Tree Typography

What happens when you bring typography to paper's ancestors, trees? Something magical, wonderful and quite stunning. Fitting of, of coarse, Why Not Associates' grand work. The typographic tree columns created in collaboration with Gordon Young at Crawley Library. Work actually in progress and the library opening on January 09. Another reason to go to the library.

Mechanical Monster Eats Time

There's a new clock on top of Corpus Christi College in Cambridge. The Guardian UK (read about it and see video in the link) says that the clock, unveiled by Stephen Hawking (designed by John Taylor, inventor) includes six patented inventions and that it is scheduled to run for the next 250 years. Pretty amazing... and weird.

Immortal Architecture?

Private cemetery designed by Italian architect Carlo Scarpa. I love the photos and the structures with the landscape.

The brief article in Wallpaper states that Scarpa himself is buried there. Pretty amazing monument to his work and life. Would seem to immortalize him, to an extent. Click through the slide show and you'll see some photos from a fashion shoot taken place there, as well, adding to the many juxtapositions to explore, including the sacred and the profane.

Bee Architecture

Check out this amazing structure for Sinosteel International Plaza in Tianjin, China, What's amazing is there is no internal structure do to the honeycomb outside.

Sienfeld and Gates not Out

According to Gizmodo:

From a Crispin Porter source, we've learned that the internet has jumped the gun and that the Microsoft Gates/Seinfeld ads have not been axed. It's true, Microsoft apparently asked the agency to focus on the new "I'm a PC" spots. And it's true, the agency has gotten plenty of "I don't know what this means" response in their measured statistics of the Gates/Seinfeld ads. But no one has pulled the plug on the dynamic duo just yet.

So, we're guilty too, jumping the gun, so we'll blame the credible news source WSJ for the over zealousness.

Sienfeld and Gates Out

Word on the street, Wall Street, is Microsoft is dropping the current campaign and going to something more, shall we say, understandable?

Well maybe not fully dropping the campaign:

What follows is an audacious embrace of the disdainful label that Apple, Microsoft’s rival, has gleefully — and successfully — affixed onto users of Microsoft products: “I’m a PC.”

One new Microsoft commercial even begins with a company engineer who resembles John Hodgman, the comedian portraying the loser PC character in the Apple campaign. “Hello, I’m a PC,” the engineer says, echoing Mr. Hodgman’s recurring line, “and I’ve been made into a stereotype.”

The strategy to use the Apple attack as the basis for a counterstrike is typical for the agency behind the campaign, Crispin Porter & Bogusky.

–NYTIMES

What it sounds like is they are taking the "I'm a PC." and running with it. Including a "homage" to John Hodgman's' Character. They'll kick off on Tuesday. In the meantime, life will move on.

Pimped-Out Kettles? Who Knew

I love found art sculpture, though these are a bit different. Some of them are pretty cool. An idea for creative departments that need a little outlet and a break from client work? I'd love to see transformed irons (surely we all have one sitting around that we don't use, ne?).

OOH Rainbow

Forget that the rainbow is WAAAAY over done for lottery, just enjoy the work.

Green Green

The movie is the spotlight, but love the logo treatment at the end.

Help Needed

The Need:
PlatteForum is in need of borrowing one or more 11x17” black and white laser printers for our current artist workshops with at-risk youth. We would need the printer from September 15 – October 15, 2008.

The Organization:
Through the creative process, PlatteForum gives hope and direction to underserved youth who collaborate with master artists from around the world. This experience transforms the lives of the youth, the artists and the community. PlatteForum received the 2006 Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts.

The Project:
Workshops with Creative Resident Gail Watson who is working with at-risk youth in PlatteForum’s ArtLab to create hand-made artist books. Exhibition opens October 16, 2008.

