Stupid type joke: T-Mobile uses VAG in pink, AT&T uses Omnes in orange (which they took on after consuming Cingular). If the former absorbs the latter their rebrand is going to look like Dunkin’ Donuts. Ha. Anyway. Ahem.
We’re in the age of the rounded sans. Why, ten years ago, Helvetica rounded and VAG were about all there was. Now not only do we have a plethora of new loveliness like Omnes, Sauna, Bryant, Estilo, Brevia and ooh look at Mija wouldya — we’re also seeing new releases of rounded versions of classics and recent favorites like FF Unit, Gotham, Museo, Din, AG Book, and Proxima Nova.
In 2009 we posted about Simon Page’s beautiful poster series for the International Year of Astronomy. Well, he’s followed them up with a new series, this time for the International Year of Chemistry. I for one am a big fan of chemistry and a big fan of Simon Page. Check out the rest of the series on his site.
Here’s a bit more about the International Year of Chemistry:
The goals of IYC2011 are to increase the public appreciation of chemistry in meeting world needs, to encourage interest in chemistry among young people, and to generate enthusiasm for the creative future of chemistry. The year 2011 will coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Prize awarded to Madame Marie Curie—an opportunity to celebrate the contributions of women to science. The year will also be the 100th anniversary of the founding of the International Association of Chemical Societies, providing a chance to highlight the benefits of international scientific collaboration.
We did an office themed schmetsy quite a while ago. We’ve had a few requests to take a second look for fun office decor. So here is a fabulous schmetsy full of awesome mostly vintage office accoutrement.
Oh, how I wish I were in Tokyo right now, rather than stuck at home, sick in bed. If I were in Toyko, I could go to the House Industries, Eames Exhibition. Instead, I guess I’ll have to settle for some of the limited edition prints. They’ve only printed 33 of each design, so go grab one while you still can!
What happened that animated gifs disappeared for years and now are coming back so dang cool? Check these animations for Russian bookstore (slash bikestore?) Respublica. Great modernist layouts with awesome motion graphics: some favorites below, and see all of em (and a reel with transitions between) on Pavel Paratov’s Behance page!
For the past few months, Owen and I have been working on the identity of a fabulous new shop in San Francisco, Park and Pond. Park and Pond, which opened last month in North Beach, was founded by sisters Jessica and Abbey Herman and features products that are designed and produced within 100 miles of San Francisco. They’ve curated an impressive selection of merchandise from a ton of Bay Area designers, including Pie Bird Press, Lisa Swerling, Whitney Smith Pottery, Yellow Owl Workshop, and of course, us.
We’re thrilled with what a great job Jessica and Abbey have done carrying the colors and identity through the shop and we’re so happy we were a part of helping this great store come to life.
It’s been a while since we’ve done a TypograFriday for y’all, but Wood Type Revival seems like a worthy candidate to bring it back. Digitizing wood type is not a totally unique idea — there are definitely some wood type fonts out there (most of them aren’t even close to the real thing). But, based on the description of Wood Type Revival methodology, it seems like they are going to put the work in to making these some pretty awesome typefaces. Even more awesome, they are all available on typekit, so you can have rad wood type online. Started as a Kickstarter project, their shop is now live and they have 4 fonts available!
Here is their kickstarter video explaining a bit more about the project:
I first saw Lisa Swerling’s fabulous Glass Cathedrals at Renegade Craft Fair last December. I was then reminded of them at the totally awesome Park and Pond (more on Park and Pond later). They feel like little windows onto secret worlds. And there are even some elements on a few of them that she will customize for you!
Here is what Lisa Swerling has to say about the project:
Glass Cathedrals are a series of artboxes that I began working on in London in 2006. The idea of Glass Cathedrals is taken from an episode in the Peter Carey book Oscar and Lucinda — a life-size glass church, made by missionaries in the Australian outback, is seen floating down a river. A trapped dragonfly collides against the walls trying to escape, blind to the concept of glass.
My inspiration for this series was the collision between the seriousness with which we take our lives, and the limitations of our understanding. In Glass Cathedrals the heroes are the tiny figures, my boxes the space where they struggle, aspire, dance, dream.
They are a little hard to see here; head over to Swerling’s site for larger images of a ton more Glass Cathedrals.
Space Oddity kind of freaked me out when I was a kid, so it probably wouldn’t have been my first choice for a kid’s book. But, Andrew Kolb has changed my mind; his illustrations of David Bowie’s classic are great. His book hasn’t been published, but you can download a PDF here. Oh, and check out this crazy Space Oddity “video.”
UPDATE: As many of you have probably noticed, Andrew Kolb isn’t offering the book for download from his site. He has in fact obscured the lyrics and title on the images he has on his site. You can however, view all of the pages at Wired.com.
Alexa Meade‘s art is awesome. Sure, it is a tiny bit reminiscent of the Pageant of the Masters, but the Pageant of the Masters is pretty awesome too. Her work is a true multi-media experience — an amazing combination of painting, installation, performance and photography. Check out a bunch more work, plus some process shots, in her portfolio and on flickr.
Oh, and here are some videos of Alexa showing her process and speaking about her work.
