That was not a joke. That was punishment. What did we ever do to deserve that?

And what, may I ask, do you have against They Might Be Giants?

Massimo Vignelli: hands-down funniest designer ever. Or at least since Joseph Muller-Brockman. I laughed my grids off.

Someone tell the knock-knock joke.

41. Laugh. People visiting the studio often comment on how much we laugh. Since I've become aware of ths, I use it as a barometer of how comfortably we are expressing ourselves.

-- Bruce Mau, Manifesto

We laugh a lot in our office too -- we laugh and make fun of other people's designs everyday....Ha!

Funny is a risk because it requires that the viewer "get" it. I just did a very funny cover (okay, a pretty funny cover) that I had to sell pretty hard because the editor and author, who both got the joke, feared that readers would not.

Also, as Armin so bluntly demonstrated, it's hard to be funny.

ouch.

I laughed.

Funny is a risk because it requires that the viewer "get" it.

If they dont "get" it, you didnt do your job. Can you post the piece you mention? I need a laugh.

oh man, that sounded harsher than i meant. please add one of those smileys with a clown nose.

hey felix. i'll email it to you, i don't want to post it until it's printed.

from Bill Cooke, on the website Mr. Tharp:

Saul Bass died and goes to heaven. On the entry interview, St. Peter asks him what did you do down there? Saul relied, "I was an art director." "Oh!" says St. Peter, "We never had one of those before." He sets him up with a nice studio, li’l black foreign car, the best clients, and no competition. One day, Saul sees another fancy black foreign sports car with "A R T � D I R E C T O R" letterspaced in 6 pt. type on the door. (Saul had great eyes in heaven) After asking around to see who owned the car, he went back to St. Peter and asked who the car belonged to. "Oh that’s just Jesus," St. Pete said, "He just THINKS he’s an art director."

Actually pk, you could've stopped the joke here:

Saul Bass died and goes to heaven. On the entry interview, St. Peter asks him what did you do down there? Saul relied, "I was an art director." "Oh!" says St. Peter, "We never had one of those before."

bada-boom.

I agree, but I wanted to be true to the source.

And I also enjoy the thought of Jesus setting tiny type:

The Father: I can't read it! Can you make it bigger?

The Son: Aw, Dad...it looks cool!

(No offense meant to the religious among us...)

Havnt had the time to read all the thread for this original post but it just struck my mind that there is a company called French Paper Co. (or something like that). Shouldn't it now be named Freedom Paper Co.

And what about the film A French Kiss, should it now be renamed A Freedom Kiss.

Just joking of course

>there is a company called French Paper Co. (or something like that). Shouldn't it now be named Freedom Paper Co.

HAHaaaahaaa aa yeah, that's my dad! He is down with the design humor.

Now you know where I got it from.

Would like to recommend another book:

Smile in the Mind

by David Stuart, Beryl McAlhone, Edward de Bono

> French Paper Co.

Sorry to get off the subject, but I actually wonder if this whole French thing has affected their sales? Crazy as it seems, I bet it did.

In Seattle, I go to this great French bakery in the heart of the city called "La Panier" owned by a nice couple originally from Philadelphia. And believe it or not, their business has dropped significantly because of this whole French shit. People stopped buying brie baguettes and jambon croissant sandwiches cause we went to war, and the French didn't accept the invite.

That's not the least bit funny. Damn, there's stupid people in this country.

Armin

> HAHaaaahaaa aa yeah, that's my dad! He is down with the design humor.

> Now you know where I got it from.

Glad to be credited in such a public arena with something good for our designer sons!!! It makes life worthy!!!

And its better than having gone thru the following dialogue (pnk dixit):

The Father: I can't read it! Can you make it bigger?

The Son: Aw, Dad...it looks cool!

hey Armin. your dad's cool man.

hey pedro, are you a designer too?

i wish my dad would post on my website...

heres some true hollywood design humor:

back when i worked at DDB some 10 years ago there existed a can of Renuzit air freshener with a cock. No, not the pecking variety- a human cock. A cock belonging to one (lets call him Peter) production artist who was fired by the owners of the Renuzit Corporation. With just 4 hours to gather his things and vacate the office he decided to lay his family jewels on the line, pressing them to the scanner. Renuzit officials didnt catch the flaw until many weeks later.

By then the air was extrordinarily thick.

Actually, French Paper did an "French Paper is Made in America" ad. I don't have a copy of it here at home, but I'll scan it tomorrow and post it. Kinda funny, but not ha ha funny.

There's a bunch of bad type jokes, my favorite being "So you're going to TypeCon, you must be x-heighted."

>Tan - hey Armin. your dad's cool man.

Thanks!!!!!

Maybe if you knew me you would change your mind.

(Just joking of course)

>Rebecca -

hey pedro, are you a designer too?

Yes Rebecca I'm a wannabe designer (at least in my free time - cause I earn my living doing something so much different but deep in my heart I'm a designer). I did study graphic desdign as my second career late in life (which I had done it since the beginning but was to busy raising a designers and an architect).

i wish my dad would post on my website...

Let me know your website I might become a surrogate father

I am trying to come up with some way to combine "Armin" and "Arm and a leg." it's not working...

>I am trying to come up with some way to combine "Armin" and "Arm and a leg." it's not working...

You know what cracks everybody up if we get on a bus? the signs that say Keep Arm in. It only works in the US though. In Mexico it doesn't translate as well.

Though he's not really a 'Designer' per se, I've always found that Guy Billout's illustrations to be very funny and the humor is all in the composition and juxtaposition (design?) of elements rather than suffering in a ha-ha funny drawing way.

yes, yes, I know. I am ultimate.

I try to "promote" this movie I did, every chance I get. It's silly, it doesn't make much sense and it might not be that funny. But at least it's an unserious take on typography.

With that, I leave you in the hands of Herman.

After the UPS logo was changed, I started collecting logos that look like dictators. It's been fun. Take a peek.

I know, Napolean is a stretch...

Tan, don't you have a studio to run?

But glad you spend your time on that kind of stuff. That's pretty funny.

Nice, Tan. Maybe this is the work of the noted branding agency, Nealon & Subliminal? (Lookit that speaking fee!!)

Kevin Nealon: Longest-Running Cast Member in the History of Saturday Night Live.

I thought that title went to Leon Phelps

Ok, as follow up to my 'new UPS logo is Hitler' theory, may I present the following: an 'Apple is Satan' conspiracy theory site.

It's zany -- the Onion couldn't have done better. Scroll down the page to the 'Apple Macintosh' subtitle.

I absolutely love the part where it says "Open Source" is a euphemism for "Communism".