I’ve been spending most of my recent waking hours looking for an apartment in San Francisco. Most of what I see looks like it was built in 1900 (because it was) and is light years away from an architectural style I gravitate towards. I prefer styles like what you see above for Plastic Moon by Norisada Maeda Atlier. (Good luck finding this in SF.)
As weird and crazy as it looks, I think this is fantastic. Reminds me a little of the Micro Compact Home, though I don’t think you can pick up and move everything quite as easily. Sterile looking? Perhaps, but that’s what you get when you combine a living space, dental clinic, and a swimming pool all into one space. I bet I could get a lot of work done here if I switched out the dental clinic for a design firm. I would live in Plastic Moon instantly. And of course, a little resemblance to Jakub’s Moodgadget cube never hurts anybody.
These spreads from Newwork Magazine are exceptionally awesome. At first I wasn’t sure why I was so taken by them, but I think it’s a combination of the following factors: sole use of (mostly) black and white, implementation of a strict grid, lots of little type details throughout, and a sophisticated and effective use of negative space. Newwork Magazine (ink on paper / 32″ x 23″) is put out by Studio Newwork.
A few Decca record covers done by ISO50 favorite, Erik Nitsche. I was browsing Flickr for some or Nitsche’s work and I came across the massive assortment of images here, compiled by BustBright. I am in love with the type on these, especially the “Schlusnus sings” typeface. I’m not sure what it is but it amazing. And I always love Didot — if you browse the rest of the archive, you’ll see a lot of that.
Spencer Nugent posted an interesting article on the Levels of Sketching over on IDSketching (that’s his image above). I don’t know a lot about industrial design, or the complex role sketching appears to have in the field, but I was really interested to read a little more about it. What came to mind immediately was the sketching process we are constantly encouraged to go through at graphic design school. I am always terrified of this part and try my best to avoid it (which is impossible). Of course, though the role of the sketch is different in this case — as it serves as a rough internal mock up rather than a deliverable for a client — it’s importance remains of a high level (for a number of reasons, many of which Milton Glaser explains in this video that’s been floating around the last couple weeks).
The sketching process for the project I mentioned a while back has been pretty intense. Recently I’ve been working through countless concepts and designs, sketching my hands off. I was lucky to figure out my direction/concept early on, but it’s taken me forever to figure out the right way to render it. This has meant ENDLESS amounts of sketches and crappy little mock ups. I guess I lack the patience to sketch well, and my process book looks like I was drawing blindfolded, drunk, and with my off hand.
Seeing the way industrial designers sketch, I am truly envious. To be able to render something that detailed and precise, without a computer sometimes, I can’t imagine. Of course, I am reacting this way because I grew up designing with the computer. “Process” to me has always meant keyboard and mouse, not pencil and paper. I recognize this as a potential weakness in my workflow, and have been trying really hard to incorporate sketching into this project. Results have been here and there so far, and I wonder if I will ever be able to develop my sketching ability to where it’s consistently worthwhile.
Mrs. Eaves is one of my favorite typefaces. Especially when it comes to serifs — which admittedly, I use infrequently — Mrs. Eaves has long been a go-to. I agree with designer Zuzana Licko’s description that “Mrs Eaves was a mix of just enough tradition with an updated twist. It’s familiar enough to be friendly, yet different enough to be interesting.”
After much anticipation, the sans-serif companion Mr. Eaves is complete. It comes in two varieties; Mr. Eaves Modern and Mr. Eaves Sans (character map pictured above). Like Mrs. Eaves, both variations were designed by Zuzana Licko for Emigre. I’m excited to use this — especially the lowercase ‘a’ variant pictured at the bottom.
Mr Eaves was based on the proportions of Mrs Eaves, but Licko took some liberty with its design. One of the main concerns was to avoid creating a typeface that looked like it simply had its serifs cut off. And while it matches Mrs Eaves in weight, color, and armature, Mr Eaves stands as its own typeface with many unique characteristics. [ Purchase ]
Assorted posters by Dutch designer Hans Gremmen. I love posters — like the first one — that are just PACKED with all sorts of information and data. Really gives the designer a chance to show off their typographic skills and hierarchic sensibilities. I especially enjoy the tendency for the asymmetrically balanced composition; really makes for that much more of an interesting poster.
Also worth noting is Gremmen’s portfolio site which randomly generates a selection of eight of his works. An interesting approach to be sure; I like the concept of an ever-changing front page, though it was a little tough to find the specific work I was looking for.
WARNING: While hilarious, the language used in the above videos is NSFW.
“I have made a mock up myself to help you in Microsoft Word. Just one other thing — seeing as I’m only going to use one of the ten designs you are going to do for me, I would like to pay 1/10th of the £3.50”
I was rolling on the ground watching this. I laugh at these videos in that “oh yeah, SO true” sort of way, but am not really comparing it to any of my past jobs. It’s almost as if this sort of client relationship is understood on some sort of primal level for designers. You hear enough stories and it may as well have happened to you. Anyway, this is hilarious; the automated-voice delivery is perfectly weird. The way they say “Microsoft Word” is fantastic.
Assorted works by Dutch graphic designer Louis Reith. I really love the texture and the color of the paper he’s working on. I’ve spent hours in Photoshop trying to replicate that same off-white mix; can’t beat the real thing. Even more exciting is the color at work in the shapes — each hue is dialed in exactly where it should be. Some of the forms in the bottom image remind of the typographic stylings of Non-Format.
More info about Louis, including upcoming gallery showings, can be found on his Myspace.
