Jeff Staple has been a longtime inspiration, with a huge catalog of impressive work ranging from graphic to product design for a full range of heavy hitters. Herman Miller's excellent Lifework Blog recently did a great interview, here's a small gem: "We don’t try and apply “our thing” to projects. Other creatives have a signature look and clients may want to buy into that look. But what happens when your look is not trending? That’s a scary thing. Clients call creative/design studios because they have a problem. We do what’s necessary to solve that problem. So I make sure to resolve the problem first and then if there’s room for expression, sure, we can add our flavor." Read it and learn kids.
Anyone who knows me knows that I have way too many sneakers for my own good and as a designer, I get super geeked out over packaging. So I was doubly pleased to see this re-working of the traditional shoe box by Puma that minimizes production steps and waste as well as eliminating the plastic bag while leaving the store.
Check out the Puma site for more info
I went up to Sugarbowl today to check out the annual Trains slopestyle contest put on by good friends of the EMC, High Fives Non-Profit Foundation. High Fives does great things to aid the recovery of injured athletes and I've had the pleasure of working with Roy and the rest of the High Fivers on quite a few projects over the last few months, including the poster for this event. It was a little overcast, and I wasn't really feeling like taking any photos, but it was a super fun vibe and well-run event. There were a ton of other photographers there, so I'll post a link to some shots as soon as they begin to surface. Trains is definitely a fun time, if you're in the neighborhood next year, you should check it out.
Here's a super fun and creative stop motion piece by Tiles Singer using magazine cutouts in makeshift scenes. It kind of reminds me of those fingerboards from years ago, but a lot cooler.
So, this is pretty nerdy, but like most guys my age, I had a ton of He-Man toys when I was a little kid... I loved that stuff. Gallery 1988 and Mattel recently held an exhibition with various artworks inspired by the Masters of the Universe series. You can check out the various pieces which run the full gamut of styles at ihavethepowerart.blogspot.com. Fun stuff.
I really like the series of tees done by legendary designer Seymour Chwast for Freshjive. (Or the brand formerly known as Freshjive...) Chwast's politically charged graphics are a perfect match for the Freshjive brand, and it's amazing how his iconic designs remain as relevant today as ever.
Here's another interactive magazine concept for the iPad from VIV magazine. While visually very cool, this doesn't seem like it takes advantage of the touch interface as much as Wired's vision and it would be tremendously difficult to generate a magazine worth of content like this on a monthly basis. And again... No Flash on the iPad, which this seems to rely heavily on.
With that said, it's awesome to to see magazines embracing the new technology and developing new ways to deliver content. I'm really excited about the widespread arrival of touch navigation and how it will impact design.
Had a truly epic day yesterday playing tag with my better half through the trees at Squaw Valley on a somewhat unexpected powder day. While there were a ton of people at the resort, we managed to find our own little zone in the trees and lapped fresh snow all day. Days like yesterday are why I live in the mountains.
I really like these new Diet Coke cans by illustrator Tom Gauld. It's always great to see large corporate bands opening things up a little bit and bringing playful elements into their packaging.
Alright, I know this video is all over the place, but I couldn't resist posting it here anyway. Also worth checking out is
New York Magazine's interview with OK Go frontman Damian Kulash on the making of the video.
