I’m following Tricia’s new series of “People you should know”, and today it’s graphic artist Chris Ware!

You may have come upon Chris Ware’s most famous piece of work, Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth, a very impressive graphic novel. Most people I know never finished it actually, because it’s very dense, and has almost 400 pages of very neat and tiny text, tiny tiny drawings and a very detailed and complicated back story. To be honest, it took me more than a year to read it in its entirety, with more than 3 unsuccessful attempt.
So, you might ask, why should I know this guy, if he does complicated and headache-inducing comics ? Well, here are some reasons :

1. He is VERY talented :
Let’s be clear : Chris Ware is a genius. A never-goes-out-and-looks-kinda-weird genius, but a genius all the same. To begin with, he almost never uses computer. Yep, that’s right, all this over-detailed artwork is hand-drawn. The typo too. He HAND DRAWS all text in his books. If you think it’s not that difficult, just take a look :

This is all made by hand. I can barely write an address on an envelope without scratching it all and starting over a dozen times.

2. Nobody else can tell a story like he does
Ok, Jimmy Corrigan is weird and to this day, I’m not sure I understood everything right. But you have to admit, Chris Ware has a unique and marvelous way to tell a story. It’s all flow, sequential, flashbacks, fantasy… Here is an example :

See what I mean ? It’s just square boxes, and then it’s so much more. Just try and follow the train of thoughts here. Magical.

3. He’s very prolific
This guy is crazy. He does so many things, I can’t keep count. He is a contributor to the New Yorker, he does lots of jazz-related work, he self-publishes numerous graphic novels… The insides of his brain must look like a very busy factory. But that means YEAH for us Chris Ware lovers, because we can’t run out of stuff to read/see/enjoy.

4. He has created great characters
Jimmy Corrigan, sure, but also Rusty Brown, the nerd collecting action figures that lives in his own world, Quimby the Mouse and his love/enemy Sparky that cat’s head (yes, cat’s head), the Super-Man, a depressed anti-hero, Big Tex the cow-boy, the lonely girl with the fake leg… And much more.

So, I hope by now, if you didn’t already know Chris Ware, you’re eager to see more.

I’m leaving you with a video of Quimby animated by John Kuramoto for This American Life, set to Andrew Bird’s song “Eugene.” Enjoy !

Quimby The Mouse from This American Life on Vimeo.

Happy Friday! I will be gone to good ol’ North Carolina next week, but perhaps Tricia & Lorraine will keep you company while I’m away! Here is just a little-something before I depart : ).

Remember that post where I RAVED about the UK-based magazine Anorak (The Happy Magazine for Kids)? WELL, I STILL LOVE IT. And I have a subscription (yes, I am a very big kid).

It is almost weird, though, it is sort of like they made the magazine just for me. It always contains bright colors and is beautifully designed. The last issue was ALL about chocolate, my favorite food. And the current issue, I kid you not!, is about WORDS, which I am obsessed with. That sounds very general, I know, but it’s not! I’m a writer, and I actually read the “Word of the Day” from dictionary.com and write down the words!

Anyway, so here is just a small excerpt from this week’s issue with my answers filled-in!

Feel free to answer any or all of the questions in the comment section! & check-out Anorak because they make me smileeee.

1. What’s your favorite word? Deipnosophist. That is, someone who is skilled at table talk. That was the word of the day on Thanksgiving two years ago. And yes, it is very obscure.
2. What’s the cheesiest word? Cheese. I really think it’s a cheesy word, and not even in a corny or ironic way. I hate when people say things like, “Oh look at all that cheese” when they are watching something like Full House.
3. What’s the funniest word? Spoonerism. This was the Word of the Day on Monday. It is “a verbal error in which a speaker accidentally transposes the initial sounds or letters of two or more words, often to humorous effect.” For example, if you said “sew you to your sheet” instead of “show you to your seat.” It’s called a “spoonerism” because some Reverend Spooner apparently did this all of the time.
4. What’s the nicest word someone ever used to describe you? I like when people call me creative. Or unique. And they really mean it.
5. What’s the word you repeat the most? Probably “the” or “a” or even “cool” but apparently I also have been known to say “random” a lot. As in, “that is so random” or “so the other day I was randomly watching this mock-Billy May’s YouTube video.”
6. What’s the word you wish you had invented? Schadenfreude. This is an awesome word which means “to feel pleasure at another person’s pain or misery.” You know you’ve felt it.

