January 2012
5 posts
6 tags
New Lost Instruments Poster Print
During my last semester of college I created these Picasso inspired instruments, and I have had them posted on my site for some time. Well I finally got them all together on one poster and have it up for sale at Gram Posters! My work has just been approved to go up for sale, so I am letting you all know! It is part of a limited series of 50 prints. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did making it!
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Positive Apocalypse 2012 Calendar
The much anticipated desktop calendar by Studio On Fire is finally available for sale! With the help of talented illustrators to contribute art, the letter-pressed calendar is ful of a humorous representations of a positive apocalypse in 2012. For only $30 you can get this set for your own desk here.
Contributors to the calendar’s art:
Missy Austin
Brian Gunderson
Studio On Fire
...
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A Guide to the Ampersand Infographic
Click to view full size
Everything you would ever want to know about the ampersand, all in one graphic. I created this piece a while back at Column Five Media, and I never realized it was released to the web. So today is my first time actually seeing this graphic on the web. I was happy to see it was passed along to many sites, so if you have already seen this, sorry, it is still going up. Hope...
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Here & There Posters
By: Marisa Seguin
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Own Your Work
Back when I was in college taking design classes, I had an instructor who always told me, “Own your work.” It was something he told me when I was acting defensive and finding excuses about my work, as I was being critiqued. He was trying to tell me to take pride in my work and accept critique. Even if my design had blatant problems, it is still my work and I need to own up to the...
December 2011
11 posts
7 tags
Organic Grid Structures
Ingenious organic grids created by Peter Orntoft.
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Watchcuriositycounts:
The great Saul Bass pitches the new Bell System logo in 1970. For more on Bass, see the highly-anticipated new monograph on his work and legacy (via)
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Mom Makes The Best Cookies
By: Brad Renner
The other day I discovered this amazing illustration that hearkens back to 1950’s Children’s Digest magazines. I am a sucker for minimal color palettes with a lot of contrast. Just an overall solid and nostalgic piece.
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Team Samake - Designing for a Purpose
The Depictionist recently posted an article about how design is helping this man, who can’t afford running for president in Mali. Yeah Samake is a graduate of Brigham Young University and has a strong following in his hometown. In effort to avoid gaining funding dishonestly, unlike many of his fellow runners, he has found the help of Cole Neilsen is designing everything for his campaign....
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Tangram Map of the U.S.
By: Ryan of Midnight Umbrella
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Frank Chimero Speaks at the Do Lectures
viafrank:
The Do Lectures just posted the video from my presentation this past September. It’s a little talk about doing things the long, hard, stupid way, and the opportunity of beginning to think about our work as designers as a gift. It also jumps a bit into the issues that need to be overcome to be able to do so in this new digital context where most of our work now lives. I’d...
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A-Frame Doll House
Now this is one doll house I would not be ashamed to own. Kevin Kidney posted this on his blog recently, from a 1961 Sunset Magazine. Remember when times where better and there weren’t as many safety laws and regulations with toys? I miss quality, and educational toys like this. Not to mention it is a small replica of beautiful architecture! Check out the full post on Kevin’s blog...
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The Back and Forth Project - WORDS
Inspired by the movie WORDS in my last post, a design colleague of mine, Adrian Walsh, and I have started a back and forth project on Dribbble. Though rebounds, we have started our project on the word BLANK. We are taking turns, each doing an illustration of one of our interpretation of the word. It is still in the beginning stages of the project, but here are Adrian and I’s first posts. Be...
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Silver Screen Society Entry - Big Fish
Just recently I was given the opportunity to participate in the film poster project, Silver Screen Society. Amongst some other talented designers, who are also participating this month, this was my contribution to the project. This month’s film was Big Fish, where the requirements were to make a piece of art that represents the movie. I designed this piece to represent how the story ends...
November 2011
3 posts
5 tags
I Heart Guts
I would like to introduce you to my favorite find of year. Wendy Bryan, an illustrator and lover of guts, has created a line of plush toys of cute, little human organ friends. Any feelings of being grossed out by the idea of the toys, are quickly overwhelmed by their cute and informative character. Best part about these is, you can learn about each guts’ function in your body and what they...
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Project Thirty Three
This is a wonderfully curated library of old vinyl covers that use only basic shapes and colors for the design. It is a great resource for inspiration and motivation in creating designs that are simple yet well composed. I will be following this blog quite regularly.
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Bauhaus Chess
Christmas is just around the corner, and I am adding this to my wish list for sure. Josef Hartwig, Bauhaus sculptor, designed these functional chess pieces in 1923. Besides being beautiful, they were designed to represent the function of each individual piece. I need one.
