Design news | Feb 06
Welcome to the world of Kouzou where you find tiny thumbnails to move around (or sort) and upon a double-click, expand to reveal a swarm of illustration marvels.
Everything scaled into minuscule details which are as surprising as enchanting. Animals co-exist with humans in a kaleidoscopic mini-world.
No lack of imagination here. LUV it!
Rocketboom Nets $80,000 After eBay Auction by Mark Glaser
“When Andrew Baron decided to use eBay to sell the first ads on his popular video blog Rocketboom, he was worried that no one would bite. But bite they did...”
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ndlr: If you want to know how the disintermediatization saga ended? Well they sold two weeks of advertising so don't be fooled by the titled. Lastly, I don't particularly like or have any appreciation for the smugness and arrogance of their boasting video about the process.
Yepp another low has been reached. As if we needed that!
The Graphic Imperative is an exhibit that shows a select retrospective of forty years of international socio-political posters. Focusing on the issues of our turbulent times, these 121 posters endeavour to show the social, political and aesthetic concerns of many cultures in a single exhibition through delineating themes and contrasting political realities.
Shown an illustration originally created for a poster on the fear of nuclear war.
The Fog of Blogs. The psycho-social effects of blogging by Matt Milano
“Blogs create an important new dimension to new forms of community, a semi-continuous flow of thoughts and insights that certain people may like to see," he says. "How valuable that ultimately will be on the larger scale, I am just not sure.”
The year ahead by the Design Council
What will 2006 bring the world of design? DC asked some of the rising stars listed in Design Week's Top 50 for their Christmas wish list.
“What do you want to see designers (of any speciality) doing more of?
I would love to see more female designers, programmers and directors. Design is a boy hole and that's not good for a balanced approach or studio environment.”
Newly added starting points to talent and illustration inspiration.
/ Joshua Gorchov proficient in caricatural style illustrations
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/ Peter Hermann has an eclectic illustration assemblage that shows a steadfast hand for drawing.
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/ Arcade Fire splendid underground vignettes and interactions
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/ cubanhaze operates with a top hand in the fields of art direction
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/ glu-glu pesce cuscino e spilla! Now that's a wild and catchy idea!
SXSW Awards finalists released. Voice your opinion and cast a vote once daily for your favorite by clicking to People's Choice.
State of the Blogosphere, February 2006 Part 1: On Blogosphere Growth by Dave Sifry
“The blogosphere is doubling in size every 5 and a half months.
It is now over 60 times bigger than it was 3 years ago.
On average, a new weblog is created every second of every day.
13.7 million bloggers are still posting 3 months after their blogs are created.”
“Obsessive Consumption is repulsed and grossly fascinated by the branding of consumer culture.
Created by Kate Bingaman in 2002 to showcase her love / hate relationship with money, she decided that she was going to not only document all of her purchases, but to also create a brand out of the process to package and promote.”
Check the shows section for more to laugh / cry for.
Close the Gap was created as a public service advertising campaign intended to educate people on how ridiculous the gender bias is in corporate America.
Shutter like juxtaposition of male / female pictures based on stats % drive the point (to some disheartening stats) indeed!
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ndlr: created by Serve Marketing
Forget ad agencies. Rocketboom auctions ad to the highest bidder by Mark Glaser
“In the beginning, when the web first became popular, everyone talked about disintermediation, the idea that the Internet would help eliminate the middleman or intermediary...
Rocketboom is taking the ad-selling process out of the hands of ad salespeople, out of the domain of ad agencies and media buyers, and going directly to companies. Of course, ad agencies could bid on the eBay auction for a client, but why bother? If Rocketboom is doing the creative work, that leaves little for an agency to do.”
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RocketBoom h364 ads $11,700. 7 Days to Go by Ben Barren
“Interesting they have a clear floor price CPM (ie higher than $11 WOW - thats a nice monthly income for 2 people ie 4 X $15k = $60k X 12 months = $720K total annualised / $360K ea minus production costs ;), rather than a 100% let the market decide.”
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ndlr: Current bid on eBay is at US $14,999.99 and the reserve (a set in advance amount that must be exceeded and also be the highest bid) was not met. (as of Feb 2)
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ndlr: Current bid on eBay is at US $30,900.00 and the reserve is still not met!!! (on Feb 9 with 2 hours 27 mins left)
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via: Chas Porter
Recently updated or new new media and graphic design portfolios to discover. So much talent!
/ Addfueltothefire is home to Diogo Machado flamboyant urban illustrations
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/ Tokyocube takes a fresh approach to a lifestyle dedicated website.
