Apparently, Mark Andrew Webber of Design You Trust cuts sections out of linoleum "by hand" (whatever that means) to create his maplike prints of various cities. They have a slightly Paula Scher thing going for them.
Glad to see someone still doing things the hard way.
What is this "Handmade" you speak of??
Frankenstein Want New Kicks
As you know from previous posts, I have a bit of a shoe fetish. Not in a sexual way, but almost. Luckily (or not, depending how you look at it) I wear a size 16, which tends to limit my purchases to the odd clearance rack find.
My new favorites are these, available soon from RoyaleFam. Featuring black denim and leather, faux snakeskin (or is it real??) and a small bit of red, green and cream trim, they're just different enough to look custom without the usual over-the-top ridiculous color and texture of many custom shoes.
My bet is that they won't make these in Mutant sizes, but in the unlikely chance that they do, I'll be willing to pack my lunch for a few weeks to be able to afford them.
I would rather visit Bulgaria than Jamaica??
While we're on the subject of symbols known around the world, take a look at the official tourism logos for several countries below. If I were to decide by these logos alone, I think I would most like to visit Spain, The Bahamas, and Australia. They look like they would be the most fun.
Tasmania would sneak up from behind and eat me. Apparently Argentina is either windy or wavy, or they just like swooshes. France says "We are too abstract for you stupid fucking Americans to understand". The Caribbean is obviously an all-night 80's dance party featuring a live performance from the original members of Wham. Monaco is too expensive for you to visit, so don't even try. And Dubai LOVES Nascar. Where would you like to go?
Via NotCot
...And Maybe Michael Jackson's Glove
Today my fellow designerd coworkers and I were debating this question:
What are the most recognizable symbols in the world?
Sure, we could do the research and eventually learn the "facts", but it's more fun to remain uncertain and continue the discussion. My opinion of the six most recognizable are:
1) The cross
2) Coca-Cola script/ribbon device
3) The Star of David
4) Nike Swoosh
5) Swastika
6) The Olympic Rings
Have a dissenting opinion? Post your comments and join the conversation!
Talent can be so cruel at this age
Mitchell Paone, of Dreamers Ink Aesthetics, has crazy talent.
My talent recently asked Mitchell's talent if it could sit at its' lunch table. His talent didn't even acknowledge that my talent was standing there motionless, in front of all the cool talent, holding its' lunch tray.
Whatever, it didn't like him that much anyway.
HA
This is the funniest thing I've seen in a while. Pictures of TV...genius! Mike Sacks is an editorial writer at Vanity Fair and has written for Esquire, GQ, The New Yorker and McSweeney’s. He has a ton of content on his site, but these pictures of TV are hilarious. Note that most of the more bizarre ones are from Fox Network channels...coincidence?
Fallen
Normally I'm not one who is into animated features or shorts, they tend to be a bit over the top on the sap factor for a cynical bastard like myself. Technical advancements are great and all, but I just don't see the excitement over the fact that a computer can make some cartoon monster's fur look real. I'll take a classic warner bros. 'toon with a good story any day.
That's why I like this short, titled "Fallen" from Wolfram Kampffmeyer and Sascha Geddert. Simple, without so much as a word in dialogue, yet it says so much. It's almost enough to make me an optimist.
What's that? No, I have something in my eye...Yes, both of them...I don't know, I think it was a swarm of gnats.
The Anti-Deliverance
Normally when you picture a 140 square foot shack in the West Virginia wilderness, images of oil-drum liquor stills, year-round yard sales and barefoot 25-year-old grandmothers chained to woodburning stoves come to mind (being born and raised in Appalachia, I'm allowed to say these horrible things).
Architect Jeffrey Broadhurst's interpretation is thankfully a bit different. His shack features board-and-batten siding and a standing-seam, terne-coated steel roof atop a wood platform. Oil lamp light, woodburning heat, and a hand-powered, gravity-fed plumbing system keep things simple and honest. A garage door completely opens one side of the structure, allowing unobstructed views of the hills below.
Seeing that something so simple and beautiful can be done with off-the-shelf materials is dangerous, my wife is going to want an explanation of why her husband is suddenly buying wilderness land and building sheds like an obsessed alternate-dimensional version of the unabomber with good taste.
My Schizophrenic Brain
Don't worry, you're not going to see me talking to myself out loud while making bizarre hand gestures to strangers in a urine-soaked overcoat.
The schizophrenia I speak of belongs to Brazilian illustrator Guilherme Marconi's online gallery titled "My Schizophrenic Brain". While he may not actually be schizophrenic, he must at least have a touch of obsessive compulsion (I should know) to create the extreme detail and color involved in his work. There's even a satisfying "click" sound every time you scroll over one of his pieces.
Aaaaahhhhh....just seventeen more times and then I can stop....maybe.
Question...
Why is it possible for me to:
1. Buy a ticket to a J-Live concert for $10?
2. Attend said concert with only about 100 other humans, while if the show were in Denmark, it would sell out?
While the state of Hip Hop in the U.S. may be a bit sad at times, it was alive and well for a select few last night in Orlando. We had the rare chance to witness J-Live rock both the mic and the 1's and 2's, and as always, we weren't disappointed. If you get the chance to see him in concert (or any other underground hip hop acts for that matter) I highly advise you don't miss it. Artists like this are a dying breed.
