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 Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Noted Design Firm Closes Shop
If you paid ANY attention to the design annuals in the 1990s, you couldn't miss the work of Des Moines, IA-based Sayles Graphic Design. John Sayles' graphic, bold, stylistic work garnered much attention throughout that decade and well into this one. His business partner, Sheree, was a frequent source for HOW on marketing and biz-dev topics, and both of them made more than one appearance at the HOW Design Conference. Our June 2007 issue featured an article about John's extensive collection of enamelware and Sheree's collection of vintage cosmetic compacts.
After nearly 25 years running their studio, the two have shuttered Sayles Graphic Design. They've both found other, more meaningful callings.
Just last week, Sheree shared her impressions of the emotional and business aspects of their decision. Read about the closing of this noted design studio.
John Sayles at his drawing board in the early 1990s:
John and Sheree at the firm's 20th anniversary celebration
in January 2005:
Posted by Bryn
Designers | Industry News
Tuesday, November 17, 2009 3:39:36 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00) 
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Tuesday, November 10, 2009
What a Jerk (Not)
Brooklyn designer, music buff and School of Visual Arts grad Dan Cassaro runs a gig he calls Young Jerks. Check out his design portfolio here. And catch his blog here. I'm particularly fond of this typographic poster that shares a recipe for his grandma's pasta sauce. It'd look great framed in a kitchen.
via GrainEdit
Posted by Bryn
Design School | Designers | Typography
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 5:59:31 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, November 09, 2009
A Designer We Love
Count us as huge fans of the lovely and talented Debbie Millman. And certainly not just because we've published her latest book, "Look Both Ways." She's a tireless advocate for design and designers ... and just a super nice person, to boot. Turns out we're not alone in our fandom ... New York Magazine touts her book (part graphic memoir, part brand bible) in this week's Approval Matrix.
Posted by Bryn
Designers | HOW Books
Monday, November 09, 2009 6:31:31 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, October 30, 2009 Wednesday, October 28, 2009 Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Dutch Design
I'm enchanted by the work of Dutch designer Christian Borstlap, particularly the stamps he designed for the Netherlands that benefit children. Click on "Stripes for Stamps" to see these illustrations animated.
 via Kitsune Noir Posted by Megan
Designers
Tuesday, October 27, 2009 12:01:46 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, October 15, 2009
Inspirational Posters
The most recent in a series of inspirational posers about the creative process by Frank Chimero, "The More You Say" says a lot in a few words.
via Share Some CandyPosted by Megan
Designers | Typography
Thursday, October 15, 2009 4:38:54 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Ad Collage
Linda Nakanishi is a graphic/web designer, a part time web design teacher at Humber College in Toronto, Canada, and a lifelong crafter. She recently decided to use the paper ads in old issues of HOW for her Upcycle Collage Project.
I enjoy reading this magazine and often keep the issues for references.
And one thing I noticed in every issue were these great paper company
ads showcasing some great paper finishes, laser cutting and vivid
images. But at the end of the day they were still advertising, so I
thought since they are not an integral part of being a reference, I
thought I’d give the paper ads a new life in my collage project. My
rule is to only use the paper ads, seeing as they are the only ads that
are two sided and do not have articles on the backside.
 Posted by Megan
Designers | HOW Magazine
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 1:36:58 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, October 12, 2009
Marshmallow Goodness
I saw the most adorable bag of marshmallows at Whole Foods yesterday and almost bought it simply because of the cute characters on the package, which I'm pretty sure are these guys, created by designer Yael Miller for Elyon Marshmallows.
 Posted by Megan
Designers
Monday, October 12, 2009 4:20:49 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, October 02, 2009
Luscious Logos
Kitsune Noir posted about the logo designs of a mysterious Flickr user called Super Furry this morning. These things are seriously gorgeous and I had to know who was behind the work, so I googled around, found an email address and sent off a message.
Turns out, all the work was created by an Austin, TX-based designer named
Simon Walker. I asked Simon to tell me a little bit more about himself and here's what he said:
I work in the design group at GSD&M in Austin, Texas. I do freelance from time to time, but try (mostly unsuccessfully) to keep it to a minimum. I can be reached at 4thebetterdays@gmail.com for work.
Went to the University of North Texas for communication design:
graduated in the fall of 1999. Worked at 2 agencies in Dallas before moving to Austin to work at GSD&M in 2002. Been there ever since, except for one brief stint at a small agency in San Antonio for a year (which was actually responsible for most of the logos you may have seen).
Thanks again for the compliments - I have no true idea how I developed my style. I've always been obssessed with letters, starting with graffiti as a kid in England (I moved to the States in 88). Got into calligraphy for a bit, then discovered graphic design in 96. I like to keep my style clean and precise - even when it's roughened in any way, it's very deliberate. Every notch and scratch is accounted for. Maybe I'm OCD. A lot of designers are, I think.
I love logos for the challenge: there's sometimes nothing more
intimidating than a blank screen or a blank sheet of paper in the
first stages of logo development, but the minute you nail the concept is a sweet moment. Then you get to execute it, play around with style, and that's the fun part.
My main inspiration, otherwise, has been T-shirt art. I love T-shirt illustrations - they're almost like logos in a way, telling a story or
communicating a feeling in one brief encounter on the street or at the store. I've been inspired by more illustrators and designers involved in T-shirt design around the world than nearly anyone else.
Thanks for sharing more about yourself, Simon. Be sure to check out his collection of logos on Flickr.
 Posted by Megan
Designers
Friday, October 02, 2009 6:14:18 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Selling the Invsible
Fast Company offers an interesting case study about how design/branding firm Addis Creson is working with Better Place to brand their infrastructure plan that would make electric vehicles more accessible for consumers.
Better Place doesn't offer a new product or technology when it
comes to transportation, it merely unites many of the solutions that
already exist, bringing them together a smarter, more efficient way.
That was the challenge in and of itself, says John Creson, whose
Berkeley, California-based firm Addis Creson,
along with PR company Hill & Knowlton, was responsible for
branding the system and translating its benefits to consumers. In
essence, they were entrusted with helping to envision a post-petroleum
future for drivers who wanted to make better choices.
 Posted by Megan
Designers | Thought Provoking
Wednesday, September 30, 2009 2:38:05 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Delicious Design League
Chicago-based Delicious Design League screenprints posters for lots of bands. They also do their own art prints, including this one called Night of the Dead that would be perfect for Halloween.
 Posted by Megan
Designers
Tuesday, September 29, 2009 3:30:45 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, September 24, 2009 Monday, September 14, 2009
Pants!
Colle + McVoy just launched a funny new fall campaign for Caribou Coffee. The campaign stars a wisecracking pumpkin and dimwitted gourd and features “The Autumn Adventures of Jack & Gourdo” in a series of online videos, in-store signage and point-of-purchase elements. All elements highlight special features of seasonal menu offerings through funny and often irreverent conversations between Jack (the pumpkin) and Gourdo (the gourd).
Components include five spots of varying lengths breaking today on Caribou Coffee’s YouTube channel. Colle+McVoy collaborated with Minneapolis-based Puny Entertainment, the animation team behind the hit Nickelodeon show Yo Gabba Gabba!, to develop the video animation. Posted by Megan
Designers
Monday, September 14, 2009 2:36:47 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Pentagram Is Down With Guitar Hero?!
Michael Bierut totally rocked the new Guitar Hero identity, which includes a custom typeface.
After considering changes that ranged from imperceptible to
unrecognizable, Pentagram redrew the original Guitar Hero logotype,
adjusting some of its more aggressively odd features to enable accurate
reproduction at a variety of scales and in media from digital
animations to temporary (or permanent) tattoos. In addition, the new
logotype serves as a basis of an extendable system, unifying the
presentation of Guitar Hero, Band Hero, and DJ Hero in a consistent
brand architecture.
Project Team: Michael Bierut, partner-in-charge; Joe Marianek, designer. Hero font designed by Kai Salmela.Posted by Megan
Designers | Typography
Wednesday, September 02, 2009 8:29:43 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, August 31, 2009 Monday, August 24, 2009 Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Brooklyn Fare
Mucca Design is known for its masterful use of type. Their latest creation, the identity for a full-service, gourmet market in Brooklyn, is no exception.
Brooklyn Fare required a comprehensive identity system to communicate the store's diverse offerings. The identity expresses the market's high standard of service and quality, and its commitment to serving the local community. The brand is simple: Four colors, one custom typeface, and lots of witty and original copy. Used as large fields, the four colors create visual resting places in an otherwise bustling store.
via Share Some Candy
Designers
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 12:54:39 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Design Crush 2
Currently rocking a major design crush on Brooklyn-based Steph Walker.
Steph is a designer, artist and old English minor whose main inspiration comes from science, math, nature, and simple machines. She enjoys working on a variety of conceptual design and illustration projects as well as creating her own zines and apparel. While figuring out puzzles of any kind is her pastime, she hopes someday to be part scientist and astronomer.
 Posted by Megan
Designers
Tuesday, August 18, 2009 2:00:25 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Mmm, Beer
When it comes to beer, I can usually take it or leave it, but I want to fill my fridge with these retro-cool bottles designed by Minneapolis-based Luke Oeth for North Peak Beer, a Michigan-based microbrewery.
 Posted by Megan
Designers
Wednesday, August 12, 2009 4:30:01 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, August 07, 2009
A Cool Zine by Jolby
Check out a preview of this zine by Josh Kenyon and Colby Nichols, the "designers, illustrators, cutters, staplers, sellers of the zine," Colby says.
Josh and Colby have a design/illustration studio called Jolby in Portland, OR. If you're in the area tonight, it's their opening reception of a zine
release and screen print show called "&1: Everyday Shenanigans."
You also can check out Jolby online (both the zine and the rest of the artwork will be online next week).
 Posted by Jessie
Designers | Events | Illustration
Friday, August 07, 2009 3:18:14 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, July 28, 2009 Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Delectible Design
Yael Miller of Lakewood, NJ-based Miller Creative designed this delicious label for The Painted Pretzel, which was letterpress printed by Studio on Fire.
Posted by Megan
Designers
Tuesday, July 21, 2009 1:45:15 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Logo Motion
Designer Ty Mattson recently completed a logo design for Mottsy – an innovative, online
printing company. The client was really interested in the creative
process and asked him to record his computer screen during the development of the
logo. This time-lapsed movie is the result.Mottsy Logo Design from Mattson Creative on Vimeo. Posted by Megan
Designers
Tuesday, July 21, 2009 1:32:37 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, July 20, 2009
Ink Calendar
This is such a cool idea that plays with ink and paper in a lovely, low-tech way.
Spanish designer Oscar Diaz has designed a calendar that uses the capillary action of ink spreading across paper to display the date. Each month, a bottle of colored ink spreads across a sheet of paper embossed with numbers, coloring them in as it goes.
via Boing Boing
Posted by Megan
Designers
Monday, July 20, 2009 1:35:48 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, July 16, 2009
Designer Digs
Legendary publication designer Roger Black offers a peek inside his vacation home, a series of shipping containers arranged in a stark landscape in West Texas.
“I don’t like the Hamptons because you hear the same gossip and have
the same conversations as in New York,” said Roger Black, 60, squinting
into the midday sun at Cinco Camp, his West Texas vacation home made of
recycled shipping containers. “The whole reason of a weekend place is
to get away.”
More images here.
via NYTimes.com
Posted by Bryn
Designers
Thursday, July 16, 2009 6:19:53 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Logo Evolution
Designer Ty Mattson just launched a new website and blog for Mattson Creative. On the blog, there's a great post about how he developed the logo for Pocono Modern, a home builder.
Like every project, I begin by sketching concepts. This process is very
freeform. The drawings are quick and loose, and all over the page. I
try to generate a lot of ideas quickly, exploring as many different
visual concepts as I can. I will play with shapes and forms in multiple
configurations until something interesting takes place, or another idea
emerges. It’s a difficult process to describe, but I think this may be
my favorite part of logo development. 
 Posted by Megan
Designers
Thursday, July 16, 2009 1:06:46 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, July 14, 2009
In Progress
Designer Jarred Elrod just posted a logo in progress on his blog (which usually concentrates on great poster design). He's creating the logo for two friends who are starting a photography partnership. I'm drawn to the second iteration, which positions the two D heads forehead to forehead in a way that says, "two heads are better than one."