The Contact:
Judy Anderson, judy@platteforum.org
303.893.0791

The More:
Gail Watson is a book artist and proprietor of Birdwood Press in Rollinsville, Colorado. In describing her work she comments: “I made my first book in the third grade at P.S. 37 in Queens, New York. I wrote, illustrated and bound the book, “A Trip on a Ship”, when I was eight years old. I grew up in a home with lots of books – art books in the living room and books of a more scholarly nature in my father’s study. It wasn’t until I was in my late 20’s that I returned to making books and realized that it is a perfect format for communicating ideas and imagery in a very intimate way. Holding a book in your hands starts a physical, tactile connection with art that allows the images and words full access to your senses. The book or codex lets the artist tell a story or explore a subject but the reader is empowered to linger, flip, twist, and turn at his or her own discretion.” During her residency she will work with ArtLab students interested in exploring their relationship with dominant culture, how ever that presents itself. Are they African-American in a still mostly white America? Chicano? Gay in a still very homophobic America? How aware are they of the historic presidential nomination of a person of color? The resulting work will comprise Dominate Culture: Outside & Other, at PlatteForum that opens during October’s National Book Month.

Any one out there that can help?

If Wikipedia was a Professor

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Posted without comment. Except things like excellent and horrible load time.

Zune Masks

Zunes answer to iPod's advertising. Doesn't make me want to switch, but does make me want to make friends.

Chocolate Man

Really well pulled together. Nice thought, nice enough for a Lion anyway. What really kills me is the look on his face.

Bullseye Bodega: Target Hits Manhattan

Target opened several New York City style corner stores for four days only. I think that's pretty cool of Target, though I do love the independent stores. From the photos I've seen, I prefer the outside to the inside, which looks like it got mixed up with McDonalds. 

The Gap does something similar in a rotating theme store next to their flagship NYC store (sounds like rotating art in a cafe...). The latest rendition featured Parisian boutique colette. Check out their website — kind of fun.

BK Sweeps

Check out the sweeps that comes with Burger King's Seth Macfarlane's Cavalcade of Comedy. Buy Seth lunch at BK. Just great.

Heart Wrenching

Tough not to like these. On point. OgilvyOne, Sydney, Australia

Torn Money

I have seen a few of these ads lately, you know, the stuck together pages. Nice tech, but this one is the best execution so far. Think how attention getting it would be.

For the Toy Lover

The concept is good. The juxtaposition is great. Enjoy.

Sienfeld and Gates PT2

Again, why?
Slightly entertaining, yet they just come off as jerks.
Hopefully they go somewhere with this, cause it has to be expensive.

Strange Days in Advertising

No comments necessary. For more of this, see Weirdomatic.

BK gives us Comedy

What do you get when Burger King gets Seth McFarlane create weekly content for the innovative fast food campaign. Well, technically you get Family Guy without the story line, but– You still get a wild fan base and content (and we all know how much the kids love content). Nice, its a win-win. New audience, brand loyalty in the making and comedy. Let's see how it goes.




Mario is pretty damn funny. I'll watch, yeah that was probably the plan.

Incredible

Take a look at this. Once you are over the overwhelming art direction, you get sucked into the conversation. Undertones of herbivores and carnivores, sexuality, race. Plus it's in GERMAN. It couldn't possibly be a better story, subject or drama. I'll leave you with this: turn the Real world into this, and I will watch it. Wait are they still running that show, does anyone remember it?

If not, there is hope.

Clock

As a designer, I completely fell in love with this clock. It does everything I try to do with design. Rethinks form, function, numbers, how you read it, and how simple a clock can be. This is beautiful. Rim Clock by Jansen Ly.

Check out our new friends

Over @ Boulderspace. 

A site for designers of all disciplines to join together to share information, ideas and concepts, while networking within Boulder’s greater design community. Our goals are to expand networks and markets within our local industry, share creative insight, and attract arising designers and industry leaders alike. We are dedicated to supporting the Boulder design community, and are working to encourage relationships that catalyze greater design the area. Join the discussion if you have some time.

Floating Types Flakes

Ever watch snow falling from the top of a high building? It's a beautiful sight, especially if it's one of those days when the snow creates a giant hush...

...and everything  seems still except the fat floating flakes.

This video makes me feel like that, at least at the beginning. Watch it full screen.

Mini Ambient

Simple. Nice work out of Butler and Shine. Seems like they are finally getting a feeling for Mini, good work to follow in the shoes of CP+B.

