Design and digital culture NEWS // July 2006
The
call for entries for ZEIXS was
a great success: they received approx. 4,400 works from 1,079 designers
from 23 countries. Visit the thumbnail gallery and see for yourself.
The constant here, and what amazes me all the time, is the variety of
different design signatures, direction, expression, texture and colors.
Really, design rocks my world.
Analectes???
The new experimental music and sounscaping project of Philippe Gully.
Some tracks will soon have videos available. Ready to listen? Hop to Gullyland!
Philippe is the founder of Praktica,
a long running French portal.
NRL is
the newly graduated design portfolio of Nathan Levi Rittenhouse who is
a promising talent. Rough on the edges, he's just ripe to be tutored
and to continue developing his skills.
Since we all can need a little help sometimes, he's looking to land
his first gig! So? Remember when you were a rookie and looking for a
break?
Dstrukt is
home to Chris James Hewitt, a freelance motion and static designer, who
has belted some pretty impressive projects in his portfolio.
From London with luv!
Her
mix media hyperreal collage like designs are exuding such a fierce sense
of purpose. Richness of details are dazzling and hint back to her japanese
culture. Simply beautiful!
Gosh, Mano aka Prismgirl 
is
only 18 year old! Imagine her future!
Definitely someone to watch for.
_ _ _ _ _ _
ndle1:
Tad slow to load, be patient, it's worth it.
Erring
on the wild side, another collage artist that specializes in editorial
/ cover designs and somewhat weird illustrations all the while diping
into sound design.
Eclectic? You bet! And no less eclectic is Brutalgiftland web
site.
The
Desisgners Republik celebrates their 20th Anniversary! Cheers to
one of the longest standing design powerhouse!
_ _ _ _ _ _
ndle1:
via Computerlove
New
office, new website, new works! A lot of is going at Remedia lately,
a visual communication studio who does great film and motion designs.
These
fingers are made for scratching! The new grungy website for the french
band Birdy Nam Nam (scratch
champion DJs).
Some performance videos shows them in action! Wow!
_ _ _ _ _ _
ndle1:
Another fine production by Grouek
Cool
Hunting has been a daily update on stuff from the intersection
of design, culture and technology. Contributions come from a small
gaggle of hand picked writers who are out finding great things, and
looking at all the stuff readers feed them.
Coruscus
Design launches their version 3 as a one pager CSS web site. Holding
true to their slogan of “simplicity, impact, relevance and consistency”.
Well done!
From Italy with luv.
Matthew
Curry is an incredibly talented and versatile designer and artist aka Ninjacruise who
now has a commercial repository of his work via Imagefed.
Strong movements and eclectic layouts prevail!
If
you play and push hard to achieve unprecedented visual fx, I guess this
is one of the ways it could turn out: Planet
Detrus
Vilan says: “My digital art looks weird and crazy because I try
to experiment with effects that are not commonly used, such as photoshop
filters.”
Don't forget to visit sub-sections to see more sensational experiments!
The
Art of Versions is a smashing novel project which puts forward
a collaboration between designers Neal Ashby and Matthew Curry
See what are the visual pieces that were used and how the final comps
turned out! Fascinating, amazing, beautiful and inspiring.
_ _ _ _ _ _
ndle1:
via HOW newsletter
He
has been copied, imitated and has been influencing editorial / corporate
illustration trends for decades. Meet Paul
Rogers.
_ _ _ _ _ _
ndle1:
via Veerle
Thisisswigg??? Well
I really dig this new business format. Mixing a traditional design studio
who goes all the way to create and develop its own line of fun and useful
products. As a designer, I'd rather encourage buying stuff from my peers
than any other options.
Wouldn't you?
Their website is whimsical and playful. The only thing I would do different
though, is make an imagemap of the index page image.
One
of the most brilliant mind behind the development of flash programming YUGOP has
relaunched a new site.
For all flash designers a repository of amazing actionscripting fx.
Fresh
for kids of all ages Spring! by Dannon is a fun and bright flash site!
Well thought out with lots of interactivity and on-screen animations.
Play games, alter faces and more.
All over, pure visual delight!
_ _ _ _ _ _
ndle1:
Designed by one of the premiere flash agency Juxtinteractive!
Triworks has
got a splendid flash site. One aspect that is striking is the pale blue
with red accents. The iconographic system throughout the site is well
resolved and in the portfolio navigation, just perfect. Their work is
as outstanding as their website.
I especially was impressed by the 3D illustrations.
This
is a one of a kind one pager portfolio site and home of Booreiland agency.
Their slogan claims to dress you decently and they do so. Check
out the very cool mouseover fx on the thumbnails. Very crisp and classy.
From Netherlands with luv.