 Posted by Megan
Designers
Tuesday, July 14, 2009 6:32:27 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, July 10, 2009
Wearable Poster
How do you promote a textile museum? With a poster that doubles as a scarf, of course. This clever project was created by Barcelona-based LaGasulla.
We were commissioned by The Textile and Clothing Museum to
communicate the fact they were temporary closing the museum to restore the building and redesign the exhibition layout.
The
"museum changes" is the concept. The word muda in Catalan and
Spanish has a double meaning of changing and being nicely dressed. The
concept mudar communicates the changes ahead for the museum, all explained in a
great format, a scarf: A scarf you can wear. A scarf that is a poster. A scarf to dress great and stayed informed.
via The Donut ProjectPosted by Megan
Designers
Friday, July 10, 2009 3:55:38 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, July 02, 2009 Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Wild It Up
Design firm Colle + Mcvoy just launched a cool new Facebook application for Caribou Coffee called “Wild It Up!.” Facebook users can “wild up” any photo by adding special icons from a library of nearly 50 images (think tattoos, animals, facial hair, carefully placed fig leaves, etc). The application promotes the new line of Wild Cooler drinks that Caribou launched this summer. As part of the promotion, users can bring a print out of their “wild up” photo to any Caribou Coffee for a free Wild Cooler drink (for a limited time).
I think I accidentally made my dog a member of Village People : )
 Posted by Megan
Designers | Just for Fun
Wednesday, July 01, 2009 6:36:59 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, June 29, 2009
Logo Motion
Atlanta-based brand identity firm Matchstic created a video that shows all the iterations of their logo project for the Tabernacle, a super cool music venue that used to be a church.
Matchstic partnered with the Tabernacle to create an identity
concept that embraced both the history of the building, a 1920’s
Baptist church, and the religion of rock and roll.
By
combining these elements, the new logo and web site featured the look
and feel of a stained glass church with the unique attributes infused
by live music combined.
The Tabernacle Tale from matchstic on Vimeo. Posted by Megan
Designers
Monday, June 29, 2009 2:40:53 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, June 22, 2009
Logo Lust
This rad logo for a fictional design organization is the product of a hearty layer tennis match between Aaron Draplin and Chris Glass.
via NotCot
Posted by Megan
Designers | Just for Fun
Monday, June 22, 2009 2:46:00 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, June 18, 2009
Designerd
Brazilian designer and illustrator Pablo Lobo freely admits he's a designerd. How about you?
via Grain EditPosted by Megan
Designers | Illustration
Thursday, June 18, 2009 3:58:19 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Alphabeasties
I'm looking forward to Alphabeasties, a new children's book from Chronicle that's illustrated with animals made out of letters.
From an alligator made of aaa's to a zebra made of zzz's, the
alphabeasties in this book are ingeniously built out of multiple
typefaces. Adults and children will be engaged and delighted with the
flaps, which lift to reveal "beasties" for each letter of the alphabet.
Sharon Werner and Sarah Forss are
graphic designers at the two-person design studio Werner Design Werks,
Inc. in St
Paul, Minnesota, which has garnered many graphic design awards, as well
as a place in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress,
Musée De La Poste, Victoria and Albert Museum, Musée des Arts
Decoratifs, and the Cooper Hewitt Museum.
via Notcot.orgPosted by Megan
Designers | Typography
Tuesday, June 16, 2009 4:18:10 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, June 12, 2009 Thursday, June 11, 2009
Tantoo
Janine Rewell is a freelance graphic designer and illustrator from Helsinki, Finland who pushes the idea of what graphic design means with this project called Tan the Man. Vinyl stickers + tanning bed = cool temporary tattoo.
via OK Great
Posted by Megan
Designers | Just for Fun
Thursday, June 11, 2009 3:34:22 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, June 05, 2009
Sniper Vs. Shotgun
To explain their design process, Atlanta-based Matchstic recently created a PDF showing the difference between a shotgun and sniper approach to branding. The basic differences are:
The Shotgun:
• SHOT QUICKLY WITHOUT MUCH PLANNING
• RELEASES WIDE SPREAD OF PELLETS, HOPING FOR A HIT
• THE LEARNING CURVE IS LOW, EASY TO START SHOOTING
• THERE CAN BE COLLATERAL DAMAGE
• PRODUCES SOME SUCCESS, SOME OF THE TIME
The Sniper:
• MUCH TIME SPENT PLANNING AND SETTING UP THE SHOT
• TAKES ONE SHOT TO HIT THE TARGET
• THE LEARNING CURVE IS HIGH, REQUIRES PRACTICE
• THERE IS A LOW RANGE OF ERROR
• VERY FEW PEOPLE BECOME SNIPERS
Which do you think is more effective?
 Posted by Megan
Designers
Friday, June 05, 2009 2:18:25 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, June 04, 2009
Furniture Font
Cody Haltom, an Austin-based designer, worked on this funky furniture font when he was employed at The Butler Bros., a design and advertising firm. Now, he has an office at Public School, a collective environment housing many
other talented creatives.
via Neatorama
Posted by Megan
Designers | Typography
Thursday, June 04, 2009 2:09:50 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, May 29, 2009
Nontraditional Wedding Invites
Designer and illustrator Anna Bond creates amazing, unusual wedding invitations featuring her hand lettering and adorable illustrations.
 Posted by Megan
Designers | Illustration
Friday, May 29, 2009 4:05:45 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, May 28, 2009
HOW Nice!
Friend of HOW Melissa Morris Ivone and her OperationNICE blog were featured in a splashy NYTimes article on Sunday about the trend toward, well, nice. Read the article here. We say, it couldn't have happened to a nicer person.
Designers
Thursday, May 28, 2009 9:20:10 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Signs Of The Times
Queens, NY-based designer Cardon Webb roamed around his neighborhood finding ugly handmade signs. Instead of just tossing them out to protect our type sensibilities, he redesigned them into fabulous eye-catching posters.
via designworklife
Posted by Megan
Designers
Tuesday, May 26, 2009 2:05:43 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Touching Project
FOH Steve Hartman let us know today of a collaborative project that teamed Justin Ahrens, Donovan Beery, Nate Voss, Christine Taylor and Steve himself. The group descended on Omaha, home of Beery and Voss's Reflex Blue design podcast, for a weekend of design. They created this letterpress poster as a fundraiser for Life in Abundance, a nonprofit that helps empower Africa's poor. (Dig the blind emboss, which reads, "Touch. One touch creates a lasting imprint of an abundance of lives.") More info on the project on Steve's blog; you can buy a poster and support the cause here.
Designers
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 4:18:09 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Delicious Design
Last night, Korn Design, a brand strategy and design firm with offices in Boston and New York, won the 2009 James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Restaurant Graphics for its branding campaign for The Corner Office Restaurant + Martini Bar in Denver, Colorado. Korn Design’s spirited branding for The Corner Office plays off the juxtaposition of work and play. The brand experience entices guests, offering everything that a day at the office does not—good times, great cocktails and outstanding food. Featuring slinky photography, energetic colors, and amusing copy, the print collateral creates a visual playground. The environment includes signature supergraphics, rubberband-wall art features, photographic restroom doors, and a 35 foot tall exterior sign serving as a beacon to all.
   Posted by Megan
Designers
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 2:39:50 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Thread
Plazm Thread is a new T-shirt-of-the-month club of limited-edition designs,
curated and delivered by Portland-based design firm Plazm and buyolympia. Six incredible original designs delivered to your door, once a month, for just $99. Whenever a month passes? That shirt goes out of print, period. It's gone. So get 'em while they're fresh: truly limited edition Plazm Thread t-shirts.
We're kicking off with a special alien abduction theme, designed by Art Chantry. Orders for shirt No. 1 close June 1, 2009. Subscribe now and also receive one-of-a-kind shirts from Kate Moross, Ed Fella, Hannah Stouffer and two more artists to be announced soon.
 Posted by Megan
Designers | Gifts and Goodies
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 1:58:16 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, April 28, 2009
After School Special
When the AIGA asked Decker Design to share some wisdom for young designers, they created a great list of advice designed to "help emerging professionals navigate their road to success."  Posted by Megan
Designers | Thought Provoking
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 5:26:46 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, April 24, 2009
Green Space
During this week, when everyone is sharing tips about the importance of reusing, reducing and recycling, Minneapolis-based design firm Duffy & Partners reveals their recipe for success on the green front: A historical office building, Mill City Ruins (they reclaimed the space) + Green and conscious clients like, Whole Foods (honed in on the green efficiencies their consumers desire) + A location right next to Minneapolis’ farmer’s market for employees (they designed the brand concept for) the market + Supporting green transport with Nice Ride (Minneapolis’ green bike share program. They developed the brand concept.) = A solid green strategy Check out images of Duffy's new workspace here.  Posted by Megan
Designers
Friday, April 24, 2009 1:32:03 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Visual Journals
Designers
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 1:01:49 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, April 20, 2009
Fresh and Green Images
Images affecting environments. Environments affecting images. See what Veer did to a new batch of green images with Photo Synthesis: Video About Images. Then, check out the new curated collection of over 2,000 Veer-produced rights-managed and royalty-free images and illustrations. Browse Green Images NowPosted by Jessie
Design Resources | Designers
Monday, April 20, 2009 9:10:32 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, April 09, 2009
Back To School
Pratt Institute students (as well as students from the Savannah College of Art and Design) recently designed items for Barnes & Noble's Back-to-Campus Collection under the direction of Graduate Communications and Packaging Design Professor Kevin Gatta. The collection, which includes sketchbooks, journals, book covers, and pen cases, will be available in bookstores in late July.  Posted by Megan
Designers
Thursday, April 09, 2009 8:16:47 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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My Pantone Past
A design career documented in color, by David (the designer).For many years my Pantone Color Specifier was a constant design companion. It's the one with the perforated sheets of tear-out 'chips' (for attaching to artwork or visuals to illustrate the exact color choice). It's a real time capsule of the colors that I've used or specified over the years.
And so I'd thought I'd share them, one sheet at a time—in much the same way that Daniel Eatock might.
View My Pantone Past
Posted by Jessie
Designers
Thursday, April 09, 2009 7:12:44 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, April 07, 2009
ArtWalk
In related news, Seattle-based Modern Dog just completed their 14th poster for the annual Greenwood Ave. ArtWalk. Not only are the posters well known in the neighborhood, but they have been collected by museums and libraries worldwide including Warsaw National Museum, The Louvre (Rohan Marsan Wing), Denver Art Museum, Hong Kong Heritage Museum and the Library of Congress, among others.
  Posted by Megan
Designers
Tuesday, April 07, 2009 7:53:27 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, April 06, 2009
Simple Solution
When University of Cincinnati design student Kyle Koch started photographing class documents with this iPhone, he quickly realized how tough it was to get a clear image. Not content with the results, he designed a simple cardboard stand that makes it easy to shoot documents clearly. Thanks to the laser-cutting powers of Ponoko, you can buy the Scandock for just $16.  via NotCotPosted by Megan
Designers
Monday, April 06, 2009 3:11:56 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, April 03, 2009
HOW Forum Maintenance Today
The time is officially here where the HOW Forum, which has grown so nicely
thanks to all of your support, is being switched over to a new server
that can better handle the amount of traffic. We thank you
for your continued patience in the time leading up to this transition.
During a few hours today, the forum may be shut down, as to
ensure that the transition happens smoothly without any of our favorite
threads being lost. Please bear with us a little longer. Our emedia team is working hard to make sure the forum is preserved during this switch.
