Michel Gondry for Motorola
Check out this kooky Gondry ‘film’ for Motorola. I’m a fan, but… what makes this a film vs. a commercial? Anybody? Raises questions about vocabulary. Because he’s Michel Gondry are his commercials less ‘commercial?’ The opening copy says, “We commisioned a film… about the experience of using the mtrla razr.” Isn’t that a fancy way of saying we bought a commercial?
The site is totally cool though. Check it out.
The russians are coming….
22 year old russian designer Maxim Zhestkov,. Beautiful. Totally. Completely beautiful.
What’s wrong with the St Paul Art Crawl.
You know what’s wrong with the St Paul Art Crawl, Jon Grider is in the lousy basement of the Northwestern Building. It’s got low slung ceilings and it smells funny. But I hope if you went to the art crawl you made it down there. I’ve seen Jon Grider’s work starting to pop up all over the place. Starting with the excellent Will Work For Food shows, a crazy mural in Tennessee, and most recently in my little building for the St. Paul Art Crawl. This is really the sh*t.
Art Crawl amounts to a huge disappointment every year for most folks that I talked to over the weekend. It seems that the marketing of the event draws a crowd that is only interested in a particular vein of art. Who’s driving this thing? Maybe I’m wrong?
Apologies.
I bought a house. It’s a really ugly house, and it needs fixing. Hence the momentary absence. Will be back up and running in no time.
Joshua Blankenship
Check out this poster series from Joshua Blankenship. They’re really intense, and equally original. He’s a designer at Virb which is a totally cool social networking site. Think Myspace for people with aesthetic sensibility. Be sure to check out his ‘notes to self‘ section, hilarious.
Turn it up.
I haven’t posted any seriously digital designers lately. Sexy colorful rich design is back with a vengeance featuring Keith Evens. He’s got a big catalog of commercial work, and an equally deep catalog of personal work. Most designers have a specialty, but Keith seems to be a Jack of All Trades and a Master of All Trades as well. Web Print And Brand.
Commercial : http://www.i-kre8.com/
Personal : http://www.kindalikethat.com/
Did Sprint rip off Levi Hammett?
Somebody brought Levi Hammet’s website to my attention in regards to a post I wrote about Sprint’s e-cards.
Check out levi’s project here. http://exactlocation.org/dairy/index.html
And compare it to the Sprint version here. http://sprintsweets.com/
One is clearly inspired by the other. I don’t know when Levi’s project was launched, but I’ll venture to guess it came first. Now it seems a natural progression to turn his idea into some sort of e-card. Do we hold whomever designed the Sprint site to the fire? Or is it a case of one artist influencing another?
My vote is ripoff. Look at both and tell me what you think. While you’re at it… spend some time looking at Levi Hammett’s work. It’s exceedingly good, and the 70’s photo aesthetic puts it all into a really interesting context.
Sibling Rivalry
Vanessa Prager led me to Alex Prager. I’m assuming the two are siblings. And if they are, they should thank their parents for their talent laden genes. Regardless of biology and filial ties, Alex Prager takes some really beautiful photos. She’s got the makings of an a-list client roster, and the chops to match. She just had her first solo show, entitled Polyester. It is a harbinger of good things.
geoGreeting
At first I thought, “meh.” Then… “hmm”. Followed by… “neat.”
Beautiful art for a good cause
Tomer Hanuka is an extremely talented and successful illustrator. So successful that he hardly needs a write up here. But he is selling prints of one of his works for a very reasonable $75, with the proceeds going to International Catholic Migration Commission - one of a very few organizations working on getting aid to Iraqi refugees. Here’s got a lot great work up for sale. (BUY ART PEOPLE. You’ll spend $100 bucks on a pair of jeans, but $75 for a print is too much?). I think I might buy two.
Big Brands Are F*cked.
Wrath Arcane is a streetwear line out of Cleveland. Yeah you read it right, Cleveland. I love people that believe they can do great things without living in New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles. They’ve got an anti big brand manifesto that i like. The clothes are sleek, and unique. There homepage proclaims “big brands are fucked.” Thanks to the folks at Wrath Arcane, I do believe they are.
I’m in like with you?
The much awaited launch is here. I’m In Like With You has launched. They were clever with their pre-launch. For the past few months they’ve been baiting cultural hot spots with special invites, and did a pretty good job at creating the ever elusive ‘buzz.’ It’s an online flirting site with a pretty interesting structure. You create games (which are really just questions) and people bid on them with points. Confused? It’s certainly going to take off with the 14-22 crowd. Will it revolutionize the way you social network (is that a verb?). We all knew there was a new myspace killer coming soon, but for all the fancy bells and whistles (it has em, the design and functionality is pretty slick) what difference does it really make? Social networking is certainly expanding the method in which we relate to each other, and in particular strangers. But for the thousand MySpace Friendster FaceBook IILWY friends you’ll make over the coming months and years, how many significant relationships will you develop? Social Networking is really a misnomer. It’s not about networking and making contact with other people, it’s far more complicated. But I digress. Interesting social development. Check it out.
Pretty Pretty Beds
Check out this mahogany bed made with peroba rosa. Peroba is a recycled wood, reclaimed from 100-year-old Brazilian barns. Bizarre and random and awesome. We all know the green movement can tend either toward the granola, or the purely theoretical design student aesthetic. The stuff at Bluehouse is delightfully well designed and eco-friendly. Check out their beautiful armories and hard wood flooring. All eco-tastic and well designed.
Victory Gardens
I love the Twin Cities. I really do. But here’s an example of a really cool, simple social program, and it ain’t here. Check out Victory Gardens. A small start-up non-profit dedicated to taking small urban plots of dirt and growing food, in San Francisco. And when i say small plots, I mean small. They’re transitioning “backyard, front yard, window boxes, rooftops and unused land into food production areas.” People have plots of dirt, which can produce food. Simple, elegant solutions. Taking inspiration from WWII era food production, Victory Gardens is (if it works) really impressive. If anybody knows of something like this in MSP let me know.
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.
My first home…
…looks nothing like these. LivingHomes is a developer focusing on modular housing and sustainable architecture. They’re currently located out of southern California, so us middle-coasters are out of luck. Ray Kappe and David Hertz are their main architects, and their modernist design philosophies are apparent in their work. More than anything else, I was impressed with their environmental commitment to building homes with minimal ecological footprints. If you’re buying a house, think modular.
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.
Awesome and More Awesome
I don’t think that I really need to say a lot about this one. Umbrella Market.
Found via Fecal Face
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.
Hello? Color?
Check out Pawel Nolbert. You thought the only good thing to come out of Poland was the sausage. A little colorful eye candy illustration for your memorial day viewing.
More than just hair and makeup
Mr Phillip Toledano explains his work better than i could. “… at age eleven, I got my first camera. I’ve been taking slightly odd pictures ever since… I also believe a photograph should be like an unfinished sentence.” His site is simple, and beautiful, all html, no-frills. The typography kills. Nice embellishments. He leads every gallery with clever and enigmatic copy. Like haiku’s, they set you up to be enthralled.
