1.618
Logically following up on the last post is another mathematical phenomenon that I’ve been using in my design work lately: The Fibonacci Sequence and its related algebraic counterpart, the Golden Ratio. So, you make a perfect square, say, in Illustrator, duplicate it, drop that below the original, draw another square to the right of them, matching their height, and continue, drawing in a counterclockwise direction. Then you simply use the boxes as guides in your design. This can also apply to font sizes. Set the largest headline font size and then, for the subhead, divide the font size by 1.618. Continue dividing down as much as you need. It cuts down a bunch of time in creating a layout, and it’s a guaranteed nice result. Quick and dirty, but nice and clean.
Art of Noise is a revisit, maybe? I’ve forgotten what music I’ve posted, to be honest. But I don’t think I’ve posted Max Headroom before. Max appeared in my reality first in 1986, when I was a DJ playing this song. Then, he appeared on my screen in 1987, after I had returned home to live with my parents to recuperate from, um, the vapours. I wasn’t in the most stable of headspaces myself and at first Max Headroom frightened me because of this song, but in the end he was one of the works of art that helped me reintegrate. He popped into my head the other day and I thought: Wow, if there were ever a perfect time for the Return of Max Headroom, now is it. I just read on the Wikipedia page that AMC has picked up the rights, with the original Matt Frewer as Max. Perfect.
The two versions are radically different, as is Art of Noise’s wont, and the 12″ extended version is hilarious. “Martina Nnanistom. . . Martina Ndmdnsns. . . Shouldn’t she get married?” Of course, that would be famed tennis player, Martina Navratilova. There are many, many in-jokes here that one would have to have “been there” to understand – one of the reasons it frightened me so much in the loud, spiralling sensoria that would be a disco. Many, many in-jokes. And the opening notes on the 12″ are the most terrifying I’ve ever heard.
Must sleep. Ha.
Art of Noise
Paranoimia (feat. Max Headroom) [Extended Version]
November 28, 2022
November 5, 2023
December 20, 2022