Letterforms in progress

I'm taking a class on letterforms with the amazingly awesome Tony Dispigna. This week, we had to make ligatures for at least 6 different sets of initials, so I did a bunch of sketching in my sketchbook before drawing out my final chosen forms. I showed Tony some of my sketches, and here's what he did to one of the pages:

In case you can't tell, he wrote "CRAP!" across the whole thing, then circled one and wrote "great!"...and then signed his "work of art." Amazing.

Anyway, here's what came out of this exercise—for now just a pencil sketch, but I'll put it into Illustrator soon:

Vanessa Bruno SS10

Here's a strangely beautiful video for Vanessa Bruno. I like the beginning part the best. Have you noticed designers seem to be making lots of videos to show their clothes lately?



(via Kitsune Noir)

Backspace

Backspace is a beautiful set of videos by Stephen Watkins.

Bag it up

Lately, I've had my eye on utilitarian looking bags that mix canvas and leather for an old-timey look. Some goodies I've come across:

Billykirk Steamer Bag

Porter Wacho Maria backpack
(Porter makes some really awesome bags in general, but I haven't been able to figure out where to buy them, as they're a Japanese company)

The Brothers Bray & Co. tote


Kimchi Blue bucket bag

Billykirk large carryall (I'd happily take this on my weekend trips)

Bobble

The Bobble is a reusable water bottle with a carbon filter. It's made of recycled plastic (not BPA) and is good for 300 refills. Smart.

The world is flat

I love maps, and I'm drooling over this one by You Me and the Royal We. It even comes with push pins—200 black ones to mark where you've been, 1 red one for "headquarters," and 1 blue one for "next target."



(via Unruly Things)

Clemens Kogler

You should stop what you're doing and watch Austrian artist Clemens Kogler's awesome videos. He uses lots of hand-crafted techniques and ends up with a look unlike most motion graphics I've seen before. Take a minute to visit his site and I swear you won't regret it.

Michele Angelo

Some nice work by Michele Angelo. I love the texture.

Untitled

Made me laugh.

(Mike Monteiro, Untitled, on 20x200)

Tunnelvision

I already expressed my love for this song here, but I just watched the video for Here We Go Magic's Tunnelvision for the first time. It was made with Super-8 film, nails, and paint, and I think it's the perfect match for the song. It's sort of a calming abstract visualization of the sounds in the song. Check it out—and of course, crank up the volume.

Neue York

Neue is an online magazine is centered around creating typographic representations of cities. The first city they've depicted is New York, and you can see the winning submissions on their site.

Do schools kill creativity?

Here's a great video about education and creativity from TED, one of my favorite resources.



(via In(side) the Loop)

Be good.

Chad Hagen on Overcoming Creative Block:

Staying creative is hard work. Honestly, I don’t think when I got into art school I was very talented at all. I struggled to stand out. I struggled to stay in school. Staying creative was hard work. BUT, the one thing that kept me focused was my desire to be good. I wanted to be really good. I wanted to be as good as those people that WERE talented. I used to think I would eventually, if I worked hard enough, master art like a math equation and then I could relax and just make great stuff and let everything else follow. That time definitely never came, and I know now I never want it to, because the most important thing that keeps me creative is my wanting to be good. So if I’m ever in a rut, the best things to get me out of them is to put myself in places that engage that desire to be good. In a general sense this means to get out and be expose to others creating. In my opinion, there is no better way to trigger your own creativity, than to see what great things others have made or are making. Going to museums, galleries, shows, etc. always inspires my mind in a way that make me want to get back into my own work and make good things. Be good.

(image by Chad Hagen)

Cuddle Class

New on Air New Zealand: Cuddle Class, on which customers can purchase 3 adjoining seats in Coach that create a couch-like cuddling area.

happy valentine's day.

Up, up, and away.

Cutest/cleverest baby announcement ever by unfolded.

No bull

How great is this letterpressed coffee packaging designed by Jeff Holmberg and printed by none other than Studio on Fire for Bull Run Roasting Company? Each label is rubber stamped and hole punched according to the variety. I heart Midwestern design.

Shelter from the storm...

For your viewing & listening pleasure in the midst of this storm...

I saw the sign...

Here are some more pictures from traveling of signs + words about town. Only five because my internet is being veryyy slow.

Empire state of mind.

Some random goodness seen around New York.

Wall art in Meatpacking District.

Type on trees.

Peely & colorful wall paint.

*ed. note: as you might be able to tell by the foliage, not all these pictures were necessarily taken recently.

The Optimist

While we're on the topic of wine bottles...check out this promotional piece for Siquis, a riff on "glass half empty/half full."

When someone tips the bottle to fill a glass, the "half full" side is face up, while the "half empty" side is face up as the bottle sits on the table. To top it off, the label was letterpressed and kiss cut at Studio on Fire.

Buddy up

Buddy Mulled Wine is clever packaging for a holiday greeting/gift.

Loneliness

Sometimes, the simplest solution is the best one.

Who Owns Student Work?

Here's an interesting article about who owns the rights to student work.

A playlist for you.

Some music for your week.

Romance

Just in time for Valentine's Day—an exhibition of British photographer Chris Craymer's sweet Romance photos.

Trask Gallery
(at The National Arts Club)
15 Gramercy Park South
New York, NY

Ghostly Swim

You can download a free album of assorted music from the label Ghostly International by clicking here.