Why should designers blog? (article published in DESIGN Magazine issue 14)

Since blogging started becoming the next big thing, years ago, more and more designers from all aspects of the industry have started, phrase by phrase, paragraph by paragraph, post by post, becoming seduced by it. Sharing their thoughts, ideas, knowledge about their respective fields, they connect every day with people all over the world with whom otherwise there would be no contact whatsoever.

Should a designer blog then? How can it be possible for people that are so creative in their work, to step aside for a moment (or hours in many cases) and delve into a previously unknown world to them, the one of creative writing? Keeping a blog is no mean deal – if it is for serious, that is. It is not merely a personal diary, especially for a professional who will centre it on his métier. Is it worth all those hours spent in front of a screen, but instead of designing, say, the perfect chair, writing about designing one?

Holly Becker, the famous Decor8 blogger , who is a writer and interior design consultant, seems to think it does. “I think designers should blog because clients enjoy having access to them day and night - they are able to gain insight into your inspirations and ideas 24 hours a day, 7 days a week”, she says. ”It also helps them to learn more about your personality and to deepen their relationship with you. They can view links, shops and other things that you highlight so that they can learn more about the things that you find as a designer. Interior design should not be some mystery society in my opinion; I enjoy sharing what I find with all who visit my site. I believe everyone should have access to good design!” .

Increased exposure seems to be a major advantage of blogging for a designer. Making him stand out between his colleagues, a designer’s blog helps him reach out to an international audience, reach people from all kinds of professions and fields and make his ideas and work known to places that otherwise he could never reach, or have to spend a huge amount of money doing so. That of course leads to another bonus: name recognition. Decor8 had 16 readers when it opened, most of them Holly’s clients. Now she has over 25,000 daily readers and one of the most popular design blogs in the world.

The learning experience is another aspect of blogging. Writing about one’s designs and inspiration leads the designer to further solidify his/her personal style and tastes, find out what he/she likes or dislikes in a more precise way, and have the archive to shift through whenever one feels like it. It also helps the designer become more aware of his personal style.

The obvious reason to blog of course would be networking. Getting in touch with colleagues, possible collaborators and clients from all over the world is a tempting option for the designer/blogger. Richard Haines, illustrator for In Style magazine, J Crew and 5 star luxury hotels. is wondering why not most fashion designers don’t have their own blogs, especially the more famous ones. And having such an immediate and easy way of communicating between them, it makes realizing projects that much easier. It also provides an easy access to the designer for his clients, who can comment on their projects without spending time on time-consuming telephone calls from a city 500 km away. The instant feedback one gets on his work through the blog is as valuable a tool as any. Writing also improves the designer’s communication skills, in writing and otherwise, while at the same time providing a nice variety and distraction from a routine workload.

The blog also can be a pivotal component of an official website, which is the more traditional means of an online presence. It improves the site content for search engines, gets more indexed pages, provides fresh and updated content frequently and also feeds the internet with keywords and phrases that lead straight to the designer and his work when one looks for it on-line.
Writing about one’s respective field also demonstrates his knowledge about it, which of course is another way of promoting oneself. It also provides potential promotion opportunities, as the designers can post their upcoming projects or exhibitions or events and make them known to a wider audience. In combination with social networking sites, this can be a powerful advertising tool with minimum cost.

Is it worth then to steal some time from honing one’s talent, perfecting one’s work, to deal with the hassles and travails of blogging? The answer is yes and I am particularly surprised that more designers have not yet caught up with it: they would be pleasantly surprised with the results.

This article was written for and published in issue 14 of the South African DESIGN> Magazine.

Mention in Nisha magazine!

Athanassios Babalis

Back in early July, an e-mail came from the reporter of an Israeli design magazine called Nisha. It is a magazine for interiors and product design. She was writing an article about Greek Design and found my blog online, so decided to contact me and ask for information - which of course I immediately gave, providing links, names, websites. The article was published in early September, with lots of photos, and my blog was promptly mentioned! Of course it was in perfect Hebrew, so I tried to translate it with on-line translators, with great difficulty. Then an Israeli friend came to the rescue (Yoav you're the best!), so I can now proudly present it to you, along with photos from the magazine.

