Sept to Juliana - The Design Manifesto/Principles of Design

 

Juliana's got lots of add ons. This envelope is not in the top five this month. It's just OK. I'd like to do something else with that stamp. I might even buy some more of them because they are loaded with cute details. I'm not happy with the three cattails. It's not a good use of our time to keep nit picking at all the details. It was done after I had warmed up and produced some good ones and then was on the inevitable decline.

I've lost my train of thought on the manifesto but it might pop up again. It's probably time to list the Principles of Design. A principle is a thing. Let's have Wiki help us. 

A principle may relate to a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of beliefs or behavior or a chain of reasoning. They provide a guide for behavior or evaluation. A principle can make values explicit, so they are expressed in the form of rules and standards. Principles unpack values so they can be more easily operationalized in policy statements and actions.

Did Wiki help us? I dunno. It seems like the umbrella of art principles is that nobody wants to agree on anything like a system or a chain of reasoning or a guide or evaluation or values or rules or standards. Art seems to be the flip side of everything that is orderly and principled. Entropy.

So I think my definition is the best. A principle is a thing. If you want a fancier word you can call it a concept. 

We'll post one of the lists tomorrow. There are lots of lists - it won't matter which list we use. Feel free to add or subtract and make your own list.

Sept to Jeannette - The Design Manifesto - Part 3

 

Jeanette might have thought this one was a little wimpy or unfinished. I spent a lot of time pondering options - but in the end, I was so fond of it for its subtlety. I hope she likes it. I should put a gold star on the back of my favorite envelopes so that people know they got one that I really like. I hope the USPS was OK with the address up there in the sky. I put Jeanette's address on the back - right in the middle - so hopefully the scanner would see it and send it on its way.

***

Part 1 of the manifesto said that I had found a manifesto.

Part 2 said that I was writing the manifesto.

Which is it? First I found a book - I loved the book. I might have recommended it. If not, here it is:

Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life is a book by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans that aims to help readers organize themselves through journaling and design thinking. The New York Times best-selling book was published in 2016 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and utilizes a series of exercises throughout its eleven chapters in order to provide others with a sense of structure in their lives. These creative and thought-provoking exercises allow the reader to reflect on their life and determine what they should do with their future.

So, it's basically a self-help book. I think I agreed with everything in the book. It seems like it was all very familiar material. While it's exactly what I would write if I were to write a manifesto - I don't think the world needs another manifesto. I totally get it. People keep writing more books to hopefully help other people with their problems. We don't need more books.

I'll just stick with helping you with your envelope problems. If you have other issues, feel free to ask for my point of view. I can usually toss out an idea with a creative and aesthetic twist. Or - I might offer one of those pithy quotes that we all love. Now I want to think of a problem for which I have no suggestions so that I can say... well, if you have a problem with *whatever* - <pause> It didn't take long to come up with the largest gaping hole in my functioning self. Participating in a group activity that is not an art project. That's pretty broad - but very accurate. This topic might pop up later.

Here's the beginning of my collection of pithy quotes. I started it during the covid lockdown - and forget to add to it. Maybe it's long enough.

https://pushingtheenvelopes.blogspot.com/p/quotes.html

I was happy to find the words that were in that little drawing I posted a while back when I said I couldn't find the author.

Apparently the NYTimes has a quotation of the day - and they posted this one.

It is from IBRAHIM ISMAIL ZAIDEN, a postman in Baghdad, Itaq.

It's something wonderful to get a letter. The paper, the stamp, the envelope. It's not just a piece of paper. It's something sacred.

Sept to Grace - The Design Manifesto - Part 2

Grace's envelope is another one I did in August and she didn't sign up. It's one of those translucent envelopes. I was thinking that my Rolly lettering was too wimpy so I chunked it up. I wish I had done the last name larger. I love that stamp - but the name and address needs to fill more space. I could have fit both names on one line if I had compressed them. Dang.

First, we have to decide if I should use manifesto or find a different word.

Here is what Wiki says:

A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent manifestos—such as those of various artistic movements—reject accepted knowledge in favor of a new idea. Manifestos relating to religious belief are generally referred to as creeds or confessions of faith.

