Design news | Nov 06
To the men and women who design, must see video! We need to rally the value of design at all costs. Like Michael Beirut said: “There is so much redesign going on, no wonder clients don't see its value... since if you remove (change) it, it does not leave a hole...”
Don't know which year it was filmed, well it does mention Technicolor... which is probably in the early 50's, since it's in 1952 that it stopped being used in Hollywood films.
If you're curious about this process, suggest your read the 'history' section
_______
via: via Plasticshore which has now become a blog.
While doing the research on Technicolor found the parent company Thomson and their corporate video.
On a side note, maybe someone could be bold enough to offer to bring their website up to par with the video... it would be phenomenal.
Listen to text while looking at the images... They know their stuff of images and beyond. Can you tell, I'm fascinated by the light ball!
What is luvable, huggable, stands 3" and can be carried everywhere and will be shipping sometimes in December? Treeson! The cutest figurine is built from recycled material too and designed by Crazy Label.
The taller version has a branch stemming from his heart and has to do with the friendship of its creators.
_______
ndlr: If you like designers' toys consult Vinyl Pulse or Toy Plastic for news about this fascinating industry.
cheekyDsn is the winner in the 2006 Personal category of the 2006 Pixel Awards.
I'm a huge fan of painting oversized canvas and Identity5 came up with delicious pop art to dress up an entry, studio or living wall. Joyous colors, forms and huge formats.
A must see!
You are probably familiar with the [ Mutabor HH ] agency that specializes in brand identity and editorial design. Listed for a number of years on netdiver, it is still going strong after all these years.
_______
They have published a couple of books and one of my fav is the Lingua Universalis: Global Wordless Understanding. In the same vein as Los Logos and Dos Logos, this little jewel is all about how to design great logos; examples are from their own client work and experiments.
Irrepressible.info is an Amnesty International campaign on Internet freedom.
_______
“I believe the Internet should be a force for political freedom, not repression. People have the right to seek and receive information and to express their peaceful beliefs online without fear or interference.
I call on governments to stop the unwarranted restriction of freedom of expression on the Internet – and on companies to stop helping them do it.”
Support & sign the pledge!
Color Theory by Janet Ford
“If you are involved in the creation or design of visual documents, an understanding of color will help when incorporating it into your own designs. Why some colors worked together while others did not always intrigued me and I found the study of color theory fascinating.”
_______
ndlr: Quick read and short articles with examples.
Mark Bannerman is an award winning illustrator and graphic artist who has worked professionally in London for over twelve years before recently returning to his native Scotland.
_______
via: Pixartisan
Update your bookmarks, i love colette has launched the dancing robots version of her site where you can find urban, fashion curiosities and if you happen to be in France, visit the gallery.
She curates up and coming artists since 1997.
Outstanding casts of photographers, stylists, hair & make-up artists, hair only and costume designer are available under T H E N A M E S A G E N C Y banner.
You have to see this fantastic video: 1 week of art works!
_______
via: the newly launched TORC acronym for Things of Random Coolness.
An absolutely gorgeous collection of fonts designed by Jack Usine aka SMeltery. Some are free to download too like the AUdimat v2.
Yummy!
From trendy to cutting-edge to wild and kitschy NOTCOT is a superbe assemblage of visual filtration of ideas + aesthetics + amusements.
Initiated and co-founded by super powagirrrl Jean Aw and Daniel Frysinger.
As I'm revisiting sites that were posted in the galleries without comments, perhaps you will agree with me that it is hard to keep in mind that Monoedge website was built back in 2001!!! If there were a Netdiver hall of fame directory, it would be there.
I do miss the days when pushing the envelope was the norm, not an extra item on a RFP as it is today.
Visit it with a new perspective and appreciation.
Web 2.0 Thinking Game by Jeffrey Zeldman.
Slickier than any I've seen! We know how real estate agents excels at putting a good show, but nothing - really - ever comes close to Corey Wecler!
Impeccable photography, thoroughly enjoyable properties section and description with really nice use of flash. Luv the fx of the type slowly scrolling up in the background.
Elegance!
Extra talented Qian Qian has redesigned his portfolio site and the redrawing bar code graphic on the index is in itself worth visiting.
Communicating With Pattern series: Circles and Dots + Stripes by Keith Stephenson and Mark Hampshire
_______
What an intringuing concept! With flying colors this serie of books published by Rotovision, will lead you down the path of history, cultural context and how and where some familiar forms related to circles, dots and stripes were used.