Posted by Jessie
Designers | HOW Magazine
Friday, April 03, 2009 2:40:11 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Delicious Desktop Wallpaper
Designers
Friday, April 03, 2009 1:04:17 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Things I Like
San Francisco-based designer Richard Perez knows how to play with type, as in this poster of his favorite things. (I'm down with them all except for Lincoln and VHS tapes).  Posted by Megan
Designers | Typography
Tuesday, March 31, 2009 7:25:52 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, March 27, 2009
Ty One On
Grain, a design firm founded by 4 recent RISD grads, was formed around the idea of helping clients be more sustainable. The group recently launched their first in-house product: the Ty Recyclable Shower Curtain. Ty is a simple plastic shower curtain. Unlike other shower curtains
made of vinyl, Ty will not off-gas in your home. Also unlike vinyl, Ty
breathes, making it less likely to grow gross mold and mildew. To
clean, use soap and water or even throw Ty in the washing machine and
air dry (no dryer please). Ty is stronger than vinyl. Ty will last a
very long time and then can be recycled.  Posted by Megan
Designers
Friday, March 27, 2009 2:06:24 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, March 23, 2009
From Paper To Tile
Designers
Monday, March 23, 2009 7:31:13 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, March 19, 2009
For a Good Cause
This poster arrived in the mail today: an invitation to an open house at Pentagram's Austin office on Saturday to celebrate the most recent Pentagram Papers edition. This version of the firm's series of little black books on various intriguing topics, showcases Texas music legend Joe Ely's collection of cardboard signs. The signs are funny, sad and poignant. Pentagram partner DJ Stout asks folks who attend Saturday's shindig to donate to Mobile Loaves & Fishes. 
Designers
Thursday, March 19, 2009 7:21:11 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Design Crush
Uh oh! I think I have a new design crush on New Orleans-based creative Erik Kiesewetter. Look at this poster he designed for AIGA|New Orleans:  via Design Work LifePosted by Megan
Designers
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 4:19:54 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, March 16, 2009
Self-Promo Stars
Designers
Monday, March 16, 2009 2:23:26 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, March 13, 2009
Pretty Pretty Paper
Pentagram worked with Marian Bantjes to design a new thistle logo for Strathmore then turned it into a gorgeous pattern to use on packaging, trade-show booth and more. Asked to refresh the Strathmore Paper
brand presentation for our longtime client Mohawk Fine Papers,
Pentagram asked the designer Marian Bantjes to reinterpret the famous
Strathmore thistle. This mark was then used to create a pattern for new
packaging of Strathmore Paper reams. The goal was to project a stronger
signature presence for the brand in business-to-business and
direct-to-consumer retail settings.
 via The DielinePosted by Megan
Designers
Friday, March 13, 2009 4:44:36 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, March 09, 2009
"Grapevine Fires" & Animation Tell Fiery Story
What makes an amazing song even better ( Grapevine Fires, Death Cab for Cutie)? An amazing video does with touching animation. Grapevine Fires, initially inspired by Death Cab for Cutie vocalist/guitarist Ben Gibbard’s up-close-and-personal encounter with California’s wildfire’s in 2007, was included on the official commemorative CD-DVD set celebrating President Barack Obama’s inauguration. “Change is Now: Restoring America’s Promise,” according to a press release. Motivated by the song, director Walter Robot, multimedia artist Bill Barminski and writer Christopher Louie animated a short film to relay the sense of tragedy and forced optimism provoked from such a catastrophic event.
Designers | Just for Fun
Monday, March 09, 2009 6:08:40 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Design At The Movies
I saw Watchmen this weekend and was blown away by the opening titles. This morning, I discovered the story behind the design in my email inbox. Convenient! Setting the tone for the film is a multi-layered, 6-minute long title sequence conceived by director Zack Snyder that features compelling 3D typography designed by yU+co, the Hollywood-based design/animation studio that previously collaborated with Snyder on the title sequence for his box-office smash hit, 300.
Set to the Bob Dylan classic “The Times They Are A-Changin,’” the title sequence strings together key events from the alternate history of the comic book series, starting from the 1940’s up to the 1980’s, the time period the story is set in. Through a series of slow-motion vignettes, we see how a collection of superheroes have influenced and altered major events such as World War II, the JFK assignation, the Cold War and the moon landing. Incorporated into each scene is the yU+co. title design, bathed in bright yellow, which plays off of the blood splattered happy-face icon that is a key visual component to both the graphic novel and the film.
See the titles here. (Update: The titles were removed by the request of Warner Bros. Lame!)  Posted by Megan
Designers
Monday, March 09, 2009 2:44:30 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, March 05, 2009
Remarkable Cover
I know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I think Remarkable Creatures sounds like a good read and looks like a gorgeous vintage book. The cover was created by the talented Brazilian designer Eduardo Recife.  via FFFFound!Posted by Megan
Designers
Thursday, March 05, 2009 4:11:16 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Perfect Cut
Driv is a Malaysian designer living and working in Shanghai. His business card incorporates a clever diecut of his logo that becomes a smiling face when turned on its side.  via Kitsune NoirPosted by Megan
Designers
Tuesday, March 03, 2009 1:23:55 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, February 26, 2009
Cakes & Ale
This afternoon, I'm finding myself drawn to the work of Atlanta-based designer Alvin Diec. I particularly like the identity work he did for Decatur, GA-based restaurant and bar Cakes & Ale. The logo of a fork threaded through an ampersand communicates quickly that this is a place with more than food and that the experience will be delightful. Well done!  via FFFFOUND!Posted by Megan
Designers
Thursday, February 26, 2009 6:07:51 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Mr. Anderson
If your name is Matthew Anderson and you're a clever designer, this is what your business card looks like:  Posted by Megan
Designers
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 5:51:35 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, February 19, 2009
All Natural
I saw the packaging for Nellie's All-Natural Products on TheDieline.com and had to find out who was behind the quirky, retro design. After some poking around on the internet, it looks like Vancouver-based Burnkit Creative Group is responsible for the the packaging, while the amusing Nellie's website was created by Fuse Interactive, also in Vancouver.
UPDATE: "The packaging was done in-house at Nellie's with an illustrator whose name escapes me... We (Burnkit) concepted, designed and developed the website (complete with physical diorama) and we partnered with Fuse for the content management and shopping cart technology."
 Posted by Megan
Designers
Thursday, February 19, 2009 2:21:33 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Smart Pro-Bono
Atlanta-based Matchstic Brand Identity House partnered with other local creative service providers and developed " On the House," a website where nonprofits can apply to receive pro-bono services. This is a really smart way to handle a pro-bono program.  via NotCotPosted by Megan
Designers
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 4:18:18 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Just In Case
Designers | Gifts and Goodies
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 1:37:25 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Type Art
Artist/designer Keetra Dean Dixon often plays with type in her lovely, thoughtful pieces.    via FlyPosted by Megan
Designers | Typography
Tuesday, February 17, 2009 7:02:38 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Behind The Identity
London-based Moving Brands provides a great behind-the-scenes look at their rebranding of Norton & Sons, a Savile Row tailor established in 1821. The new design manages to capture the history of the company, while making it relevant with an unusual typeface.   via Kitsune NoirPosted by Megan
Designers
Tuesday, February 10, 2009 2:39:08 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, February 09, 2009
Inspirational Posters
Designers
Monday, February 09, 2009 6:14:10 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, January 29, 2009
Let Travel Inspire You
I love scoping out new travel destinations—regardless of if my vacation bank is in desperate need of a reset. The sheer idea of a trip re-energizes my brain (and spirit), especially when facing the most grueling deadlines. As you probably are well aware, designers have a keen eye for awesomeness, which is why we figured that may apply to their favorite places, as well. This week's HOW Now newsletter features our Designer's Travel Guides series, which will be an ongoing web exclusive.  If you're looking to take a trip, mix business with pleasure, take a mental vacation or make a move, see what these designers have to say about dining, nightlife, favorite sites and the design community in their cities. Plus, nominate your city, and get a free 1-year subscription to HOW if it's selected. Posted by Jessie
Designers
Thursday, January 29, 2009 3:26:24 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Super Logos
The New York Times asked eight of our fave designers to create an alternative logo for the upcoming Super Bowl XLIII. The prize for funniest logo goes to Stefan Bucher. You can read more about it here. But my favorite is the uber-retro masterpiece by Aaron Draplin.   Posted by Megan
Designers
Wednesday, January 28, 2009 8:17:52 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Killer Cereal
There's nothing I love more than a fresh packaging redesign. Pearlfisher took Jordans Muesli from boring to delicious with a design that combines contemporary typography with a classic illustration.  via The DielinePosted by Megan
Designers
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 7:06:52 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, January 22, 2009
Make Something Cool Every Day
I didn't realize yesterday that Make Something Cool Every Day is actually a Flickr group with hundreds of designs and illustrations. The only rule is that the work must be created in a single day. The contributions range from pretty to pretty wacky, like this wonderful faux-vintage Ghostbusters book cover by SpaceSick.  Posted by Megan
Designers | Illustration
Thursday, January 22, 2009 7:29:55 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Good Advice . . .
Designers
Wednesday, January 21, 2009 8:23:10 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, January 12, 2009
Louise Fili
Don't miss the sneak peak into Louise Fili's studio on Design*Sponge today. Her love of vintage packaging is evident throughout the space. It all serves as inspiration for her beautiful work.  studio  recent redesign of Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval Posted by Megan
Designers
Monday, January 12, 2009 8:51:00 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Art Bandages
Designers | Gifts and Goodies
Monday, January 12, 2009 1:20:16 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, January 06, 2009
We Sure Can
Friend of HOW and one-named, LA-based designer Pash sent us scoop on the Yes We Can poster he created to commemorate Barack Obama's election. He's now selling different versions, with part of the proceeds going to Obama for America. 
Designers
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 4:37:43 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, December 18, 2008
Digital Holiday Greeting
Our favorite digital Christmas card this year comes from the London office of AKQA. Posted by Megan
Designers | Just for Fun
Thursday, December 18, 2008 2:18:16 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, December 16, 2008
I'm Dreaming Of A Black Christmas
Ci, a Sustainability Marketing Consultancy based in Canada, didn't want to send a Christmas card that would just end up in the trash. Instead, they created a mostly black screen saver that's cute and saves energy.  Posted by Megan
Designers
Tuesday, December 16, 2008 6:21:18 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, December 15, 2008
Design Does Good
We got the coolest letter today from designer Tim Belonax: A particular article in your August issue struck a chord with me and I feel compelled to share the results with you. "For Goodness' Sake" highlighted various designers using their skills to do good. One of the important characteristics presented in the article was the need for designers to be "problem seekers" as much as "problem solvers." Designers should react to the problems and inequities that they see instead of waiting for someone to approach them.
I decided to volunteer for a company that had one sentence devoted to it within the three-spread article. Rosa Loves is a t-shirt label that focuses its products on helping individuals in need. The enclosed t-shirt is the result of my work with them and the Preemptive Love Coalition (the nonprofit involved in this specific shirt). Proceeds from its sale go to an Iraqi boy in need of surgery on his heart.
 Posted by Megan
Designers | Thought Provoking
Monday, December 15, 2008 7:32:51 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, December 12, 2008
Have You Been Naughty Or Nice
The Greteman Group celebrates the season this year with Naughty/Nice, a site where you can send coupons to friends and loved ones for things like breakfast in bed or an extra cocktail. You can even customize your own coupon with a gift or service of your choice.    Posted by Megan
Designers | Just for Fun
Friday, December 12, 2008 1:42:00 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Christmas Tradition
For 22 years, designer Bill Gardner has been creating stunning Christmas cards for his client Aspen Boutique. Read a Q&A with Bill and see his gorgeous work here. On a monthly basis, someone will find out we design the Aspen cards and
they'll tell us they have every single one of them. They also tell us
they bring them out each season and line them up on a mantle or a
dining room table as decorations. You can not buy that kind of
advertising. Really! At times the mailing list has reached 15,000+
cards per year. Customers that have not been to the store in years
occasionally are removed from the list and then they throw a fit when
their card doesn't arrive. Then they com back to the store to do some
shopping to make sure they don't miss out again. 
Posted by Megan
Designers
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 3:02:29 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, December 03, 2008
A Mark of Trust
For whatever reason, we can't think of any designer more trustworthy and appropriate than Louise Fili to redesign the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, on the occasion of its 100th anniversary. It's so sensible and beautiful and reassuring. 
Designers
Wednesday, December 03, 2008 4:33:41 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Potty Training For Cats
Chen Design Associates recently published a charming handbook to help train kitties to use the toilet instead of the litterbox. A gift book that combines ironic humor with an utterly practical guide, Kick Litter features Moxie and Cooper, two photogenic cats who their message of recovery from litter addiction to the masses. Conceived and written by Hollywood web designer (and reluctant cat whisperer) Perre DiCarlo and designed, packaged and published by Chen Design Associates/CDA Press, Kick Litter is now available at bookstores everywhere.