Kim Katinis

From classic to modernism

The beginning of the "production design" field at Greece is related to the ancient Greek's, who made ceramics for daily use. Most of the houses had plenty of pottery, which were designed to store food, wine and oil. The pottery used to be decorated with drawings or illustrations. Most of the Greeke pottery, which survived the old days, has been made for beverage, such as mixing wine and water bowls, water jugs, goblets and ash urns. All of them are decorated and coloured.
With the progress of the pottery technique and the beginning of the aesthetic doctrines, the geometric decorating was replaced by human images, which represent, most of the times, the gods or the mythology and historical Greek heroes.

Andreas Varotsos

Furthermore, the battles and the hunt scenes were very popular, especially the Centaur which was much admired by the ancient Greeks and appears in their scenes. The background behind the characters was usually bright and the characters were painted on it with black color. After a while , the background became black with red-like color. The ceramics preparation was considered as handicrafts, and the richly decorated pottery of ancient Greece, provides an abundance of information about the eating and drinking habits, war, games, sports and much more of the habits of the citizen at those times.

Konstantinos Rizopoulos

The ancient Greeks also left their own impression on the furniture field, at the fourth and the fifth century B.C. We have information on the first designs of the Greek furniture, from the paints which decorated their famous ceramics. One of the original and initial designs was a chair, which was called "klismos". It was a light-weight chair with a back rest. Also, the chair had four curved legs and the back rest was curved too, and appears in many drawings on the ancient ceramics. Together with the chairs they built little host tables with rectangular surface and three legs. Those were sometimes decorated with animal figures, and they remained light-weight which allowed for them to be transferred from place to place during symposiums.

Damianos Iatridis

More than that, the chest of drawers was also a popular product in ancient Greece. They were made in a multitude of sizes and with varied materials such as wood, bronze, ivory and were developed in time . Most of the consumer products in ancient Greece were produced by women or slaves in their own houses, but not in the workshops. Only cloth painting, metal work, pottery, and leather products, were produced by artists in specialty workshops, and always by men.

Constantinos Hoursoglou

It is possible to say that ancient Greece was a powerful country. However, it seems that Greece has a difficulty to keep this degree at the modern period. The tension between tradition and modernism has played a big part in the Greek history. The international identity discussion and the intent to keep and represent classic Greece was a major theme between artists and designers in Greece. However, design and art critics believe that actually the will to keep the classic Greek design and turn it into an international identity symbol, is the one which made the design world stay in prescribed formal limits. The researcher of Greek culture, Artemis Yaggo, believes that Greece still hasn't decided what she wants to be when she grows up.

Sotiris Lazou

In every part of Greece's historical periods, together with the desire to stay on the same line with the other Western European countries, there is a side anxious to keep and lean on the ancient culture. According to Yaggo, the first marks of adoption of an international identity, in which there was a bond to design, appeared as early as the middle of the nineteenth century, when the young country was struggling to survive and to keep her place within the progress of the Western European countries.

Panos Dramitinos

This issue was highlighted especially in 1851, when Greece participated in the global exhibition of London. At that time Greece was considered a young country, only 20 years old, late with its industrial progress, with most of its population living in rural areas, and an economy based on agriculture. Historical memories in the nineteen century were supportive in the continuation of the ancient civilization of Greece. The tendency of relying on the past and continue the ancient Greek culture came to fruition in the educational programs, in the institutes and the wider public. Already at the end of the nineteenth century the French writer Théophile Gautier, who used to travel a lot in Greece, mentioned that the past is so alive in the classic areas so much that there was no place left for the present.