There's more at Wiki - but we have enough for me to make my decision. Manifesto looks perfect to me since it mentions artistic movements right up there with politics. Not that I am political and not that I am going to start a movement - but I've been filling up my blog with declarations of my views for 16 years - so I think the manifesto is written. It's just very very very disorganized. Entropy. 

 

Sept to Nicky. The Design Manifesto - Part 1

 

I did this one for Nicky in August but she did not sign up for the exchange so it was sent in September. I could easily spend more time with this style by Rolly Crump. There has been a lapse in adding my design tips to the posts. This one is a good example of fitting the name and address into a chunk that it mostly square-ish. The amount of white space is about right. I only had to balance two items. All the copy is in the square and then there is the stamp which is slightly vertical. To me, the plain black lettering with just a smidge of red is a nice balance with the stamp. The triangles on the lettering is a nice repeat of the geometric shapes on the stamp.

Repetition is something that will come up again and again. It is a design principle. I think we've talked about the design principles previously, but in Jeanland, nobody ever gets tired of looking at and pondering the options provided by The Principles. They are the guiding lights of our entire life.

Hmmmm. Was that an overstatement? I think not. I found a new manifesto. Is manifesto a controversial word? It seems like crackpots write manifestos. Is there a good kind of manifesto. Dang. I'm going to have to digress. 

Don't worry - I only have 6 posts to fill up and then we can take a break.

Sept to Janet, Susan and Mary

 Apologies for the confusion of me talking to myself during this post - if you have a lot going on - just skip this post. I think I have a good excuse - but, I'm not going to talk about it until October.

Five minutes before I left to mail my Sept envelopes, I decided to do another one for Janet because her first one was the worst of the Sept envelopes and I have such a hard time making Janet-worthy envelopes. This font had been so much fun - I figured it would work out. The NA in her last name is clunky. But it's way better than the first one which I hesitate to post. 

I like the idea, but it's a dud. Maybe if the lettering was chunkier. I'm having a serious case of deja vous. Did I already post it? [ Yes - I did - and I figured that out and edited the post yesterday] I think I do rough drafts in my head of what I am going to say on the blog and then it feels like I've already written the blurb. [ No - you did write the post - and you left it where it was after you found it ]

I have so many of those translucent envelopes to use up - and I was thinking I could write names on the Fabriano paper. But, I wanted the paper to stay in the center - so I stuck it to the inside of the envelope with some of the selvage off the stamps. Maybe I can think of a better way to stick the Fabriano paper onto the envelope. I don't think I would want it floating around. There has to be something wonderful just waiting to pop into my head. If anyone wants to send me an idea, go right ahead.

There are two ways to cover up the addresses. I can grab some of the writing and use it to cover up the address. I usually take the zip code and run it over the top of the street and house number. That's the easiest option in Preview. On the lower one, I used the clean up tool in Photos.  I much prefer the Preview method. If you are reading this, Judi, you might want to try the Preview method. If you can't figure it out, let me know and I'll write better instructions. Judi asked me a while back for tips on blocking addresses. Maybe I should cover all the options as well as tips for photographing envelopes. 

That dud of an idea might have been fine if I had just gone a lot looser with the letters and layered them.

***

I can't figure out if I already posted these two.  Later on, I discovered that I had already posted these two - but I'm going to leave my comments  here in case anyone is tempted to try this font. 

Both of the MAs on Mashman look pretty good. The MA on Mary is not so good. I think it is the proportion. Mary's name has rounds and angles and straights - too many shapes. Susan's assortment of letters makes for a more cohesive design. Three Ss, three As, two Ms, Ns. 

I should have slanted Mary's WI the other way.

Thank you to Juliana for answering my question about this font - where she found it and whether or not she used rulers and templates.

I usually just scour the internet looking for something interesting and that I'm capable of reproducing. I'm glad you like it though! The "clumping" made me think of neurographic art where you just round out all the corners. No templates, but always a ruler to make sure the address stays straight.

