New York's Underbelly Lives

I've long been a fan of the city, in all it's glory, and I've been exploring it by bicycle for literally 20 years (holy shit!). I must have ridden thousands of miles throughout most of the boroughs - the bronx and staten island just don't feel like part of the city I live in - and I've uncovered myriad gems in the rough and much rough thats gem-like in itself. The less sanitized parts of the city fascinate me the most because in a city where parts are worth $15 per square inch (that's $2000 per sq. ft. for those without a calculator handy), there seems to be fewer and fewer open areas of uncertain ownership. These areas generally become homeless feifdoms, attack dog training areas, shooting galleries, and art galleries as well. I like all of it. Hell, I love all of it. I love the sense of danger, the startling moment when that lump of rags moves and it's a person and when the rats literally confront you with a 'where the fuck do you think you're going?' look. Untethered dogs are by far the most dangerous aspect - you just can't reason with a dog unless you're holding a t-bone and I generally don't carry t-bones around with me, though it's not a bad idea. Today I started in a very industrial part of a borough which I will not mention because I don't want to just give it to you, budding urban spelunkers. Go out and look - these areas are not hard to find if you know the lay of the land to look for. Here's a look at my stroll through the urban art gallery I was so lucky to find this morning. PS: early morning is a good time to go, the drunks and junkies are generally passed out or just out looking for more. Do not carry anything terribly valuable with you unless you are willing to fight to keep it. Carrying ID is up to you - you're often trespassing when doing this and sometimes you will be questioned or arrested - I've never been arrested. If you have ID, you might get off the hook. If you don't, you'll probably definitely get arrested in post-9-11 New York. Another reason why these wastelands are so intriguing (the 9/11 lockdown has brought more fences and warnings). Anyway:

Texture and Perception

Sometimes I feel, as a designer, that I place an inordinate amount of importance on texture. While not dismissing the importance of texture in a number of design applications, I'm wondering just how important it is on a wine label? I think it's crazy important and is a huge indication of the perceived quality, though that's me. I wonder who else notices it? Most might notice it, but maybe just a few register an opinion on its value?

Textured paper is usually associated with fine art or vintage (estate) projects because older paper had more texture just by virtue of older paper making methodology and the ability to emboss in the final stages of paper production a pattern. Originally these textures and patterns where the natural markings of the drums over which the paper was turned or pressed, giving papers a unique imprint identifying the origin of the paper. This took on an elevated meaning when people started to associate the texture with the origin and could apply a value to the paper, ie: this came from the king's press! It must be important! This has carried over to today, even though the texture of paper is manufactured in a much more deliberate way, these days. I love old things that harken back to days of hand production and natural materials and equipment made by hand - adds a soulful appeal.

On another note, textured paper reflects light differently from un-textured paper. Usually matte finishes are used on textured paper to accentuate the absorbed light/saturated look. Colors look richer and lighting is not able to glare off the surface causing the viewer to have to adjust viewing angle to see the information on the label. I hate high gloss anything - shit, even Mac has realized how tacky high gloss is and moved their high-end laptops to the matte aluminum finish (just as the PC world starts churning out glossy colored laptops - hi, I'm a PC and I'm follower...).

Really, one need look further than the restaurant world to understand the difference - diners: plastic-coated menues in high-gloss (phony luxe) designed to be able to wipe the hoi polloi's errant ketchup from. Del Posto - offset printed ivory laid paper showing what's available today only - ooh la la. In the wine world: Monkey Bay - shiny labels that actually have gold and silver 'bling' on them: 50 cents in the bottle, 50 cents on the label - OCD Syrah - 25 cents on the label, history and a fortune in experience and care behind its deep purple, matte, textured label.