Valentino Marengo

The latter half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century were important in the penetration of capitalism to the country, during a systematic destruction of the conditional lifestyle. And it started again with a new beginning of art and design organizations, which called for a move back to the roots. The members of the organizations saw the industrial products as
of lesser quality against the ancient arts, and the gap between the Greek tradition and the Western European progress was very acute, especially among the intellectual and artistic classes.

Yiannis Ghikas

According to this tendency, a new group was created in 1931 called "Company for protection of Greece products". Its president called the public to confiscate all the products which were not produced in Greece. Also, he announced that preferring the Greek products is a national act of the first degree. All of that took place while the Europe countries were dealing with developments in industrial design. That caused a process in which, even if the young country's aim was to take advantage of its resources and become a modern capitalist country, the attitude for the design field was still harking back to idealist pre- capitalists. These differences haunted the industrial development of Greece and in fact were the cause of essential distancing between the industry world and the worlds of art and culture.

Alexis Georgacopoulos

Historical sources prove that despite the establishment of many industries and a great number of products taken into production, the design issue was left unresolved. The 50's and the 60's were years of rebuilding the country after the Second World War, and in those times the first Design Centre was established in Athens, but did not manage to stay alive for long. At the last decade of the 20th century, many efforts were made for strengthening the Greek industry and directing her again into design. Also, a new centre was established, which was called "the Hellenic Centre for Production Design", but the general orientation of the country was anti – industrial, which made it to be considered as the weakest country among its European counterparts on that aspect. All of that caused by the fact that these institutions couldn’t last and closed at the end.

Greece Is For Lovers

A new generation of young designers in Greece is still grappling with the identity question and trying to create their own paths, whether adopting classic symbols, but in a humorous way (at least initially), like "Greece is for Lovers" , who are using classic motives from ancient art and culture, and give them a new twist, or whether attempting to build a unique independent course, which tend to be accepted as equals between West European countries.

Andreas Aggelidakis

Vassilis Mylonadis

Aris Stathis

Above you can see the page of Nisha that mentions my blog (list of links on top left)

What am I doing in Muzine 5?

One of my favourite magazines, Muzine, has released its 5th issue. It was supposed to be the summer one but it comes out in September - better late than never. Happily it deserves the wait.

Muzine #5 cover designed by ellij

The magnificent cover gives you a taste of what comes inside. First of all an amazing tribute to the connection of films and music called "MUZINEMA". Movies and records with the same title are presented/reviewed by the editors while they also try to find their real or imaginary connection. The incredible T-drom illustrates this whole section brilliantly. Next a touching interview and review of Scott Matthew by Markos Fragkos, followed by an equally excellent interview and review of Tom Baxter and his new release by Eleni Mitsiaki. Enteka writes his "They once said..." column, Christos Karras interviews the multitalented Spyweirdos, Aggelos K interviews a group from Thessaloniki called Your Hand In Mine, while Eleni Mitsiaki writes them a great review. Many other reviews from all the editors of the magazine are included (The Long Blondes, Adele, The Futureheads, Pale Young Gentlemen, Unforscene etc., my favourite ones by Makis Papasimakopoulos, Loan Me A Dime and Markos Fragkos) and of course the usual top-5 selections and many more articles. You can also see illustrations of talented Vassilis Bibas and Pan Pan, along with the regular Batonetta comic by Vassilis Kolettis and Stavros Dillios.

So what about the title of the post? you will ask. Well, Eleni Mitsiaki asked me, when she wrote her short story inspired by the collection "Watermark", edited by Maria Paroussi for EMI, if I could illustrate it. I know she can write amazing stuff, and reading it was no exception. I immediately said yes, fearing only I might not be able to do justice to her words. She and Muzine's publisher happily accepted the illsutration and you can see the result above this paragraph.

Muzine party in Thessaloniki - the photos!

