh, Rebecca Tegtmeyer, Alberto Rigau, Caroline Prietz, and Marty Maxwell Lane.)

(Cady Bean-Smith, Lauren Waugh, Rebecca Tegtmeyer, Alberto Rigau, Caroline Prietz, and Marty Maxwell Lane.)

Bye Bye

From October 17th through the 19th a group of us in the Masters Program drove up to Baltimore to attend AIGA‘s Social Studies Education Conference, held at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

It was a great conference on many accounts, but most importantly it gave some of us the opportunity to share with students and academics from other institutions.

Having learned my lesson during the Boston conference (where i did not take my camera), I can now tell a selected visual story of the event. If you are interested for a detailed account, see Louise Sandhaus’ blog where she has some very interesting and detailed notes of many of the sessions, panels, and lectures.

How could anyone not notice the new design building?

The typography session kicked early saturday. Michelle Wong wishes to help students learn typographic skills through the implementation of a plug-in into indesign.

Denise Gonzales-Crisp burned the traditional typographic approach. (the screen almost caught fire)

The conference guest book.

People in the lobby.

Looking in the lobby.

Looking down into the lobby… HI CADY!

The team giving moral support to Deb… Santiago, Cady, Marty and Rebecca.

Go Deb!

Denise and Santiago enjoying the event.

Landscapes reveal themselves in the most unexpected places.