Sorry to bother you. You’re probably working. Or pretending like you’re working. Anyhow, we just wanted to let you know about our new website. If you’re curious, the address is basedesign.com. We’re excited about it so we made this little flashing message thing to put some light pressure on you to get there. We hope you like it. (The website, not the pressure.)
We’ve been working on our new website for months and are all really proud of it. We know it’s summertime and you’ve probably got lots of plans, … more
Way back in the 20th century, a guy named Jean-Marc joined Base. He started as a graphic design intern, then was hired as a designer. After a while, entranced by the whiff of the web, he morphed into the reluctant internet guy. Gradually tiring of being both reluctant and the internet guy, Jean-Marc in 2005 launched BaseMotion, and began leading all sorts of motion graphics and film projects for Base and its clients. Today, while continuing to direct Base’s audiovisual work, Jean-Marc is Partner and Creative Director of Base Barcelona. As Base celebrates a dozen years of Jean-Marcness, we look back to a video made two years ago for his tenth-anniversary by Tom of BaseWords.
Happy 12 years, Jean-Marc. You’re still t-h-e man.
Ed Ruscha, The Back of Hollywood (billboard), 1977
Squirt. Satin. Brews. Words in Ed Ruscha’s paintings can’t help but say something. And invariably they say more than what they say. BaseWords picks 80 words from Ed Ruscha’s word paintings and weaves them into a road trip across the ’70s Southwest. … more
On May 10 Pantone launched The Plus Series, the next generation of the classic Pantone Matching System. The Plus Series adds 566 new colors—224 new solid colors, 300 premium metallics, and 42 new neons—but fear not, printers: all Plus Series colors remain based on the existing 14 basic color inks of the Pantone Matching System. That means there’s nothing new to learn, and no new equipment necessary. Based on Pantone’s market research, The Plus Series has been redesigned with a chromatic flow (colors keep their same names and numbers; an index makes it easy to find them in the chromatic sequence), and also includes new digital tools and software to update design programs easily.
We’ve been working with Pantone on the packaging and promotional materials for the new series. … more
A recent closet clean-out turned up this curio from BaseWords: an introduction to our writing department from its earliest days. Put together for the internal, ironically named Base Summit, in December 2005, this little presentation was designed to explain to Base’s designers how BaseWords can work with them.
Narrated by voiceover artist and Recorded Books reader Nick Landrum.
Apart from the obvious, the main reason we wish the recession would end is so people would stop talking about it. But the unfortunate reality is that, like Coldplay, the recession refuses to go away. And we’re all reminded of it daily.
For those of us out there interviewing, BaseWords has barfed out a mad libs thank you note. Ideal for following up on any job interview, this wacky template will help you put yourself ahead of the competition with a personalized letter 100% guaranteed* to get you a job.
Dear Mr./Mrs. [Last name],
Thank you for taking the [noun] to [verb] with me last week. I truly [verb] all the [noun] you took in [verb ending in -ing] with me about the [noun], and learning more about [noun]. I’m very interested in [verb ending in -ing] for [noun] and am [adjective] that with my [noun] and [noun], I am the [adjective] [noun] for the job. … more
What a thankless job lorem ipsum text has. Its entire purpose runs contrary to the very concept of language. This bothers us at Base, not only because lorem ipsum is the salt in the wounds of an extinct and noble language, but because the job of lorem ipsum is to talk and say nothing.
This is why we’ve created a signature Base lorem ipsum text in English. Addressing lorem ipsum’s unique and contradictory predicament of being language used specifically not to communicate, our statement manages to speak up not only for itself, but for lorem ipsum everywhere: … more
Ryan (right) and a doppelganger make work at the opening of his new show, not because he didn’t get it done in time but because this is Studio Franchise.
Ryan McGinness’s Studio Franchise show opened last night at La Casa Encendida, in Madrid. Installed across La Casa’s three main gallery spaces, the exhibition lives up to its name, with an operational art studio in one space, the works produced there installed on an ongoing basis in the middle room, and a range of recent paintings and sculptures in the third gallery space. … more
“We’re looking for Ryan McGinness”: La Casa Encendida recruits Ryan alternates on the streets of Madrid
Ryan McGinness’s Studio Franchise show opens tomorrow, February 4, at La Casa Encendida, in Madrid. As Ryan explains of the show, “Studio Franchise is a logical extension of Warhol’s factory sarcasm, the Koons/Murakami/Hirst factory sincerity, and the artist-as-brand reality of today.”
True to its name, the exhibition includes an artist studio modeled on Ryan’s New York studio, and is being staged across La Casa’s three main gallery spaces. The functioning artist studio, in Space C, will be in operation during La Casa’s opening hours, with Ryan and a small team making work that will be installed in Space B as it is completed. Space A features a variety of recent work, including a 45-panel piece and several small acrylic sculptures. With new work being added to the show on an ongoing basis, the exhibition won’t be complete until its final day, April 4. … more