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/ Materialab another dual head design studio ran by Fachini & Bovenga
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\ The Consult newly updated identity and new website!
The You and I Artist Collective (an international on-line art gallery that houses, promotes and brags about their over 300 amazing independent artists) is currently accepting new artists from all mediums.
What I'm really looking for? by Carole Guevin
Over the past 10 years I have literally visited over a hundred thousand sites... It may seem a lot. You know what? It's definitely nothing compared to what is out there.
Nonetheless, my level of expectations is high... very high. Follows some tips on how to prepare a strong portfolio.
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ndlr: From the archived articles Carole Guevin wrote to feed your mind!
BLUE 1st edition by Patrick McNeil
“The color blue is perhaps one of the safest colors to use for a web site. It can apply to nearly any subject simply because blue is one of the most well liked colors...”
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ndlr: More colors reviewed:
I.D. presents the year's best designs in the following categories: consumer products, graphics, packaging, environments, furniture, equipment, concepts and interactive.
MVRDV more innovation and concrete edge to the square foot!
Surprise!!! IKEA / DRÖMKÖK 2 extraordinaire redux! Again, marvel at the stupendous pictures, stage setups, unfolding storyboard with a simple left/right arrow navigation.
This new genre of virtuality, all flash based, makes you sneak in an inner / interior space online was introduced by F&B last October.
From Sweden with Luv!
You've gotta see this! MAP? Not a roadmap well perhaps... how about a roadmap to jaw dropping design? Some of their identity work and editorial layouts and vector elements are... mindblowing.
Their use of the visual real estate is masterfully allocated in all their projects be it print or web. Overexceedingly well executed easthetic elements are so manicured - it's almost too beautiful to be true.
And that, is not withstaking the interface design and navigation for their website. Pure eye candy! Actionscriptings that floats and panes around - although we've seen others with similar intent - theirs is pushed a couple of notches up with a fluid ascent and descent changeover.
I'm floored!
Fontkitchen has got a new stich! free font to download.
“On January 16, 2006, a group of artists from Montreal launched a new collective Web site. ekumen.com is a Web space dedicated to the broadcasting of creative and research work performed by artists working in the audio creation field.
They are active in the areas of design, video, installation and music but sound constitutes their main common point and is their main source of investigation.”
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ndlr: website content available in French & English
Ah! How much simpler can it get? Smart play on names and grade metaphor: don't we always wish for straight As? Excellent portfolio for the art directing firm Enric Aguilera Associates.
From Barcelona with luv!
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ndlr: via diseco.es
Request for help: Laura Weider is searching for an atelier in Berlin this week!! Extra bonus would be a huge studio near the water in a creative neighbourhood for cheap money.
Know something? Drop her a line!
The coolest flash website for the coolest shirts I have found on (skaen).
Oh! They've done it again: Solina release number 2 is awesome! Simply one of the best upcoming music band. Their arrangements are superb, original and her voice, unique! Support and encourage them.
From Spain with luv!
New identity and same great output for FL@33 a steady rising star in visual communication. From London with luv.
Although a bit complex to navigate, the concept can certainly be described as creative, but one that in my view, was not simplified enough. Even though a how to is provided, and not withstanding terrific photography - the multiple layer of screens are confusing to say the least.
Anyway have a look at DESIO which context metaphor is to use mini people doll like characters (play house?) as section pickers to navigate this real estate development project website.
Worth seeing!
Wired and wires? You know how these invade our space, get crazilly tangled up and impossibly impossible to tell which is which? Well Hotchoz has designed some cool and smart alternatives named Centfils. Innovative and good looking too.
Check these out.
Blurred borders sharpen the focus: adjusting to the new paradigm by Russell Kennedy
“Global networking, self-analysis and the renaming of graphic design are emerging as the major issues facing the practitioners and educators of our profession. A shrinking world - combined with the merging of creative discipline - encourages us to both redefine our profession and internationalise our approach to its education.
The question is, how do we promote a broad international focus, and at the same time protect and encourage cultural diversity?”
For once being a negative is a positive. Confused? This is the central message for an HIV testing advertising campaign Focus on the negative.
The concept is simple yet powerful: using the 'negative' sign / bar across 4 people faces and urging viewers to be smart and get tested. The data is dramatic, the treatment is humane.
BTW did you know that in the US 40,000 cases yearly, half of which are young adults under the age of 25!
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ndlr: Created by the Kohnke Hanneken agency. Luv the section where you need to assemble top and bottom facial features. Shown: Rick Kohnke and Dave Hanneken, reconstructed.
This playful feature (to present the team) shows how they care for people! Hats off!
