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Day 192: On happiness #Inkscape
Tag: Wikipedia
So for the second time in this project’s history, I jumped ahead in my day-of-year numbering, and blissfully continued with the extra count for months. So sorry, especially for those of you who only use my project as a way of knowing how far we’ve gotten in the year. I’ll be fixing all the dates back through February, but I am moving to this new title format for clarity, and adding a day-of-year calculator to my workflow. Sigh.
tags: dumb, mistake, open source, creative commons, Inkscape, postaday2011
Andy Woodworth, a NJ Librarian and friend, suggested a part of the response to his tweet to the recently retired Old Spice Guy (OSG), a video in which OSG talked up some of the benefits of libraries, which in turn started some larger conversations and discussions about the interactions of commercial ventures and libraries and what that means. Andy details the exchange here. The video in part stated, in typical genius, freethought OSG style:
“I’m handsome. You’re pretty. Let’s eat peanut butter. Stop throwing pigeons. Jump onto that giraffe.”
Nice work, Andy, for keeping the discussion public and going, and we’ll miss you OSG.
My my long time friend and one time co-worker, Angel Brady, suggested that I do a sketch series on creation myths. I loved the idea, and I decided to go out and look for some I didn’t know anything about. The illustration is of the giant Mbombo, ruler of the watery earth, vomiting up the sun, moon, and stars. It’s part of the creation myth of the African Bakuba:
“In the Bakuba account of demiurge, the Earth was originally nothing but water and darkness, ruled by the giant Mbombo. This giant, after feeling an intense pain in his stomach one day, vomited up the sun, moon, and stars. The heat and light from the sun evaporated the water covering Earth, creating clouds, and after time, the dry hills emerged from the water. Mbombo vomited once more. Many things were contained in this second vomiting—people (the first man and the first woman), animals (the leopard, the eagle, and the monkey Fumu), trees, the falling star, the anvil, the firmament, the razor, medicine, and lighting. The woman of the waters, Nchienge, lived in the East, and her son, Woto, became the first king of the Bakuba.” from Creation myth – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia at Tue Jul 20 2010 11:25:54 GMT-0400 (EST) on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creation_myth
Thanks, Angel, for the inspiration! I loved making it.
So @annavan (Scoyoc), a friend in the NJ Library Land circle, simultaneously made me aware of a logo contest for Libraries and Transliteracy and called me out (in the best possible way). She tweeted
“It’s Contest Time! Libraries and Transliteracy Needs a Logo! https://librariesandtransliteracy.wordpress.com/2010/07/15/its-contest-time-libraries-and-transliteracy-needs-a-logo/ [hmmm… wonder what @lemasney would come up with]”
I love design challenges, Libraries, and Anna, so this one was a no brainer. So the first thing I did was make sure I had a clear understanding of transliteracy and how it related to libraries, and so I did some research, starting but not ending with the ubiquitous Wikipedia entry, which gave me a good start, defining Transliteracy as:
“Transliteracy is The ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks. (PART 2007) The modern meaning of the term combines literacy with the prefix trans-, which means “across; through”, so a transliterate person is one who is literate across multiple media.” from Transliteracy – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia at Sun Jul 18 2010 14:12:31 GMT-0400 (EST) on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transliteracy
A few other sources extended, reinforced and clarified the definition. Thanks for the nudge, Anna, and I hope my answer gets to the finals!
If you like this image, please share it. If you use it, please attribute me, and thanks! (cc-by lemasney)
lemasney, design, open source, creative commons, cc-by, typography, poster, Inkscape, GIMP
If you like this design, please consider looking at my Graphic Design Portfolio, Presentations Portfolio, or upcoming Public Workshops or Classes. Let’s do something great together!
This is a definition of Illustration from Wikipedia that I generally agree with, and this is a sketch that I feel is an actual illustration in respect of the definition. The wave of each line and the lines themselves are graphic elements that represent the flexibility of the definition. I did this in response to a recent definition of illustration at this site that I felt was far too restrictive and was also… disrespectful to other creative endeavors. The article raises interesting questions and claims, but in a far too biased way in my opinion. I wonder what she thinks of the classification of this design as an illustration.