Sept to Lynne [Janet's clunker] not yet

 

No matter how many times I think I'm at the end of these little green envelopes - I always find more. I doubt there are any more rainbow stamps. It was very lucky that the far left stripe was a weird enough green to go with the envelope. The lettering is a little clunky - but - I'm not going to complain. The only one who got a complete clunker was Janet. It's only the 7th as I write this. Maybe I can do something better for Janet and surprise her. Janet's is such a clunker, it doesn't get its own blog post. [the clunker image has been moved to tomorrow's post]

Part of me wants to try again and just make the letters in her name bolder. But the wiser part of me says cut your losses and let it go. Then the stubborn part of me says: but you know how good it feels when you make something so bad - and then you figure out how to fix it. But the practical me responds - but we don't have another one of those stamps. And then Mean Jean says: will you two just shut up. And the other ones say to MeanJean: YOU shut up. There are more than two of us. And then my stomach asks: Are you hungry? Whiny Jean wants one of those hamster cage feeding devices and she wants it to be really delicious as well as nutritious. <sigh> 

I apologize for this rant about an envelope that you can't even see because it is in tomorrows post - this is just a space filler rant - while I adapt to the weather and the narrowing window to dig and divide 20 hostas. <sigh> We're having a monsoon - but we have not had a stroke or broken our hip so we're not going to complain.

Sept to Irene and Susan

I guess Mary's (yesterday) was not on the Fabrianno envelope - it was on the very last pale blush pink envelope that I think was Strathmore Columns. I had a whole carton of those envelopes and loved them. I miss the days of doing custom invitations when people had a budget that allowed really nice envelopes and there would be tons of leftovers. 

Susan's is Fabriano. There was a typo so I cut the bottom off and flipped it around. You can see a faint line. Susan's name probably lends itself to this style a little better. Although Irene got that Strathmore  envelope. Plus Irene's was done first - so I got better at figuring out the blurs at the corners.

 

Sept to Mary

 

This was my inspiration for a few of my September envelopes. I had to choose names that fit. The paper is some really nice Fabrianno cardstock that is scored to be used as a greeting card or a note card. I do not have envelopes that size, so figured I would just glue them shut and they have the feel of an envelope. 

Of course you lose a bit by not seeing the street address. I enjoyed doing these very much. I've been saving the stamps for a long time - and finally found something that seemed like a good pairing.

This one will pop up again because I lost track of which envelopes I have posted. When I choose one idea and use it on multiple envelopes it's often better to look at the multiples and compare them.

Sept to Mia - Scarlet's cotton comment + uncials

 

These three stamps are the lower right hand corner of the sheet of stamps with all the adorable images of postal workers. The very last one looks like the postal worker has just gotten home and is giving a hug to their child. It's so sweet. I hadn't really noticed it. I was testing markers and found a stray scroll tip - and did a test run on her name - which is one of the most challenging names. I guess Liz Williamson and Mia Massicotte are tied for hardest names. Three letters in their first names and ten in their last names. I'm not complaining. I like a good challenge. This layout is fine. I like the way there is an implied *line* from top to bottom - on the left side of the stamp, going through the i and then the flush left on the address. 

***

Scarlet left a suggestion on the post where I was trying to find an example of something where everyone would agree. I was writing about the differences in italics with finesse and the generic italics. My suggested comparison was fresh fish at a shore lunch - nobody would prefer frozen fish. Just now I thought of Rainman (the movie) and how much he loved his fish sticks. I imagine there are people who prefer fish sticks to a freshly caught fish...but I digress.

I really liked Scarlet's suggestion: Top Italic is like a good quality cotton as opposed to marker pen Italic being like cheap polyester? Or Nylon.

Is there anyone who prefers synthetics to natural fibers? I dunno. Linen is one of my favorite fabrics. It has all kinds of features that make it comfortable in various situations. In spite of the wonderful features, it is often dismissed as a terrible fabric because it wrinkles. I know the new polyesters that supposedly *wick* away moisture are popular - but they are not cheap. 

