Untitled 2010
Happiness is not a place it s a direction The arrow is probably the oldest and most basic of graphic symbols It is universal...
Description
Happiness is not a place, it’s a direction.
The arrow is probably the oldest and most basic of graphic symbols. It is universal in it’s simple command, “Go this way,” – the primary metaphor of direction that we use everyday to navigate through our physical and virtual worlds.
The lighted roadside arrow was probably invented first, and had to wait around for Edison and Ford to catch up. Meant to be viewed at 60 miles an hour and 30 feet away, they are part huckster, part ad, part message board; it’s the every-man’s sure-fire solution to getting attention, making a sale, driving business. Drive down the street and it’s the everywhere, everyday object. But so ubiquitous are these today that they go largely unnoticed. The only thing that differentiates one from another are the words and letters on the illuminated panel backdrop, authored by a hurried entrepreneur.
Larkin collects arrows. Mainly pictures. Hundreds of them. Some artifacts. Start to look for them and they are everywhere. It’s a distraction, just ask his wife.
Curated by Katherine Talcott
Larkin Werner is a partner and creative director at Wall-to-Wall Studios, a graphic design studio with offices in Pittsburgh, PA, and Honolulu, HI. Wall-to-Wall Studios creates exciting and meaningful branding for print, web and motion. Werner earned a BFA in Communication Design from Syracuse University and has over seventeen years of graphic design and brand strategy experience. His work has received accolades from various publications and organizations, including Print Magazine, Communication Arts, Graphis, Step, AIGA 100, Sappi International, and The Ad Federation, among others. He was named one of Pittsburgh Magazine‘s 40 Under 40 in 2006. He is a current member and past President of the American Institute of Graphic Art (AIGA), Pittsburgh Chapter. He lives in Pittsburgh with his wife (a metals artist) and two children. He still believes that good design can save the world.