Keep
British Design Alive is an initiative from The Design council
who is trying to get input from designers and agencies across the
country on how the industry could be improved.
Why not take part and complete the online questionnaire!
So
very very naughty! grivina has reached
a high level of skills mastering and maturity in his signature illustrations!
Fashion, lifestyle, kidzies and characters are cheerful and / or edgy.
WüD
Furniture is a New York based design and manufacturing studio specializing
in unique and custom made furniture. The contemporary pieces are crafted
from the finest woods and incorporate metals such as lead, copper and
stainless steel.
Luv the piece shown in the thumbnail!
Anders
Nord is a photographer??? Nenni. He's into set design and the thumbnails
are 3D renderings. Impressive huh!
Interesting
essays about how social networks work. Highly relevant reading for anyone
in a social networking company—or investing in one.
5
reasons why social networks fail by Tristan Louis
“Most social networks are putting a heavy emphasis on how many
connection a user have..
.. At the end of the day, social networking sites are walled gardens.
They do not want to share information with others for fear that it will
dilute their power as THE central hub for all relationships.”
Situational
Relevance in Social Networking Websites by Fred Stutzman
“Anyone who has spent a fair amount of time on a social networking
website is familiar with the what's next? problem.”
5
reasons why social networks can succeed by Tristan Louis
“Not everyone has a personal website...”
_ _ _ _ _ _
ndle1:
via Guy Kawasaki
For
amateurs of clean lines. It's all about limited edition contemporary
collectible furniture and interior design at Uhuru.
Minhang is
a portfolio website made in flash using a steel blue with a white inverted
flowery element. Good sample of past projects. I particularly like the
station ID for the shangainese entertainment channel.
Someone
just sent me this message: “Have you heard of this situation before?
where Firefox for Mac behaves
differently, depending on whether you have a PowerPC or a Core Duo
processor?”
What
is design? by Brian Soy
“Do you ever have difficulty explaining to others, let alone your
mother, what exactly it is that you do for a living, or what design actually
is?
It seems that when I try to explain design, I get hung
up somewhere between explaining the process, and giving a laundry list
of outcomes (e.g., brochure, logo, web site, etc.).”
DOM
Scripting: Web Design with JavaScript and the Document Object Model
by Jeremy Keith. Read the complete review!
_ _ _ _ _ _
Using the code 'netdiver' (cryptic, eh?) will knock 25%
off the price of the eBook.
Offer valid until July 31.
Simone
Zahradka incorporates
vivid and intricate tribal folksy like symbols and cartoonish characters
in some of her illustrations.
Be
ready to be sweeped off your chair! Joshua Smith aka Hydro74 is
an extraordinaire designer. What is really quite impressive apart from
the load of excellent illustrations,
is the sheer amount of fashion labels he's designed.
Nothing is spared - nothing is left untouched. He is either down to
the most minimal treatment or explosion of details.
SCRAPILE is
the collaborative work of designers Bart Bettencourt and Carlos Salgado.
Seeking to create a possitive environmental impact with their work, these
two have developed a unique method of collecting and repurposing discarded
scraps of wood from New York's woodworking industry.
Hats off guys! What a great initiative. Luv their work!
Superb
this website for NY based architecture company lead by Jonathan
Schloss. The firm commercial work is of grandiose proportions (Radio
City Music Hall), but hey, I'm partial to this residential project (Donwtown
loft) shown in the thumbnails.
“His work would be worth posting even if we would upload some
jpges to the server, but we have put a lot of effort to allow everyone
to enjoy every detail: hires photos, progressive download (see how the
low quality images are being enhanced), zooming, panning...”
_ _ _ _ _ _
ndle1:
Brought to you by Cookie, they make
the web taste good!
Based
on the popular game Tetris, Brave
Space issues modular shelving available both in units and stand alone
pieces.
Ain't that cool of what?
Would
not say that is the norm for a marketing company site, Phanfusion use
a dragging like device actionscript that moves around a semi-transparent
circle where the nav is located.
No exploration - no gain.
Christopher
Coleman combines substantial practical experience with abundant
imagination and energy. Just luv his takes on modern living spaces
mixing warm and cold textures and elements to neutral palettes with
refinement and originality.
Check out some of the furniture he's designed too.
Just
found a pearl! Check out The
Beast is Back! Home of an upcoming rising star Christopher Lee that
packs so much talent in many different media, it's enough to make me
almost jealous.
He's good at everything and ready to be hired! Big statement but true:
from print design and illustration, logotype and characters design and
even his photography is promising.
His newest production? The Boy Next Door.
Surprised! DeepCuts is
a wonderfully well designed corporate site of an interactive design studio.
What is striking? What imaginative use they make of the top left hand
cube. You've gotta see this.
From Indonesia with luv.
