The Death of the Red Car System

It is of little known fact that the movie 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit?' holds a bit of truth to Los Angeles history. No, not about the fall of cartoons but rather the fall of the Red Car system (the cable car) and the rise of freeways and dependence on cars.

Nowadays when you picture Los Angeles transport, you think smog, traffic, millions of cars, and really all in all just grumpy miserable people commuting to work. But in the 1920s, the Red Car system in LA was the largest electric railway system in the world. Into the 1930s, there was such a large influence from the automotive companies, that large 'motor-ways' were built. What we know now as freeways. When traffic congestion increased, the solution at the time was to build even more freeways, with more lanes. Sadly, the cable car started seeing its death.

Throughout the year, there were many attempts to expand mass public transit but none of these ideas truly stuck around. It wasn't until the 1990s, that plans were made for LA to delve into the world of Subways. Currently there are only 4 underground lines, quite a sad number in comparison to the size/population of LA but it is slowly...very slowly becoming more popular.

Today it is best to compare Los Angelinos love of their cars to that of Americans and their attachments to their guns. 'You can't take my gun away!'

'You can't take my car away!'

I took a break from coming up with designs to make bus commuters happy, and decided to head back to the origin of my reasons for my subject. When stumped, head back to the beginning right? I've been trying to push myself out of my element so much, that I'm now in that uncomfortable phase. That uncomfortable era of 'What is my aesthetic? Where has my personal design style gone?' (I just quivered using the word style. Sagmeister has scarred me forever! In a good way of course). When diving into my typography explorations, I have picked up a vintage aesthetic. I was challenged to get away from this aesthetic, being that it is quite popular at the moment. Of course, I don't want to be a follower as a designer, I want to be a leader - how nice it would be to be ground breaking.

But when you look at my previous work, it definitely has a vintage effect to it.
www.behance.net/jocelynk/frame

What I have created thus far in this new exploration is combine these random vintage/original images with new type. I know this isn't quite ground breaking in the design world in general, but it is ground breaking personally for my own work. I'm going back to the beginning, the origin of my studies and I'm combining it with the modern world.

My works in progress: "Smile. You have public transportation."

Smile that you have public transportation. Smile that you don't have to sit in traffic everyday, that government and large automobile industries haven't forced you to purchase a car. Corporations haven't forced you to sit alone in your vehicle, making no connection to others. Rather companies are giving you the freedom to sit and interact with others. Relax, let the driver take control. You'll get to your destination.

No guts, no glory

My challenge is to go beyond the media I'm used to creating. I know how to create printed material, I know how to communicate messages through any printed media.

But take away my printer, my laptop and I'm lost, it's like throwing someone into the deep end of a swimming pool - with weights around their ankles. Good luck!

To go beyond the printed world, the printed companion. How do you reach others? There's performance, there's drama. If I want to influence the minds of the average commuter, I have to branch out beyond the passive printed format. Does this scare me? Of course it does, I am no performer. I would much rather reach the minds of the average commuter by hiding behind my work, but really - no guts, no glory.

To change topics: Now let's focus on what has been my inspiration as of lately. I swooned over the typography found in Lacoste Legends, it's newspaper and it's beautiful. Stunning type. It's artistic yet draws your eye in, makes you want to look closer.

 http://www.behance.net/gallery/Lacoste-Legends/1432521

To make the ordinary 'less ordinary,' I asked for some inspiration from my sister who happens to be a photography teacher, and therefore has a bit more insight into similar photographers. Her recommendations: Garry Winogrand, Stephen Shore (Uncommon Places) and Robert Frank
(The Americans.

Garry Winogrand did a series called Women are Beautiful. These are simple images capturing the average woman in the street, I feel they are stunning to the eye. These women aren't posing, they're captured in their everyday life and I smile because of it. They are beautiful:

Stephen Shore:

Robert Frank, The Americans: Of course I would swoon for these. It captures the essence of that time, that era. I swoon for the simple everyday beauty, now how do I get others to do the same? How do I do like them, capture the beauty and express the beauty? 

In Amore Cotidianis

In love with the day-to-day things

Have you ever had a job you hated so much, that Sunday was the worst day of your week? This being because you knew deep down inside that Monday was tomorrow - that in less than 20 hours you would have to wake up to a whole new week and deal with 5 more days of going to that wretched place. Bring on Friday! Bring on Saturday. You keep Sunday.


I had a job that did this to me, I worked for quite the horrid corporate company in Reseda, CA. It took the majority of my strength each morning to wake up, sit in the bumper to bumper traffic and arrive with even just a half smile. It wasn't until one morning when I slowed down that I started finding joy in the ordinary. I enjoyed seeing my usual commuting friends on the 405 freeway. Coffee never tasted better than on a rainy day, and a random Peggy Lee song would calm the nerves even more.

If it is possible for an isolated Los Angelino to find peace in her traffic, it is most definitely possible for the average individual to find peace in the public transportation commute. In public transportation, you are allowed to converse with others, you are allowed to read and expand your knowledge, you are allowed to smile at a child giggling in the seat next to you. You are allowed to smile, but then why is it so difficult to do so? To just let that little grin out.

To design is to convey a message, my message is that of finding simple joys and pleasure in the ordinary of one's commute on public transportation.

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Public-Poster-Project/136966

I admire the Public Poster Project - It is conveying messages through the simple norm of posters. How often do we stop and actually read the mass amount of posters and propaganda around us? Very rarely. Yet I'd smile while reading one of these signs in passing by.

I am in no way encouraging the average individual to not get in touch with daily news, events and occurrences on their way to work. It is simply my goal to let this individual lift his head out of the newspaper, take a deep breath and smile at the simple surrounding him.

Through this blog, you will see my journey of creating travel companions (a compendium as a whole) meant for the average public transportation commuter. These companions are meant to make you smile, to make you find joy in the ordinary.

(Art by Brian Andreas)