Knock Knock. Who’s there? It’s Jen Bilik, the Head Honcho (founder, creator, owner) of Knock Knock. (Sorry, I couldn’t help it.) She is the one behind all of those funny, well-written, cleanly-designed pads, books, folders, binders, notebooks, and flashcards that you always see in that Kitschy shop on the corner. (Everything is also for sale on-line, and, HINT HINT, the Nifty Notes and Pocket Notes make great stocking stuffers.)

1. Pack This! Pad, $7; 2. Pro Con Pad, $7; 3. Dial an Excuse, $7.50; 4. Thanks a Lot!, $4.50, 5. Daily Mood Tracker Paper Mouse Pad, $11; 6. Things To Do Pocket Notes, $5.50; 7. Accomplish Pad, $7; 8. Random Dawdle Paper Mouse Pad, $11

Due to my various neuroses, which result in an incredible amount of list-making and indecision, Knock Knock pads frequently come in handy. Due to my obsession with clean, functional graphic design and witty writing, I feel a tickle of joy in my heart every time I see them.

Yes, the pads can be considered humorous novelty and joke gifts, but often they are quite functional. I use my “Pack This” pad every time I go on a trip. The “Rate that Wine” pad would have been perfect for the Wine class I took in college. I’ve always thought the “Daily Mood Tracker” should be used in therapy (you might need to ignore the “kill me now” column…) rather than ugly black and white xeroxed sheets (seriously, if you’re already depressed, ugly designed mood tracking sheets aren’t going to help). And, while I hope the entire “Shit List” pad wouldn’t come in handy for anyone very often, I think Steven Colbert might like it if he were renamed it “Dead to Me.”

I wanted to make a Gift Guide featuring all Knock Knock products, but then I could just write a post that says, “Please go to the Knock Knock site for your holiday shopping.” So, instead, I’ve been including them here and there, like in the Neurotic Gift Guide post. Since then, several people have said they wished they could get me The Complete Manual of Things That Might Kill You. (TIP: For someone as paranoid as me, this would be a cruel joke.)

Anyway, in place of an All Knock Knock Gift Guide, I’m offering you an interview with the founder and owner of the company that puts the “fun in functional.”

INTERVIEW WITH THE RULER OF KNOCK KNOCK (more…)

Which do you like best? (Some of my favorites listed at the bottom of the page.)

CLICK to open the related page or product in a new window.

Am I missing anything? Let me know! I’ll update the page through election day as I find more relevant links! WordPress is having trouble with all of the added links, I’ll add links to Part II through election day. Lots more there!

Obama & voting prints, merchandise, blogs, web-pages, posters, maps, and more. Click on each images & it will open the related site in a new window.

Have a favorite? Here are some of mine:

Web-Pages

1. AIGA’s Get Out the Vote Posters: Hundreds of posters made by graphic designers encouraging people to vote. Free and printable.
2. 7-Election: Find out who will win based on the number of McCain / Obama cups purchased.
3. Every Moment Now: Records the number of article references to each candidate in a cool graph.
4. Yes We Can Has: Like our favorite random web-site, LOL Cats, but for the Obama… and cats. It’s not supposed to make sense.
5. The Great Schlep: Sarah Silverman is hysterical. She wants you to convince your Jewish grandparents in Florida to vote for Obama.
6. PalinAsPresident.com: Click around. Very funny.

Clothes

1. Obama Bling form Brookadelphia ($35)
2. Split Decision Vote Shoes by TOMS Shoes ($45)
3. Yes or No? T-shirt for Threadless ($18)

Prints/Posters (besides every other one from AIGIA, also these were quite hard to choose):

1. Census letterpress print from IAmStillAlive ($30)
2. David Choe Hope Print from Upper Playground ($200)
3. Rock the Vote poster (signed by Shepard Fairey) ($100)
4. Obama 08 poster from BarackObama.com ($60)
5. The Tree Referendum print from Threadless ($35)

Other

1. Obama Stencil from Urban Outfitters ($12)
2. Presidential Phyisiques of Modern Times image from New York Times Op-Art section
3. Obama Tea (15.50)

Although I found many of these through my own ventures, searches, and a significant number were posted on multiple “big blogs”, I did find a handful of useful links in the following locations: notcot.org, Urban Outfitters Vote Blog, Urban Outfitters Store, SwissMiss, SeriousEats.

PS VOTE!!!