One more thing on fabrics - I've been warned by my avid skier son, Skip, that *cotton kills.* So - for any of you who are going to be trekking through the wilderness where it gets cold - you better read up on the dangers of cotton. 

https://www.merecyclers.com/cotton-kills-or-does-it-best-fabrics-for-hiking-explained/

Did anyone miss the link to Scarlet's IG? Lots of good stuff.

https://www.instagram.com/scarletti_blu/

I scrolled down and found the uncials I sent to her to see if I could get her to like uncials.

LINK to the envelope from Scarlet

Sept to Jessica. Adding a basic curve to your 3 basic strokes

I deeply regret that I did not put an orange crescent moon as the dot on the i. This was one of my favorites of the Sept envelopes. After you have mastered making an alphabet out of the 3 basic straight strokes, you can learn a couple very simple curves. 

Remember when I said - KIS and RYQ? Keep It Simple means you only need a very few strokes. RYQ means Remove Your Quirks. You are not supposed to be doing anything remotely close to you regular penmanship. Of course - the I will be a standard vertical line. But, if your regular penmanship always puts the two little horizontal strokes - one at the top and one at the bottom - rather like a serif - you simply MUST learn to question whether you need those two lines. Sometimes you do - and sometimes it will look better without. 

There is no fixed rule. It's a case-by-case situation. 

How do you start learning the curved strokes? I say, start with the S. First draw a vertical line - then make an S right next to it - and figure out what is the least amount of curve you need to make when to turn your I into an S.

Remember - letters are symbols. They have information. Remove Your Quirky way of making an S when you are just doing your regular penmanship. I guarantee your regular S is not like those two in Jessica's name. Although, I would love it if someone has a gorgeous S that they do every day. I would love for someone to send me a photo of their pretty S - and prove me wrong.

Scarlet Blue lives in England and one time she posted a comment on the Flourish Forum that she did not care for uncials so I was compelled to send her some likable uncials. Here's the post with her response.

https://pushingtheenvelopes.blogspot.com/2015/11/from-scarlet-blue.html#comment-form

I might find an image of what I sent to her ---

But first we have to talk about the comment that Scarlet left a few days ago. Stay tuned.

 

Sept to Kate - a 3-stroke alphabet

I like this one a lot. Kate often gets a warm up envelope because she has a really good name. It fits on one line - but it also looks good on two lines. The chunky lettering should inspire people to try some chunky lettering. If you aren't a calligrapher - you can try ways of making basic block letters with a chunky marker. The tip of the day is KIS. Also RYQ. Keep It Simple and Remove Your Quirks. 

What is the simplest way to make the letter? There are only a few strokes. A vertical - short or long. A horizontal, usually short. A slant that can go either direction - a short slant.

All the letters (except R) in Kate's name are made up of verticals, horizontals and slants. And if you wanted to make a more angular R - you could make that top *bowl* out of two slants. All the curvy letters can be made out of the three basic strokes. Vertical, horizontal and slanty.

Does anyone doubt me? Is anyone going to try to make an alphabet out of those 3 basic stokes? I'm probably the only one interested in trying the things I toss out. Maybe Scarlet Blue will make us an alphabet out of just 3 basic stokes. 

Who is Scarlet Blue? Tune in tomorrow. Or if you want to take a sneak peek at her work - 

https://www.instagram.com/scarletti_blu/

 

I didn't say much about the arrangement of the elements on the envelope. The flowers on the stamp are so good - I matched the placement when I did mine which I like doing if it's going to work. On Kate's envelopes, I often have the address to the right to balance the way her stacked name fits on the left. 

Sept to Kerry and Sharen - Layout tips -

These two are good to compare. Kerry's two names are short/long and together - they are a bit too long to go on the same line. This is a good option for making the two fit together into a rectangular shape.

Sharen has a too long last name so I doubt I put her first and last name on one line. Sharen has six letters and that length of name is usually good for a centered layout.  The shape of Kerry's is square-ish - and that would be clunky if it was centered - so it gets sent all the way to left. I like it touching the left edge. I should have taken a photo of it before I added all the blue twigs. Everything was floating. I added that black - and then - decided to try something drastic - which was a bunch of blue twigs. It's decent. It could be better. But, I didn't have time to do a lot of planning. 