Smashing Magazine: 2 Years

Smashing Magazine is 2 years old and they've created a give away poster to celebrate. They are only giving away 11 of them, so don't get too excited. Anyway, I think the art is pretty sweet. (Above.)

A New Link for Creatives in Colorado

The good folks at Indie Arsenal have a new beta site that you should check out. Get in and share your work and expertise. You may just get a job out of it!

Don't forget to check out our very own Creative Directory for your needs.

Map of Imagery in Music Genres

Trying to write that hit #1 song but not sure what the content should be. Should I talk about her eyes, lips, ass?

First, apparently, you should decide what category you are writing for and then cross reference Fleshmap's category break down on what artist are writing about the most. Most often across the categories are the Eyes, windows to the soul and all. Then again according to rap an ass may be the window to the soul, which gives the phrase a whole new meaning. And then there's blues, represented by a hand, which might be why it's the blues.

What do we sing about, when we sing about the body? The chart below, based on a sample of thousands songs, tells the story. The size of a circle corresponds to how often that part is mentioned in each genre. Click on a genre name to see a close-up that shows exactly what words were used.

Check them out, Fleshmap.

Some Type of Wonderful

Ok, I have always been fond of Type. Ever since I pulled my pencils and sketch books into Graphic Design school and was told that for the first year or so we would not event turn on a computer. The classes that followed were some of the best times I can remember, at least in school. Copy machines, rubber cement, hand drawing letters to properly kern them. Each class focused on type. The basics of design.

Which is why I may be a little too excited about Life Lounge's Some Type of Wonderful.

We’ve invited 12 of our favourite artists and designers from around the globe to join us in a typographic project we’ve called Some Type Of Wonderful where each artist has been asked to respond typographically to a design brief related to a designated month of the year. Each of the unique designs will be offered through lifelounge.com as signed, limited edition A1 Giclee prints. They will also be available all together as a limited edition, beautifully designed 2009 wall calendar to enjoy for the following year.

Some Type Of Wonderful will also be holding an exhibition of the works at Melbourne's McCulloch Gallery with a launch party in late October. Stay tuned for more info.

Design in the basic form. They have a pretty wide range of artists involved. I'll just have to start planning my trip to Melbourne now. Or maybe just do something like that here.

Creative Discovery: To Be Sure Without Knowing

Okay, I'm about to get a little woo-woo. Josh Doorman is an artist who works with maps, and consequently with memory – he's currently working on a project involving memory and Alzheimers and dementia patients. But here's the woo woo part: In his artists' statement, he writes, "As I get older, it gets more difficult to write about my own work. However, the less I am able to articulate what I do, the more I trust in my process."

I find that to be a beautiful truth about life that we can rarely implement in design as it is very rare to find a client who trusts in the artist within the designer. It doesn't seem billable if we can't rationalize it. And that's a huge part of our training , right? There's an adage, design is about solving problems, art is about creating a problem to solve, or something like that. Our value to business as visual communicators and designers is to solve the problem our clients/employers face, to "find the pain" and figure out how we can help, as a friend put it to me recently. 

Still, there is mystery in the western, post-enlightenment sense, a puzzle to solve; and then there is that Greek version, much more Eastern than we're comfortable with, the mystery which when we dive into, requires that we leave our reason behind and then provides for us a place to settle in, to be surprised, to discover. To be sure without knowing.

Well, that's probably enough woo woo for now. It's just that sometimes it's nice to take a break from what's billable and enjoy the process of creative discovery. That's partly what I like about Josh Doorman's map art. Check it out. 

Who Says OOH has to Read?

Nice awareness generator for the upcoming Spore Video Game. Can't imagine anyone walking by not wanting to look.

Tadpoles

Would get my attention. Nice touch bringing it to life, so to speak.

Octo-Love

Fun animation exploring the length our eight-legged friends will go for love.

Find-an-Intern Fair

RMCAD Internship Fair
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
11-12:30pm

The fair will be held on the RMCAD campus- 1600 Pierce Street Lakewood, CO 80214

This is an opportunity for your organization to find artistic talent for freelance work and/or internships.

