Pop star Justin Timberlake is to be the latest design star for Target. It was announced today that Timberlake will work with Target to have William Rast jeans in stores, by December of 2010. William Rast is a contemporary clothing line started by the Grammy winner and his childhood friend Trace Ayala. Their specialty is distressed $200.00 denim jeans.

What does it tell the general public about design when they can push a giant, red, shopping cart down the aisle of the second largest retailer in the U.S., behind Walmart, and snap up some Philippe Starck lawn chairs, a Michael Graves coffee pot and now an affordable pair of William Rast jeans? That design can be accessible and not just for the wealthy elite? Hopefully.

But am I too romantic to believe that it should be great designers who are celebrated on a mass scale rather than the boys and girls that can win the popularity contests?  Answer: “Yes!” I find “celeb-turns-designer” stories irritating.

The problem is that once you blur the line between respected-in-certain-elite-circles designer and guy-who-sells-iTunes-downloads-and-also-invested-in-a-fashion-line “designer” it gets a bit hazy. It’s a friendly, boyish, conseratively stubbled reminder that getting fame as a designer is more about shaking hands and kissing babies than it is creating something that excites and inspires.

I am, in no way, knocking Justin Timberlake or Trace Ayala for their success. May Target shareholders enjoy a very merry, prosperous fourth quarter!

In fact, I encourage people to do things that are in any way creative –even former New Mickey Mouse Club millionaires. All of us struggle with the initial blank canvas, blinking computer screen cursor or fresh block of unmolded clay. I want more people to pursue their talents and push forward in sharing.

The more earnest designers put themselves out there and push against the ignorance and apathy, the more innovation we can all enjoy. Part of the creative process involves introversion but the other, very critical part, is getting the word out about yourself and your work. And that, in turn, helps support the current surge in design appreciation (even if it’s just “LUUVing everything in the IKEA catalog). If designers, both professionally trained and self-taught do not put themselves out there, we all suffer. Design will be seen not as giving form to art but, instead as just some lame marketing tool.

Now I am waiting, impatiently, for the next fully-loaded Batman movie, Dark Knight. After all, director Christopher Nolan has proven he can spit out good movies on tiny budgets. Memento, which rocked, was shot over a year during weekends. For an independent movie it was one of the most intriguing.

Attention Environmentalists

Keep your SUV. Forget organics. Go nuclear. Screw the spotted owl.

Live urban, crank the A/C

Wired magazine is breaking down what is to be real green.

There are a lot of misconception out there. People love the idea of a paper bag. Everyone believes its more eco-friendly. Unfortunately, the plastic bags are cheaper and more green to produce than your eco-friendly paper bags. Paper bags cost so much higher to produce, and on top of that it pollutes your environment more than the plastic bag production would produce. What is more is that having hybrid car will achieve the carbon savings a hundred thousand miles later. And a tree’s ability to absorb carbon starts to decline fifty five years later. Some scientist believe going green is hyped, and public is misinformed about global warming.

Well, that’s the inconvenient truth.

I enjoyed this movie more than expected.  It is fun, entertaining.  Even though I thought the character should/could’ve been struggling with himself.  He goes through being a prisoner, gets tortured, then a little corporate take over, and yet the character just picks himself up and just keeps on pushing.  It is given that he should be set as a strong character, but without full human emotions, the movie gets a mechanical tone overall.  Because of that, it gets harder to get attached to the character, unlike Gladiator.

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What kind of computer do you use?
PC, Mac and sometimes Linux. But I usually like to use PC. I always use top of the line electronics when it comes to processors, video cards, and motherboards. My favorite is ASUS motherboard and video card with dual monitors. Of course, these are just tools, in order to get the most out of your computer you need a solid art and design foundation coupled with technical background. If you don’t have that foundation a state of the art computer can’t really help you with your projects

Is there any other art school do you recommend?
I think that depends on what you want to do, and on your background. I have graduated from Art Center College of Design . Prior to Art Center, I did take extension classes at Otis|Parsons when they were located on Alvarado street. Now Otis is located by Playa Del Rey.

Which school should I go to?
Here is a list of schools in the field of technical direction and design. I have nothing to do with these schools. This is just a list as a resource for those interested in exploring the world of technical direction and design.

DESIGN (Creative Direction)
Academy of Art College
Art Center College of Design
Art Institute of Chicago
California Institute of the Arts (CalArts)
New York University
Parsons School of Design
Pratt Institute
Ringling School of Art and Design
Rhode Island School of Design
Rochester Institute of Technology
San Francisco State University
Savannah College of Art and Design
School of Visual Arts
Sheridan College
UCLA
University of Southern California
Vancouver Film School
Vancouver Institute of Media Arts

COMPUTER GRAPHICS (Technical Direction)
Art Institute of Chicago
Brown University
California Institute of Technology
University of California at Irvine
Carnegie-Mellon University
Cornell University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
New York Institute of Technology
Princeton University
Stanford University
Texas A&M
University of California at Berkeley
University of California at Davis
University of North Carolina
University of Pennsylvania
University of Southern California
University of Utah
University of Washington