Category Archives: illustration

Crayons of Mars

Dan Goods, artist at JPL, recently curated the Data + Art exhibit at the Pasadena Museum of California Art. (Show ran from January to April 2009.) As part of this exhibit is the crayon shaded printout of raw data from the Mariner 4 of the first image from Mars.

I like the very low tech solution to rendering the image, but I do find it a strange when compared to the processed image. Perhaps it’s because of the colors of the crayons used, but the colored image makes the image appear like a landscape. If this was a Viking image, I wouldn’t have thought anything was strange, but Mariner 4 was an orbiter. In the processed image, the planet doesn’t even appear to fill the entire frame.

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Recovery.gov has a Logo

Obama unveiled logos for recovery.gov and the Department of Transportation’s TIGER project. The logos designed by Mode Project. The logos not only represent the economic recovery program, but will be affixed to projects that have been funded though the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The idea of affixing logos to the projects that are receiving ARRA funds reminds me of the blue eagle from the New Deal’s National Recovery Administration.

The eagle was displayed in the windows of businesses that agreed to economic restrictions such as a minimum wage, maximum work hours, and minimum price laws.

I like the idea of clearly marking how the money is being spent. Not only does it promote accountability (assuming of course that the logos are properly affixed), but also highlights just where tax money is being spent. Too often people complain that they never see where their tax money is going. That’s because it’s spread out and in the background. It’s road, the police, the fire truck, the post office, and the school. Perhaps it’s naïve, but maybe seeing a logo will promote an idea of community. I don’t know.

The unveiling of the recovery.gov logo, caused me to notice that TARP doesn’t have a logo. Perhaps one of these could be displayed on doors of and ATMs of Citi and AIG.

hooverflag tarp moneybag tarp logo

via Swiss Miss