Celebrating Age: Patina

As an artist and photographer I frequently find myself distracted by the tiniest of things....the color of the sky before a storm, that hint of a smile behind an otherwise stony facade, the way a shadow falls across a road....

Perhaps as a side effect of all the new construction and freshly tarred roads turning up around Lusaka I'm noticing not the slick new surfaces, the freshly painted signs and clean windows....but the patina and character that comes only with age.

From my days in my Fine Arts programme at University, one concept that I embraced, particularly in pottery, was the aesthetic derived from Buddhism called wabi-sabi:  beauty in imperfection.  Wabi-sabi characteristics include asymmetry, irregularity, simplicity, austerity, modesty, intimacy and the "appreciation of the ingenuous integrity of natural objects and processes."

Last week I grabbed by camera and put together a study in celebration of age which I'm calling Patina.  These images are from a bigger collection of photos from Lusaka's Olympic Pool (dedicated just before Zambia's independence in 1964.)

Making a Good First Impression

Like the cobbler with no shoes, InHouse Design Studio has been without our own business cards for far too long.  These cards are printed on gorgeous paper:  heavy weight (350gms), silky matte laminate, sustainably sourced, elemental chlorine-free, wood free paper.  There is a 'greener' eco option for this particular company's paper, also cards with elegant rounded corners.  They have a handful of accessories in their product list as well.  InHouse has sweet new logo stickers now, for example. Other products include postcards, greeting cards, stickers, labels and business card holders.  They cater to small, speciality businesses and as such have a limited range of high quality speciality products.  Now that we have used this printer we are confidently able to offer printing to our clients through them.

While InHouse is always inclined to go with local options when sourcing materials (and talent), this project demanded something more than what I was able to find in Zambia.  Our cards were printed by a UK-based company with print studios in the US and the UK and are an excellent option for higher-end companies and clients.  Not only do we feel the cards represent our business well, but we know from our experience with them that their products (and excellent service) can bring our US, UK and Zambia clients that 'something extra' to help them stand out in the crowd.

Custom Cards and Local Advertising

While the big news in Zed is that "football frenzy eclipsed valentine's frenzy."  InHouse Design managed to squeeze out a few custom adverts and cards between matches. (Below, Blue Moon's Chikumbuso "Love Hamper" photoshoot)

Chipolopolo, iyeee!

WAVE YOUR FLAG, ZAMBIA!

Team Zed, headed off in the sunset surrounded by supporters.

Going Digital in Zed: New ways to reach clients

Many clients in Zambia are taking the leap into digital advertising. Internet connectivity is only getting better and is suddenly a viable medium for reaching new clients and existing customers.  While some prefer getting an old fashioned printed brochure, a catalogue they can sit at their desks and thumb through,  the reality is that print here is still incredibly expensive, logistically difficult, time consuming ... and even when you spent what seems like a fortune, real options for quality, timely print materials just isn't there.

Enter digital advertising.  As a graphic design studio our biggest frustration is that we know that the real expense for the materials we produce is not necessarily our design work, it's the printing costs.  Until recently companies were not even willing to spend the extra money on solid graphic design b/c the printing costs were so astronomical.  The only way to make advertising cheaper was to cut out the design work or 'go with' the lowest bid.  This is unfortunate because the intentions are there but the end product is what suffers.   Good advertising requires a solid design and it's not worth skimping on.  Are we biased as a design studio?   Sure!  But we also know what we are talking about.  Communicating to your customers and growing your business requires putting your best face forward.

With the tools we have and the wide-open marketplace in Zambia, digital advertising is suddenly making sense.  While our first choice is to see and feel and physically interact with the work we do -- posters, flyers, brochures, billboards, advertisements, etc, being able to give our customers the option to create digital-only adverts has opened the floodgates.  In Zambia it makes great business sense to post a flyer on-line, email a 30-page catalogue, or send off the specs of your product.  There are still many obstacles to setting up proper websites (and setting up websites that clients here can actually load-up) but for now advertising messages can be shared over the network through email distribution direct to customers.

Our hope is that our customers in Zambia will see the benefits not only for their bottom line but that they will be able to reach a wider audience, grow their business and get the business culture here moving forward into the age of digital and on-line media.

Feb 1 Fundraiser Dinner

On behalf of the Zambia Barista Committee please join us on Wednesday, February 1st for a spaghetti dinner at the Swedish School located in Long Acres. Dinner will be served from 5:30 pm until 8:30 pm. Cost is just K 50,000 per person and K 30,000 for kids 12 and under. Drinks will be available. There is also a play area for the kids. 

Proceeds from the dinner will help send the 2012 National Barista Champion, Dailess Nalwamba, to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for the Africa Coffee Championships and to Vienna, Austria for the World Championships. 



(And yes, we all appreciate the irony of and Italian dinner at the Mexican restaurant at the Swedish school to send Zambian baristas to Ethiopia and Austria.  Global Economics, hooray!)

Kodak Moment

World, meet the "Kodak Vest Pocket Autographic Camera"  Produced by Eastman Kodak from 1912-1926, it features a Kodak Anastigmat f 7.7 lens. This model was made Jan 1913 and so is 99 years old.

 This camera has 4 shutter speeds:  1/25, B, T, and 1/50; and 5 f-stops: Moving objects f/7.7, near view & portrait f/11, average view f/16, distant view f/22, and Marine, Clouds and Snow f/32.