 Posted by Megan
Designers
Wednesday, December 03, 2008 1:12:22 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, November 17, 2008
Behind The Logo
The Obama logo was a ubiquitous as it was successful, but who created the iconic mark that helped propel our President Elect into his new position? The AIGA/Philadelphia is hosting a lecture by the logo's designer, Sol Sender, on November 20. Sol Sender and his team at Sender LLC have turned the letter "O" in
Barack Obama's name into an iconic logo like the swoosh from the Nike.
The innovative approach toward branding the Obama campaign has helped
set it apart from what has come before. Obama's brand has sparked many
conversations about the importance of design in political campaigns.
When Michael Bierut from Pentagram was asked where Obama's brand stands
against the best commercial brand design, he answered "I think it's
just as good or better." Sol Sender will share his insight and his
experience of working on one of the most recognized political brands.
Register for this event ahead of time since it'll fill up fast. 
Posted by Megan
Designers | Events
Monday, November 17, 2008 8:33:03 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, November 14, 2008
Sorry, We're Lazy
The creative geniuses at Aesthetic Apparatus recently released a series of posters inspired by OPEN/CLOSED signs. Hang one of these in your window and see what happens. What began as a never-produced poster idea has propagated itself into a
series of 9 mock OPEN/CLOSED signs. Double-sided yet possibly
commercially-useless, these signs will relay to passers-by and
potential customers that you're not really into categorizing your
availability in such limited definitions like "open" or "closed."
  via Draplin Design Co.Posted by Megan
Designers | Gifts and Goodies
Friday, November 14, 2008 1:09:25 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The Message Is Pretty
Los Angeles/London-based design firm Jawa and Midwich just relaunched their self-promo site. The opening page features to new promo posters. "T he Medium is the Message" is knocking my socks off this morning.  Posted by Megan
Designers
Wednesday, November 12, 2008 1:59:09 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, October 31, 2008
Packaging Inspiration
You can see all the winners of the 2008 Pentawards on the Dieline blog. If you design packaging, this is must-see stuff.
Diamond Pentaward 2008 Best of the show Brand: Piper Heidsieck - Rosé Sauvage by Viktor and Rolf
“How do you do something new with something timeless? We had only one
answer: reverse the proportions” This is how the two Dutch fashion
designers Viktor & Rolf express it.
And it is exactly this
simple but oh-so-creative idea that won over the international jury of
the Pentawards, the first worldwide competition devoted uniquely to
packaging design.
For in fact, if there is indeed a domain in which tradition reigns, it is that of champagne.
So
the designers kept all the traditional graphic features of champagne
(bottle, cork, ice bucket, glass, and labels) but thought that if
champagne could turn one’s head, it was only necessary to reverse all
these visual elements to amplify this impression, and especially to
differentiate the Pieper Hiedsieck brand from its competitors by
recreating the packaging of the champagne.
Posted by Megan
Designers
Friday, October 31, 2008 12:31:50 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, October 30, 2008
HOW Forum Sampler
Designers
Thursday, October 30, 2008 2:01:48 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, October 17, 2008
Forum Sampler
Designers
Friday, October 17, 2008 7:13:11 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Business Talk
When it comes to the nuts and bolts of making our business better, we all have questions.—and that’s OK. See what designers are talking about in the HOW forum. Tackling AccountingWhat is your workflow for accounting at your small firm or freelance operation? Check it OutLicensing HurdleWould it be legal to hand over stock photos and fonts? What do You Think?Paypal vs. Google CheckoutI’m not sure whether to go with Google or paypal? Got a Preference?Post your own business question, too. Click HereNot a member? Click HerePosted by Jessie
Designers
Tuesday, October 14, 2008 5:33:47 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Get Ready For 2009
Designers | Gifts and Goodies
Tuesday, October 14, 2008 4:16:56 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, October 13, 2008
Poster Gets Notice Overseas
Deroy Peraza is the man behind one of the many well-designed Barack Obama posters you may have seen this election season. His "New Hope" poster was exhibited in Denver during the Democratic National Convention, where it caught the eye of Cynthia Odier, founder of the Switzerland-based emerging-art gallery Flux Laboratory. Odier tapped Peraza to showcase work from his firm, Hyperakt, at the Flux Laboratory's Dark Room in Geneva. Peraza offers free downloads of the posters (a signed, screen-printed version is also for sale) on the Hyperakt website.  Posted by Bryn
Designers
Monday, October 13, 2008 8:55:19 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, October 09, 2008
Wedding Design
Designer Stephen Sasser sent us a link to his son's blog where he cataloged his recent, design-centric wedding. From a hi-tech meets lo-tech concept, to letterpress printing, to laser-etched favors, this creative couple went all out.   Posted by Megan
Designers
Thursday, October 09, 2008 7:43:23 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, October 03, 2008
Art in the Sky
If you've been to Minneapolis (especially during the winter), you know and appreciate the city's extensive downtown skywalk system. Through the end of this month, the skyways have been transformed into display space for a public art project by photographer Nancy Ann Coyne. Coyne's Speaking of Home exhibit is the first public-art project in the privately owned skyway space; it's the result of a three-year effort by Coyne and the Twin Cities-based nonprofit Forecast Public Art. Coyne's documentary-style photos of 23 immigrants who call Minneapolis home fill the huge skyway windows like transparencies on a lightbox; they're accompanied by text from indepth interviews with the subjects.  Posted by Bryn
Designers
Friday, October 03, 2008 2:41:34 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, October 02, 2008
Modern Dog
My new favorite design blog The Denver Egotist has a nice interview with Seattle's Modern Dog, who are speaking at an AIGA event tonight. Q: You’re known as one of the last firms out there able to keep
grunge-Americana relevant. What are the pros of a design firm having a
consistent aesthetic? What are the cons? A: Simplest Pro:
If someone wants that aesthetic, we’re the ones. Most Obvious Con: We
can do other things. Fortunately we know we don’t have just one
“consistent aesthetic” and the clients who work with us know that too. Q: Complete the following sentence. The best work we do always begins with: A: ….a great client relationship. In particular, when the client believes in how we approach our work and we believe in their product.
Posted by Megan
Designers
Thursday, October 02, 2008 5:20:27 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, September 22, 2008
Method Behind the (Mad)ness
Mad Men (which is on our list of shows to DVR) scored an Emmy for best drama last night. We recently had a press release from L.A. creative firm The Refinery about an ad campaign they created for the AMC show. AMC's blog features a behind-the-scenes view of the multiple shots it took to create the piece, which features the Don Draper character in the midst of a crowd in NYC's Grand Central Station. 
Designers
Monday, September 22, 2008 9:50:42 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Buttons For Barack
As an act of support for Barack Obama, Trollback + Co. has designed four sets of buttons. 100 of each set are available by request. Email them your name, address and top two choices of sets. (obamabuttons@trollback.com)  Posted by Megan
Designers
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 4:28:48 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Pretty Cool
I posted a while ago about Died Young Stayed Pretty, a movie about rock posters and I finally got a chance to watch it yesterday. High winds knocked out power all over Cincinnati, including at HOW headquarters, but my power was only out for 4 hours. There I was, with lots of juice, but no cable or internet, so I popped in the DVD and really enjoyed the interviews with people like Art Chantry and the guys from Aesthetic Apparatus. The disparate philosophies and techniques of these designers are fascinating. Upcoming screenings of the film include: ATLANTIC FILM FESTIVAL (Halifax)
Saturday, September 20th, 2008 4:05 PM at Park Lane 4 POP MONTREAL
Friday, October 3rd, 2008
9.00 pm at Cinema Du Parc  Posted by Megan
Designers
Tuesday, September 16, 2008 6:39:33 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, September 05, 2008
Alphabunnies Poster
The London-based design firm Airside has just created Alphabunnies, an amusing take on the alphabet. It is hand screen-printed on high-grade 216g Astrolux paper. Limited edition of 100 with each print signed and numbered by the designer. Some of letters might be NSFW, depening on where you work, but the "A" is just cute.  Posted by Megan
Designers | Just for Fun
Friday, September 05, 2008 6:06:19 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Design Crush
OK, I am now officially obsessed with designer Jennifer Daniel and her stunning one-page portfolio. She seems weird in the best way possible. How have I not run across her before?  Posted by Megan
Designers
Wednesday, September 03, 2008 3:14:19 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, August 27, 2008
The UnConvention
The creatives in Minneapolis/St. Paul are finding unique ways to respond to the upcoming Republican National Convention. To capture all the events, art works and happenings, The Walker Art Center is sponsoring a site called The UnConvention. One of the projects featured there, " Make an Effort," was designed by Campbell Mithun. Campbell Mithun’s newly developed “Make an Effort” campaign, designed to welcome the Republican National Convention and its supporters, makes light of the typical stereotypes that have hovered over the party for years, reminding everyone, especially their predominantly Democratic hosts, that The Republicans are Coming.
 Posted by Megan
Designers
Wednesday, August 27, 2008 3:14:19 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, August 21, 2008
Lovin' Your Job
I was just thumbing through the copy of In-House Design in Practice that just landed on my desk yesterday. It's Cathy Fishel's new HOW book that's part design annual and part business coach for in-house creatives. In it, there's a great quote: "You can love your job, but it will never love you back." The quote reminded me of a conversation I was having with Steven Morris and Erin Sarpa not long ago as we discussed plans for their session at the upcoming In-HOWse Designer Conference. Steve, in particular, has tons of experience working with in-house teams at companies like Mattel, and he and Erin have interviewed a bunch if corporate design managers to find out what makes for a successful in-house career. They'll be talking about that in their session, Lovin' Your In-House Job. Steve and Erin both advocate having a rich and rewardinglife outside the office, so you don't rely exclusively on your 9-to-5 gig for creative fulfillment. 'Cause there's only so much love you can expect from your day job. Posted by Bryn
Designers
Thursday, August 21, 2008 9:48:32 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, August 20, 2008
In The Jungle
Hornet directing team Mixtape Club recently created a beautiful and haunting video for the track "Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt. 2", My Morning Jacket's first video from their new album, "Evil Urges". The video, set deep in a verdant jungle on a dark night, stars a character named Jasper, a furry, timid creature with gigantic eyes. Jasper carries around a lantern inhabited by his only friend, a firefly whose light helps him navigate the treetops. When he gets caught off guard by a roaming pack of jungle beasts, Jasper accidentally drops his lantern, letting his firefly loose. He travels through the jungle in pursuit of his friend. The journey takes him down a river, through a cave, and up a ravine, into a beautiful, otherworldly meadow illuminated by a constellation of fireflies. The video offers a haunting, lonely quality with a touch of fairy tale sweetness.
See the video here. Check out visual inspiration for the animation here.   Posted by Megan
Designers
Wednesday, August 20, 2008 3:12:23 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, August 18, 2008
Original Thoughts
Who doesn't need a great blank journal for sketching and idea logging? Designer and illustrator Andy Pratt offers several unique choices in lined or unlined versions. I'm a huge fan of Original Thoughts and Great Ideas.   Posted by Megan
Designers | Gifts and Goodies
Monday, August 18, 2008 4:53:07 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Yearbook Yourself
This cracks me up (in a good way): To drive more teens and their parents into its malls for back-to-school shopping, Taubman Centers is taking them back in time. The national mall owner and operator partnered with Colle+McVoy to create an innovative online and in-center experience that allows teens to see what they might have looked like when their parents were in school, all while catching up on current back-to-school fashions.
The campaign features a new website, www.YearbookYourself.com, which launched this week and allows visitors to upload their photos and morph their faces onto yearbook photos spanning five decades. They can easily move from the 1950s through the 1990s and see themselves with the hair and fashion styles of the times while listening to music inspired by that era.