The Muzine party - in co-operation with Highlights magazine - was a great success in Thessaloniki. We had lots of fun, the music was great (thanks to Indictos, Nektarios and *blush* me) and the drinks kept coming until the wee hours of the morning. The people of Nikis 35 were of course an integral part of the success of the whole event. We met old friends, made new ones and promised to repeat it as soon as possible. We missed some people who could not come but we hope to see them in a future event. No more talk: here is a selection of photographs from the party. Till next time!






























Photos by me and MissTati - such a talented photographer!

Trains viewed through a Monocle

I have always been fascinated by trains. Surely the fact that on my first month of life I was already a train traveller, plus the fact that both grandfather and father worked in them played a major part. Model trains were always a fixture at my parent's house during the holiday season, me and my brother playing like crazy with them. Travelling by train from Thessaloniki all the way up to London in 1987 was a milestone for me.Even my diploma thesis at the University was about trains.


So imagine my joy when my favourite magazine, Monocle, dedicated its latest issue to trains! While train-spotting always reminded the average man of nerds, and train travel had long lost its glamour (since Orient express stopped travelling across Europe), in recent years it is coming back with a vengeance.


Launched in February 2007, Monocle is a global briefing covering international affairs, business, culture and design. Head quartered in London with bureaux in Tokyo, Sydney, Zürich and New York, Monocle appears 10 times a year in print and is updated constantly at monocle.com. Developed for an international audience hungry for information across a variety of sectors, Monocle's team of award-winning editors and correspondents have been drawn from The New York Times, The Independent on Sunday, the BBC, CBC and a host of other news and current affairs outlets. More of a book than a magazine, Monocle's designed to be highly portable (it's lightweight and compact) and collectable (it's thick and robust). On-line, the focus is on broadcasting with a wide array of films, slide shows and audio reports. Edited by Wallpaper* founder and International Herald Tribune columnist Tyler Brûlé, Monocle offers a comprehensive global briefing under a single editorial brand. In print and on-line, writers and photographers are dispatched to over 50 countries every issue to deliver stories on forgotten states, alluring political figures, emerging brands, fresh forces in popular culture and inspiring design solutions.


So Monocle having a train issue is this weekend's treat for me - with in-depth analysis of emerging global trends in train travel, the way it affects global business and politics (yes it does, just look at the North -South Korea first train in ages), and even the editor's point dedicated to trains. It also features men and women's fashion photographed in (yes!) trains: Women's fashion, seen in the photo above, in the train from Cologne to Leipzig. Men's fashion on the other hand was photographed on the N700 model of Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo to Fukuoka (below and on the cover picture earlier), in Japan. A dream combination of highly styled trains and clothes!


And inside the Shinkansen:


There is a big feature on the TransAsya Express from Istanbul to Lake Van (final destination Tehran) on Turkish Railroads, with amazing photography by Andres Gonzales:

Above: a Turkish steward and an Iranian passenger dance in the dining car.
Below: Swiss bikers enjoy a stop

Above: Passing through Malatya.
Below: The military checkpoint in Beyan.

There is an article about the re-emergence of night trains across Europe, with a great look at the inside of the new City Night Line trains by Deutsche Bahn (below). Can a newly designed and re-imagined Orient Express be far behind? Let's hope not!

Muzine party. Be there.

On Friday 1st of February, after 10:30pm, you are invited to the first party-communication of the new music magazine Muzine along with its readers, at the IANOS Bookstore cafe at 24 Stadiou Str., Athens.

The magazine's editors will play each a dj-set, while you will have the chance to talk to them and let them know your opinions.

Both already published issues will be on sale there and anyone who buys Muzine that night will be able to choose between the CD "7 meres makria" from Chromatic Sequence and the first Abbie Gale album "Family Life" which were given kindly from them and we will give out to you.

All new subscriptions will receive as a gift the Tara King Theory CD (limited number of copies still available, less than 80).

Entrance is free and JACK DANIEL'S will welcome you with free shots.

