Craig Ward
Check out the inspiring work of Craig Ward. He calls himself a typographic illustrator - meaning he creates images out of type. Strong letterpress influences help give his work an organic and romantic feel.
Inspire: The Book Cover Archive
A huge archive of well designed book covers. It actually includes all of the designer/illustrator credits as well. Go for the obvious - search by designer for Chip Kidd. Sit back and take some notes.
Design For Everyone
There’s plenty of rhetoric about design equality, and it generally surrounds issues of class. We don’t often see design issues address identity politics, and for that matter the disabled in particular. Check out Dutch industrial designer Jan Gunneweg.
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Worldbike
This is what design should be about. Elegant solutions to what can be extremely difficult problems. Bikes are used to carry and transport goods all around the world. Worldbike have become a source for making bikes more effective at accomplishing these goals.
We pair bike industry leaders with economic development NGOs and socially conscious designers and donors to distribute bicycles that improve lives. More than just safe, fast transportation, a Worldbike bicycle is a means to making a better living. Our customers transport food, goods, and people. They help the local economy and improve their own lives.
~from Worldbike.org
Check it out. Donate a couple dollars to their cause, or sponsor a nation to buy some Big Bodas.
Steve Harrington
Steve Harrington is a screen printer par excellence. With a serious sixties nostalgic feel, his work references some really great poster art without being derivative. There’s also very contemporary overtones. He is work is a lens on print history, firmly rooted in today’s cultural context. Think Milton Glaser and Wes Anderson’s illegitimate child. (his work really reminds me of The Royal Tenenbaums). There’s a ton of great stuff on his web site. Check out this interview witth him on youworkforthem.com.
Edwin Ushiro
Edwin Ushiro describes himself as a Cinematographer, Production
Designer, Visual Consultant, Art Director, Storyboard Artist, Concept Designer and Fashion Designer. His visual art is what i find particularly compelling. For digital work, it feels very organic and intimate. Be sure to check out his process images, and see how the work evolves.
Can a typeface be sexy?
It certainly can if it’s designed by Alex Trochut. The Spaniard has a knack for combinging sexy typography and illustration. I’m a sucker for typography embed into photography and find that the combination of the two makes for some of the most effective design. For someone who espouses a ‘more is more’ philosophy, he has a surprisingly simple and pleasant website, that highlights his work (careful - the full page flash scrollers are a little tricky). Be sure to check out the illustrations he did for diesel.
Black Day To Freedom
Please Watch this film. It’s a fictional piece about displaced peoples. It’s beautiful. It’s one-of-a-kind. I’m gushing, I apologize. I guarantee you’ve never seen anything quite like this. I also guarantee that it’ll effect you. Please watch it. Made by motion graphics guru The Ronin.
The finest illustrator alive today is…
I can’t seem to get too far from brazil. My absolute favorite illustrator Adhemas Batista just updated his website with some new work. Nobody paints on top of photography better than Adhemas. These are full on illustrations. He doesn’t skimp on the color. If you’re looking for subtle, look elsewhere because these illustrations are luxurious.
The illustrious ISO50
The one and only Scott Hansen. He’s a rockstar in the illustrating world, and a bit of a rockstar in the rockstar world (He’s the recording artist Tycho). I like Scott Hansen because his rock posters don’t use any clip art and they don’t use any non-sequitur imagery. Don’t get me wrong, I love today’s trend in rock posters, but ISO 50 is a breath of fresh air in the over-saturated poster design scene.
Misprinted Type
I can’t say enough good things about Mr. Brazil Eduardo Recife. His fonts have practically defined the last few years. You’ve seen Porcelain and Selfish all over, I think Old Navy used Rosewood. Download the entire set at his website. While you’re at it, download his Photoshop brushes as well. They put something in the water down there, cause the Brazilians got it going on. See it at MisprintedType.com
Helvetica
Helvetica just turned 50, and to much fanfare. It’s been trumpeted enough places, so I thought I’d let it pass (even though my typeface up top is helvetica neue). Developed in 1957 by Swiss graphic designer Max Miedinger, and reworked in 1983 for the neue versioin you see up top, Helvetica is much easier to spell than Akzidenz Grotesk. I mention it because the documentary Helvetica is coming to the Walker Art Center on May 31. Tickets are still available ( I just checked). Why would you want to go see a documentary about a typeface? Well everybody and there fucking brother uses it, and it was directed by the guy who produced the Wilco documentary I Am Trying To Break Your Heart. That’s right, it’s Gary Hustwit’s directorial debut. Weird and fantastic.
