Cool Design Links
Here are a few great design inspiration links: Archive of Postage Stamps by Type Designers Great Book Covers from 2008 Smithsonian’s Flickr Page Lee Sutton’s Flickr Page Time Life Photo Archive (hosted by Google) Enjoy!
graphic design
My Holiday Card – O Christmas Tree
So I’ve been planning this year’s holiday card since last year. I had a few too many sketches from last year that I felt were cool enough, so I made life easy for myself this year and started from these sketches from last year: I decided to “zoom in” on the what I call the … Read more My Holiday Card – O Christmas Tree
Agile Design Tips
Eric Karjaluoto from smashLAB has an interesting essay on his ideas on ideas blog about how to streamline your creative process to be less rigid and more agile while keeping it efficient and productive. While the changes he suggests are small, I believe they make sense for the most part and I’m willing to give … Read more Agile Design Tips
Just what they didn’t want for Christmas!
I was out shopping the other day with a friend and we were looking at the Christmas stuff. Along with the typical Christmas lights, candy, and displays there was this: I call him “Gansta Rappa Spuds Mackenzie”, and he sings and lights up. He has either a gold or silver plated “grill” in addition to … Read more Just what they didn’t want for Christmas!
Great End Titles
I saw Madagascar over the Thanksgiving weekend. The original movie was good, not great, but it was entertaining. So I figured the second could be fun to see. I think it is one of the rare cases where the sequel is as good as, or in some ways, is better than the original. I really … Read more Great End Titles
Poopy Packaging Idea
I was in Wal-Mart the other day buying Christmas gifts and I wanted to buy some chocolate for my dad. I went over to the holiday candy section and was browsing the selection when I came across this: (apologies on image quality, I only had my cell phone camera handy) What the heck? Who in … Read more Poopy Packaging Idea
Friday Fun: Kleenex Typo
So as I ripped open my latest box of Kleenex® tissues the other day, I noticed that the strip with the tissue count said “180”. I was a bit confused because I recently started buying the larger packages that I thought came 280 in a box. So I went and got another box. And sure … Read more Friday Fun: Kleenex Typo
Picture Perfect Target Gift Cards
I found this on Boing Boing the other day…Target now has gift cards with a built-in 1.2 megapixel digital camera. I’m not sure how practical this is, but it just sounds really cool and appears to be well-designed.
Seen in San Diego
So I was on vacation to San Diego in mid-October. It is a beautiful city and my friend and I had a great time. And I was able to catch a coupe of signs that made me go hmm…. The first sign I encountered was at the parking garage. While the small sign says “push”, … Read more Seen in San Diego
Illuminated Wall Decor
This is one of the coolest things I’ve seen. It’s glowing wallpaper lit with fiber optics, so the patterns actually light up on your wall. Very impressive!
Wal-Mart on Friday Fun!
I admit it, shop at Wal-Mart. I prefer Target, but sometimes what I need just isn’t there. Luckily, the Wal-Mart closest to my house is one of the redesigned ones that is more pleasing to look at, at least from a graphic designer’s point of view. I do hate the self-checkout systems, though. I’ve always … Read more Wal-Mart on Friday Fun!
Not-As-Upscale
From my friends over at HOW comes this NY Times (free registration required) article talking about upscale brands feeling the pinch of the financial “crisis”. And they seem to be utilizing some low-end tactics to keep the customers coming: coupons and steep discounts. Is this a new trend until the financial storm blows over? For designers: … Read more Not-As-Upscale
All Hallow’s Eve Eve
While I’m not a huge fan of Halloween, I thought I’d get into the spirit this year and post this image that I did a few years ago for a friend of mine who loves Halloween. Enjoy, be safe Trick-or-Treating, and watch out for the monster under your bed…
Wire-Free Electricity
My inner science geek LOVES this story: Intel recently demonstrated wireless power. While it’s not ready for primetime yet, it sounds promising and just plain cool! Here’s the link to the full story:http://www.physorg.com/news138592657.html
Greek Dressing
Batsakis Foods approached me to design their first product label for Andi’s Authentic Greek Dressing. The client had two requirements: include the Greek Key and the blue from the Greek Flag (PMS 286C). Of course, my first step was to visit my friend Dr. Google to research Greek history and culture. I’ve also been a … Read more Greek Dressing
Remember
This year marked the 7th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. To commemorate the solemn occasion, the folks over at Rule29 made a pin and were giving it away for free. I checked for strings, but couldn’t find any, so I decided to take them up on the offer. I fully expected just the pin … Read more Remember
Princess Luna
My dear friend Amanda got married this past weekend near Temecula, CA. As is my tradition, I illustrated a custom poem as her wedding gift. The first step is writing an appropriate poem. I went through several versions until I finally got it right. Next, I started sketching out thumbnails for the illustration. I had … Read more Princess Luna
Off to Warm and Sunny California!
As autumn begins to settle in here in Ohio, I can only thing of one thing: thank God I’m headed to California today! I’m heading out to see a dear friend of mine get married near Temecula. I’m staying in San Diego since it is a bit closer to the wedding and I’ve never been … Read more Off to Warm and Sunny California!