Another
cool toy shop, Atom Plastic stocks
a wide variety from minis to big size plush.
Bright
and sweet The Meek Shall illustration
portfolio. Don't miss the collabs section.
It
was bound to happen! Attack of the unidentified flying objects. If like
me you are nutz about stop motion animation and flash technology
montages, Amautalab won't disappoint
you.
Pick your scenery and experience pure mouseover joy! Small animations
lead to studio projects.
Astounding project!
Finally,
school's out! GLEIS3 is the graduation
exhibition of the mediadesign department of the BA Ravensburg. The website
uses a subway like navigation.
cool portfolio section that includes a head to feet picture of the grads.
_ _ _ _ _ _
ndle1:
Site designed by Philipp Reichle and Kai
Heuser.
The
MAD*L designer toy collection is available at Myplasticheart which
offer a bunch of other designers' merch too.
He's
been around for the longest time and his brand is well known (through Julius the
monkey). See what Paul Frank Industries has
been up to lately. Branching out in eyewear and timing.
As usual his collection of accessories * (eyewear, watches and pouches)
are quirky and original!
They've
been at if for a long-long time and they keep on surprising and impressing
me with their talent and the quality of their work.
Rocking powagirrrls Krister and Stella from Tree-Axis
Oh!
This is soooo cute! Benben is
into design, illustration and stuff. Talk about expanding the base of
your work and self-promoting! The website serves as a beautiful casing
and I luv the navigation system in the cadet cap!!!
Miss Kirsten
Ulve is
one of the sharpest lifestyle illustrator out there and right now,
I really think she's at the top of her game!
Her portfolio site was originally added five or six years ago and it
is wonderful to see how she has evolved.
The minituare vignettes are so incredibly well executed, you can almost
hear the chatter, ambient noise and what the characters are thinking.
Really? Well, that's how vivid her work is.
She draws and always sets up luscious stages where characters playout
in different life situations. She knows how to tell the story and she
does, in a kind of retro psychedelic minimal way.
Learn and be awed by her masterly use of colors, contrast (check the
pointy shoes) and minimal use of simple forms.
Through
happy, sad, and flu ridden times, the ACHOO table will always be by your
side. A table and a tissue box, two objects that have been paired many
a time before, have finally joined to become one extraordinary entity.
Produced by The Design Can.
Evolving:
another powagirrrl on the move! Luv the new work of Nerissa
Goco-Hoang! She branched into cool merch too.
Way to go!
Reminescent
of turn of the Century line art drawings, Diana
Huff stylish illustrations are
infused with modernity and are as lovely as elegant.
Her captions are written with humor and brio!
She's
got a cool little portfolio site and I like some her works simple and
original. Meet Sadee
A
cool indie project has just launched: Nobo
Magazyn by young designers from Wroclaw / Poland.
Check it out! View some spread and part of the process.
Limited edition of 1000! Support!
smscrew,
a french post rock / hip hop band (which is a descript beyond my knowledge)
has got a really cool little flash site.
I really like the mix of black & white vectors with fast constructing
/ deconstructing animations sprinkled with sharp angled colored spots.
Fast loading, have a look!
She
likes shoes and is definitely concerned with foody related issues. Vicky
Woodgate an
upcoming illustrator; someone to watch for.
Okidoki
this is probably the most minimalist site I ever visited! Simple and
effective. Zhang Shuo is
an illustrator who offers a shocking brightly tiled background and vignettes
of his work, which so happens to be overall, pretty good indeed. In my
view, exudes confidence in his talent.
It takes guts and a deep-set conviction that no words are necessary.
How so? Rewind, previous, next!
Pixartisan has
reloaded! New faces, words and art!
They
are sweet and in much demand Susie Ghahremani's illustrations.
Working under the boygirlparty banner,
as you will see she's good and succeeding at working for many different
clients and even has opened a small merch store.
Way to go!!! Welcome a new powagirrrl!
Look
at the new foundry I just found: Fontfarm!
cool fonts and very cool minimalist clean site. Luv the grid, the navigation
and rolling examples. It's always important to show your products within
context when possible, this way you save time for your potential customers.
That's what they do and well too.
Bright
and big visuals for 'I am' who
creates and deliver big ideas, powerful brands and compelling experiences.
Guess you can say they work hard at delivering the talk.
Well done sections with short definitions of services and funky content
placement boxes in bright yellow makes it an exciting website.
From
literally the chalkboard to this awesome post-modern ceiling lamp! Castor
Canadensis* which is an inter-disciplinary design studio, is all
out into environmentally safe product design and recycling parts to redesign
them into usable props!
From Canada with luv!
_ _ _ _ _ _
ndle1:
BTW their company name castor (beaver) canadensis* is the official canadian
emblem. Nice play on word here!
