dykeumentary

This is a good graphic! And i worked with this artist collective back in 2002-2004.

It seems like I’ve been concentrating on chickens wearing shoes and hats lately, so here is a link to one of the most awful “flash animation splash pages” I’ve seen in years. Did someone get paid to make this? Who? Will they be at this party?
http://www.edeninthebay.com/
Quick review of “gay graphic design features”: outer glow and inner glow (often on the same design element, go figure), a rainbow flag, People of Color on the ad to look “diverse”, multiple fonts (shamlessly mixing serif and sans serif), a cherry (!) and what the heck is that orange-y thing on the right side?

Discuss.

Every one of the “gay design features” is covered in this gem: rainbows, men’s/women’s symbols, some psychedelic background the makes this illegible, and at least five different fonts. Bravo!

And this also brings up another historical point– The Names of Bars. Remember the days when gay bars had names that included bird names, or oh-so-subltle references to places for gay people–sssshhhhh!!!!! such as “Our House” or “Triangles” or “Peacocks”? Adorable. I miss that.

Reasons to love NYC this weekend:
1. Yesterday (Halloween) about 1,000 kids treat-or-treated at the bar where I work. Totally fun, and adorable costumes.

2. Riding in the train toward downtown last night was hilarious. More than half the people in all the cars were really creative costumes and obviously enjoying themselves.

3. Riding in the train away from downtown last night was even more hilarious. More than half the people had about half their costumes on, and had obviously enjoyed themselves. The floor of the subway cars looked like a bomb had gone on in an arts and craft store.

4. I went to “Submit” a Brooklyn sex party, dressed in my cowboy outfit. It was fun. Regardless of my experience there, I feel that it is an important spiritual exercise to show some courage. Maybe you’ve heard my rant “If you don’t have the balls to wear a funny hat, I don’t believe you when you say you would interrupt oppression when directly witnessing it.”

5. The trees in my neighborhood (there are hundreds) all losing their leaves and the skies are overcast. Great reading weather.

6. The Kandinsky show is up at the Guggenheim, and I am going to see it!

Compare this to these and you will see that its a trend. This style was cute at first, but now its just a boring gimmic, and less uninteresting.
The floating head thing could be read in a lot of ways. I’m glad Linda Simpson at least put Peanuts bodies on them.

These are fine examples of gay graphics that reflect a less “digital” time.
I adore the “Faster Pussycat, Kvetch, Kvetch!” one.
The Rumours graphic brings up questions about historical accuracy (Charlotte!), because as an enthusiastic reader of Staci’s dad’s Playboy magazines in the 70′s, I know that Patrick Nagel did NOT use drop shadows, or whatever that thing is.

WIthout offending my legions of Swedish fans, I guess I had hoped that Norway was, in fact, out of the gay graphic design loop. Nope, they even slipped in a “DIY” sunburst (one of the staples of gay graphic design, of course.)

And as a softball dyke, I don’t know whether to feel bad for myself (being represented in this pathetic design for the Gay World Series) or to feel bad for the DIVAS who probably have never been so embarassingly promoted, either.

Look at this fancy photoshop free-for-all happening in gay graphic design!
Just in time for the fall fashioin magazines, finally we don’t have to cringe as we plan our weekends.
Let’s hope humor and legibility become the “the new black”!

Rainbow. Check.
Rainbow colored font. Check
Outer glow. Check
Drop Shadow. Check.
Multiple fonts and font sizes. Check.
Read more about the rules of gay design

Ok, let’s assume they are being “ironical” *cough* and made this be really cheesey. Super.

Because (as many of you know) I am so f’ing tired of the classism in the drag king scene. Objectifying/fetishizing/sexualizing poor people while you enjoy the benefits of an unfair ecronomic system is hardly “entertainment.” All those faux “kings” (who by day are women’s studies students) should look at their male university classmates and perform their classmates versions of “maleness” — let’s see them wear sexless, baggy shirts with corporate logos and flip-flops and see if they get any ass. How ’bout they leave the sexy construction worker look to people like… say, sexy construction workers? Murray Hill, who actually is from a middle class family, and performs like a middle class guy — has my respect for the critique she’s presenting. These other fools who try to all look like Justin Timberlake (on laundry day) are playing “dress up” but it sure isn’t creative or art.
PS: i suggest that she put the mustache that’s under her arm on her face, that would be funnier.

Okay, i feel bad about being so negative, so below is a really great gay design. Yes it has all the attributes of gay design (including uniform fetish, hooray!!) but it does it in a campy, exaggerated way that says something beyond the total of it’s parts. The opposite of the above poster.