Source: bauhaus-online.com
October 2011
8 posts
4 tags
2010 IBM Print Ad Campaign - Noma Bar
sprucedstudios:
The wonderfully clever, minimalist ad posters for IBM done by Noma Bar. It is refreshing to see minimalism done well, with wit and depth. Noma does a great job of playing off negative space and making the viewer work for the answer, and be rewarded with something interesting and beautiful. Here are some of our favorites:
source: about.com
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Asian Manhole Cover Designs
After seeing these beautiful, Asian manhole covers, I decided to add designing one to my bucket list. If anyone knows how to get this kind of a design job, let me know.
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Pergamon World Atlas 1968
sprucedstudios:
Beautiful maps and infographics can be found it the 1968 Pergamon World Atlas, created by the Polish Army Topographical Services. Here are a few of our favorite pages:
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ColorKu
Adding this solid wood, sudoku game on my Christmas wish list this year. I played ColorKu for the first time a little while ago, and for me, it was a lot more enjoyable than looking at numbers on a sheet of paper. For some reason my mind understands colors better and it made the game both more enjoyable AND easier. Try it out!
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Color Blindness Test
The other day a buddy of mine showed me a color blindess test, called the Farnsworth-Munsell 100-Hue Test, that he had just bought off Craigslist, in his preparations to join the FBI. He himself is colorblind, so he bought it in order to practice his color hue arranging capabilities. When he asked if I wanted to try it, I was fairly confident I would do well (being a graphic designer), but the...
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For Steve: By Frank Chimero →
viafrank:
The world gives us so few who provide a way for us all to see in new ways. It always hurts when they leave. The effused sadness that has spread through the internet from the news of Steve Jobs’ death is to be expected. We lament when things are taken from us, and I’d say that Jobs’ death (like…
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September 2011
6 posts
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Dated Icons = More Identifiable
There is something interesting about creating icons for technology. Distinguishing the difference (graphically) between different types of technology, isn’t quite as easy as it used to be. The unique shapes, numerous buttons, or even the sizes alone, are what make dated technology more identifiable as icons.
In the image above, there are the more dated icons, and directly below them are...
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Designer Interview: Tony Carpenter
Today’s designer interview is with Tony Carpenter, BYU–Idaho Graphic Services Creative Director. I am particularly excited to be introducing you to Tony because of the influence he had on my own design career. Most likely you haven’t heard of him or know of his work because he is much more than a designer. He is a proud/busy father, teacher, creative director, mentor, and friend.
...
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Adopted Mistakes in Visual Literacy
Today I was working on a project that required a medical symbol of some sort, and I discovered something interesting. In the image above you see the two familiar icons that we relate to medicine or healing. Oddly enough, only one of the two are actually related to medicine. Which one do you think it is? The answer is…the rod of Asclepius. Asclepius is the Greek god of medicine and healing....
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LACMA Mid-Century Modernists of California Exhibit
Image source: www.lacma.org
If you live in SoCal and you are a designer, you need to check out the LACMA exhibition on mid-century modernists from California, from 1930 to 1965. The exhibition begins on October 1st, and will go until March 2012. So you have plenty of time to go check it out. Some of my favorite designers’ work will be shown, so you know I will be there. The website said...
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Charles and Ray Eames: The Art in Teaching
Recently, I wrote an article for www.visualnews.com. Go to the link and check out my post on the educational films done by Charles and Ray Eames. Enjoy!
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Stranger Than Fiction Infographics
Tonight I was watching one of my favorite movies of all time, Stranger Than Fiction. Besides having a wonderfully talented cast, and witty dialogue, the movie took the cake by incorporating beautiful infographics. Now I believe you can find inspiration everywhere; who would have thought it would have been in a Will Ferrell movie? Regardless, go watch this movie for the first time or for the...
August 2011
16 posts
5 tags
Method & Craft
While searching for design tip tutorials, I found Method & Craft. The website is, as the , “the DVD extras of design: the stories behind the work, who made it, how they did it, and the techniques people have developed throughout their professional career.” Bookmark this site and use it as a resources for help and inspiration from talented design professionals. Enjoy!
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Wunderlist: Your New Task Manager
Wunderlist is a task management app that will blow any other app you currently may be using out of the water. Aside from having a beautiful and and easy to use UI, Wunderlist does it all. You can make lists to organize your own tasks, and then specify if you want to be reminded with an email and/or push notification. Since you can synchronize all of your devices, you will never be without your...