Participating in the fair is free and lunch will be provided. Please RSVP by October 1st to VA Hayman, Director of Career + Alumni Services at
vahayman@rmcad.edu or 303-225-8569

We hope you can participate.

Men's Care Package Design

Check out the work from Denver's Jim Hargreaves. Clean, Simple, Sophisticated, Retro. I really like. Looking for a designer, hit Jim up.

Vista

Microsoft's answer to Mac vrs PC commercials fails to make me want to switch. But that wasn't going to happen anyway. My only question is:Didn't Gates retire? -and- Even if he was convincing, why would I believe his retirement would make the product better?

I guess its an awareness generator, but then again, is Microsoft's problem awareness?

I'm just confused.

Threadless

One more reason to like threadless. When you order a print, you get this poster with it. Love the headband.

Al Dente

Cute little short story about an orphan and an ogre with a great voice.

Knives

Don't want to ruin this with you know, words.

There's a Porsche in My Kitchen

The midlife crisis goes metro-sexual. The new sports car is not enough for today's forty-year-old man, he wants the same engineering and design in the kitchen. Or maybe this is a new trend to keep that guy-in-crisis from wandering outside the home and keep him busy in the kitchen. At any rate, Porsche teams up with German cabinet makers Poggenpohl to create an extremely modern kitchen. Kind of looks like fancy IKEA to me. I'd still prefer the car. However, if Volkswagen were involved in the design...

Along Came a Spider

Oh, you tease us with cool spiders on famous English buildings and tell us to wait, "It'll be spectacular" you say. I for one will wait, and expect spectacular. Because you apparently know how to build wonderful automated creatures, surely you won't underwhelm me with less than specatcular. BBC

Alice Twemlow on Aspen, 1970

Really interesting little read on the International Design Conference at Aspen in 1970. Idealists for responsible design practices clash with industry heavies and affect some good change. Be sure to read Ric Grefé's comments, too.

(via Design Observer)

Kashi Vitality Package Stands Out

Maybe I'm a sucker for anything printed on what looks like a brown paper bag. I've always loved the tactile quality and the interplay between the ink and the everyday-ness of the brown paper. When I went to pick up some cereal on my way to work this morning, this box stood out from the rest easily. It stood out from Kashi's other stuff, as well. It doesn't seem to break from the brand, but rather, seems like a special edition. It doesn't hit a different price point which a special edition might tend to do, though. I like that they included a photo element on the bottom where some companies might not have in this application. 

I wonder what the plan is for the other Kashi products. They do have a community/forum aspect to their brand on their website that focusses on healthy living and such and it would seem like the natural thing to do to extend this packaging aesthetic there, if a brand shift is underway. 

LED Bulbs

Forget fluorescent bulbs, that is so 2007, check out Frog Design's next design, LED. They lose the mercury and plastic for a more sustainable design, plus the light is a less harsh. Besides, don't you just love the screen print design they added?
VIA Gizmodo

Yes, that's photography

Check out the work of photographer (yes photography, although it looks too juicy not to be illustration) Chenman. A Beijing born woman who is equally at home with photography as she is with 3d computer rendering and photomanipulation. These are the shots that seem to be too good to me, but hit her portfolio and check out the rest.

Comics Communicate for Google

Years ago I almost took an interdisciplinary class taught jointly by an English professor and a logic professor with an interest in visual communication. The class would study comic book structure and the I Ching. While communicating a dry subject through visual means is certainly nothing new, I was a little surprised when Google rolled out this to explain their new browser/application, Chrome. I wish I would have taken that class. For some reason, the comic book rarely enters my mind as a solution to complex communication, but it seems to work more often than not.

Farmers Market Marketing

Antenna skewers.

Giant carrots from trees.

Owen Jones and Partners of Portland Oregon created this little campaign for a local farmers market. Apparently, the client had a very limited budget ($1,800 or so), so the agency did the production work themselves and sold the market out on its first day. Pretty cool.

Ski Season

Great idea, but the shot looks like it was in the middle of nowhere, wonder if many... or anyone even saw it.

Second Skin

Attention grabbing art with a good message. Really nice art. McCann Erickson, São Paulo, Brazil