The longer first names, centered, with a fun stamp with fun details is a pretty fool proof layout. The orange marker is an alcohol marker - with just the right amount of bleeding. White gel pen flowers and blue dots are done with an acrylic paint marker.

 The tip for layouts is to have some basic ones - but keep in mind that you can't make every name fit into every layout. That's just the way it is. You can adjust your fonts and your tools - but each letter is an element - and if you have 3 or 6 or 9 - that's going to be something to pay attention to from the very beginning.

How many people do a rough - in pencil - before starting their envelope? There's no way I can get all of you to respond - but my guess is that some of you do not believe me that it is a huge help to at least rough something out in pencil to see if it's even close to what you are imagining.

Sept to Patty - issues with the ocean, part 2

The baby animal stamps have been around for a while. They have so many fun details. I took the flowers off a different stamp. I also layered the markers. There are 6 or 7 envelopes with this style of lettering which is a loose version of Neuland. I highly recommend Neuland for people who want to learn how to letter. All you need are chunky markers. An actual chisel tip is ideal - but you can get a pretty chunky style of lettering with a brush marker. I think I started with some broad tip alcohol markers and wrote rally fast to minimize the bleeding. Then layered with a brush marker. 

***

I hope I don't lose ocean-loving readers over my bold statements about not being fond of oceans. Yesterday's post reminded me of a friend, a native of Duluth which is on Lake Superior. We were talking about the love of lakes and rivers. She loved Lake Superior and thought that rivers were ominous because they are so dangerous. Rivers can (and do) sweep people away. She preferred the "safety" of her lake where you just bobbed around. 

Yeah, right. If you fall in Lake Superior out in the middle, you'll die of hypothermia within minutes. Details at this LINK if you don't believe me Not to mention the storms where that lake literally pitches rocks onto people's homes. 

Having lived on the Mississippi River during my childhood, I have a fondness for that river. I even like the rivers that fork here in Des Moines. Having been to Lake Tahoe, I'd have to say that it's my favorite body of water.

Shout out to Niagara Falls. If you want water that puts on a good show - you can't beat the fun of standing right next to the railing, watching the big plume of spray that bounces up in the air - and then the wind suddenly shifts - and drenches all the novice sightseers - who scream and run. Seasoned visitors have brought a hooded raincoat and maybe an umbrella as well. 

The boat trips that take you out to see the falls up close and personal are also worthwhile if you enjoy being a couple inches from death. 

Sept to Lisa - issues with the ocean, part 1

 

I found one last envelope that is printed with a crumpled pattern. I also have a couple sheets of paper to fold into envelopes. Tomorrow I will start the Sept envelopes that I sent out. They turned out better than I was expecting since I didn't have a plan. I did have the good sense to start with the baby animal stamps that have wonderful design elements to use. This one is super easy. I just took the wave pattern that is made out of dots - or portions of dots AKA scallops. It seems like a good envelope to pair with my add-on topic.

***

I fall into that last category. I can't stand sand. Also the smell of salt water seems a little *off* to me. And I can even add something to the list. I do not like the noise. Many people love the sound of the ocean. I just want it to stop. And don't get me started on *water features* in yards. The only water sound I can stand is the very soft lapping that you sometimes hear when you are on a dock at a lake, ideally in a pine forest. 

The answer to my question regarding people who do not care for any form of water - rivers, lakes, oceans, seas - went directly to phobias:

Specific Phobias of Water

Thalassophobia: A persistent fear of the ocean, the sea, or deep, open water.
Limnophobia: A specific fear of lakes.
Potamophobia: A fear of rivers, streams, or running water.
Aquaphobia: A general fear of water itself.

Common Reasons People Dislike Water

People who do not have a clinical phobia may still dislike water for practical or sensory reasons:

Fear of Drowning: Worry about deep water, strong currents, or unexpected drop-offs.
The Unknown: Dislike of murky water where they cannot see the bottom or what is swimming beneath them.
Animals and Insects: Fear of sharks and jellyfish in the ocean, or biting insects like mosquitoes near lakes and rivers.
Sensory Dislike: Discomfort with sticky humidity, wet sand, muddy lake bottoms, or the smell of seaweed and salt.

