Lessons
Bonus Video: Workhorse Fonts
22:22 2Let's Start Unlearning
23:47 3Why Posters?
13:15 4The Cliché
11:03 5Show Me the Critique
30:21 6Litter Poster Assignment: The Brief
02:33 7Answering the Client Brief
06:59Working with the Client
11:54 9Start with a Power Pose
03:16 10Generating Ideas: Sketches & Pushups
15:01 11Inspiration: Seeking the Muse
05:57 12Identify & Eliminate Distraction
23:21 13The Setting for Making
06:36 14The Tools for Mark Making
17:46 15Customizing the Mark Making Tools
08:40 16Mark Making Tools Game Show
26:53 17Review Game Show Work
25:57 18Picking the Right Visual Media
26:33 19Feck Perfuction
20:19 20Paying Attention to Your Obsessions
12:45 21Learn, Forget, & Then Design
38:41 22What is "Success"?
17:52 23D.O.P Case Study
24:26 24Litter Poster Critique: Online Students
25:00 25Litter Poster Critique: In-Studio Students
38:10 26Middle Name Ceremony
06:27Lesson Info
Review Game Show Work
Okay how we doing anybody ready to show ready for the great reveal scott you've been working the hell out of that thing that's one tired piece of paper it's one of those things where you could just keep working on it yeah frank was taking another direction here he's got like bits of bits of tape that's cool and appoint a list a picnic cool awesome frank let's do that let's show this the both of those pieces hold it up for a good long seconds to you it's over here for his one like nick and what was the what was any camp looking white teeth black and white table so I love how you put the white stuff down first and then just went right over it it's very cool so I don't know what picnic is who cares but looks like uh this picnic gone bad by aunt see that's exactly what I didn't want but that's ok like it's sounded too much like picnic so yeah well and this is like a mistake going good so no everyone uh you know that almost looks like tile right that's that's very cool what else nellie pot ...
show nearly part let's talk about it nearly pot and actually if you could look if the camera could show the side angle too because there's like really dimension in there the way the in the corner is the tape is kind of bound up it's very cool so my job, if I was going to if I had done that and I was going to send it out into the world, I would work really hard to maintain that the dimensional quality of that thing for something else that could be cool is just throw it on the copier and or sort of the scanner and then so it doesn't have any of that. So it's just black and white we did. We did a poster a bunch of years ago with some friends in texas called her the dakota ring and we design a poster and at the time I was doing a lot of stuff with duct tape silver duct tape so I had the whole poster it's like a fourteen color still screen but the type is in duct tape and it really looks like duct tape like way we worked really hard and like way xeroxed the tape and then we xerox it at different levels and I drew in like when duct tape when you tear it has like strings on it. So we drew those back and we did everything we could to make it look like you know and that's the way that's the way like printers who printed for like robert rauschenberg and stuff they did that they really worked to make it look like the original piece you know, dignitary up you good, awesome that is such a that has such a fun cartoon flavor to it. It's really great. Here, let me show it to everybody else that that cool it's like it's a new board game. Big me, right? It is like it has. You know, these these these character comes out that you don't even expect. What else is already houses a little list. Yeah, that is crazy. I gave up trying to control the white out because it didn't. You can. You can it's crazy. Awesome, awesome and it's. Something we'll talk about, like like what I think is really interesting. Is this white on white stuff? That's going on here? Like in the, you know, like those though, the differences there, there was some, like I would totally steal this from you right now. I would totally go, like, oh, my god, lord taken on this minute like that white on white. That there's something really sexy about that. A list? What else? We got unfinished stencil. Yikes. Yikes. Not happy with one piece of favor. Tried being different? Uh, yeah. Yeah. Melvin went for it. Totally went for it. And shows like the most dangerous papers in the world like this flimsy, these flimsy papers. Very cool and again I would take that and throw it on the copier and go places it hit the button and just see what happens because it's gonna some of this stuff is going to you know, color won't be reading everything kind of go black and white and gray and there might be something interesting in there you know you never know try everything for me was up got it it was working ok, ok we'll come back we'll come back what else little pip? You got a couple I love your hands. Darling look at that. This woman this woman's been working I respect that yeah, I made a bunch of them bunch of lyra pips I just doesn't make any sense to me but the words mean but so I like that one that's beautiful what? L what? Well what's that white one that you've got on the clear stuff that looks really cool underground paper yeah that's awesome and put it on top of it. Is that one dry that's cool too that's cool to wow you went to town? I love it I love it. What was your handicap? Um with your body oh, so these air although a finger painted yes with hands excellent picnic we've done vits and what it sells fruit negative space, any tool negative space, any tool it's all soaked that w with rocks I was like I did this thing called type safari did anybody see that the types of authority the little video he did and in it there was a so we went to that there was some bar that the bar owner had made the sign and that was like my comment was like oh my god this is so wrong it's awesome you know that's awesome excellent excellent you did a couple of quality dogs is three that's cool what wait what's the what's the handicap um it's just assuming ink and brush okay but wow that's cool it doesn't even look like brushwork there that's awesome wow in like twenty minutes you went toe level you have like a lot of different lines