 Here's "me" in 1968:  (Edit: And here's me, circa 1990 -- Bryn)  Posted by Megan
Designers
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 4:27:56 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, August 08, 2008
Bad A** Business Card
Designer Joshua Smith of HydroSeventyFour is in the process of developing a new business card. Check out five uber-cool prototypes and weigh in on which one is your fave. I'm digging #2 for its Baroque-meets-1970s aesthetic.  Posted by Megan
Designers
Friday, August 08, 2008 6:54:05 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, August 07, 2008
Blu Dot Designs For Herman Miller
Blu Dot was was one of four design companies Herman Miller asked to create new products for their Lifework Portfolio. Our focus was on storage, and when we began the project, we were struck by the lack of options that "feel" residential. Most filing solutions had a strong "office DNA." Our approach was to borrow a residential typology (in this case a blanket chest) and re-purpose it to accommodate the variety of things you would need to store in a typical home office. In addition to the storage options, an upholstered seat provides a place for an unexpected visitor to take a seat and the hard surface on top provides an additional spot for a peripheral like a printer or fax machine.
  Posted by Megan
Designers
Thursday, August 07, 2008 2:16:18 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Logo-Tragic
Doug Bartow, a founding Principal and the Design Director of id29, recently undertook an experiment to see just what you can get from those quick-turnaround, internet logo shops. With a total budget of $1,000, he hired four online logo design companies, gave them the same visual identity problem to solve, and then critiqued the results. Here is one of the many gems he was delivered in less than a week. Ouch!  Posted by Megan
Designers | Thought Provoking
Wednesday, August 06, 2008 7:59:54 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Everything Is Illuminated
Art Machine, a design firm specializing in print campaigns for the entertainment industry, recently conceived and produced a series of national bus shelter advertising pieces to promote the fourth season launch of A&E Network’s series "Criss Angel Mindfreak." During daylight, the poster depicts only text and the shoes of Criss Angel floating on water. But during night time, when the poster is backlit, the same image "reveals" Angel himself within the image, as though he were floating upside down in the same water. Says Jeremy Kaplan, Creative Director, Art Machine, "This was a unique reflective effect that has never been done before in this format."   Posted by Megan
Designers
Wednesday, August 06, 2008 6:32:06 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, August 01, 2008
Gorgeous Titles
The Mummy III opens today and the best thing about the movie just might be the stunning titles created by Imaginary Forces. Imaginary Forces set out to recreate the film's story in a stylized,
mythological way. Working closely with Rob Cohen, the design team
composed scenes similar in style to a graphic novel, building tension
and transitions using brushstroke silhouettes of recognizable
characters from the film, with 3D models provided by Rhythm & Hues
and Digital Domain. The IF designers also shot real paint splatters and
brushstrokes to stay true to a hand-painted aesthetic.
IF also
consulted master calligrapher T.Z. Yuan for the ink brush writing, to
achieve a level authenticity amidst the fantastical elements of the
film and built the sequence around the Chinese calligraphy of the five
elements -- water, wood, earth, metal and fire.
   Posted by Megan
Designers
Friday, August 01, 2008 6:24:00 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Get Schooled
School, a youth marketing firm in Hong Kong, recently created an unofficial Olympics T-shirt to celebrate unity. Their website shows where each shirt goes once it's sold, everywhere from Canada to Brazil to France to the U.S.   Posted by Megan
Designers | Gifts and Goodies
Wednesday, July 30, 2008 1:40:40 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, July 28, 2008
Pop Design
This morning, Brand New points us to the stunning redesign of the Popyeyes Chicken identity by DJ Stout at Pentagram. The new identity emphasizes the restaurant’s rich Louisiana Gulf Coast
culinary heritage and distinguishes itself from the stiff fast-food
competition. Stout created an evolved logotype that updates the easily
recognizable word-mark originally inspired by the “dancing” letterforms
used in old Popeyes comics. A simple icon based on the single dancing
“P” of the original letterforms and a new crest featuring the words
“Louisiana Kitchen” are designed to be additional components of the
flexible identity system.
 Nice job, DJ! Posted by Megan
Designers
Monday, July 28, 2008 2:56:03 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, July 24, 2008
Spoilers Ahead
Love, love, love this poster designed by Oliver Moss that gives away the endings of famous movies. It was printed in an edition of 250 and sells for $35.  via NotCotPosted by Megan
Designers
Thursday, July 24, 2008 5:17:51 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, July 21, 2008
Got Creativity?
When I saw the new Got Milk? site on NotCot, I had to know who was responsible for the funky, 3D paper toy design. Turns out it's a British company called Unit9 who worked with the Milk Board's agency Goodby, Silverstein and Partners to create the site. You can totally see the aesthetic and concept of the Got Milk design in Unit9's own site.   Posted by Megan
Designers
Monday, July 21, 2008 8:47:37 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, July 07, 2008
Vernacular Type
Designer Douglas Wilson has been documenting hand-painted signs for the last six years but only recently uploaded the images to his Flickr page. Looking around his blog and website, after checking out the images, I feel like I want to be friends with Douglas Wilson. He has great taste in design inspiration and an exuberant obsession with letterpress printing.  via By So and SoPosted by Megan
Designers | Typography
Monday, July 07, 2008 3:43:34 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, June 20, 2008
Art For All
Minneapolis-based Catalyst Studios, has received Target's "Best of the Bullseye" award for their work and partnership on the “Art for All” campaign. The award is based on excellence in strategic thinking and creative work. Also, one of the spots has been selected for inclusion in the Museum of Modern Art's permanent archives. You can view all the pieces of the campaign in the portfolio section of Catalyst's website.    Posted by Megan
Designers
Friday, June 20, 2008 1:38:56 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, June 16, 2008
Brand New
Digital Kitchen recently teamed with Seattle-based ad agency WONGDOODY to create a theatrical trailer and several whimsical bumpers for the Seattle International Film Festival. The trailer is made up of clips from previous SIFF films being overtaken by colorful starburts exclaiming "new" in different languages. “This project brought out the mad scientist in all of us,” says Morgan Henry, Producer at Digital Kitchen. “Both clients have a great sense of humor, and we came up interesting concepts together while having a lot of fun. All of the pieces show a flare for the dramatic. Even the funny parts have a strong theatrical sense.”
  Posted by Megan
Designers
Monday, June 16, 2008 3:54:36 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Flying By The Pound
Philadelphia-based ad agency Gyro Worlwide caused a stir in the city with a phony campaign designed to prove that newspaper advertising still works. They attraced a lot of media attention for a fabricated airline, Derrie-Air, that charges by the pound. "Pack less. Weigh less. Pay less." This highly provocative service was designed to attract attention, interest and probably some outrage on a press and consumer level, which it did. Derrie-Air attracted immediate attention and received immediate coverage on the websites of MSNBC, Newsweek, Business Week, USA Today and over 100 other news sites, as well as numerous mentions on TV and Radio.
The phony campaign featured 36 different spoof ads that ran throughout the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, as well as on their website philly.com, on Friday, June 6th. The ads featured cartoon-ey drawings of a super model, ex-football player and computer geek with slogans like “ Nice Tail” and “Weigh More Pay More”. All of the ads directed interested consumers to the website, http://www.flyderrie-air.com.
 Update: Apparently the fake ads are causing a bit of a stir in the journalism world. Posted by Megan
Designers
Tuesday, June 10, 2008 4:14:48 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, June 06, 2008
Master Caster
Designers
Friday, June 06, 2008 4:19:51 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Spur Design
That girl we'd all like to be, Grace Bonney, yesterday posted a design*sponge Sneak Peek at the home and workspace of Dave Plunkert and Joyce Hesselberth of Spur Design. We love Dave's work; his illustration graced the very first cover of the Pentagram-redesigned HOW in 2005. 
Designers
Tuesday, June 03, 2008 3:39:13 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, May 27, 2008
While We Were Out
Designer Greg Bennett emailed us about the poster he recently created for the So-Cal Fire Poster Project. The destruction of the wildfires is portrayed by physically making, photographing and then compositing various textures such as burnt paper, water stains, ash and grit. These elements are juxtaposed with beautiful illustrations of life occurring all around them. The beauty lies in the fact that life carries on. Even the scorched tree shows signs of new life through it's sprouting buds.
 Credits: Greg Bennett, Design Director/Designer/ Illustrator; David Griffiths, Production; Shapco Printing, Printer; Mohawk Fine Papers, Paper; Brion McCarthy, Photographer Posted by Megan
Designers
Tuesday, May 27, 2008 8:52:48 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, April 29, 2008
What When Where And Y
I hope I'm not late to the game, but I just noticed this cool nutrition drink for kids called Y Water. The bottle was designed by Yves Behar and they're not only recyclable, they're reusable. The bottles link together with biodegradable rubber connectors to form a building toy.   Posted by Megan
Designers
Tuesday, April 29, 2008 5:53:04 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, April 25, 2008
They (don't really) Suck at Photoshop
Awhile back, we jumped on the bandwagon and posted about You Suck at Photoshop, the videonline phenom that seems to have reached beyond its core designer-geek audience to go mainstream. (At least, we think we posted about it ... we can't find the post, thanks to the not-so-great search function on this blog). Anyhoo, Time yesterday revealed the IDs of the two guys behind YSAP. Turns out, they're Matt Bledsoe and Troy Hitch, two ad guys in Covington, KY, which, so you know, is just across the river from us here at HOW HQ. Who knew?
Designers
Friday, April 25, 2008 6:06:20 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, April 21, 2008
Jason Santa Maria
I included designer Jason Santa Maria's business card in my story " Hey Good Lookin'" in HOW's December 2007 issue. Today, eight of his cards are arranged on Swissmiss in a way I didn't realize they could be. I loved the cards because of the humorous copywriting. I like them even more now.  Posted by Megan
Designers
Monday, April 21, 2008 6:44:29 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, April 17, 2008
Most Unusual
This morning, I'm offering an unofficial award for most unusual entry. The winner is Lincoln, NE-based the minnow PROJECT for their Heat Activated Urinal Billboards for Spilker Ales. The "billboards" are stickered inside urinals. At first, it looks like there's a big black square in the middle. But add a warm stream, and a fire hydrant is revealed. 
Posted by Megan
Designers | HOW Magazine
Thursday, April 17, 2008 1:42:09 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, March 28, 2008
Anniversary Self-Promotion
To celebrate its 8th year in business, Maryland-based design firm Octavo Designs created a self-promo mailer with fun temporary tattoos. We gets lots of promotions from designers at HOW. This one caught my attention because it was simple and showed a sense of humor.  Posted by Megan
Designers
Friday, March 28, 2008 12:58:59 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Hatchy Easter
Design firm Hatch just sent a super fun Easter self-promo in the form of an egg-coloring kit. The kit includes a white crayon for creating resists, dye tablets, stickers and cardboard egg holders. The box itself is perforated with egg-sized holes to use as a drying rack. We haven't seen any other Easter promos, so this one stands out even more. Hatch also created a website where you can upload decorated eggs to be voted on.    Posted by Megan
Designers
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 3:32:47 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, February 29, 2008
Life In NYC
Henry Sene Yee, whose day job is designing gorgeous book covers, has a photoblog that captures the essence of being in New York City.     Posted by Megan
Designers
Friday, February 29, 2008 1:12:30 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, February 28, 2008
The Fall
Amazing designer and friend of HOW Stefan Bucher just sent over the trailer for a new movie called " The Fall." Stefan created the titles for the trailer, including the exquisite "Fall" logo, based on previous work he did for a book promoting the film. "The Fall" is directed by Tarsem Singh, the man behind 2000's gorgeous " The Cell," but he's probably most famous for his work on R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" video. After watching the trailer, I can't wait to see this movie, which is supposed to open in the U.S. this spring.  Posted by Megan
Designers
Thursday, February 28, 2008 1:09:13 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Mmmm, Lettering
Poking around on Flickr last night, I came across some playful lettering by designer Jon Contino, which made me want to know more. It turns out he has a blog as well as a site for his design studio Onetwentysix, so you can see work from early sketches through finals.  Posted by Megan
Designers | Typography
Tuesday, February 26, 2008 2:58:15 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Valentine Video
Just in time for Valentine's Day, Zune Arts has released a new video called "Tickle Party" by famed art collaborative Friends with You. A story of friendship and love, the video features a unique blend of stop motion, puppetry and assorted 3D elements. You can watch the video on the Zune Arts site by clicking on the characters, which look like this:    Posted by Megan
Designers
Wednesday, February 13, 2008 6:35:37 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Arts And Crap
If you like your posters (and other design) on the punky side, check out Feral Designers and their online store Arts and Crap.    Posted by Megan
Designers
Wednesday, January 30, 2008 6:45:54 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Sagmeister on Ideas
IdeasonIdeas has a great interview with Stefan Sagmeister about everything from design celebrity to fruit. Eric: Although it may seem somewhat odd that designers concern themselves with publicity, it helps attract new work. How important is this? Should designers dedicate part of their time to self-promotion?