Organization: IANOS Bookstore - Haramada Editions

Sponsors: Melodia FM 99.2, www.tranzistor.gr, www.mixtape.gr

For more info contact through e-mail or call Muzine (2610342886/6978415843)

Muzine No2. Out. Now.

The new issue of Muzine is out, again with a wonderful cover. I am glad to see it getting better and I am very happy this is my first post for 2008! Go get it NOW!!!

Muzine - a different kind of magazine

Greece is a country with too many magazines for its population. Sometimes I wonder how can so many magazines survive based on the amount of people willing to buy them and their - mostly outrageous for their content - prices. But new ones keep coming out continuously (and older ones closing down of course).
The music press in Greece has always been a very difficult story. The combination of a fixed amount of people buying the music magazines, plus the interests of the local record companies made it extremely difficult to publish a respectable music magazine that could be self-sustained. Miraculously it did happen. But in recent years, it has become even more difficult, following the crisis in the music industry as a whole and the tremendous upheaval Internet has brought to it.

The publication of a new music magazine is of course something very courageous for anyone concerned. The publication of a music magazine that does not cater to mainstream tastes and audiences, but instead looks for new, unknown, interesting music, makes the whole effort look suicidal. But thankfully there are still heroes out there. And they make beautiful things too!

Muzine (from the combination of music and fanzine) is the magazine that has many music fans in Greece raving about it. It was a lovely surprise, returning home on night late from work, to find it in my mail box, waiting for me. I went up and, once inside my home, opened the envelope with immense anticipation, as I had been waiting for it for a while - not to mention the people working for it waiting for a whole year! It did not disappoint.

First of all the cover - one of the best I have ever seen in a Greek magazine, both in terms of design and print quality. It can easily stand side by side with any foreign publication - and in my humble opinion, beat the s..t out of them all. Secondly, the small size, roughly larger than a digi-pack, it makes it feel strangely familiar and, as it is thick and sturdy, look more like a precious book than a casually read magazine. It makes you want to keep it in your bookcase.

Inside, the design and layouts are excellent and clear, minimal and quirky, easy for the eye, with interesting typefaces, funny caricatures, great colours and the feel that you read something meant to be read, not just looked at.

And the content one may ask...how is it written? As the writers are all experienced music people, many having previously worked for other music publications in print and on-line, many with years of experience in the music industry and press, Ι was certain that the content would be good. It is not good...it is excellent. You read the magazine from cover to cover, not in a few hours, but in a few days...all the while listening to the accompanying cds (two, the white (jazz, ethnic, lounge) mood and the red (alternative pop & rock) mood that include tracks from the cds presented within the publication.

And it makes you want more...Just the fact that you will not see inside any mainstream release, that you probably do not know any of the bands presented inside, that you do get a taste of them, turns this whole experience into something unique...no bitchy pop divas, no self destructing rock idols, no vain reality show winners, no flavour of the month "indie" saviours...just good music.

So I suggest, to all of you who can read Greek, and even to those of you who cannot, try to find this, listen to the cds and read, read, read... and then you will know why all of us who have already done so, are eagerly anticipating the next issue. A big thank you to everyone involved and kudos to all of them - I am putting a name list here as found inside the magazine:

Writers (in Alphabetical order):

Aggelos K
Christos Karras
Panagiotis Kondylis
Nektarios Lambropoulos
Eleni Mitsiaki
Yiannis Papaioannou (iON)
Makis Papasimakopoulos
Maria Pappa
Markos Fragkos

Collaborators in this issue:
Eleftheria Ioannidou
Thais Aragao
Maria Tsoukana
Irini Polykreti
Crapaud

Comic: Vassilis Kolettis and Stavors Dilios

Sketches of writers: Manolis Zoulakis (Manolo)

Cover design by Giorgos Tsioukis

CD Digital mastering: Spyros Polychronopoulos
Edition/Design: Haramada Press
168 Riga Ferreou, Patra
www.haramada.com
info@haramada.com
tel. 2610342886



So there....go and get it!!!! NOW!