excellent. Excellent. Now these I don't like because these look like they start lead there looking like lines that I think are familiar to you you know what I mean? Yeah the tool hasn't the tool hasn't pushed you around enough and that's the thing you going then you'll get good with the tools and that line will start to become very familiar again right be careful of that a graph so yeah, this is like a graph with cursive with scissors this one's pretty abstract here but I did so these are all just different variations of it in cursive but then I just taped them together with some negative space so yeah, they're kind of surrounding it but uh very cool so there there are two words here that have a relationship with champagne just just as an f y I a graph very cool um what else whoa what we have now been galloping galloping I can't pick it up because I couldn't use any tools hey paper and use tape oh I thought that was a tool yes not who makes the rules here you make the awesome there there you know yeah we had what is this it's like it made me think of a cage like yeah yeah so I'm not interested in that at all time is gonna whip ripped that off drunk but look at that galpin oh dang look that brilliant yeah just tornado yeah that's sweet and I love that you know what I hear here I have a I have a letter g that I love and I use it in work and it always gets sent back to me he always like well we can't read that we can't read the g and you know so there's a there's a letter g that I have that I love that I love making right it's got this wish wish wish before you even get into the g right so I'm willing in my work again I want I trust the audience I think they're brilliant I think sometimes the people in the middle between me and the audience or not as brilliant like the gap in that e there's got no counter and it got noticed got no hole in it like that's a little bit dangerous and I love it right but you know, you may be in a situation with a client were there like we can't read the and and then you go like this I'm sorry what letter? The very way what I did that I don't understand and that's just you know there's there's money on the line that's the thing and they want to be the you know, they want to make sure that we communicate with everybody and we'll talk about that too because this whole communication thing is kind of a funny idea what else use your body age lists huge lest list that's awesome is like uh he broke it up and there's this tiny little uh l a s t in the bottom in the age on top that's cool and then this I just kept thinking age list someone's yelling it very groovy and yeah, this is not a drawing class warning e I understand I know I don't know it's not an illustration class the's people I can't work with people excellent. Um for fee what was your handicap? Uh oh, no papers so you attached it to oh, that looks great though yeah, but I also I forgot that we had the the belem I would have used ok, yeah, so uh the second this one I would have done more work on but yeah, I was kind of liking the black and white space boat you know? Well, you know I like how that you can still read with within those stripes you can still read the world crazy yeah yeah, I mean that's something that's something we did we did a lot in my book was you know, crossing things out um and trying to get you know you're concerned with maintaining the readability you can actually read it but yeah, I like the black on myspace and I thought it was pretty graphic but the type that I used was a little bit more feminine, you know, then the kind of large block black and white so kind of is that tape yeah. So you cut the tape too. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that nellie pot just choose chose to use because I was going to mention that earlier is like once this big, thick tape is going to you know but uh awesome awesome skop scott c scott c you gotta go home look that when I'm too yeah does this look place cops see sadly a little yes, just kidding. So what was it three tools three children use this funky uh only call it wedge brush yeah that's a like a details brushing house painting right, like so you don't get it on the window sill on then I just I thought because tryto on tape instead of paper eso courageous interesting yeah, but you know, you know and you've now you've learned something else is that you know, this tape does not accept watercolors and it he's a snort it doesn't find adapt it with this see it dry? Yeah, it was kind of which adds a whole nother again put that I'm a xerox machine or scan it in and see what that see what that does or then you take that and cut those letters out of scissors and see what that that does, you know, there's all these all these different ways to go about it um so what we got here, cleo, he clipped so it's and sumi ink and no tools so we ain't no tools that's nice. I mean that they think the consistent see that you got out of that is really sweet. Yeah, these bets here to, like dots finger was buckling on the paper, but I realize that that's really sweet you know, these these these brushes that you could get bigger ones and they're there, uh, well, the chisel but if you straighten out the chisel there's these really nice, simple you because you you hit it and a lot of incomes after that as you brush it off you kind of get a brush thing like um kind of fancy high end lederer's use that in their use that in their work there is um who were not spoken to you we got everybody is that all of him? Awesome on some very very groovy um questions let's talk about for process question you can ask me about tools about process about whatever yes, dear. When you have a project like somebody's calling do you have put constraints on yourself like like this constraints is on ly this stills and on those um I like constraints I like the idea of art pro vera you know art out of nothing um uh for a number of reasons one is just easy it's just easy to sit in the studio and not have to call a photographer and go go you know, find you know three white cat it's and get a model and you know to do all this stuff um but I don't set up a test for myself like this I do invite um chance because I want can I get really tired of seeing my own