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Graphic Designer + Drawing Skills = Better
Image Source: Scout Books
WARNING: If you are a graphic designer who is easily offended, suck it up and read this anyways.
There are too many people who believe that drawing isn’t an important skill to have as a graphic designer. It is true that you can be a graphic designer and not be a talented drawer, but those designers who do know how to draw have such an advantage. Here is why:
...
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Same person?
Did anyone else realize that Ashton Kutcher, as Kelso in That 70’s Show, looks like an identical twin to a young Steve Jobs?
6 tags
Visual News Site Redesign
Source: visualnews.com
You know how there are those blogs that you follow daily because the content is just so unique everyday? That is Visual News. If you aren’t already following the blog, check it out and you will get hooked. The majority of the posts fall under categories such as, artist spotlight, infographics, motion, visual bits, and news. And the best part is, they just had a...
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Kings of Mid-Century Modernism
1961 Playboy photo featuring left to right - George Nelson, Edward Wormley, Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, Charles Eames and Jens Risom
Image source: Lushpad
Yesterday, my wife and I were strolling around Santa Monica’s 3rd Street Promenade, when we ran into my favorite furniture store of all time, Design Within Reach. If you are into mid-century modernism, you need to check out this...
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What makes an icon iconic?
image source: thenounproject.com
As you may already know, I am an infographic designer at Column Five Media. Every day I am creating tiny icons for the infographics I design. Therefore, I have had a lot of time to contemplate what makes an icon, well, iconic.
Small icons need to be clear and legible. The viewer needs to be able to associate the symbol or icon with its supporting text or idea,...
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Being Tasteful with Textures
Textures and I have a love/hate relationship. I personally love using them, and I love and appreciate when others use them well too. Although, there are many texture-happy people, and or designers, who don’t know how to control themselves. Because textures mean so much to me, I want to share with you some advice about textures.
Use them subtlety- The easiest way to spot an amateur...
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Junior Deluxe Editions Children's Books
Yesterday Krystal (my wife) and I were hopping from antique store to antique store, hoping to uncover some antique treasure. Yes, we often do this on the weekend. As you know, I am a little obsessed with history, especially art/design history. So when we stumbled upon this small collection of Junior Deluxe Editions children’s books, we were beyond elated. They were sitting on top of an...
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Is there space for Squarespace?
This past week I discovered Squarespace.com. At first I was kind of wary about the service, just on principle. I was worried it was another website building service that catered to all the small business owners, or hobbyists who didn’t want to pay a programmer/designer to create one that cost them more than $100. BUT, as I dug a little deeper in the site, I realized there is a place for...
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The Design Cubicle of Brian Hoff
For brilliant advice and information about design ethics, issues, and help, visit The Design Cubicle of Brian Hoff. His blog is a great way to stay informed and involved in the world of design.
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Tips for Finding a Design Job Fresh out of College
Not too long ago I graduated with a BFA in graphic design. There are a few things I wish I would have known before I started my job hunt. Hopefully you can learn from my experience, and not learn by trial and error, as I did. Here is a list of things I recommend a graphic design student do in order to find a job fresh out of college: Online Portfolio: Have a personal portfolio website. There...
4 tags
Eames House
Last week I was watching a TED conference video about the life of Ray and Charles Eames, when I fell in love with their home all over again.
The Eames constructed the home for the Case Study House Program in the Arts and Architecture magazine in 1949. Basically the program was to design and build modernist homes using modern materials and a well-known architect. In the Eames’ case, they...
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Infographics App By Column Five Media
As of a few weeks ago, Column Five Media came out with an app that brings you current news and information on a myriad of other interesting topics, in the form of information graphics. With constant updates to the app, you can stay in the know in a clear, fun and intelligible way! Check out these beautifully designed infographics for yourself and download the free Infographics app today!
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The Design of Everyday Things
I thought I shares what book I am reading because it is that good. ‘The Design of Everyday Things’ is a guide to analyzing the objects we use everyday. Donald A. Norman, the author, brings an intelligent and thought provoking approach, that forces one to be critical of interaction with everyday objects. His intellectual background comes from his Bachelor’s of Science in...
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July 2011
24 posts
4 tags
Cubism and Abstract Art - 1936
This morning I was reading through the book, Design: Intelligence Made Visible, and I found this wonderful diagram. It was the cover of the ‘Cubism and Abstract Art’ exhibition catalogue for the Museum of Modern Art of New York, in 1936. It was created by Alfred H. Barr, the director of New York’s Museum of Modern Art. He is known for introducing new art to American society. I...