PPS If you want to link to this post, I’ve got some cool images you can use:

First of all, NEXT WEEK you are in for a treat because our favorite contributer (okay, fine, only contributer besides me, but favorite nonetheless), Tricia, is back with more than a week of interviews with fabulous poster artists at the top of their game. (Remember her wildly successful school supply posts? Yeah, we couldn’t forget either.)

Tricia gave me a sneak peek of some of these artists’ posters, and I was floored. I can’t wait to read the interviews and see more pictures!

Anyway, as not to get ahead of ourselves (to get behind ourselves, in fact), a recap of this week’s Stickers & Donuts highlights:

• an interview with graphic artist Luke Williams
• kitchenware that’s too fun for words (hence all the pictures)
• Things I’m currently obsessed with
• Wes Anderson’s new DVD with cool artwork by Ian Digman
• Annual Reports & Datyum

And, as you can see from above, I got the Daytum invite I was hoping for (yay!) and promptly recorded the  titles of books (and their accompanying page counts) I’ve read this past year. Doesn’t the layout look cool? And it was really easy to enter the data!

So have a wonderful Friday, a great weekend (rain here in New York!). We’ll meet here on Monday, okay? Okay!

See all parts of the Luke Williams interview here!

Okay, so, I hate to say it, but there is a little bit too much coolness packed into this post. I am sad to think that some of you will not click on every single inspirational link I provide you with!

Alright, so hopefully you’ve examined Luke’s “Thanks for Nothing” cards and read about his work. Now, read about who he’s inspired by (um, plus some other great links that didn’t fit in Part II):

So, who is Luke inspired by?

• His mentors & professors, including the fabulous Ellen Lupton (whose book Thinking with Type I spontaneously bought NEW one afternoon, something I hardly ever do).
• His parents, who are both artistic. His dad even owned his own graphic design studio before he had a family.
• Jessica, who I can only imagine is his girlfriend: “To be around someone with such charm, goals and motivation is contagious,” he says.
• The “fellow designers” of his generation, including Alex Trochut, Emil Kozak, and Christopher Cox. (You will be sorry if you don’t visit the web-sites of these fellows, their work is so cool!)

By the way, Mr. Cox runs the graphic design blog www.changethethought.com, to which our new friend Luke is a contributor. (It’s a well-designed page with great content, and cheap art for sale.)

Other links to visit: It’s Nice That (exhibition where Luke’s work is being shown), and Destroy Today (in case you are wondering: “To destroy today is to make the most of the day — destruction as a form of creation”) the web-site of a fabulous web-designer I have come across many times before, who is apparently working with Luke to re-do Luke’s web-site!

If you can’t get enough of Luke you can order prints which will be “happily produced upon request.” Just send him an email at luke@lukelukeluke.com.

See all parts of the Luke Williams interview, as they are posted, here.

Above: 365 Day Calendar Cube, Solutions for Maryland 2008, Metaphor Print, and Weapons Pattern

I found graphic designer (see above) Luke Williams (he made those “Thanks for Nothing” cards from Gilah Press), while on one of my many ventures stumbling around the internet (yes, that’s pretty much what I do in my free time).

I immediately bookmarked his site (which you should visit to see more of his work, and apparently there are fantastic updates coming soon!), and later he accepted my invitation for a little Stickers & Donuts artist interview (yay! we love it when they say yes!).

Luke is currently a senior in graphic design at Maryland Institute College of Art. He has already worked as a designer or intern at a handful of companies (Under Armor (sports-ware), Pentagram (design firm), Bechtel Corporation (engineering company), to name a few), and his work can be found everywhere from the internet to traveling exhibitions to actual stores. Did I mention he’s also a photographer? (Yes, some people get all the good genes.)

“Right now I am obsessed with my future. A healthy combination of fear and excitement has me very anxious to know what is in store for my career.” —Luke

His Nada Bike Idenitity & Promotion has recently gotten lots of attention (I love how doodle-y it is, and turquoise is my favorite color!), making the virtual circuit on blogs and an actual circuit in a traveling exhibition (www.itsnicethat.com).

On his dream job: “I would prefer the challenge of solving a problem that has few answers, and therefore the client would not be easy going. Oh, and the budget is enormous.” —Luke

And his photography cracks me up (Multilingual, above, is actually 6 separate photos, but I combined them here so they’d fit!). For someone whose dream job requires a big budget, he seems to have accomplished quite a bit with some colored paper and tongues!

Up later today: Designers that inspire Luke!