marks? You know, I get like I will resist using my hands my my my left hand and resist making lettering but at the same time my wife and my clients go really likes your hand littering why are you not giving us the lettering? You know which is really weird for me I'm not really comfortable with that idea so I sometimes try toe try to mess it up one thing something to think about this is really important think about like I never use my right hand I got a left hand I was just born left hand I never use my right hand because you know you say ho use your right hand it would look like childish it would look you know I'm like now that's a trick it's a trick really you know and one thing I seek in my work is a level of childlike like I want childlike playing my work but I never want child ish there's a difference you know you go toe you see work that's done for kids like they're hey it's a marathon for, you know, kids you know muscular dystrophy and the poster will be some like horrible fake kids thing like some adult trying to make a little draw house with mommy and daddy in there holding hands and it's complete crap and it's so condescending contrived or that we would we're doing with that word it's contrived it's condescending and scrappy it's not and it's here's a huge idea for this what we're doing and dealing with the cliche and everything and I think it might come up later something else you guys have to understand this is not graphic design is an intellectual process it's not a visual one that's hard to understand we use images and typography and color and all these things to get ideas through but the idea has to be king I would love to redo I would love as a job to redo all those childish their childish that's not a compliment you know if you're acting childish means you're being a baby their childish is not childlike childlike is intelligent and fun and and and can even be sexy but childish is just like bad like I like you know I look at this and I'm like on the surface you're just like well, I was kind of sucks but if you're smart enough and able to see in it it's like you can see that it's not it's not just bad bad it's good bad right there's a difference it's kind of good that that is like, you know what you got there? Nellie pot that's a good bad weird ideas weird ideas you know you're like wait a minute it's not a visual field with a hell of a you know, like think about it takes some time I mean a lot of what we're talking about isn't for you right now you won't get it, you know, it's against living, the questions I'm introducing a lot of contrary and ideas to you guys so marina I hope I answered your question but I like constraints especially time like you're going to do the you're gonna do the we give you the little brief you're gonna have it for me tomorrow there's not enough time there's not enough time or maybe there's too much time keep you from thinking too much you know that's another shakespeare line he thinks too much such men are dangerous right um other questions about life and typography and kissing on the first date it doesn't matter I'm game come on yes you're killing your critic what are the things that you do to help kill your could kill the critic yeah that's a tough one I have to remind myself that um whatever I'm thinking is wrong right? So kill the critics of the example you have sent in some work and you're waiting to hear from them and they haven't called here like you start going they hated that whatever you're thinking is wrong it's just they haven't gone back or you're waiting here from a girl or a guy and it's like there was a reason whatever you're thinking is wrong she hates me they know whatever you're thinking is wrong, right? So I have to remind myself that the critic is the critic is quite frankly not even my voice like why was I was in conversation recently and they're asking me about are you ever afraid too and I had to tell this very true story that in the back of my head are there are two designers out there in the world who I think encapsulate they basically my parents, right professional doing everything the right way around and around and around, and I'm like the kid who's done something wrong, and they're always in my head, and I hate it, and I have to tell myself, you know, I have to remind myself, this is awesome, this is just different. They have a place, I have a place, you have a place, you know, um and it's just kind of there's a lot of what we're talking about is just kind of a level of consciousness, just being constantly aware of of these things and different things help reading powerful works helps for me reading stories of heroes helps me. I'm like, yeah, I can be that, too, right? Yeah, a point, for example, you have this a lot off proven error. So the decision, they say like a you have different things and actually everything it's, good and bad, but it's, good, you have you're your own critic, but the point is that this is the poster, this is the one are you came to this decision off saying, this is the one the deadline helps you know, like not having any more time um it's not but it's never is michael look through back through all of my work and I could fix it if I had more time I would go back and I would fix it all because it's never done you know or a lot of times literally a deadline will send something in we'll have like three, four days or maybe a week to work on something and I I'm diligent I work hard and we'll send this thing in and as soon as I hit the button it's like I'll say the laura I'm like, hey, you know, look, I should have just done this and she's go she goes that's so I'm like, wait uh like I literally tried to get it back to the client as quickly as possible way don't look the first thing I look at this, you know, it's never done um a lot of times it's just timing no one no one listen, franco, nobody finishes a piece of writing a piece of art, a piece of design, a sweb site and no one no one sits back saying back and goes, I'm a genius, right? Nobody does anybody goes it's gates ok, send it, I guess send it right so that's how it works brave and scared shitless what else I think everyone now is kind of looking at their work and can I add more to it and done yeah a lot