This is my mom, Loretta Lauer Foley, with my sister and me, circa about 1964ish. I think we lived in Denver then, but we didn’t stay there long. My dad was in the oil business and Humble (which later was Enco and later still was Exxon) moved us around a lot.
My sister Peggy has a funny look on her face in this picture, but she turned out ok. Very cute, actually, and she’s a CPA as well.
And my mom! She is the prettiest thing ever. Still is. Everything she touches turns out nice, beautiful, put-together. She had a huge influence on me as a designer because she created a home and a world where things were beautiful and done well.
See the ceramic vase on the mantle? She had a couple of these pieces when I was a kid. A few years ago she sent me the ashtray from the set because I mentioned how much I love vintage ashtrays, which are relics of a lost civilization, of my childhood.
I did a bit of Google research on the piece she sent me and found out about the artist who made it, Sascha Brastoff. He was the Jonathan Adler of the 1950s, a hot item. If there were a Design Sponge in 1960, there would have been more than one post about Sascha.
His pieces are collectibles these days, for those of us who are Mid-Century Modern fans. I’ve picked up a few on Ebay. They still look great. Some stuff never goes out of style.
As a designer, I’m always reaching for something that won’t go out of style. I want to create brochures and websites that will not be ridiculous in five years.
That’s a problematic goal, because graphic design is 80% fashion. It’s largely the art (or more accurately, practice) of dangling shiny things in front of the faces of teenagers to trick them into dropping their money.
So where do timelessness and elegance and balance come in? I have yet to figure that out, but I will keep you posted.
And at least, thanks to Loretta, I’ll know it when I see it.
Comments:
Love the picture! I like how you’re all wearing white and you create a neutral color scheme, accented by your dark hair (I’m a big fan of the neutrals).
I agree with your timelessness challenge, especially since graphic design is communication and there are so many factors-audience, message, and organization conveying the message. Problematic, indeed.
—Di May 9, 09:12 PMThis is such a thought-provoking post. The phrase “will not look ridiculous in five years” made me laugh out loud.
As an aside, thank you so much for commenting on my post. It seems the only way that I get to know local folks these days is through the internet. You nailed it when you observed that time is fast and slow. Our daughter turns 18 next month, so time (and making the most of it) is on my mind a lot.
—Jodi Anderson May 10, 06:55 PMIf your sister is the child on the left, she looks exactly like my mother when she was little. And I’m not kidding. I’ll try to get her to send me a photo to show you.
As for the design issue: I think there’s room for timelessness in design and money-making. Look at Muji, for example. What they make is pretty, usefull, simple, stylish and expensive (in Europe, at least). I think the hardest job for a designer is to get ones hands on that kind of design job.