Buy tickets here.
ps. On a whim (and because I’m a nerd) , I just checked the source code for Helvetica’s website.
VIRB is social networking
VIRB is social networking for people who like nice looking things. Ever found your self bothered by how ugly your myspace page is. Social networking sites like MySpace and FaceBook get all the press, Virb is on its way. The tools they have built to allow their users the freedom to customize their pages is unsurpassed. They are built in such a way that you can’t make an ugly Virb page. Their slogan “Virb makes your favorite things easy to publish and easy to find” is pretty much true. The polish feels genuine. There is no sense of corporate gloss. Does this bring in folks with better taste? Maybe. I might just give it a try.
Mike Perry : UBERsweet
I’ve been a big fan Mike Perry for longer than I’ve known who he was. Organic aesthetic is really hard to pull off without looking cheap. His client list should be the envy of any designer. MTV, Dwell Magazine, Saatchi & Saatchi, Nylon Mag, Polyvinyl records. He’s got a new book coming out called Hand Job, a catalogue of hand drawn typography which I’m itching to get my hands on.
Some Ecards
Some Ecards has been posted all over the place, BUT it’s too hilarious to pass up. Created by Brook Lundy and Duncan Mitchell, and designed by Jerry Tamburro, Some Ecards takes what has become a pretty banal idea and breathed a little life into it. Perfect for everyone you know, except for maybe your grandmother. The cards range from mildly lewd to totally inappropriate. Send em to your loved ones.
Found via Josh Spear + CoolHunting
Curbly - DIY Design Community
Curbly is a community based web site for ‘people who love where they live.’ The community seems uber friendly with users asking, and answering all types of home improvement questions. It’s got a slew of articles and interviews featuring interesting happenings in the design community, and how-tos ranging from grilling tips to wall hangings and image transfers.
Their get inspired section is particularly appealing, but be careful, you’ll have ripped apart your living room before you know what hit you. The best part about Curbly is it was founded right here in our little city that could: St. Paul.
Check it out, and support a couple of local st. pauli’s with fine taste.
Hint Magazine
Hint Magazine is a great site for staying on top of the fashion industry. The multimedia pictorials are filled with top notch photography and design. Come for the photography and stay for the book + music + art reviews. Right now they’ve got an interview with Harold Koda, chief of the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute, and MR. the cooky Japanese artist. It’s that range and diversity that makes Hint a delight to read. The articles are well researched and the darn thing is just pretty to look at.
Urban Dirty
Urban Dirty is my favorite kind of website.
1.) It has a specific purpose and focus.
2.) It’s well built, and it always works.
3.) It provides great content for FREE.
A must resource for visual designers and artists, Urban Dirty is a free grunge-texture stock photography site. Download all the great grunge textures you want and go to town.
Mother’s Day E-tastrophe!
Mother’s Day comes every year, and for those of you with mothers and perhaps an inability to remember to pick up the floral bouquet, an e-card can be an extremely lame way to tell your mother that you love her. This site provides the prettiest darn e-cards you’ve ever seen. Is it a good way to express your feelings? Absolutely not you jackass. http://sprintsweets.com/
The Awesomest.
Sweet politco shirts for the tiny ones in your family. Find em at http://www.lowercasetee.com/
Green Apple Quickstep
A greener apple. So this little manifesto popped up on the Apple site the other day. Before I get too far into this, a little disclosure. I own a mac. Actually I own three macs, two ipods, a ton of apple software. I even find the commercials kinda funny.
That being said: A Greener Apple. Mr. Jobs posted this up on the web, and it should be a lesson to all big corporations out there. Transparency, and honesty WILL get you everywhere. He owns up to Apple’s products being bad for the environment. He spells out (even if it is a bit technical) the actual environmental breakdown of the the ingredients inside the pretty white box. Now, did they do this out of the goodness of their hearts, or is it a ploy to appeal to our enviro-conscious pangs? Did Jobs even right this? Turns out… I don’t care. Whatever the motivation it’s a good thing.
For those of you with busted ipods out there…http://www.beyondthepod.com/ will buy your busted ipod. Recycling + cash money = the sweetness. I’ve never used their service, this is not an endorsement.
Mother’s Day E-tastrophe!
Mother’s Day comes every year, and for those of you with mothers and perhaps an inability to remember to pick up the floral bouquet, an e-card can be an extremely lame way to tell your mother that you love her. This site provides the prettiest darn e-cards you’ve ever seen. Is it a good way to express your feelings? Absolutely not you jackass. http://sprintsweets.com/