Easy reading, yet overflowing with tidbits that are opening up a different scope on some familiar items.
Well documented, proof of intense research, erudite detailling exposed and demonstrated with tons of relevant pictures and examples makes these two books a must have for future reference.
There is no discrimination as to the sources for constructing sharp and witty arguments: textiles, fashion, interiors, architecture, graphics, and product and industrial design... dizzying!
Truly the next time you will want to use these in your design, a newly found depth will spring up and get you thinking before applying.
As you know, I personally have used circles a lot in the past couple of years and it's rewarding to understand more what is behind my creative process.
I recommend them highly.
Joakim Oscarsson just received an industrial design award for an amazing new bus! Check it out!
OK we've seen avatars and beguiling nice looking people make their apparition on digital screens and throw a pitch some good and some really awful and we, well we get it: the slowly shoved down our throat homemade culture of a particular company.
Indigo 6 attempts making the concept at least somewhat believable: what they describe as first-class digital treatment... and applied it to themselves first!
If you're into pixel goodness you will appreciate rediscovering the / l i t t l e f a c t o r y which has been published since 2000.
Don't miss the 'Little OS' section.
Proof that when a good concept is put in place, it never ages! Good ideas are timeless.
They've been around for sometime now and their output is still high caliber, conceptually strong and extremely well executed design. That's why they're Superfamous.
Is retouching equal to fake???
I am awed and disgusted at the same time. Nothing to do with the power of Photoshop... we all know how that software is capable of supporting the most audacious photographic manipulations.
But it seems to me that when it comes to fashion and how being normal is now out of the question... even for the slender (skinny?) models that are challenged to portray beauty standards (sic), which btw, are all but unattainable for most of us... women.
Is the way to go to alter reality? I mean, have we got to a point that we are profoundly incapable of supporting the mere sight of imperfections?
I've been tinkering on trying to assess this new virtual border that is photography retouching for some time now. Nothing to do with the talent involved.. I guess, this newly found example, is the drop that pushes me over the edge.
So what is it that warrants these manipulations in the first place? How and when and why was this new ipso facto established? Why do we have to see this way anyway???
Could it be that since in our day and age we don't butcher or harvest the food we eat, that we buy our food from marketing oriented nicely packaged rows and sterilized cellophaned kept counters... as an example, are we more and more, pushed and steered to distance and remote ourselves from what is real?
Is it because we enhance and correct weak lighting, level colors, sharpen or blur or clone in new perspectives to enhance the background and subject that we are warranting alll kinds of fake model photography?
The debate is certainly wide open! What do you make of this?
_______
ndlr: Mau let me in on the Dove - Evolution Commercial which is a campaign by Dove and Ogilvy with videos/ads demonstrating the same issue of retouching and how girls are trying to match beautifulness.
Jerome Lagarrigue just completed his residency at la Villa Medici and an exhibit followed. Discover an amazing plastician who sees landscapes in faces...
His palette of choice is rich and subtle and his brush strokes and control on multiple textures and light effects are as beautiful as striking.
Marimekko is a leading Finnish textile and clothing design company that was established in 1951. The company designs, manufactures and markets high-quality clothing, interior decoration textiles, bags and other accessories.
Maija Isola designed her first fabrics for Printex. She continued to design for Marimekko until 1987. Isola was an important reformer and forerunner in the design of printed fabrics.
Introducing a new generation of flash sites: well organized and lots of negative space; high res pictures but not overcrowding; easy enough navigation and making for a good shopping experience... almost like those minimalist boutiques.
You've gotta see Shop Composition!
Michael Bartalos sweet cubic like illustrations and installations are fresh, zesty and delicious.
Inventive, bizarre, weird and funny applications atelier v. have developed from everyday objects found around home and turned them, into usefull even if somewhat wacky props.
You've gotta see this!
Silja Goetz combines line art and collage forms to create very interesting illustrations.
Byandreas is the new domain of lindkvist where you can find multiple apps of his cutie characters. Shown the 'suspenders'.
Absolutely jaw dropping photography by SHU AKASHI who masters the art of product composition in almost a myriad of different markets.
Lovepics is a portfolio site built with an interface that looks like an online mag and in fact, Mira is publishing one and if you wish, contact her to contribute to the second issue!
Saluting much talent from Italy.
Authentic Jobs is a targeted destination for standards-aware designers and developers and the companies seeking to hire them.