Stefan: If you have fun doing so, yes. If not, no. See, I do get a kick out of doing public talks and don’t mind answering your questions in this interview, both tasks connected with publicity. If these things would be a chore for me, I would not do them. I sometimes (like, right now for example) use them as an excuse so that I don’t have to do actual work, which is much harder, of course.
Posted by Megan
Designers
Tuesday, January 22, 2008 6:49:09 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, January 14, 2008
Designer Digs
Leave it to Design*Sponge to give as a great sneak peak inside the home of design vets Ellen Lupton and Abbot Miller. The space has a great sense of color and style without sacrificing comfort and livability.  Posted by Megan
Designers
Monday, January 14, 2008 8:31:44 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, January 10, 2008
Dog In Space
The new Zune Arts Film "Laika" was released last night. Created by 72andSunny and Curious Pictures, the film imagines what might have happened to Laika, the dog launched into space by the Russians fifty years ago. The charming tale incorporates 2D and 3D still photography and textures to create a planet that might as well be doggy heaven.
Designers | Just for Fun
Thursday, January 10, 2008 1:37:32 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, January 02, 2008
The Gift Of Giving
This year, The College of Saint Rose, in Albany, NY decided to do something different with its annual holiday greeting. The College's in-house creative team created its holiday greeting to be used as wrapping paper, subtly imprinted with the three words that make up the College's tagline—passion, knowledge, purpose. A wrapper around the folded paper asks the recipient to "Wrap up your holidays with purpose" and to wrap a hat, mittens or gloves for a child or adult in need and donate them to a local shelter or to send them to the College which then would donate the items to an appropriate shelter.  Posted by Megan
Designers
Wednesday, January 02, 2008 5:49:09 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, December 17, 2007
A Fresh Start
Stop and Start Over, a website devoted to helping recovering alcoholics and drug addicts, began as a Thesis project by Lara McCormick for the School of Visual Arts 'Designer as Author' MFA Design program in 2007. Now that McCormick has won a Sappi Ideas That Matter grant, she'll be expanding her project by working with the non-profit NCADD
(National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependency) to create a
campaign based on the current graphics and content of the project. A series of brochures and posters will be produced, then distributed through NCADD’s network of
affiliates.  Posted by Megan
Designers
Monday, December 17, 2007 6:45:13 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Forget the Classifieds
Not surprisingly, when Wieden+Kennedy needs new hires, they don't go the traditional route. Rather, they made an offbeat YouTube video that points to an application on their website:
(Wieden+Kennedy's innovative application process for their W+K12 advertising school was featured in the October 2007 issue of HOW.)
Designers
Wednesday, December 12, 2007 3:42:26 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Best Behavior
Behavior Design recently partnered with The Museum of Modern Art, New York, for their latest exhibition, Georges Seurat: The Drawings, creating an interactive touch-screen kiosk that enables MoMA’s visitors to virtually explore Seurat’s four surviving sketchbooks. Directly alongside their conventional showcase (each object opened to a single spread), the sketchbooks can be viewed in their magnificent entirety on two kiosk monitors. Behavior mastered numerous challenges to collect, digitize, and choreograph elements into an intuitive and becoming interface that gracefully reveals Seurat’s work and invites users to marvel and explore at will. Behavior Design also designed and developed a companion website to supplement the show and its themes, featuring a sampling of the sketchbooks, drawings, and other works alongside examples of Seurat’s working methodologies and processes.   Posted by Megan
Designers
Tuesday, December 04, 2007 2:20:54 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Listen Up
I first saw Jason Munn of thesmallstakes.com speak at this year’s Design Camp, from Minnesota AIGA. I just got word of an interview he did with Dave of grainedit.com, which features some great design examples (much it being beautiful vintage ones, but other categories of the blog cover “designers bookshelf,” “thrift hawks,” and “how to/diy”). 
Design Resources | Designers
Tuesday, November 20, 2007 7:52:56 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, November 16, 2007
Music House
I just got an email from designer Jeff Harrison about a CD cover project he recently designed for the band Vonnegut Dollhouse. You can see images of the finished CD here and images of the design process on Flickr. (Did I mention how cool I think this is?)   Posted by Megan
Designers
Friday, November 16, 2007 4:53:23 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, November 08, 2007
Terrific Titles
Production & design company Imaginary Forces recently completed main titles and animated content for the new FOX sitcom " Back to You" starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. The main titles are executed in an illustrated style reminiscent of film title sequences in the 1960s, and take viewers on a journey from the cityscape into the inner workings of a newsroom. Opening on the Pittsburgh skyline against a burnt yellow sky, the camera moves through 3D space through the various sound stages of the network building. As each character and their newsroom personalities are identified by the highly stylized illustrations, the color transitions from the yellow of a setting sun to the blue and purple of evening.
   Posted by Megan
Designers
Thursday, November 08, 2007 5:59:47 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Delivering Great Design
Willoughby Design Group, in collaboration with the United Nations, recently helped launch the international brand campaign Deliver Now for Women and Children at Bryant Park in New York City. Deliver Now is a new global advocacy drive to reduce maternal and child deaths and improve the health of women and children around the world.  Posted by Megan
Designers
Wednesday, November 07, 2007 3:47:51 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, October 19, 2007
Chip Kidd Wins
Personality-plus designer Chip Kidd won the National Design Award last night for Communication Design. If you've never heard Chip speak before, he's a hoot. A video of his presentation at the most recent HOW Conference is now available online for $39 (with a discount for conference attendees).  Posted by Megan
Designers
Friday, October 19, 2007 5:27:38 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, October 17, 2007
VSA Turns XXV
Noted Chicago design firm VSA Partners is celebrating its 25th anniversary in November and they're throwing themselves a party. While I'm bummed that I'll have to decline the invite, I absolutely love the logo they developed for the event. It's simple, elegant and appropriate. (It looks even more amazing embossed on heavy cardstock with silver ink and some kind of semi-gloss varnish.)  Posted by Megan
Designers
Wednesday, October 17, 2007 5:13:22 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Paula Scher's Paintings
Maya Stendhal Gallery recently announced a solo exhibition
of renowned artist and graphic designer Paula Scher,
which runs from November 8, 2007 through January
26, 2008.
"Scher expands on her highly acclaimed Maps
series to create her most engaging work yet, depicting entire continents,
countries and cities from all over the world that have been the critical
focus of attention in recent headlines."
 Posted by Megan
Designers
Tuesday, October 16, 2007 5:55:16 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, October 08, 2007
History Lesson
Never heard of Muriel Cooper? Seriously? The New York Times's weekend Style magazine profiled the woman who influenced a generation of designers working in digital media. Pentagram designer Lisa Strausfeld commented: “She was not at all skilled technically, and she wasn’t even that tech
savvy, and she leveraged her ignorance in a truly brilliant way.”
Designers
Monday, October 08, 2007 1:52:21 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Hybrid On Display
I just got an email from San Francisco-based designer Dora Drimalas of Hybrid about an exhibition of her paintings and illustrations called " Creature Comforts".  If you can't make it to SF for the show (which runs through October 30), you can nab one of her super cute prints from the Hybrid-Home site.  Posted by Megan
Designers
Wednesday, October 03, 2007 8:56:11 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, October 02, 2007
At The Top Of His Game
Mediabistro has a fantastic interview with noted magazine design and Pentagram partner Luke Hayman. "Good design doesn't cost much money. It just needs someone in charge
who understands what good design is, and very often the people who are
in charge don't care, or aren't aware, or are not educated enough to
see that. If you look carefully, you can find some trade magazines that
are as beautiful as any consumer title, and it's because they have
someone who cares and is allowed to do that."
Posted by Megan
Designers
Tuesday, October 02, 2007 5:42:11 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Y Is For Yeti
Designer and illustrator Jon Setzen of Standard Motion in Brooklyn recently designed an original alphabet poster for his soon-to-be-born first child. My favorite letter is "Y is for Yeti." The scribbley creature also shows up on a concert poster Jon designed for Black Mountian/The Cave Singers. Both posters can be ordered from Standard Motion.   via Design*SpongePosted by Megan
Designers
Wednesday, September 19, 2007 7:36:26 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, September 17, 2007
Logo Design Process
It's always interesting to see exactly how a designer works and it's rare to get the opportunity. A colleage recently stumbled on just such a step-by-step deconstruction of a logo design process and sent it to me (thanks, Pam). It's actually from a site that I like a lot, Chuck Green's Ideabook. It was a HOW Top 10 Site recently, but I thought it was worth pointing out this specific page. 
Posted by Megan
Designers
Monday, September 17, 2007 4:06:03 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Public Service Announcement
When Green Bay, WI-based advertising and design firm Arketype was offered six months of advertising space in a business publication, they decided to use the opportuntiy to raise awareness about a variety of issues including breast cancer and pet adoption. The result is a series of attractive ads that subtley promote the firm, while they bring attention to the causes. 
Posted by Megan
Designers
Wednesday, September 12, 2007 4:09:20 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, September 07, 2007
Philly's Worst Logo
Every town has its share of terrible logos, but Philadelphia's Gyro Worldwide decided to do something about it by sponsoring the Philly's Worst Logo competition. They rounded up a bunch of bad logos then asked everyone to vote. The "winning" logo was redesigned by Gyro's crack team of interns and the results are actually pretty good. Before 
After
Posted by Megan
Designers
Friday, September 07, 2007 3:07:32 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, September 05, 2007
A New Look In The Fight Against Cancer
Minneapolis-based Duffy & Partners unveiled a new logo brand identity, for the " Breast Cancer 3 Day" 60 mile walk event, in conjunction with its’ 5th anniversary which took place on August 3-5, in Boston, August 10-12 Chicago, August 17-19 Cleveland, August 24-26, and will take place on September 7-9 in Seattle Washington 2007. This new identity is just one piece in a larger, overall rebranding of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation into Susan G. Komen for the Cure. 
Posted by Megan
Designers
Wednesday, September 05, 2007 6:33:01 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, August 28, 2007
New Identity
Cincinnati-based design agency LPK (Libby Perszyk Kathman) has developed a contemporary visual representation for the agency formerly know as AVOC (AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati), now known as STOP AIDS. The organization's new identity, developed by LPK on a pro-bono basis, is aimed at reflecting the importance and urgency of STOP AIDS' mission.  Posted by Megan
Designers
Tuesday, August 28, 2007 2:29:20 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, August 16, 2007
Off The Wall
I just got a press release about a really cool project where a women-owned design firm ( Omnivore) created custom wallpaper for a women-owned architectural firm ( Front Studio). Yen Ha describes the wallpaper now covering her SoHo office walls: "Karen Hsu played with scale and density to create a double reading in the pattern. From afar it resembles traditional floral wallpaper, but up close there are hard hats, wigs, skyscrapers, flowers with pencils for stamens, etc. Hsu did not lose sight of our femininity. It's also a standard blueprint size, intended for print on actual blueprint paper—a subtle gesture for us architects."
Posted by Megan
Designers
Thursday, August 16, 2007 2:19:02 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, August 06, 2007
Behind The Icons
Posted by MeganI just got a fun email from illustrative designer Von Glitschka about a recent icon-design project he completed for Merck Pharmaceuticals:
In 1982 my Dad who worked for the school district asked me to create a set of icons for the district's emergency procedures manual. Technically speaking it was my first paying gig. I was going to make a whopping $125 for designing around '10' icons based on themes like 'Earthquake' and 'Floods'. I remember thinking how cool it was to get paid to do something I'd do for free. Little did I know that was a foreshadow of things to come. It's now twenty five years later and I am still designing icons and having fun.
Merck Pharmaceuticals needed a set of icons they could use in their print collateral pieces on Diabetes. The icons needed to be easily recognized by a very broad audience from kids to adults. The icons also needed to work using a simplified color palette based on two colors that could easily be adapted for varying color themes.
I nested each icon on a rounded-corner square motif which allowed me to then use it as a cropping device on the icons which wouldn't work as stand alone elements. The hardest one by far was the icon for 'Nervous System'. My first attempt looked more like an alien life form then it did a nerve ending.
