Make Your Own Font

Don't mind if I do...

Sophisticated Tailgaters Rejoice!

Still a prototype...but amazing all the same. This sleek, single serving wine can was designed by by Jens Andersson and Jonas Forsman, two Swedish designers. I love the matte, black surface and subtle hint at a wine bottle's curves.
Imagine bringing this to a football game... Anyone fancy a Budweiser? Natty Light? Cabernet Sauvignon? ••••

Ping Mag; The Return of Black

A friend of mine was just written up in PingMag, a Tokyo based magazine. This post isn't about him (sorry)! They have this fun article about the return of black...and I am fully on board. To me, black means premium, so if course I would fly on plane with all black upholstery as opposed to woolly blue. I am the girl who buys products for the packaging...I know all 3 of us are! Black toilet paper will eventually make its way from Tokyo to the US...I can see it now. OK, also check out Patrick's interview.

Found Across the Globe: Mystic, Connecticut (with a short lesson on "nautical typography")

There is nothing like New England in the summer. My city of Boston comes to life after a very, very long winter and I remember again why it is I choose to live here. But one of the greatest advantages of the location is its proximity to so many amazing summer day trip destinations. The weekend comes and Bostonians flock to the Cape or the beaches of Rhode Island, and this past weekend I found myself in the lovely town of Mystic, Connecticut.

Mystic is a leading New England seaport with a history rooted in the whaling industry. It is also home to Mystic Seaport, a large maritime museum (Wikipedia refers to it as the world's largest, in fact) with some amazingly preserved ships. The museum is incredible, informative, and wonderfully kept up— and you'll see from the photos that the town is equally charming. Hand-painted signage, beach kitch, and bits of preserved history make Mystic well worth the visit.
In addition to learning all about the whaling industry, shipbuilding, scrimshaw, figureheads, and Mystic Pizza, I was given a short lesson on the "nautical alphabet." Before my sister clued me in, I never knew the meaning behind these small flags which you often see displayed on boats or used in preppy patterning. These flags can be used in combinations, just as letters are, to spell out messages between two ships or between ship and shore. Used singly, these each have individual meanings— for instance, the letter L alone means "Stop Instantly." For a full lesson on "nautical typography," visit this helpful site. ••••

Clever Campaign

I came across this clever campaign by the ad agency Lowe Worldwide for laundry detergent. Simple and effective, the box contains a sample of the detergent and is brilliantly wrapped in a plain white t-shirt. When sent through the mail, the shirt inevitably gets dirty, thus the laundry detergent sample is ready to be tested out. Rarely is a direct mailer this well thought out and able to incorporate every element from product to packaging to express the message of the campaign. ••••

TypeisArt.com

Type collages— designers have all done them in their college days, to varying degrees of success. In our program, we were given the restriction of using black and white only, and told that color could be added later but the design should not be dependent on it (much like designing a good logo). Well, if you are a designer and want to quickly try your hand at this again (or if you are a non-designer, perhaps for the first time), Print Magazine's latest issue gave me a tip I'll share with you now— visit TypeisArt.com to make your own typography creation without even opening up Illustrator. TypeisArt was created by Silo Design, a Brooklyn-based firm run by a husband and wife team. Designer Susanne Cerha created the lovely archival poster design shown above, illustrating the Parts of the Character— arm, ascender, bowl, serif, shoulder, etc, etc. Her friend Jose Rodriguez took the idea one step further, bringing the activity to the masses with the Flash website that allows users to combine the forms into their own composition, abstract or otherwise. ••••

Gin & Titonic Ice Cubes

This is completely silly. From Fred&Friends, via NotCot. ••••

Time Lapse Magazine Spread Layout

This video is amazing because in a little over a minute and a half it depicts exactly how much thought, planning, indecisiveness, and back-and-forth goes into design work. I feel that most designers should relate to this and most non designers will think the artist is completely schizo.
If there was a time lapse video of me this Friday, it would be a few hours of me staring at a turbine vector drawing, deciding how to make it interesting on a t-shirt. Fascinating. ••••

Crestview Doors

What began as a simple remodel quickly grew into a booming business. David and Christiane Erwin wanted to compliment their mid-century American style home with an updated front door that would hold true to the original architecture. When they couldn't find the style they were looking for, they simply created it themselves. Very resourceful! Crestview Doors was soon brought to life. Now the couple helps homeowners all over modernize that 50s aesthetic with their beautiful designs. And in doing so, they have revived an architectural style that was on the brink of going extinct. They have also been inspired to do inventive doors like the one below. I would LOVE to have something like this in my home. So original and unique. ••••

How well do you know your logos?

Click Here to test your logo knowledge. I think I would have done alright on this if there had not been an enormous timer at the bottom of the screen giving me a near heart attack about getting the right answer each round. I will not share my score. Good Luck! ••••

Pop away the time...

A product you can't help but love for the pure tactility of it... a bubble wrap calendar! Maybe it lies somewhere deeply ingrained in our genetic code, but I think at least 90% of humankind loves the feeling bursting bubble wrap. I know at least I am in that category, and thus think this is a brilliant idea. What better way to countdown to a birthday, vacation, or holiday than with a pop a day! Available right here. . ••••

Found Across the Globe: Mexico City

Call me bias, but I have a special place in my heart for Mexico City. I have recently come back from my fifth time in the city, only to find that I like it a little more each time. Not only is Mexico City the second largest metropolitan area in the world, but in my opinion also one of the most underrated cities. Even from 10,000 feet above the ground in an airplane, the recognizable rainbow palette of the city comes into view. A visitor can find themselves in the slums to passing gated neighborhoods and back to the slums again within a blocks of each other. Tacos stands are erected between buildings, fruit vendors sell fresh mango and papaya in between lanes on the bustling roads, and the 8.6 million plus inhabitants move around the city with an energy that could easy challenge New York City. ••••

Major X-Acto Knife Work

Major props to Julien De Repentigny's identity for the Westwood Hotel.••••

Touch Screen Concept

I came across this on the Smashing Magazine blog and thought it was a great concept. I imagine it's a peek into the future of computers. Read more about it here. ••••

The Art of Parking

Most of the time when I'm circling a parking structure I'm too frustrated trying to find a spot to be able to take the time to look at the beauty of the actual structure I'm in. However, to be honest, I don't think I've ever sat back and thought, "damn, now that parking structure is an architectural achievement to be admired." Good thing Simon Henley doesn't think like me. In his book, The Architecture of Parking, he examines the often overlooked architectural wonder. You can view the slide show of pictures here. And purchase his book here. ••••

[via swissmiss]