A Scary Story
Do you remember reading the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books as a kid? Well, for their 30th anniversary, Scholastic re-released the series with new illustrations that are much less horrifying and much more watered down. This is quite a bummer, as I feel the books have completely lost both their power and their ability to make little kids pee their pants.
Logos Published in Logo Lounge 7
Two of my logos were recently published in the latest logo compilation series, LogoLounge Book 7. These books are always a great collection of identities for exhibition and inspiration from all over the world, so it’s an honor to have work featured on its pages.
Release the Kraken!
Holy mackerel, do I LOVE these spots for The Kraken Rum! The art direction, writing and web presence are just brilliant. And these all came out of the beautiful packaging and other print / tangible items. Brooklyn-based Dead as we Know It ties everything together so well it takes this whole campaign to another level. I definitely look forward to watching this campaign evolve.
Shiny Street Art
Over the past several months, my good friend Paige has been experimenting with paper street art installations inspired by naturally formed geode crystals all over LA. She painstakingly takes molds of cracks, holes and any other interesting recesses in a wall or other surface and creates tiny paper shapes that all work together to form these awesome little gems.
Vintagespiration
Check out these sets of vintage vinyl record artwork put together by Jive Time Records in Seattle. If you’re looking for some graphic inspiration you won’t likely find in your library, look no further.
A Rad Collab
Check out this sweet little soundboard site with quippy phrases by some of hip hop’s more popular talking heads. Pretty fun to click a bunch in a row to get a feel for what your beat dream team might sound like.
A Bloody Book
Check out my book cover re-design for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, just in time for Halloween. It’s for a design challenge to create new covers for old classics and I’m really happy with how it turned out. Nothing like a grungy vampire face with vagina fangs.
Bike Porn
Here’s a couple really pretty videos of two different takes on motorcycle building from Machine Shed and Chabott Engineering. Great stuff to kick off the weekend, enjoy.
Apple
I’ve lost count of how many times a client has said, “We want to be like Apple.” In that situation, we nod our heads in agreement, say that we feel the same way and will do our best to help them get there. But the truth is, they never will, and as professional bullshitters, we don’t have the heart to tell them.
Start
I built this website a year ago to showcase my work and talk about the creative industry. It was a really fun project to create something and watch it grow. Others have apparently been watching, too; I recently noticed that my site has had over 10,000 unique visits.
Time for a Birthday
My friend Paul Trillo of The No Problem is working on a new short entitled Happy Birthday Mr. Bracewell, a quirky story about a lonely man who travels in time. Watch the trailer and please help out by donating on Kickstarter.
More, More, More
I flew to New York this week with a team from Loomis Group to present a new campaign for a client, and saw the latest “More Is More” series for Embassy Suites (over and over and over—another tie to the campaign or just a huge in-air media buy?) on the plane and was pleasantly surprised.
Comic Chaos
Leo Burnett’s Mayhem campaign for Allstate has been out for almost a year now, and it’s still one of my favorite campaigns from the past few years. I just saw their latest Raccoon spot this weekend, and even after seeing this series play out over almost twelve months, still find myself laughing out loud.
Paper People
Check out Olly Moss’ show at Gallery 1988 in LA, Paper Cuts, which featured vintage paper-cut profiles of all kinds of pop culture characters, from Scrooge McDuck to The Godfather. A simple concept, but so impressive when all together in one room.
A Pretty Slick Idea
What a beautifully simple and clever idea. David Giovando and Todd Takahashi put up these wild postings in downtown Vancouver for The Dogwood Initiative as part of their ongoing No Tankers campaign, which aims to keep oil tankers out of British Columbia’s coastal waters. And before you hippies freak out, the ink is environmentally friendly. Well done, sirs.
Thinking Caps
Check out the latest couple spots from New Era Cap with Alec Baldwin and John Krasinski. It’s nice to see a company like this tell a story and connect with viewers on a common thread, rather than showing only product features or styles. Well shot, well written and well done.
Woodwinded
Check out the Trinity Orchestra—the only fully student-run orchestra in Ireland—covering Daft Punk hits in a fun, energetic dance hall atmosphere. Pretty flippin’ rad.
Brazil
I recently returned from a 2-week trip to Brazil which was just amazing. The people were incredibly nice and the scenery was absolutely breathtaking. I spent equal time in Rio de Janeiro, a beach town called Búzios and the remote island Ilha Grande, all of which offered pretty different types of Brazilian life.
SXSW
Flatstock is a collection of poster artists that congregate during the festival to showcase and sell their work, which is a convention center room of limited-run, screen printed gig posters. It’s art / music lover heaven. There is so much talent and I always leave a few hundred dollars poorer but with an armful of amazing pieces.
Paper Cut
A really nice trailer from Gestalten TV pimping their new book and DVD, Papercraft 2: Design and Art with Paper, which features the use of paper design and stop-motion projects.
The Art of Gaming
I’m not a very big gamer. I have a PS3 and a Nintendo 64 and I very rarely play either. However, gaming these days has evolved in a way so inconceivable from my Mario Kart days as a kid, it’s really something to marvel at. Whether a game is built complex and epic for a big, high-end system or simple and fun for a handheld, gaming artists continue to push the expectations of how games can look and feel.
Pop Up Video
Hey friend, like pop-up books? Me too. Like seeing them done in interesting ways and remind you to push your creativity? Me three. So peep this call for entries video from a while back for the Rethink Scholarship at Langara by Rory O’Sullivan and Simon Bruyn. So bomb.
Run, Bunny, Run
Check out this super slick short animation readying us all for the return of the Rabbit in the Chinese Calendar. Created by Benji Davies and Jim Field at Frater, this piece definitely welcomes in the new year with awesome hand-carved looking details and a nice little story. Enjoy.
Gone Fishing
Check out today’s rad new interactive Google Doodle, which celebrates Jules Verne’s 183rd birthday, and more specifically his novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The wordmark is made from submarine portholes and you can control the “dive” of the submarine with a 4-point joystick thingy. Pretty neat to explore around, and the illustrations are just great.
How to Fly a Kite
Check out this neat short my friend Paul Trillo of The No Problem made. It’s a nice story about a man who starts a cult in which he is the only member. It’s well written and shot, and it’s up for voting now on Your Indie Film. Please take a few minutes to check it out and sign up to vote for How to Fly a Kite to win!
For a Lack of Energy
Here’s a few new spots from Energizer pimping their latest line of batteries. The animation is pretty fun and whimsical, the songs are silly and the payoff is semi-comical. But they don’t end well.
Shepard Fairey is Old News
This cat’s been in public view for a long time. His most recent buzz is not about his latest guerrilla posting or controversial piece but rather, a lawsuit with the AP over his Obama Hope poster. Again, however, old news. He’s still doing the same kind of work—political, earth-friendly, powerful screen prints. But it’s still really good.
I Don’t Know Where I’m Going
Notable designers recently got together and spoke about the expanding field of design at a symposium in Amsterdam. Stefan Sagmeister’s speech, Design and Happiness got me thinking.
Wheel of Fortune
Check out this super rad animation on the topic of basic color theory. It’s a real nice art school refresh that’s designed and animated very well. Move over, textbook.