Designers
Monday, August 06, 2007 4:03:30 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, August 01, 2007
One Punk Wins Gold
Posted by MeganNew York City-based motion graphics house nailgun* just won seven statues at the 2007 North American BDA/Promax awards, including a gold for art direction and design for their promo campaign for the Sundance Channel's documentary series One Punk Under God. One Punk Under God is a documentary centered on the life Jay Bakker, son of televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker and a very different minister in his own right at New York's Revolution Church. 
Designers
Wednesday, August 01, 2007 6:33:26 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, July 26, 2007
Highs And Lows
Posted by Meganvia Oh Joy! Abby Clawson Low is a design director specializing in identity and publication design, and her blog Hi+Low is an eclectic collection of printed ephemera and inspiring objects. Before starting her own business, Low flexed her design muscles at Kate Spade and Design MW. I'm totally adding this blog to my RSS feed right now!
Designers
Thursday, July 26, 2007 8:20:19 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Creative Workspace
Posted by MeganMattson Creative, based in Irvine, CA, recently relocated to new digs. The 100-year-old warehouse was formerly used to process lima beans! You can see a bunch of interior shots of the space at the Mattson website. 
Designers
Thursday, July 26, 2007 2:35:57 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Mad Ads
Designers
Tuesday, July 24, 2007 8:43:05 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, July 17, 2007
The Color Of Movies
Posted by MeganArmin Vit recently added an interesting post on Speak Up about the colors used in posters for top-grossing movies. His argument is that they tend to be black or very dark, except for G-rated movies. To help illustrate his point, he created a great visual represenation of the color palettes. 
Designers
Tuesday, July 17, 2007 6:51:21 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, July 16, 2007
Plaid Nation
Posted by MeganThe team from Connecticut-based agency Plaid recently embarked on a three-week road trip from NYC to Dallas to spread brand and design love. It's called Brand Aid 2007.
Brand Manager Darryl Orht says: "We'll be visiting clients, potential clients, and interesting spots along the way. Meanwhile, we'll be using all of the latest web 2.0 tools so that everyone can follow the tour. We'll have a live webcam in the van, webisodes broadcast on YouTube, a tour blog, a tour twitter stream, Flickr photo set, and a GPS/Google Maps mashup that will allow viewers to track the exact location of our van. Oh yeah, we're totally pimping out a van in Plaid, after our agency's name." 
Designers
Monday, July 16, 2007 3:10:53 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, July 13, 2007
Feeling Like A Million Bucks
Posted by MeganAshleigh Hansberger, principal of Myrtle Beach, SC-based Motto Agency was recently one of eight winners in the Make Mine a Million $ Business program. The program was created by Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence and founding partner OPEN from American Express to help women-owned businesses reach the million-dollar mark. The winners receive money, marketing, mentoring and technology resources in order to realize their million-dollar dreams. These most recent winners join 87 other women who are already in the program, which travels the country looking for the best women-owned businesses.
Designers
Friday, July 13, 2007 3:30:28 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, July 02, 2007
Not Just Another New Site
Posted by MeganIE Design + Communications has also just redesigned their self-promotional website. And like any good strategy firm, they've captured the thinking behind the new site in a thoughtful article that reveals a lot about their design process. 
Designers
Monday, July 02, 2007 3:40:47 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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In The Lab
Posted by MeganIndependant game-design studio Gamelab just relaunched their website to focus on the process behind their award-winning work. The site is full of short think pieces, concept sketches, company ephemera and other quirky goodness.
In other cool Gamelab news, the company's non-profit sister, Gamelab Institute of Play, just announced a 1.1 million dollar grant from the MacArthur Foundation. The grant will fund the planning and development of a new 6th-12th grade public school in NYC that will use game design and game-inspired methods as a basis for learning. The school is being developed in partnership with New Visions for Public Schools. You can listen to an NPR story about the grant here.
Designers
Monday, July 02, 2007 3:24:45 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, June 29, 2007
Masters Of Self-Promotion
Posted by MeganBesides all the great work that they do, San Francisco-based Chen Design Associates are also experts at keeping their name in the press. From winning competitions to writing books to sending a regular e-mail newsletter, they're always on top of their self-promotion game. Here are a couple of snippets from their most recent newsletter. Visit Chendesign.com to sign up for your own copy and learn from the best.  
Designers
Friday, June 29, 2007 3:02:51 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, June 28, 2007
My New Designer Crush
Posted by MeganAfter reading Marian Bantjes's post on Speak Up yesterday, I decided to check out her website. While I've been hearing her name a lot recently, I wasn't really sure what she was all about. All I can say is OMG! Her hand-rendered type is enough to bring any hardened designer (or editor) to tears.
So I was super excited when she sent an email out yesterday announcing that four of her pieces have been accepted into the permanent collection of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. Congratulations Marian!
Designers
Thursday, June 28, 2007 7:09:44 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Web Design That's Easy On The Eyes
Posted by MeganIf flashing neon colors aren't your thing (see post below), then check out MediaBOOM. Their self-promo site recently won best of show in the Connecticut Art Directors Club annual awards show. 
Designers
Tuesday, June 26, 2007 2:50:36 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, June 21, 2007
Unloved Logos
Posted by MeganDesigner Armin Vit, who just spoke at the HOW Conference in Altanta, has posted a nice summary of his session about rejected logos along with images of 100 logos that never saw the light of day. I think this is an amazingly generous gesture on his part. It's hard to look at projects that didn't work out, let alone share them with the world. But it's comforting for the rest of us to know that even the best designers don't always wow the client. 
Designers
Thursday, June 21, 2007 9:09:09 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, June 07, 2007
Museum-Worthy Posters
Designers
Thursday, June 07, 2007 3:54:52 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, June 01, 2007
The Oldsmodesk
Posted by MeganWilkinson Brothers, a design firm based in Carmel, IN—hometown of HOW editor Bryn Mooth—just posted a series of photos of the making of The Oldsmodesk, a desk made out of the front end of a 1953 Olds Super 88. Can't get much cooler than that. 
Designers
Friday, June 01, 2007 1:43:58 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, May 24, 2007 Thursday, May 17, 2007
New Identity
Posted by Megan
Minneapolis-based Design Guys has an unexpected new indentity inspired by a paint-by-numbers picture of birds. The look carries through to their letterhead, which has a series of laser-cuts of a bird taking flight. The whole point is that their work is not typical—not what you'd expect. And who'd expect birds from a firm that used to have a retro-garage look? 
Designers
Thursday, May 17, 2007 7:06:04 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Brand Love
Posted by MeganTo celebrate the evolution of Lovemarks, a limited edition of Kevin Roberts’ original book, Lovemarks: the future beyond brands (2004, powerHouse Books) will be released soon. The new book, Lovemarks: the Saatchi & Saatchi Designers’ Edition was created by sixteen designers or design teams from Saatchi & Saatchi’s worldwide network—from New Zealand to New York, Beijing to London. Each was commissioned to visually reinterpret a chapter of their choosing from the original book.
From the beautifully restrained to the outrageously eclectic, the designers’ unique interpretations take the central precept of each chapter and illuminate it in print. One example is the central Lovemarks idea of Loyalty Beyond Reason. In the new book, this is illustrated by the creation of an original tattoo, which was inked on eager recipients when the book was launched at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2006.
A limited edition run of 1,000 copies will be available for $75.
Designers
Tuesday, May 15, 2007 2:23:07 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, May 11, 2007
Sketchbook
Posted by MeganNew York City-based designer Rafael Esquer shares a selection of pages from his gorgeous sketchbook on his self-promo site. Just click on >Other Stuff, then >Sketchbook. 
Designers
Friday, May 11, 2007 4:35:40 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, May 09, 2007
A New Motto
Posted by MeganTaking full advantage of their Southern roots, the South Carolina-based design firm Motto Agency recently launched a new website with a fun, retro saloon theme.
Designers
Wednesday, May 09, 2007 6:55:31 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, May 03, 2007
May Flowers
Posted by MeganIn celebration of the spring/summer collections of Marithe + Francois Girbaud, the fourth installation in the CONSTRUKT series presents "The Hanging Gardens of Pulp" created by Zoe Bradley. The collaboration will open with a gala artist reception at the SoHo flagship boutique, 47 Wooster Street in New York City, through May 2007.  
Designers
Thursday, May 03, 2007 1:48:34 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, May 02, 2007
covers for bands
Posted by TriciaWhile I do have access to the blog, I'll share this observation.
I'm in the process of moving and while I was packing my far too many to count cds, I couldn't help but notice the covers. The hand-rendered look is still alive and well in the indie rock world, but lately emotive photos are being used in intriguing ways. American Apparel has that stark photo and clean type look going on, too. Is this a fad or the pendulum swinging?
Here are a few of my favorites.
Designers | Thought Provoking
Wednesday, May 02, 2007 2:57:01 AM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, April 27, 2007
Bad Fat Brothers
Posted by MeganFlickerLab, in partnership with Porter Novelli and the American Heart Association, recently created the humerous, animated site The Bad Fats Brothers, which aims to educate adults about the bad fats lurking in their food.
Designers
Friday, April 27, 2007 1:51:26 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, April 26, 2007
Getting Guys To Recycle Gadgets
Posted by MeganThe crew over at 72andSunny recently teamed up with G4 and Earth 911 to develop "gcycle," an environmental initiative aimed at getting young guys to recycle their tech gear, such as used chargers, cell phones, batteries, CD-ROMs, videogame consoles and other gadgets. 72andSunny created the website and an animated two-spot promo campaign featuring the illustrations of Adam Culbert (a.k.a. Sam Brown of explodingdog.com) and animated by Hornet Inc.
Designers
Thursday, April 26, 2007 6:36:20 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Design In The Real World
Posted by MeganIn what can only be described as the ultimate design student project, a group of real design students have made an episodic documentary based on real events surrounding their first paying gig. Episodic Nature of Thought is made up of 21 brief episodes and features cameos by Stefan Sagmeister, James Victore and Paul Sahre. (Warning: If you watch more than three, you'll get sucked in and lose half the morning.) 
Designers
Tuesday, April 24, 2007 2:22:50 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, April 13, 2007
Death and Taxes
Posted by MeganSome of my all-time favorite self-promotions have come from Milwaukee-based GS Design. In the past they've sent giant chocolate hearts, can openers and harmonicas. But what always sets these promos apart is the packaging design and the awesome copywriting.
Today, we were treated to a tax-themed promotion that provided the tools to fake ones own death in order to avoid the tax man. I find it disturbing that I look a lot my father in that fake moustache.
Designers
Friday, April 13, 2007 5:02:44 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, April 12, 2007 Monday, April 09, 2007 Monday, March 26, 2007
Wrap Star
Designers
Monday, March 26, 2007 5:37:50 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, March 09, 2007
Forget The Film
Designers
Friday, March 09, 2007 8:27:31 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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What's Up With Nebraska
Posted by MeganWhat's up with all the cool design coming out of Nebraska? Of course, there's Archrival, a frequent winner in HOW's design competitions. Not to mention, friend of HOW and upcoming HOW conference speaker RDQ. Now, this morning, I've come across Daake Design. 
Designers
Friday, March 09, 2007 3:44:12 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, February 15, 2007 Tuesday, February 13, 2007
The History of Valentines Cards
Posted by MeganThe Hallmark website has a fascinating video history of the Valentine card in America.
Designers
Tuesday, February 13, 2007 2:56:33 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, February 12, 2007
Master of Design
Posted by Bryn
Today's IDSA newsletter acquainted us with Charles "Chuck" Harrison, the first African-American executive at Sears, Roebuck & Co., where he headed the product design department. Harrison was instrumental in the design of nearly 750 consumer products (notably, the ViewMaster, the first plastic trash can and the portable hairdryer). IDSA has a podcast interview with Harrison, who now teaches industrial design at Columbia College in Chicago; you can also check out his memoir, " A Life's Design."