The Little Girl Giant woke up in her deckchair at Horseguards Parade after another good nights sleep, took a shower from the Sultans Elephant, got dressed, and wandered off for a play in St James' Park.
Royal de Luxe is a French mechanical marionette street theatre company. They were founded in 1979 by Jean Luc Courcoult.
Incredible!
Stunning non-linear approach for a graphic design portfolio by Gregory Durrell. He chose small thematic sections where he affirms very strong opinions / personal values and projects he completed, confirm, illustrate and support these statements.
LUV it!
Marleen Noordergraaf has got an eye for capturing human expression and her portraits are ample proof!
Gorgeous, brillant and classy is design work of june kim. Her portfolio was listed a numbers of years back... and see for yourself how far she has gone.
Prestigious clients and likewise projects. Not that names are that important. What is important are the reasons why you get chosen to do the work.. and in this case, self-evident: talent, lots and lots of talent!
One of the most creative designer has relaunched a stunning new version of his site. Listed in the shortlist of BOTY 04 (Best of the Year), Jonathan Yuen reinvents in a new inkblot like version.
Must see!
Less Rain London is looking for an experienced Flash developer. You should have been working a minimum of three years in Flash front-end programming, have an eye for animation and detail, and a feel for good interaction design and usability.
Send links to online portfolios with relevant examples to jobs@lessrain.com. Please include personal, artistic works, we prefer to see your favourite projects, not your biggest brand names.
Gary Taxali has been listed on netdiver for a long time and is part of the unsong heroes, portfolios that were added to the directories without appearing on the what's new.
In order to set things right, please discover the strange world of his where characters inhabit his fertile imagination. Luv his colors and often times, blunt and in your face designs.
His style is early toons and somewhat fiftyish!
How specialization limited the web by Molly E. Holzschlag
“When the Web was new, skill integration was the only way you could survive as a designer. The trend toward specialization has been a tough transition for those of us who successfully handlrd many skills in the early days. Many of us have scrambled to decide on a specialty, only to find that it isn't necessarily a good fit.”
Introducing Firefox 2! The best browser ever!
Some goes nutz for cars and Tom Hale illustrates them in the most extraordinary way! His technique is like liquid art because the colors are so fluid.
Have a look!
What is nicely wrapped and nicely designed? Has myriad of possibilities and makes for nice eye catching objects?
Announcing the launch of Stickylou, a place to find the best stickers made by famous around the globe designers, street artists and grafitti artists.
What a great idea and initiative this is! Jon Meyer is part of Remediality, Manhattan-based New Media Theory Reading Group.
What is it? As they say: “Maybe you've been reading too much New Media theory. Why not join us in debunking the myths, questioning the critics, and having fun.”
Can't make it and participate, check the list of read / discussed papers and be refreshed! Perhaps even start your own!
How Good is Good? by Stefan Sagmeister
“One of the many things I learned in my year without clients, a year I had put aside for experiments only, was that I’d like a part of my studio to move from creating cool things to significant things.”
_______
ndlr: In earnest, that is my current preoccupation (although article dates back in 2002), from fluff to substance is a hard introspection to seek in order to (re)define of our role as designers.
The only way to make your dreams come true, is to do them. That may be an oversimplified statement, but when one sets its heart to do something... well something is bound to happen.
Stemming from such, SUKCESS launched its own label!
cool site too!
An interview with Sam Buxton not to be missed!
“From the MIKRO series of fold-up sculptures to his electroluminesent tables and clocks, the work of the British product designer Sam Buxton is dominated by his experiments with advanced materials and technologies.”
You've gotta see G-Boogie little flash intro filled with fluid fonts and beautiful vector illustrations. Smooth and slick!
Nice corporate website for graustich. A bit of a complex navigation though.
Giants can rock too you know!!! Yepp they are bigger than anyone, have voracious appetite for anything they can put their hands on, sometimes clumsier than a toddler learning to walk or more arrogant than ten nation states, if not downright evil...
But a few others like Mohawk Fine Papers have decided to keep up. Check their revamped image and website (used to be Mohawk Paper Mills)! Gheez...
Luv the concept of the sliding cards that holds same navigation without piling 100% over the last card and the jazzied up rotating effects as well!
But what I found to be really impressive is the fact that they use windpower for up to 38% of their electricity requirement and have an environmental plan in place.
Now that's truly remarkable!!!
They've been in active in the field for a long time and their evolution is simply stunning. Factor Design is a powerhouse for design, branding and have a truly beautiful website.
