Sign In


Subscribe | Renew | Give a Gift | HOWdesign.com
# Friday, April 10, 2009
Bookmark and Share

Lick My Stamp, Man

Out of the nearly 50,000 suggestions the U.S. Postal Service receives each year, the faces of The Simpsons will be lining envelopes across the country.

As a Simpsons fan, I'll definitely decorate my bills and cards with these and they just may be a new personal favorite, along with the Marvel super heroes stamps.

The faces of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie are set to go on sale May 7. "This is the biggest and most adhesive honor The Simpsons has ever received," says Matt Groening, creator and executive producer of The Simpsons.

Click here to vote for your favorite Simpsons stamp and register to win a poster signed by Groening.


©2007 USPS Used with permission. All rights reserved.


Posted by Jessie


Just for Fun
Friday, April 10, 2009 5:50:07 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [2] 
Bookmark and Share

The Beez Neez

Julene Harrison makes gorgeous cut paper type and is available for commissions.



via Not Cot

Posted by Megan


Typography
Friday, April 10, 2009 1:17:39 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [0] 
Bookmark and Share

The Rabbit Mayor

Kitsune Noir pointed me to the website of Los Angeles-based illustrator Jon Klassen this morning, where I found an excerpt from his illustrated story "The Rabbit Mayor." Klassen created the story for the comics anthology Flight, which appears to hold many other visual treasures.





Posted by Megan


Illustration
Friday, April 10, 2009 12:51:13 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [0] 
Bookmark and Share

Job Of The Day

Graphic Designer
Bachman Brand Development, Milwaukee, WI


As a graphic designer, you'll be primarily responsible for developing and creating eye-popping consumer packaging graphics. You'll also need to be adept at jumping through hoops and handling unreasonable requests with ease. We'll also most likely ask you to design other consumer-focused materials like catalogs, POS and much more.

Posted by Megan


Industry News
Friday, April 10, 2009 12:36:48 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [0] 
# Thursday, April 09, 2009
Bookmark and Share

All the News

Quite the backlog of press tidbits accumulating in our "news" folder for the past 10 days, including:

• Neenah has launched a BlackBerry app that allows access to its Stock List Guide; this in addition to the recent launch of a mobile version of its eco-calculator. The mill also released a new swatchbook for its Environment line, which is entirely FSC- and Green Seal-certified and made with 100% green energy. Neenah says Environment was the first premium writing/text/cover brand with postconsumer recycled content brought to the market back in 1990.



• Speaking of mobile apps, Pantone has a new free one for the iPhone: Colorstrology by Michelle Bernhardt offers a daily color and a "color horoscope." Download here

Whole Foods Market's in-house team created Earth Month promo materials entirely using third generation, closed-loop recycled papers. Which means they recycled their own paper waste (in-store materials printed on Mohawk Via and Options 100% postconsumer stock) and had it deinked, pulped and shipped back to Mohawk for remanufacture into paper (the fibers have been used three times: as paper, as recycled paper and then as recycled-recycled paper). Here's the cover for WFM's Earth Month brochure; more info on the project on the Whole Foods blog.



International Paper has a new promo for its full range of digital papers: Hammermill, Carolina Coated Cover, Accent Opaque, Springhill and Williamsburg; a compatibility guide helps match paper and digital printing equipment for best performance.

Extensis released an update to Suitcase Fusion 2, which is backward-compatible with Mac OS X v. 10.4.11 (Tiger).

• Monotype Imaging added 100+ fonts to its Monotype, Linotype and ITC collections, including Azbuka, ITC Bolthole and Akira Kobayashi's Trade Gothic Next. Check them out at Fonts.com.

• Quark and The Art Institutes announced the winners of their joint design contest: First prize went to Victor Trevino of The Illinois Institute of Art/Chicago (the win landed him an internship at Quark and a trip to the DSVC Student Show in Dallas); Luis Valderrama of the Fort Lauderdale school scored second prize and Mario Torres, also of Fort Lauderdale, picked up third. See their work and contest details here.

• School of Visual Arts is holding its 2009 senior portfolio review for graphic and 3D design students on May 7 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Art Directors Club in New York City. They're looking for pros to review portfolios; rsvp to cdrsvp at sva dot edu.

• Parsons The New School for Design showcases the work of its new grads with thesis shows running from April 29 through the end of May. Work will be exhibited at the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center and venues across Manhattan. Here is more information.

Posted by Bryn

Industry News
Thursday, April 09, 2009 8:25:21 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [0] 
Bookmark and Share

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)  #  Comments [0] 
Bookmark and Share

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)  #  Comments [0] 
Bookmark and Share

The Mating Habits of the Pen Tool

Adobe's landmark pen tool defined an industry. But to the uninitiated, its reliance on anchor points and control handles makes it as approachable as first-year algebra.

Until you see it's nothing more than a mating ritual: The points are boys and the handles are girls. Once you get that, it all falls into place.

The dekePod video series, hosted by digital imaging expert Deke McClelland, just released its 13th episode. It's informative and entertaining.



Posted by Jessie


Design Resources
Thursday, April 09, 2009 6:53:21 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [0] 
Bookmark and Share

Job Of The Day

Artist/Illustrator
Ernie Ball, Coachella, CA


Ernie Ball is looking for talented applicants interested in a full-time graphic design position. Ernie Ball is one of the world's leading guitar manufacturers. With products sold in over 6,000 music stores throughout the USA and in over 50 countries, Ernie Ball is a major player in the music industry. Artists will be helping with the design and layout of t-shirts, product packaging, promotional ads, websites, and other promotional items. As well as communicating with outside vendors and attending press checks.

Posted by Megan


Industry News
Thursday, April 09, 2009 3:42:04 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [0] 
# Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Bookmark and Share

Ink Artistry

So, you settle into the chair and brace yourself as the artist prepares to add some permanent ink to your forearm. Wouldn't you want him to be using THIS?

RKS Design teamed up with Neuma, an innovator in tattooing tools, to create the Neuma Hybrid, which has a lot of cool features (you know, if you're a tattoo artist).

The compact, lightweight, pneumatic machine is light-years better than the old coil machines, and its softer "hit" on the skin reportedly makes getting that butterfly on your back less painful. Even better, the components can be autoclaved for sterility, and the whole machine can be easily taken on the road for artists who travel to ply their trade. On top of all that, it's just a nice-looking piece of industrial design.

Posted by Bryn

Industry News
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 8:40:29 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [0]