The Josh Crain

Rainbow Falls. Watkins Glen State Park, New York.

Processed with VSCO Cam™. Selected for the curated VSCO Grid™.

Below Sabbaday Falls. White Mountains, New Hampshire.

Processed with VSCO Cam™. Selected for the curated VSCO Grid™.

The following comes from the epilogue of Edward R. Tufte's book on graphical information design, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. In his book, Tufte outlines a systematic approach to to the design of graphs and visual information, but in the epilogue warns against too much emphasis on rules and "word authority" to direct the design process or judge the final visual solution.

Design is choice. The theory of the visual display of quantitative information consists of principles that generate design options and that guide choices among options. The principles should not be applied rigidly or in a peevish spirit; they are not logically or mathematically certain; and it is better to violate any principle than to place graceless or inelegant marks on paper. Most principles of design should be greeted with some skepticism, for word authority can dominate our vision, and we may come to see only through the lenses of word authority rather than with our own eyes.

What is to be sought in designs for the display of information is the clear portrayal of complexity. Not the complication of the simple; rather the task of the designer is to give visual access to the subtile and the difficult—that is,       the revelation of the complex.

Heading home.

Processed with VSCO Cam™. Selected for the curated VSCO Grid™.

Nomade. Pappajohn Sculpture Park.

Processed with VSCO Cam™. Selected for the curated VSCO Grid™.

Street performer. Between Jackson Square and Cafe Du Monde.

Processed with VSCO Cam™. Selected for the curated VSCO Grid™.

House on Cemetery Hill.

Processed with VSCO Cam™. Selected for the curated VSCO Grid™.

Horses On The Run, Near Blockton, Iowa

Colfax Livestock Sales Co. Colfax, IA.

Processed with VSCO Cam™. Selected for the curated VSCO Grid™.

ADM Opacity. Des Moines, Iowa.

Processed with VSCO Cam™. Selected for the curated VSCO Grid™.

More than ten years ago I made a sketchbook from scraps of paper and old road maps. It wasn't until a few months ago I came across the sketchbook. The paintings in this post are gouache and approximately 5" by 5".

I came across a collection of matchbooks, probably around high school, that were destined for the trash. The collection was fairly large, hundreds no doubt, stored in a bucket in a garage. I dug through the bucket and searched for anything of interest. Most of the matchbooks were gas stations and hotels, but a handful stood out. Affixed to thin pieces of bamboo where small printed graphics. Most where from Yokosuka, Japan; the location of a U.S. Naval Base and what I gathered, from the 1960's or 1970's. For many years I've wanted to photograph the collection, they are now available on Flickr as an album called Japanese Matchbooks.

Tapestry helps marketers understand customers’ lifestyle choices, what they buy, and how they spend their free time.

32% In Style. Household Type: Married Couples, No Kids, Housing Single Family

We're professional couples or singles with strong work ethics and no kids. We embrace our urbane lifestyles that support the arts, travel, and extensive reading. To reflect our style, we focus on home maintenance and improvement; we'll undertake remodeling projects ourselves or hire contractors. Always connected, we carry smartphones and use many of the features. Healthy investment income boosts our wages and net worth. Well-invested and well-insured, we're already preparing for our retirement. When shopping, we check for the best prices and redeem both regular and mobile coupons for even better deals.