The Process of Design

SURFING AROUND THE WORLD, LOOKING FOR THE COOL STUFF (so you don’t have to), I FOUND THE DESIGN WORK OF TAMER KOSELI, who was born in Courtepin, Switzerland in 1985. What I liked here was his display of his entire thought process—something that we might learn from.

Since 1994 Tamer has been living in Turkey. He works as a freelance designer and tries to mix East-West cultures in his works.

Koseli says “Since childhood, I was impressed by the Swiss Legacy, pictograms, posters and especially the font Helvetica.”

HIS PROJECT IS CALLED, WISHES OF 20th CENTURY and following is Tamer’s description (I have corrected some of his use of the English language for better understanding):

“Wishes happen... wishes not happen... Is there any century in human history without wishes? The students who take the occurence of wishes from (the 20th century) to days as a design problem, during the design phase of project they convert the project from surface of cube to 3 dimensional product. For these reason when I began to design the logo, poster, tee and tree I built everything on cubes. In our country people make a wish and attach a fabric on tree. We have a lot of wishes about past centuries but I think we must hope for the future... This tree came out based on idea, the visitors of our stand (Milano - Salone Satellite E37) write their hopes and post it on tree. I like that the tree turns green with hopes.”

When Is a Doll Not a Doll?

All images © Larry Torno
Click image for larger view.



All images © Larry Torno


IN THE PROJECT ROOM at the Bruno David Gallery in St. Louis, photographer Larry Torno presents a new series of photographs titled “When is a Doll not a Doll?” The series began during the summer of 2007 when Torno was offered the opportunity to photograph an extensive collection of a vintage American toy: the renowned Barbie Doll. By experimenting with composition and light, the artist infuses “personalities” into otherwise lifeless plastic, and the photos of the famous figure evolve from simple documentation to a kind of portraiture. Although it is impossible to deny the semblance of personality that Torno has captured in these photographs, he explains that these images are not truly portraits because the human qualities necessary to impart insight into character are absent in the plastic figurines. The spectator may have a hard time believing this, however, given the convincing attitude and ambiance that accompanies the icon. His photographs are enhanced by Barbie’s breadth of genre and depth of style, as there is always another posh model waiting for her close-up. Through these vivid images of the timeless figure, Torno liberates Barbie from her box and places her again into the realm of the imagination.

The exhibition corresponds with the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Barbie Doll. Barbie, created by Mattel co -founder Ruth Handler, was unveiled at the American Toy Fair in New York on March 9, 1959. A fully illustrated catalogue with an essay by Kara Krekeler accompanies the exhibition.

All photographs © Larry Torno, St. Louis