Designers
Monday, February 12, 2007 6:26:32 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, February 02, 2007
Keeping the Dream Alive
Posted by
CarmenThe Monday officially celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. and all the hopes and dreams (ahem) that he put into people's hearts may have already come and gone, but Green Bay, WI-based advertising/design shop Arketype doesn't let it go by unnoticed. Rather than just take the day off in memorial, employees take the day "on" by visiting local schools to read to them and to distribute posters and postcards they've created that promote King's vision. This year's design is meant to inspire a sense of wonder: 
Designers
Friday, February 02, 2007 6:37:32 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, January 29, 2007
A Story About Design's Most Prolific Writer
Posted by MeganMediabistro.com just posted a great interview with Steven Heller, the author of more than 100 books about design and illustration.
How many interviews do you think you’ve done in your career? Who was your favorite?
Geez,
I have done many hundreds, maybe more. I don’t even remember how I
started. I’ve enjoyed a lot of them for different reasons — I like
getting the skinny on something I didn’t know, or finding I have
surprisingly common interests with a subject, and we become kinda like
friends. I’m not Barbara Walters so I can’t say I’ve interviewed Mel
Gibson, Britney, A-Rod, K-Fed, or Henry K (although I wish, some day I
could interview Mel Brooks).
My subjects are artists,
designers, and writers — people who don’t have to do a PR thing for my
benefit. My favorite, however, was a celeb: Hugh Hefner, simply because
he was such a figure in my ill-begot youth. I also loved interviewing
Bob Downey Sr., a great filmmaker, whose Putney Swope was
such an influential picture when I was a teen. But I’ve enjoyed
interviews — or rather talks — with scores of people from David Levine
to Shepard Fairey.
Designers
Monday, January 29, 2007 6:07:15 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, January 15, 2007
Design For The Dream
Designers
Monday, January 15, 2007 5:08:37 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Making Statistics Hip
Posted by
Carmen
Lately I’ve been reading (a good thing for an editor—right?!) a book by Jim Wallis. In it he reiterates something we all know, but can always bear to be reminded of: about how change happens—not from political leaders or political actions—but from the bottom up. He says that for things to really happen, they have to come from the people.
So that’s why when I saw the design project, StatAttak, that Venice Beach, CA-based Stolen Inc. is spearheading, it made me think back to that whole idea of spreading the word and giving power to the people—power through knowledge. It happened as the folks at Stolen Inc. were flipping through statistics about different countries (oh, yeah!). They came across the fact that while most of us can expect to make it to about 70 or 80 years old, in Mozambique it’s only 31.3 years. So he took that fact—and others—and plastered them (with good design) on T-shirts that broadcast those realities to the public, and hope for change.
Our favorite part? The geometric type depicting the countries; a surefire sign that makes caring cool.
Designers | Thought Provoking | Typography
Wednesday, January 10, 2007 8:20:28 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, December 18, 2006
Design Starz
Posted by MeganWith a fresh take on the idea of tumbling dominoes, Montgomery & Co. recently created a promo for Starz on Demand service that demonstrates how users can take control of their entertainment.
Designers
Monday, December 18, 2006 4:06:53 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, December 04, 2006
Living for Design
Posted by
Brynthanks to David Snider for the link, via Designers Who BlogIf, like London designer and blogger Ben Terrett, you not only work in design but live it, if, as he writes, "design runs through your veins like Pantone 7418. But more than that,
it's there in every aspect of life. You can't stop looking at things
through your designer eyes. Everything you do is clouded by this thing
that lives inside you." If that sounds like you, read on ...
Designers
Monday, December 04, 2006 7:05:49 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, December 01, 2006
1,000 words
Designers | Gifts and Goodies
Friday, December 01, 2006 4:11:41 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Thursday, November 30, 2006
Yay!
Posted by
Carmen
Remember our June Creativity issue earlier this summer? In it, one of the features was a look at Speak Up's monthly Word It visual exercises. One of the Word It submissions that we featured was by Marian Bantjes, who we just got word is featured in a new promotion by Fox River Paper. From the press release: Fox River Paper has long aligned itself with artists and designers at a heightened level of thought leadership. Their latest promotion, designed by Rick Valicenti of Thirst, is the first in a series featuring emerging talent who possess this same leadership thought level.
Bantjes is a graphic designer/typographer living and working just outside of Vancouver, BC.
As described by renowned graphic designer, Stefan Sagmeister “Marian is one of the most innovative typographers working today. She understands how to create historical sense in the present and onwards into the future”.
“Marian truly is an emerging talent on the radar of the underground, about to break through. Her accomplishments are numerous, as you will see throughout this promotion. She will also soon hold the honor of being published by Princeton Press in the summer of 2007” according to Kathy Kemps, Marketing Manager for Fox River Paper Co."
We couldn't agree more ourselves! Congrats, Marian. Thursday, November 30, 2006 2:43:09 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Monday, November 27, 2006
Apple's Design Visionary
Posted by
BrynNow that the Mooth household is fully Mac-driven (Rob's dedication to our old Sony PC finally snapped when the buggy Microsoft OS and MSN caused both the system and the husband to completely melt down), Rob's Christmas wishlist, natch, includes an iPod. When I went to the store last week to buy a Nano, I was enthralled not just by the product, but by the fabulously minimal clear plastic packaging.
An interview in the International Herald-Tribune with Apple design guru Jonathan Ive revealed some of the company's design thinking: "A huge amount of what we try to do is simplification, solving very
complex problems without making the complexity evident. ... Our obsession is being very, very pure and inevitable, in some
cases getting design out of the way."
Designers
Monday, November 27, 2006 5:51:51 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, November 22, 2006
this movie review is design related
Posted by TriciaSince 80% of all Americans will go to the movies this week (unscientific, +/-30%), I thought I'd offer up this humble suggestion. Go see Stranger than Fiction. Emma Thompson made me laugh and Will Ferrell made me cry and that wasn't the only twist. In the opening scenes, charts and graphs overlay the live action to empasize Harold Crick's OCD nature. I did some digging and found that they were done by MK12 in Kansas City. There's a nice story about them in the Kansas City Star online. Great work. Great movie.
P.S. If you're a fan of Spoon, the timing of certain songs and the unsung lyrics of those songs will be a treat. No detail is too small for this film.
Designers
Wednesday, November 22, 2006 1:26:22 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, November 14, 2006
A Banner Day For Biking
Posted by MeganThe Great Rivers Greenway District recently selected the city of Clayton, Mo. to launch an on-street banner program to make area streets more bicycle friendly. The district is the public organization that is leading the development of a region-wide system of interconnected greenways, parks and trails known as "The River Ring" that ultimately will encompass a 600-mile web of more than 45 greenways.
As part of the Great Rivers Greenway District's overall graphic identity program, the banners were designed by Kiku Obata & Company, a design and brand strategy firm that specializes in creating and implementing identities and environments for retail, cultural, educational, athletic, entertainment, corporate and industrial organizations worldwide.
Colorful, earth-tone, 3 ft. x 8 ft. banners feature large graphic silhouettes of bicyclists. Each banner promotes one of 12 different messages focused on the health and environmental benefits of bicycling. Messages include "Burn calories, not gas," "Bicycles run on renewable energy," "Bike commutes don't pollute" and "Calories burned per mile bicycling—25."
Designers
Tuesday, November 14, 2006 1:58:46 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Maybe Someday ...
Posted by
Bryn... all campaign branding and advertising will be as thoughtful and well-designed as Jim Esch for Congress. The HOW award-winning identity and the website are by Archrival.
Designers
Tuesday, November 07, 2006 9:49:11 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Creature Feature
Posted by Tricia
At an AIGA/Cincinnati retreat, I recently had the good fortune to meet one of my favorite designer/illustrators. Jesse LeDoux designed the packaging for most of my favorite cds, several posters that adorn my walls and the April 2006 cover of HOW.
His latest venture takes his fantastic creatures into a 3-dimensional world. Working with Kidrobot, Jesse has produced a series of 15 toys called Dr. LeDoux’s Critter Splitter. As the name implies, they split apart and the pieces are interchangeable. In his latest newsletter he hints, "putting the cat butt on ANYTHING rules." Well, of course it does!
You can order the critters at LeDouxville.com.
Designers
Tuesday, November 07, 2006 9:27:16 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Push Ahead
Posted by MeganFounded on Halloween in 1996, Orlando-based design agency PUSH just celebrated its 10th anniversary. Starting with just five employees and a handful of clients, PUSH now has 55 employees and works with more than 20 international, national and regional clients. The agency has realized double-digit sales growth year-over-year and will achieve more than $40 million in capitalized billings for 2006.
Congratulations!
Designers
Wednesday, November 01, 2006 6:53:44 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Little Brother is Watching
Posted by MeganIn September, thirty-three top motion graphics and design studios were invited to create a custom vinyl toy, called a Qee (pronounced: Key) that reflected their unique vision. Among the studios that took part was New York's CA Square. The team at CA Square choose to take a tongue-in-cheek approach to the assignment, culture-jamming politics and pop culture and thus "Little Bro*" was born. On October 14th the creations were unveiled to the world to an opening night audience of over 600 people.
With ‘Little Bro*’ CA Square manages to pay homage to Orwell’s 1984 while remaining eerily relevant under the government’s surveillance-centric policies. The 8” Qee was outfitted with a camera embedded in its head and connected to a computer that could record the video stream while simultaneously outputting the video onto a nearby television monitor. You can see all the Qee's designed for the show at mixi-bang.com.
Designers
Wednesday, November 01, 2006 6:30:10 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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Friday, October 27, 2006
Prestigious Design
Designers
Friday, October 27, 2006 1:28:13 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, October 26, 2006
A World Without Science
Designers
Thursday, October 26, 2006 2:17:38 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Creativity vs. Disaster
Posted by MeganWhen faced with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many designers responded with creative fundraising projects. Designer and RIT professor Bill Klingensmith took on a massive project, photographing the city's neighborhood one-year after the disaster, and creating an impressive website to showcase his work and sell posters and books to raise money. 
Designers
Tuesday, October 24, 2006 2:03:24 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, October 23, 2006
Playing With Words
Posted by MeganInteractive
seating based on scrabble provides a short break area for employees in
the London offices of Bloomberg financial services. Users can make
words and leave messages with the screen printed letter cushions. Designed by Stephen Reed Industrial Design.
Designers
Monday, October 23, 2006 2:58:45 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, October 16, 2006
OFFICE Space
Posted by
BrynIn the design competition, we saw some cool identity materials from Office, a retro-hip office-supply store in Portland, OR. (I shouldn't say this, but yeah, they won a spot in the annual. Sssshhhh.) Turns out, the creative team behind the shop has some serious design chops: marketing director Kelly Coller daylights at Twenty Four • Seven (which has scored more than one HOW design award), and creative director Tony Secolo used to be at Getty Images. No wonder we liked their stuff. 
Designers
Monday, October 16, 2006 6:54:05 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, October 02, 2006
Goin' West
Posted by
Tricia
AIGA Nebraska has kindly asked me to judge their upcoming design show so I'll be heading out west to Omaha at the end of this week. I'd love to see some HOWies at the Judges Reception Friday night. Come one and all. And may the best designer win.
While there, I'll be recording a podcast for Be A Design Group. I guess I better start preparing my thoughts on designism.
Designers | HOW Magazine | Industry News
Monday, October 02, 2006 9:44:20 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Still Dazed and Confused
Posted by
Bryn
Marc English recently shared the new DVD package he's created; he's been scooping up design awards for other packages for The Criterion Collection, including "My Own Private Idaho" and "Slacker." This time it's for the new edition (edit: it commemorates the 30th anniversary of the movie's setting, on the last day of school in 1976—our bad) of "Dazed and Confused," the indie film that launched the likes of Parker Posey and Matthew McConaughey. Marc says, "We used nasty '70s fonts like Tiffany, Korinna and Benguat, and some pretty cheesy layouts, a la Creem, Tiger Beat and HighTimes." Rock this: 
Designers
Tuesday, September 26, 2006 8:52:23 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, September 20, 2006
The Most Influential Designer You've Never Heard Of
from The New York Times
He designed posters for the Rolling Stones; was best friends with Jimi Hendrix; and served as the creative director for the the original Hard Rock Cafe and the House of Blues as well as for the opening of the Playboy Club in London; he even penned a best-seller. Yet despite his staggering résumé, the graphic design guru Alan Aldridge is little known today.
More
—Megan
Designers
Wednesday, September 20, 2006 3:52:28 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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