Now this is what I called web design! Simple, lots of visuals that don't overwhelm but draws you into visiting each of the projects, just enough copy. A really good portfolio site. After visiting you're convinced: they know what they're talking about.
More power to them and long live!
Staged or spontaneous, photography suspends time, objects and subjects. Good photographers make it look easy.
Tommaso Mei is no exception.
YO CLAS! is a portfolio site for motion, illustration and design specializing in entertainment mostly, assignments.
Always been fascinating, how someone can put so much imagination in building icons. If you're interested in a collection of desktop icons, have a look at Most Usable & Most Original Icons - Top 10.
My fav by far is the Rounder - I like the level of challenge and details into rendering familiar symbols.
Luscious and delicious, aren't they cute?
The breakdown of modern web design! No comments necessary - careful coarse language!!!
Olaf Hajek is into a painterly style that often depict crowded over spaces or sometimes, which I prefer, completely minimalist.
Overall is work is strong and bold and yet, can be very detailed and refined.
Another litteral translation! The sheet of paper folding as an airplane has been used and used... but Capital Corporate has decided that an origami based approach would exemplify best who they are.
What does it indicate? They master the art of folding intricated forms. If you don't know the right moves, the paper sheet will turn into everything but... more likely as a non-descript crumpled ball of paper (which in fact they use, to talk about failure). Interesting metaphor.
So qualities inferred would be imagination and skill that can fold, shape, bend and bring to life complex information or mandates.
Luv the little floating pulleys system and the folding animations!
Miuro, the music robot... is a wireless widget that has enough sensors to literally make you fall off your chair!
“Equipped with a camera and sensor, the owner sends a call to the Miuro using a wireless remote, which the robot responds to by locating the owner neatly avoiding obstacles, then cleverly positions itself at an optimum listening distance where it grooves around rolling and pivoting to the tunes.”
_______
via: Tokyocube
Mom knows best is a conceptual approach that conveys many qualities that are, if you think of it, not such a stretch for a design studio: nurturing, dedicated, involved, strong, experienced and last but not least, loving (you) through thick and thin.
StudioMOM is a product and furniture design studio that seems to have taken this concept as their core definition and I admire their guts, because it will generate a much higher level of expections from clients!
From Netherlands with luv!
5oup an online community for students relaunches new site!
+DESIGN is a new Icograda program that collects inspiring design solutions. It's about leading creatively and celebrating creative problem solving that makes a difference.
Icograda is inviting submissions that showcase unique design solutions to complex communications challenges.
Since I'm 14 have had but one dress code.. which has become my day in and out uniform: jeans and tees. Apart from the explosion of available designers' tees - I don' t have much care for fashion trends... well I do like shoes but not anykind, those that will fit well with... jeans.
I just hapchanced on InstantKarma fashion design by Francisca Huessar and I must revisit my assumptions. What struck me is that... some of the models have flesh and are not a pack of emaciated bones.
The second thing, is that she takes chances, meaning she utterly jumps over the boundaries to explore how fabric, shape and cut should become wearable garments.
She is a true visionary!
_______
ndlr: Her site was designed by dCTRL who has been listed on netdiver since almost the onset of the magazine.
“You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.”
- Winston Churchill
Oh! I've never seen something quite like this! Fernando and Campana aka Campanabrothers are furniture designers, well... ones that have an imagination on warp and the guts to explore and stretch the very notion of what furniture is about and can be.
On top, the website is a pure visual delight. Each project loading section displays an unexpected sequence. Each section is a work of art and seems to always expand on the concept of each pieces of furniture by intertwining mix media collages, illustration and animation.
Wow the collaboration has given day to one of the most creative site I've seen to date. The symbiosis between the furniture makers and their (web site) designer is flawless. Everything seems to stem from the same mind and soul.
This one is about celebrating the value of creativity, audacity, complexicity, complicity and ultimately, delivery.
_______
ndlr: Designed by incredibly talented Mariana Bukvic who went on to receive multiple prestigious awards listing for this project.
This strange world is filled with doodle like creatures and characters that may look all the same to the unexercised eye. Look closer into MDRL, home and playground of talented Derrick Hodgson.
Just luv her style, Kate Miller a prolific illustrator with a stunning array of projects in her portfolio with a strong preference in her palette for all shades of tangy ochers, shades of vibrant or muted blue and reds.
Josh Cochran illustrations are reminescent of ink, cartoonistic lineart laced with an ample dose of 70s pop-art poster style.
