Chokolate Mmm

I've been getting very weary of those "lists" that seem to be flying around the internet, especially those that claim such extravagances as "top 50 business card ideas". For me that roughly translates into "How to get out of doing anything even remotely creative for your 1st year Corporate ID project", or "Idiots guide to copying and plagiarism."
This on the other had I found over at Graphics-Exchange. And I have to say I think its awesome, not in the sense that makes one think "Oh gee wiz, I gotta try that", rather in the sense that it makes ones heart race and thoughts fly through your head like "Fucking hell! I wish I'd done something that cool. Ever!" ... I think you get the idea.
The comprehensive identity entitled "Chokolate Mmm" was done by Bunch Design, for dance studio and agency Chokolate.
[via Graphic-Exchange]

Milk gone bad

Though I think the milk carton with with that particular stye of illustration isnt quite my cup of tea, the presentation, and technique for showing artwork and illustration is beyond awesome, thats what I find most intregueing about this work by Anatomic Factory.

"The Milk Gone Bad table lamp by AnAtomic Factory with illustrations by Bombo is a follow-up to the earlier Long Life Light. When the Milk Gone Bad light is off, it resembles a simple white milk carton. When switched on, the light reveals the mold that grows unseen inside. The imaginary cartoon-like mold happens to be a lot more pleasant than the real life version and is available in 8 colourways, each with a different personality. The lamp comes flat and is constructed much the way a milk carton would be." moco loco

I'm going to be looking into doing light box like displays for my own work, but most likely will be wall mounted rectangles as apposed to table top objects.

[via mocoloco ]

Sole Porn

I quite like the play with colour and transparency, this piece of work by graphic designer Peter Bruce, of Badly Spelt.

He describes it as "A collaborative project for an exhibition undertaken early in the second year which explored the hypothesis that the character of a person could be identified by looking at the sole of their shoes."

You Dont Matter

"We converted a plotting machine into an output device, that can draw, scratch or cut with almost any traditional drawing technique, in order to achieve aesthetics looking neither drawn by hand nor produced with only a computer. Most interesting and inspiring are all the little mistakes this machine produces, because of too much data, too much water, color, pressure etc. There are always gradients because the color gets less and less as the machine draws on. This expansion space describes the machine's actual identity. No Image looks like the other. And if you put a camera infront of the machine and take a time exposure it draws with light in the air like Picasso did with his hand." You Dont Matter
Very cool experiment, looking at the role of the designer, and in the end showing that you don't need human intervention for that "mark of the maker" effect. I especially like the work done by etching/scraping into wax (abive). I vaguely remember using this technique in primary school. [via ManyStuff]

Wolf wrapping-paper, A New Year

Well it seems I'm not the only one who's bin taking it slow towards the end of the year. But I must say it really has been a great one for me. I just finished by Btech desgree in graphic design, as well as my first year of working in the industry. 2007 was bloody fantasic, come on 2008.
Im still on holiday though (visiting faminly in Johannesberg), but thats not to say that I've been idle (although I havnt been able to make any posts till now).

Inspired by Jesse at jezzeblog, with her foray into fabric printing, I started doing some experimenting myself. And trust me to go about it backwards (and insideout), for christmas I decided to make my own wrapping paper. So I did lino/block prints using sceenprinting ink and acrylic onto papers like stamps.
Here are some of the pics I took.

So as soon as I get back to Durban, on the 6th, Im going to carry on experimenting with printing, it really is fun. And I'll most definitly post the results here.

Classic Type vs. Lumo Colours

I recently revisited a site I had bookmarked ages ago, called Graphic-ExchnGE. Only to realize how brilliant it is. Its fairly similar in concept to most design blogs, in that its someone finding well designed things and showing the world. Although the "writer" (Fabien Barral) lets the images talk for themselves, showing only the work and providing just a link to the company/designers site.

This is where I found the two pictures I'm showing you, the first (above) by Mucca Design is awesome, I love the grey and lumo green with brilliant type.

The second is also very cool, this time by design studio Hawaii Design London, I'm sensing a trend in the ones I liked though, old fashioned type juxtaposed with grey stock, and lumo colours. All very cool. via Graphic-ExchnGE

Is Print Dead?

A very cool article about the fate of printing, as we know it...
Dam dam daaam.
But I really like the origami "illustrations" on the article are really cool. Illustrated by Jennifer Daniel and Erin Sparling. Check it out at A Brief Message : An Inconvenient Truth. I recently made a origami squirel of which I'm quite proud, I'll try remember to post it some time. via The Serif

Etsy of the Week, The Black Apple

Unfortunate I've limited myself (due to justified addiction) to only post one Etsy find per week, or else every post of mine would be a new brilliant thing/person I'd found on Etsy, and not much else.

Like Emily Martin from Georgia USA, who is The Black Apple, "curiosity peddler and picture scribbler".
Her paintings and prints are some of the cutest portraits/characters ever. I think they're brilliant, you can check out her Blog, or her Etsy Shop.

Type Trump, by Rick Banks

These "type trump" cards, by recent graduate of Cumbria University are really cool. Above are just a few of the full set, which I got off Rick Banks online portfolio. With Typefaces from Avant Garde (above) to Comic Sans (Puke). Very cool idea, although possibly only for graphic designers and typographers. via CR Blog.

"Bark" Wooden broach/pin

At last, all's coming together. Partly to celebrate my first half century in posts on this blog, and partly to celebrate my first official Etsy item.
Above is a picture of my "bark" - Wooden broach/pin, going on sale at my Etsy Shop for $5 thats about R35 for all my South African readers (free postage in SA).
It comes with its own customisable "gift" card (see pictures).


Click on pictures to enlarge.

Tape Cassette Trend followup

Its seems that they are everywhere, we cant get away from them I noticed this book cover at The Book Design Review blog, and as cool as I think it is, I can't help but notice which "band-wagon" it comes off. After reading the artical at DesignBOOM about our current nostalgic fetish with Tape Cassettes, I couldn't stop noticing them everywhere. I particularly like the Hasbro Cassette tape Transformers, produced in 1984, I think they're wonderful, and have definitely stood the test of time.

Help Yourself Posters

Copy: "help yourself"
Very cool poster campaign by Leo Burnette (Sao Paulo), for CVV Suicide Prevention Center, Brasil. via DesignBOOM

Timorous Beasties

Timorous Beasties have some wonderful wallpaper prints. Check out more at there website. via SprayGlue

Good Magazine

Good Magazine is a project by the design studio Open that aims, in their words, ‘to provide a platform for the ideas, people, and businesses that are driving change in the world’. While it exists as a print magazine, it also manifests itself in documentary films, events and online content, such as this pictorial examination of American homelessness. via ItsNiceThat.

Cape Times print ads

Copy: Monday 10 September 2001 - The world can change in a day. Don't miss your daily edition of in-depth news.

It's not often that a print ad literally jumps up and throttles our attention like this one - done for local (South African) newspaper brand Cape Times - did this morning.
There are four executions. This one in reference to 9/11, another (beautifully shot) for Hiroshima 1945, the JFK assassination and the '76 Soweto riots.
Using iconic events from history, the campaign highlights the fact that world-changing events often can't be predicted and that the course of history can, quite literally, change in a day.
Brilliant art direction and the hard-hitting message of these ads, is wonderfuly stunningly and arresting.