July from Leslie - 3 more days to fill up

 

Leslie used the Marie to create the waves. It's very subtle and very nice. Her pretty card says: The sea is a wilderness of wonder. I wonder if Leslie is fond of the sea. I'm always curious about people from the midwest who are fond of seas and oceans. The midwest has only lakes and rivers. For me, the seas and oceans are way too dangerous. Even the Great Lakes are too dangerous for me. I love rivers and lakes. I wonder if there are any desert dwelling people who do not care for anything more than an oasis or watering hole. Do we think I'll find an answer? <pause> The answer is long enough that I can use it to fill tomorrow's post.

*** 

There will be three more days of drivel before I get back to my design tips for Liz. It's Aug 29th and I need to start my envelopes for the Sept exchange. My idea is to go through my pin board of *Words* and put a quote on each envelope. Then I went to Pinterest and noticed that Search box at the top, I wondered what would happen if I did a search for *Jean Wilson envelopes*. It surprised me that I had never thought of doing that. It was a lot of fun to see all kinds of artwork and envelopes that I had completely forgotten about. There are some things mixed in that have nothing to do with me. 

This is one of my favorite little drawings done by myself. I do not recall if it came out of my head or if I appropriated it. I'll do a Google image search and see if I find anything. <pause> Nope. There are lots of whimsical drawings with similar lettering but I didn't see anything that was even close.

I think I can find the source of that quote.

I think it was attributed to a mailman in a middle eastern country.

July from Amy and JeanR - Digression: the origin of cookies

 

Fourth of July themed envelopes from Amy above and JeanR below. Jean always includes cards. She is a prolific maker and mailer of cards. We still haven't gotten together for our annual visit when she's in Iowa for the summer. Hopefully we can make it happen soon. Maybe we can plan an outing and file a report on the blog.

***

As I researched the origin of scissors, it reminded me that I had been wondering who invented cookies. I did not save the source for the following information. Information is so ephemeral these days. 

Cookies were originally invented as small cakes used to test oven temperatures. Their history dates back to the 7th century in Persia, where sugar was cultivated and used in baking. This practice spread to Europe through various cultural exchanges, including the Muslim conquest of Spain.

The term "cookie" became popular in American English by the 18th century. In many English-speaking countries, cookies are often referred to as "biscuits," particularly when they are crisp.

Cookies have evolved significantly since their inception, leading to a wide variety of recipes and styles enjoyed around the world today.

July from Patty - Digression: scissors

 

There were lots of flower designs on the July envelopes that arrived. These yellow flowers on gray from Patty are very nice. They are a perfect example of my tip about adding black and white. These flowers would be dull, bland and boring without the black and white. I'm also liking the juxtaposition of martial arts and flowers. She pulled in some *action lines* to make my name literally bounce. She used *repetition* with the action lines and leaves. Love it. Stealworthy. Because I met Patty through my classes at the museum, it's not surprising that she picked up some of the tips that I've been talking about.

***

Digression about scissors. 

It's a rainy Saturday and I am on my coffee break. Here's another one of those videos about how something is made. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwTdIn75nzA

And because I know some of us are wondering who invented scissors.... here you go:

Origins of Scissors

Early Development

• Scissors were first developed by the Mesopotamians nearly 4,000 years ago.
• These early scissors consisted of two blades connected by a thin strip of softer metal, allowing users to squeeze them together for cutting.

Advancements by Ancient Civilizations

• Around 1500 BC, the Ancient Egyptians used a similar design, known as spring scissors, which featured two bronze blades connected at the handles.
• The Romans improved the design around 100 AD by introducing the pivot mechanism, which is the basis for modern scissors.

Modern Manufacturing

• The mass production of scissors began in 1761 when Robert Hinchliffe in England started using cast steel to manufacture them, leading to the scissors we commonly use today.

While the exact inventor of scissors is not known, their evolution involved contributions from various ancient civilizations, particularly the Mesopotamians and Romans.