When I first saw the Icon 4×4 CJ series a while back I was temped to post but never got around to it. Seeing their new 1964 Bronco reproduction tipped the balance though and I had to get these up here. Icon create idealized versions of a few of the great 4×4 of yore (Bronco, CJ, and FJ) with a modern slant and an eye for detail. Don’t ask how much they cost unless you’re reading this on the front deck of a yacht or all your emails end with “Sent from a horse”. Nike was somehow involved. Also, you get a free shoe with one of them apparently.
More pics and some insight into the process of designing the Bronco can be found here
So I came across this great collection of vinatge ski posters a while back, but unfortunately they were all watermarked. I really hate watermarks and try to avoid posting images containing them at all costs; but these were just too good to pass up so you’ll have to try and see past the giant “ORIGINAL SKI POSTERS” and enjoy the underlying greatness. Growing up in Sacramento I always had a thing for 70s ski culture — Tahoe was a short drive up the mountain and a lot of the style and imagery tricked down into the valley. A lot of these perfectly capture the spirit of those times for me.
So, as you may have guessed, these are all from the Original Ski Posters site, where you can purchase many of them. Sadly, these watermarked Jpegs are as close as most of us will ever get to these as they start at around £500 and go upwards of £3000. there is an open image directory here where you can grab all the images with a utility like Downthemall. A couple seem ripe for watermark removal and some of the resolutions are high enough to get a good print out of.
Some vintage WWII / 40’s era Kodachromes. Always amazed at the color and detail of these. Images like these are a stark illustration of the limits of technology. Or at least of what we consider technological progress. True, photography has become more convenient and cost effective, increasing availability and enabling more people to participate. I think on the whole this is worth the cost of the death of film. But the sad truth is that the kinds of images you see above are a dying breed. In fact, I have not personally seen anything approaching this kind of quality come out recently (please correct me if I’m wrong, I’d love to see people doing stuff like this currently).
Although these shots are all beautiful, they don’t hold a candle to William Eggelston’s brilliant work which occupies the same kind of color space in my mind.
On a side note, I just got to Barcelona! One of my favorite cities, so happy to be able to relax here for a few days after our long European tour.
The 1960s had some of the most interesting design. The typography and photography really pushed design in a beautiful direction. These 1960s Life Science book covers and graphics bring on such a wave of nostalgia. The typeface used in these was perfect.
Paul Ibou was a great Belgian graphic designer who studied at the Royal Academy in Antwerp. In 1961, at age 23, he began working as a freelance designer under the pseudonym Ibou. The term Ibou meant “inventive book designer and publisher”. Also, in French Ibou also meant “owl” which initiated the beginnings of his large collection of owl symbols.
After sifting through more images from the Counter Print photostream, this collection arose. The purity and clear design of these vintage book covers makes me warm inside.
Tears of joy would stream from my eyes if this were under my tree Christmas morning. It is now that I can fully appreciate the simple solutions of such design—less is more. It just makes me sad to know that the chance of this ever happening again on mainstream packaging is slim to never.