 Charles Linberg carried this camera with him on his flights, as did George Mallory and Andrew Irving on what may be the first summiting of Mt. Everest -- 29 years before Hillary and Tenzing's documented climb.  Many of their personal effects were recovered but Irving's body and the expedition's KVP camera was not.  If it is recovered (there are efforts underway to fund a controversial climb to recover Irving's body)

compact and portable, advertised as the "soldier's camera" during WWI, it's utility has outlasted our point-and-shoot nikon by nearly 100 years.

Now, to find some film. 

(It takes Efke R100 127 from Fotoimpex...just in case you are out and about in Berlin)

Thoughts on branding and logo development

A quick glance at the new and re-designed logos in 2011 got me thinking about all the work that goes into what in the end should be a very simple design.  One group wrote an excellent 'behind-the-scenes' piece on a remodel of an existing logo that captures all the minutia that goes into what the client and the public see:  Atlassian logo re-design  Consider that this intense process is a 'simple' redesign and imagine the work that goes into (or...should go into!) creating a unique logo from scratch.

Every client is different, every product is different and every market is different.  And yet designers the world over somehow keep coming up with amazing new ideas, new fonts, new concepts, new....everything.  My favorite part of the Atlassian re-design process is the study of existing humanoid logos.  It really is a challenge to come up with a new and decent way to represent a generic human-type being.  Same for trees. and handprints.

We cleaned up the InHouse Design Studio logo; it's a logo we re-visit in an attempt to keep things fresh, this is version 3 in as many years.  And because most of our work is digital and the fundamental design remains the same small adjustments are not costly.  Once you commit to printing business cards and letterhead and signs, etc, these adjustments can become costly.

We encourage clients to make changes gradually if the cost of updating a logo is cost-prohibitive.  The new artwork can be 'rolled out' gradually as you run out of old cards, as you use up old stationary, as signs fade.  In a perfect world new logos would be 'launched' properly and thrown out into the world with great fan-fare.  You will let me know when this perfect world scenario comes around?

In the meantime, enjoy the sneak peek that Atlassian provides into their design process.

Great Designs from Young Minds

Recent lessons and study of basic design principals led to the creation of "FINN" a concept company that specializes in creating and selling swimming gear (toys and accessories) that is ONLY for children: fins/flippers that fit little feet comfortably, "real" masks and snorkels for kids that aren't toys, swim goggles that fit little faces, air mattresses and toys that can withstand some abuse, etc.

The logo was created with very little guidance (only minimal technical assistance) by a just-turned six year old.  We are looking for investors...and an agent for the little guy who is bursting with ideas.

Anopheles vector graphic

A small contribution to the public health community from InHouse Design Studio:  new vector graphics for the female Anopheles mosquito, a.k.a the malaria mosquito.  This image has been vetted by entomologists and given their (conditional) stamp of approval - it is a drawing, after all.

Anopheles spp.  Please click on the appropriate link below for the vector graphics version

The most notable characteristic of the Anopheles mosquito is the way it holds its body at an extreme angle and how it holds its back two legs up in the air.  Other distinctive characteristics are the light stripes or bands on its legs and it’s spotted wings (not seen in this image, which does not show wing detail).  With a really close look you’d also see that the female has slightly ‘feathered’ antennae and that the palps on either side if the probiscus (what it sticks in you to ‘bite’ you) are almost the same length as the probiscus. (the male has ridiculous looking antennae-the mosquito equivalent of huge feathery moustaches!)

Anophelines are brown (dark or light brown, depending on the species and the individual) with light markings (legs and wings).  I’m including several versions here so that you can ‘grab’ the one that suits your printing/design needs:

Anopheles mosquito (brown with red abdomen)

Anopheles mosquito (black with red abdomen)

Anopheles mosquito (black and white)

all images subject to copyright Anne Jennings 2011

In addition to these distinctive markings, Anopheles mosquitoes are identifiable by their habits/behavior, i.e. the tendancy to rest on an indoor wall after feeding (which makes indoor residual spraying, IRS, a reasonable intervention) and their habit of feeding in the late evening hours and early morning (a good argument for sleeping under a mosquito net and screening-in sleeping areas).  When we are in the US we are always surprised at the mosquito activity during the day - unthinkable in Zambia.  There are plenty of strange bugs here in the daytime but hardly ever biting mosquitoes.

Here is some background on malaria and the Anopheles from the World Health Organisation:
"Malaria Entomology and Vector Control" (WHO/CDS/CPE/SMT/2002.18REV.1)


Malaria is caused by the Plasmodium parasite which spends its life in both humans and certain species of mosquitoes.  Four species of Plasmodium cause malaria in humans:  Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. Malariae and P. ovale.  Of these, Plasmodium falciparum is the most important in parts of the tropics and is responsible for the most severe illnesses and deaths.

Malaria parasites are transmitted by female mosquitoes belonging to the genus Anopheles.  Male Anopheles mosquitoes only feed on plant juices and nectar and cannot transmit malaria.

There are 400 species of Anopheles mosquitoes.  Approximately forty species worldwide can transmit malaria and of these only 15 are vectors of major importance.  Some anophelines prefer to bite animals and transmit malaria parasites to humans rarely.  Other do not live long enough for the parasite to develop in the mosquito or the parasite does not seem to be able to develop.

Malaria control involves the diagnosis and treatment of malaria cases, preventing mosquito bites, eliminating breeding sites, and killing mosquitoes.