And Now, More About Me
I'm always partial to any type of artwork that features any one of these three things:
1. Shoes. I know I have a problem and I don't care. My problem could be worse, I've never offered the guy in the local shoe store oral for a new pair of shell toes.
2. Hip hop. Especially old school. If you would skip a Coldplay concert to see De La Soul you know what I'm talking about.
3. Me. Try as I might to be impartial, when it comes to artwork, my ego is borderline Kanye. Others might tell you that's a problem, but I'm fine with it. I love me some ME!
I've never actually seen any artwork featuring me, but if I were to commission someone to do so, it would be UK Artist/Illustrator Russ Mills. So many illustrators have similar styles, but this guy is all his own. If anyone should have an inflated ego it should be Russ, check out the new prints in his store and his online gallery. This is how everyone should show their work...so fresh and so clean!
Viva Calaca!!!
Wow....I'm limiting my words on this post because you have to see this video. Amazing art direction, great music, and just an overall fun piece for all ages. The creator also has his own design firm with some other great work....enjoy!
Old Vegas
There are many, many places that I haven't been and would love to visit. Las Vegas isn't one of them.
I envision elderly human smokestacks parked at slot machines, praying for either death or the big jackpot to take them away, families with their screeching offspring barrelling up and down the halls of my hotel one hour after I've finally gone to sleep in a drug-and-alcohol-induced haze, and a Disney-esque, cleaned-up version of what was once the greatest adult playground in the country.
The only thing I could see myself enjoying in Vegas would have been the YESCO Las Vegas Boneyard. This is the junkyard where they kept the old signs from now-destroyed or updated hotels and casinos. These are the signs that were glowing outside the window when Bugsy Siegel, Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano were deciding who needed an "offer they can't refuse", and the Rat Pack was performing downstairs.
The boneyard has since been converted into a museum (??correct me if I'm wrong), which just doesn't seem like it would have the same mystique as something called a "boneyard". Luckily, I can still see the old version by visiting this great Flickr set. The photographer has some other great sets as well, most dealing with the concept of abandoned spaces. I don't know how my obsession with abandoned places and old signs began, but I'm definitely getting my fix here. Thanks "Lost America"!
Greensburg
On May 4, 2007, a deadly tornado struck Greensburg, Kansas, destroying ninety-five percent of the town and taking eleven lives with it. Rather than simply rebuild the town as it was, the residents of Greensburg decided to provide an example to the rest of the country and build a smarter, greener community.
The process was captured in a 13-part series, aptly named Greensburg, on the upstart Planet Green Network (Sundays at 9pm). Co-Produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, the show promises to chronicle not only the green building process,
but the lives of the townspeople as they try to carry on their everyday lives from FEMA trailers.
There's not much television worth getting excited about anymore, but the premise
of this one seems worthwhile. And while there (hopefully) won't be a shirtless
Ty Pennington to make the ladies swoon or to crobar in product placement, maybe
Leo will make an appearance or two to satisfy our need for celebrity.
Mike Lowery
Today we profile Illustrator Mike Lowery. Mike lives and works in Alexandria, VA, daydreams of being an ER Dentist, and wishes his middle name was Gary.
Turn-Ons:
Thrift stores, Print Gocco and French press coffee
Turn-Offs:
Dairy products packaged in latex and Chinese customs (the import/export agency, not the customs and traditions of the Chinese people themselves...whew, glad I cleared that up now)
Now that you know Mike a little better, view and enjoy his sultry images.
I'm not dead, am I?
The mixed media creations of Edwin Ushiro have a haunting, dreamlike quality even before you read the stories that are depicted in his artworks. Then you read the tales of mythical seaweed creatures, soul-capturing amphibians and empty-faced ghosts that are the conceptual basis for much of his work and they take on a whole new quality. He's like the M. Night Shyamalan of the art world (he even has one with a story about a child's communication with the dead). As eerie as the stories are, I'm even more haunted by the fact that Edwin seems to have the godlike ability to harness light. Use your powers for good, Edwin.
They don't make them like they used to...
A fantastic Flickr set with posters from the likes of Otl Aicher, Wim Crouwel, and my personal favorite poster designer of all time, Josef Muller-Brockmann. I can hear you now, "What do you know, Jason's favorite poster designer is Swiss....big surprise."
(in oddly German accent) STOP BEING INSOLENT AND VIEW ZEE POSTERS!!
How the Discussion Went:
Marketing Research Firm to Account Executive:
According to our demographic list segmentation, tweens see the spinning of the blender as an important emotional benefit.
Account Executive to Creative Director:
Our Key Takeaway from research was that the client needs to see the spinning motion in the logo. I'm not seeing that in these concepts.
Creative Director to Client:
The spinning motion in the logo is a visual representation of the physical process. And the yellow means quality.
The result of millions spent in research, design, and implementation:
Jealousy
I wish I had the talent of photographer Ryan McGinley. There, I said it. I've added him to the list of bastards I hate for being more talented than me and there's no turning back. I had the idea first, you know. A group of young, naked models and I traveling across the country carousing and taking pictures....capturing the innocence of youth with a vaguely retro feel. Not that kind of feel, pervert. Well, maybe some of that kind of feel. Anyway, if you know Ryan McGinley, you should let him know that he's on the list and should probably give up photography and stop making me feel inferior. That would be great.
Thanks.
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