of you guys like all you need all you need to do all I would do is go out your thing with a pair of scissors now and go like wow ok you know and a lot of times it's just ten and kind of taking it literally almost turning it upside down adds a freshness to it somehow yes dear how fast do you work like do you like when you when a project comes in let's say a poster or I don't know some of the other magazine cover yeah how much time what we also we working on we work in all kinds of stuff how much time do you give yourself like do you give yourself a week are well I don't give myself because we all their deadlines for everything and they're all different uh what's your ideal I worked pretty fast like I said earlier you do something long enough you get good at it and I'm pretty good at this like I'm pretty good at coming up with ideas and going about this how about this? How about this and I also know when I'm making a mark that somebody else has made like hendrick tom schefty or so were my heroes or you know I aspire to making marks like mark rothko or robert motherwell or you know this kind of like high end, very abstract expressionist, very powerful mark sites wembley kind of really excites me, but I try to work really quickly on day also in working really quickly in like making these marks, I'll make a mark like that and go hey, I really like it and I'll just put it in a drawer and keep it and every once in a while I pull it out and go thank you this work for something I'm working on right now, you know? But even even if a poster is like really sexy and refuel is really fresh and so it took hours of arranging and noodling with it to make it feel like it was just just grew there, but I like to work pretty quickly because I get I'm I get pretty, I get bored pretty quick and I was just thinking today I was remembering my first day of school ever and my mother took me I underway how old you are your five or six years. My mother took me to school in the very first day and she said I came back and it was just like and then we did thiss and then we went sliding and then we had lunch and then we did home, you know, and then she next she says she says she likes telling the story and she says the next morning she comes to wake me up she's waking them she's like jimmy jimmy got a camp it's time to go to school and you know what I said I said I got to go again so I get bored really quickly I know myself I have to you know, I also every port cars always always always always said james does not play well with others I work by myself I worked with a very small team that I trusted like I just I just know this about myself so when did you start using ink liz is something early on in your career was it something that you just kind of stumbled upon let me think I think I first started using sharpie pens and those kind of tools and then at some point it just I think I just wanted maura and I became a little bit more um I wanted I wanted my work to have more of an artistic dare I say because you know it's an indictment in an interesting to push position to be kind of like the artist in the ointment in the design business. You know, I think it helps my career greatly to be that and I think it hurts my career greatly to be that because there's a lot of jobs that we won't get because they think I'm you know, there's, there's, life, there's like preconceived notions of who I am. You know, like like, like people, miss conceive, passion for anger. They think I'm angry, it's. Funny, you know, I'll show up for a for a university lecture, and they'll have made posters, and they all look like pirate posters are like james victoria. It was like, wow, that's, really weird and kind of a nice guy.
Class Materials
Ratings and Reviews
Jephiner
I am not a graphic designer, I'm an artist, but this class translates beautifully. James' teaching style is nothing short of delicious - fresh, alive, fun, exciting - while being full of depth and poignant, valuable content, much of which transcends medium and brings value to any creative individual. I found particular value in the lessons around tools (and altering tools), the criteria for good work, the need to infuse your opinion into your work, the value of abandoning perfection, paying attention to cancer that is one's ego and that we are meant to be creators, and not 'the help'. More than anything else though, I benefited from being reminded, with such a burning passion, that we are not put on this earth to pay a mortgage and support a family, but to identify our true work and to bring it into existence in this world. So nice to reminded of something I know but forget on a regular basis. One of the best online classes I have ever taken - a real home run.
dlevans
I loved this course! Exceeded every notion I had. The design, concepts and principles were fun, funny and insightful. But James went so far beyond the "poster design" and into the philosophy, thinking, inspiration - huge! I am so glad I watched this course not only for the quick wit and fast humor (Jame's is smart! Sharp... And Really Funny - compliments his teaching and design), but the reading list he suggests, ways to nudge your creativity and the fashion with which he gets you thinking... Invaluable! Organic, Rich, Impact and message - this course has the design "how-to" covered, the real pearls are Jame's humble experience and generosity. Great Course... Oh, and check out his book! "Victore! or, Who Died and Made You Boss?" Inspiration and fun!
a Creativelive Student
Came to this course (and site) via Anna Dorfman's blog. Loved the motivational and philosophical aspects of the course. Very entertaining and inspirational. Also loved listening to Victore discuss his own work and process-- the stories of how he got specific ideas, tinkered with them, perfected them, etc.. As for the critiques of student and online work, I didn't find them very useful. I would love to see him pick out a few of the very best, and then give his own short and sweet-- and specific-- insights into how HE would improve them. Or just abandon the critiques entirely and instead show and discuss more of his own or other successful designers' work. Overall, fun and inspirational, with some helpful tips.