Newly added portfolios websites to our galleries:
/ Warren Heise mutli faceted styles of illustration shown in a new minimalist website.
/ Jeff Ross jumps from writing to doing photography
/ AVOCADOLITE FARM breeding soft new species!
/ Candykiller drawing naughty / scary / 3D characters
Ajax: A New Approach to Web Applications by Jesse James Garrett
Ajax isn’t a technology. It’s really several technologies, each flourishing in its own right, coming together in powerful new ways. Ajax incorporates:
- * standards-based presentation using XHTML and CSS;
- * dynamic display and interaction using the Document Object Model;
- * data interchange and manipulation using XML and XSLT;
- * asynchronous data retrieval using XMLHttpRequest;
- * and JavaScript binding everything together.
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ndlr: You may want to read this article to get a hang of what is the next generation web (digression in progress). No fear, as usual, the author delivers an excellent vulgarized overview of the topic.
Web 3.0 by Jeffrey Zeldman
How to be a successful freelancer by Ryan Carson
“You could be the world’s greatest designer but if no one knows about it, you won’t make a penny. The best way to remedy this is to create a really good portfolio web site.”
“Nothing is impossible - it's just a liitle more expensive..” says BOB.
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ndlr: Ain't that a fab quote. Excellent reply to incremental or crazy after the deal is closed requests from fussy clients.
The Best of Eyetrack III: what we saw when we looked through their eyes by Steve Outing and Laura Ruel / 2004
“It is a preliminary study... it is NOT an exhaustive exploration that we can extrapolate to the larger population.
... Most people just look at the first couple of words -- and only read on if they are engaged by those words
... Their eyes typically scan lower portions of the page seeking something to grab their attention”
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ndlr: Fetch fundamentals and list of complementary articles; addendum worth reading to spark more insights:
Viewing Patterns for Homepages
Using Headline & Blurbs on News Homepages
Designs for Our Mock News Websites
Comparing Compact & Extended News Homepages
Navigation Placement on News Homepages
Article-Level Page Design: What Matters Inside?
Online Images: Faces, Size Attract
Recall of Information Presented in Text vs. Multimedia Format
Too cool! Have you, like me, been mesmerized by these intriguing designs? Check this out! ASCII Generator for graphics. You can copy & paste the graphic and use it e.g. as your mail signature.
Developed and brought to you by: Jörg Seyfferth!
POL OXYGEN MAGAZINE cover of the IMM COLOGNE 2006. Text blurb, photographs and links to featured design companies. The site will deliver new postings every day through the fair as well as a follow-up afterwards.
For all industrial / interior design fans.
Pour les mordus d'actionsripting, zoneflash!
A most unusual request. Mending (a collective design group) is looking for spare parts to fix this 30 year old lady bug!
Wow! Rogério Miranda is an extraordinary photographer! His portfolio is a top to bottom must see!
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ndlr: His website was developed by a no less talented additive media shop called Gas-Station who has a pretty nifty interface.
Nutz about pixel design? You bet Postertronic are! This micro design technique is - weither you have or not an appreciation for it - requires an impossibly high attention to details to render squares into curves and sometimes producing the most astonishing visuals.
This one won't disappoint - and hey - there are even animated ones.
First impressions count for web
“Internet users make up their minds about the quality of a website in the blink of an eye, a study shows.
Researchers found that the brain makes decisions in just a twentieth of a second of viewing a webpage.
They were surprised as they believed it would take at least 10 times longer to form an opinion.”
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via: Kevin Airgid
I've never seen something like 5a_f! Use the box with drawers as navigation and discover!
Inventive? Audacious? Will it succeed? Why not? Tom Judd is a 21 year illustration student who came up with the Once-A-Week (Art vs Advertising) project which attempts to boldly go down a path none to my knowledge has gone before.
Entering Week 2. Curious? Get the details on his website.
Grafitat is a short animation film by Eva Garces. The simple mix media collage storyline follows exquisitely the music and punch lines add appropriate drama and visual excitement on the mostly white canvas.
From Spain with LUV!
Wanna beta test this new product?
“Project Lightroom aims to get direct product feedback from the photography community, via our new Adobe Labs web site...”
DropSend is a new web application that makes it easy to send large files that are too big for email, and to store files on your own web hard drive. How about that you can even try it out!
New products destinations added to the galleries:
/ ASHBYDESIGN specializes in the music / entertainement industry projects. LUV it!
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/ BRAVO Factory is an illustration agency with a roster of blooming talents
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/ Belsienne distressed wearables like you never seen before!
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/ cubemen excellent print capabilities and 3D character design
Fresh and naughty montage from Grouek as a new 2006 best wishes!
