POLL: Design for Leonard's 75th Birthday Greeting from Fans

[lizzytysh]

I've just gone and visited the various options Laura came up with. Managing the many variables to come up with a good design that's workable is clearly a lot of work.

I like Simple 5 and Simple Background 1 [as well], with the hat and guitar... a very pleasant design, and now that he's learned to play the guitar again , he can no longer hold to "It was the hat after all . . . "

The way I look at these is "Which might you find blending with his environment, if you were too see it hanging in his home"? The tasteful blending of cool colours with a classy design works really well when I consider it from that perspective.

I MUCH prefer the colour choices in Simple 8 to those in Simple 10.

If you took the single logo of the unified hearts in white that is in the corner of Simple 5 and replace the orange ones with it in the corner of Simple 9, you'd have it all wrapped up for my taste and you'd get my vote . For me, the logo isn't a major [or at least integral] part of the design, so much as a lovely, symbolic detail, subtly holding that space.

I still can't bring myself to vote.

[Laura]

Oh dear... I just made everyone's life more complicated with all the versions, didn't I?
I want it to be clear: just as Marie said at the beginning, the versions posted here for the vote are not 100% final. There might be small alterations, depending on the photos we get to put in them, and the general effect, so don't hang on the details. But let's just hope they are maybe 90% final.
I posted the links to the other ones just to show how much work has gone into this. But, no matter how difficult, we had to make a choice. So the vote is NOT about the others.

We have a rather funny romanian fable, with a boy, his father and a donkey (but this thread is not for this), which basically says that no matter what you do, you can never please everyone. And after all, it would be worrying if we were all thinking the same way!

Laura

[ispellit]

... no matter what you do, you can never please everyone. And after all, it would be worrying if we were all thinking the same way!
Laura

Oh, so true!

[Paula]

Laura as Abraham Lincoln once said (plus Bob Dylan did in one song too when he was quoting Abe Lincoln but I can't remember which song )

"You can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time"

[lizzytysh]

True, Paula and Laura. Still... evn though "the vote is NOT about the others," since "There might be small alterations, depending on the photos we get to put in them, and the general effect, so don't hang on the details. But let's just hope they are maybe 90% final," we might as well give our suggestions on that possible, remaining, approximately 10%... especially if/when our vote is contingent. Don't know if you don't try. "The devil is in the details" .


~ Lizzy

[Paula]

With the Unified Hearts one (which is the one I voted for) I don't really like the fact the heart takes up so much space Leonard and the band seem to be an afterthough placed at the bottom. I don't really like the audience either but as I can't do any better I am fairly loathe to comment too much and as this is just a personal preference I will just go with the flow. But the Unified Heart does overpower the whole mosaic. The Heart seems totally out of proportion to the rest of the mosaic.

The reason I opted for that one rather than the the other two was purely aesthetics I didn't like the fact that Leonard and the band were protrayed as faceless figures on the one and the guitar one which I did like just seemed impersonal

What ever one is chosen I do hope there is some wording on it along the lines of "with thanks from the Cohenites".

[redstudio]

Curiously enough Paula I had a previous version of that one oriented horizontally so that the band takes up most of the frame! We both probably have other ones that different people would like more. I think Laura was trying to make the point that all of the designs will look better larger (I believe 70x50cm or 19x27"is the size) rather than offering other choices. Pam

[Paula]

Hi Red any chance you can show us the second version where the band takes up more space just for comparison - cheers

[Laura]

"The devil is in the details" .

Actually... "God is in details" is the mantra of modern architects (but then, architects always beg to differ from the rest of the world )

Laura

[redstudio]

Paula, I'll post a link for the comparison but if confusion occurs I may have to remove it. Pam
http://er3.com/pjr/leonardcohen.htm

[Paula]

Sod's Law Red I much prefer that one to the one we are voting on

[lizzytysh]

I agree with your perspective on the overpowering unified hearts on the third one, Paula. I followed your link, Pam, and they look disproportionately large on them, too.

As I just told someone privately, if things remain exactly as they are, when I vote in the 11th hour, I may have to do it as an eeny-meeny-miney-mo choice. I'm glad I didn't have that problem with the Presidential Elections this time.

My truest preference is that they BOTH be given. I think the artistic aspect in Laura's is outstanding and that Leonard would appreciate that in its own right [even without a single one of our faces]... look at his own art and I feel it's easy to think of it in this way... of course, I say that with the single logo in the upper left, done in white, or burgundy... preferably white... in mind . Gotta keep going for that 10% !

[Paula]

I think that heart is too big on all of them too I appreciate that is the size of it on the backdrop but I think a bit of poetic licence is needed with it. As it stands your eyes just go straight to the heart and that is a shame because that should not be the focus. Having said that I much prefer the ones that were not shown.

[lizzytysh]

Okay, I'm gonna come out, both guns drawn at sundown on this and relate the basics of what I said privately to someone about the choices. "Speak now or forever hold your piece" they say at weddings... well, this is a 'marriage' of sorts...


More or less a Quote:

Yeah, I can tell that Laura put a lot of work and art and heart into it. They all show. Even though Paula says she doesn't like the faceless aspect of the band, that's one of the things I DO like and I feel that Leonard would like! He's seen their faces plenty and it's enough to portray them. It transcends the everyday and becomes art... and I feel that's something that Leonard would definitely appreciate!

Her design[s] are symbolic and representative in an artistic vein. The other one is more 'realistic' in its approach. I feel that Leonard would appreciate receiving not just our photos, but our photos contained within a work of art that he would appreciate for its own sake, without a single picture of us being in it. Look at his own art and how he does artistic representations and it's not to hard to figure how he would really appreciate this one. I agree with Paula on the more 'impersonal' aspect of the guitar, but the design of it remains gorgeous!

Because Laura's design is in second place, I especially am in favour of his receiving them both. I still feel the same about the orange, multiple logos. The feeling I get from the first design is that a blob of orange paint fell on the upper-left corner at the last minute. The thickness of some of the lines is very disconcerting and, for me, the colour simply doesn't blend well, at all. I LOVE the white being used, and I think the burgundy would go really well... but with the single logo only. Or, and I know she won't do this, but I was thinking that running them down the left side, like she did with the guitar one, might work... if done in white.

Even though it may not bring her up to being first place, I feel that the changes would be warranted to make it easier to consider both of them being sent to him.

I agree with Paula on the over-sized and dominating size of the unified hearts in the third one.

I hate to end up just going eeny-meeny-miney-mo just before I vote, but as it stands now, I'm afraid I will. I'm glad I didn't have this problem with the Presidential Elections this time.

I really don't understand why Laura's design is trailing... honestly.

Deep down, honestly truly, I would LOVE to see them BOTH sent... even if it's the same fan photos comprising both. Each is so perfectly appropriate in its own ways. [Though, now that Paula has verbalized it, I still would like to see some poetic license taken with the size of the unified hearts on the backdrop of the third. In person, the colouring of it is very 'shimmery' and it doesn't dominate... it just creates a magical effect.]



~ Lizzy

[lizzytysh]

Okay, gotta get to the spring for water. Will y'all have this all worked out by the time I get back ?


~ Lizzy