Successful melodies are becoming increasingly simpler.
A study reveals that the compositional complexity of the most popular songs has decreased over the past 70 years.
By Francisco Doménech
Here is the article in italian, as published in Internazionale.
This is a present for you! Download the material at this link to play with your creativity. It’s a gift from SMALL ACADEMIA.
My drawing and imagination school project.
Lorenzo Magnani, philosopher of science and director of the Computational Philosophy Laboratory at the University of Pavia, discusses intelligence across various disciplines.
In a conversation about the interaction between human and artificial intelligence, he cautions: ‘We safeguard our intelligence through political and moral decisions.’ Article by Giulia Pozzobon.
Below is the process leading to the final illustrations, along with the final illustrations.
#15 Winter 2024 – Intelligence
BEHIND THE SCENE
Union-IP, the Union of European Practitioners in Intellectual Property, approached me to create an illustration representing their core mission.
For their June 2024 meeting, Union-IP decided to produce tote bags as gifts for their members.
The drafts began with an exploration of a character. The illustration aimed to capture two key themes: protection and creativity.
The client requested a design that was simple, flat, and visually striking—an image so appealing that members would enjoy using the tote bag even in their free time.
In this project, I focused heavily on the expressiveness of the main character, ensuring that the design remained as simple as possible.
The illustration had to be printed using the two institutional colors of UNION-IP.
I felt particularly connected to this work, given the discussions about rights and intellectual property in the context of emerging AI technologies. Yet, human creativity follows a different path from the technological processes of artificial intelligence.
With this in mind, I aimed to represent the love involved in creation and, naturally, in protection. A sense of care—this was the essence of my work.
Below, you’ll find some sketches, color studies, the final illustration, and the tote bags.
For this project, I worked entirely in vector.
Why AI needs to learn new languages. Efforts are under way to make AI fluent in more than just English.
Here is the article in italian.
As published in Internazionale
BEHIND THE SCENE
The creative editorial team at Le Monde reached out to me to provide a commentary, accompanied by one of my drawings, on the release of Temps Réel, a collection of poems by the French-speaking poet Jean-Christophe Bailly, published by Editions du Seuil.
Here is the article by Fabrice Gabriel
At first, I envisioned a more classical interpretation of the Muse, as described in Gabriel’s article, who encounters the poet. However, Bailly’s work revolves around the idea that poetry, with its unconventional nature, is an ongoing journey.
His verses unfold one after another, much like the landscape passing by outside a train window.
Thus, his poetic language becomes an autonomous, evolving organism.
I aimed to convey this idea of a succession of events, landscapes, and emotions, while still offering a slightly didactic and classical interpretation of the ‘poet’ and of poetry itself.
Notes on Loneliness in the Age of Social Media
Lovink observes that despite 5.2 billion users being online, the Internet doesn’t feel crowded. Paradoxically, social media fosters a semblance of social connection that often manifests as isolation and loneliness.
This brings forth the idea of ‘interpassive’ users—individuals who contribute data while remaining largely passive in their engagement.
And this is interpassivity introduced by Slavoj Žižek.
Here the original article by Geert Lovink, as published in Internazionale.
Scientists funded by the Norwegian Research Council have compiled a list of more than 16,000 “plastic chemicals”: compounds found in or used in plastic, including raw ingredients, stabilizers and colorants. The report recommends that companies be more transparent about what’s in their plastic, for everyone’s health.
Here the original article by Nicola Jones
As published in Internazionale
BEHIND THE SCENE
Marion Dupont, a journalist, has written six articles for the L’été des idées section of Le Monde, published in the first days of August 2023.
The creative direction reached out to me to address the topic at hand: friendship.
I believe that, in this society that is entirely liquid, as Zygmunt Bauman described it, friendship stands as a counterforce to rampant individualism and creates a new kind of connection between people—if it is deep and meaningful. Friendship heals, supports, and becomes the cornerstone for building a new society.
A society that is less “liquid,” but fluid and structured in a different way.
Where the most ‘institutionalized’ relationships lose their significance, friendship appears to establish new certainties in people’s hearts.
The friend observes, respects, educates, and loves the other, allowing them to be themselves.
From this foundation, the new generations growing up in these new family structures gain the strength to face life’s struggles with sincerity and full autonomy. Friendship becomes an alliance against alienation.
Dupont proposes six articles under the title The Metamorphoses of Friendship. One of the illustrations is currently on display at the Oscar Niemeyer Library in Le Havre, as part of the exhibition ~ QUAND LA PRESSE S’ILLUSTRE #4 and it was selected by the Society of Illustrators of LA – Illustration West 62
A glass child…
The infernal and traumatic placement of sick children.
As published in Causette February issue.
The first image below, is selected for the exhibition in Le Havre, Oscar Niemeyer Library, entitled
~ QUAND LA PRESSE S’ILLUSTRE #4 ~