Eerie
and highly contrasted are the qualities of the photographic work of Branislav
Kropilak, an upcoming talent to watch for.
Rebirth
of Martin Laksman portfolio
which has evolved to include more than illustrations, although I think
character designs is probably one of his strongest skills.
His cool logo for Frontiere is quite beautiful.
From Argentina with luv!
Stereohype
releases their B.I.O.4!
Missed past issues? B.I.O.1 / B.I.O.2 / B.I.O.3 ready
to be visited!
This
is what they do from HOME (either
in the UK or US) is shoot commercial videos! Needless to say in this
instance, zillions moving images are better than words.
This
is a very extensive and sweet reel for Cakewalk kidz
fashion label which attempts to portray the charm of infancy and imaginative world
of our childhood.
The mix of detailed vector animations and photography are delicious
to look at and extremely well executed. Definitely a project that required
lots of deep-thinking to develop such an awesome storyboard.
_ _ _ _ _ _
Kudos to Synopsis Media team!
BTW luv the way they present their case studies via .pdf file which shows
the making of a project. That's probably one of the smartest strategy
to promote an agency's work I've seen online.
Check this one made for SIDEF and
this one for BEGA
Center. cool!
WOW!
Check this jewel! Pure eye candy and masterly organized.
How does Design and Image (who
owns an impressive collection of PEZ) present their portfolio? Well first
of all, not only have they completed across many different markets outstanding
projects, they thought it best to proceed by questions. That is questions,
from a potential client point of view! Genial!
Also they are showing off their creativity in the Staff section.
Luv it!
Well
Danny Teo wants change and has a message that echoes with all of us: “Fellow
designer...stay passionate for design...yeah!”
D3ZIN3 is a grungy, street smart and
explorative portfolio site. From Singapore with luv!
Ultra
minamalist is the direction Paul Paper chose to go for his photography
portfolio It Is My Party. Using
numbers is a good idea but then don't you have to remember which you've
looked at. Would have worked best if the visited links were
in a different shade for the session. One component that should always
be kept in mind is how will the user experience the website?
Even if the site is funkied up with alternative nav system these details
still count. To his credit, an alternative navigation is available.
Nouveau genre of in the moment photography!
Some are really good!
MAY
1st Reboot afterphase is
live! See which were the judges favorites as well as read their comments.
See who was picked as a winner in the public voted section*.
Kudos to all who participated! Tx Paul for maintaining the luv.
Missed it? Stay tuned for next year
Oh! Shane
Grammer put up quite an illustration portfolio! Gosh! From 3D to
paintings, all around fantastic attention to details! Luv the little
thumbnails and how well organized are the categories to browse like
themed environments, stage sets and more.
Thoroughly enjoyed, each thumbnail is accompanied with a description!
Wanna know how to do a great portoflio site? This is an excellent example.
You've gotta see this!
The
title ‘Design
Team of the Year 2006’ goes to Korea LG Corporate Design Center
- creator of a digital lifestyle!
“Via technology and design, LG has made the step from pursuer
to contender. All its activities and products focus on human needs in
the digital age.”
They
started their website as students and now relaunched as their own design
company: The Shadowhand Company.
Everywhere
We Shoot is not your average picture capturers. This crew is part
of the imminently trendy urban entertainment street fashion new warfare
style (which tries to impress visually as if they are catching it all
without too much planning in the shoots).
Evenso, you need talent and a sense of timing to seize and snap the
unravelling moment. They do it with brio.
_ _ _ _ _ _
ndle1:
They also have collaborated with one of the young rising star studio
in the Philippines: Inksurge who
are just getting better and beter! Keep it up Rex & Joyce!
Fussballhelden is
going on tour in Switzerland, Germany and East London. Check for cities
near you if you want to see this most unusual exhibit.
Wouldyoulikeawebsite or
getting the word out! Remember the days when sandwich men were hitting
the streets with all kinds of wares to announce? From fake to real, they
walked and challenged passersby to try their stuff from the
latest shoe shine to miracle cure syrup to the new deli around the corner!!!
Well it seems that a err... NYC firm just renewed with the value of
such direct encounter with a potential market. The concept has been completely
rejuvenated and fully equipped with the latest sleek digital paper!
Mesmerizing! Watching the movies and hapchance encounters and reactions
is so comical! We still have a long way to go!
I guess, you gotta do what you gotta do, right?
_ _ _ _ _ _
Created for Adobe Design center and produced by Freedom
Interactive
Ahh
the unwavering power of images! MediaStorm specializes
in photojournalistic new media projects. In this age of increased disconnect
between reality and the very real tragedies happening around us, I was
deeply moved by the tale of Arden and Warren.
Be inspired on how they became Friends
for Life.
-> more
news
^
