Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Designers on Failure

I saw this on Swiss Miss blog (who got it from Brain Pickings).

The Berghs' Exhibition 2011 asked some world-renown creatives to speak on the topic of failure. I have included several of my favorites- definitely listen to Milton Glaser's answer. You can watch more on Vimeo.

There's only one solution, and it relates to what I was saying earlier: you must embrace failure. You must admit what is. You must find out what you are capable of doing and what you are not capable of doing. That is the only way to deal with the issue of success and failure because otherwise, you simply will never subject yourself to the possibility that you are not as good as you want to be, hope to be, or as others think you are (but that is, of course, delusional). So my advice, finally, about fear of failure, which is a kind of romantic idea: there is only one way out- embrace the failure. (Milton Glaser)


Mean Girls trailer, even more Disney:

Olive and Sinclair Southern Artisan Chocolate


I recently acquired a bar of Southern Artisan Chocolate made by Olive and Sinclair. Even though I love chocolate, I usually don't spend $5 for one bar, but the packaging (seen on the Dieline) stopped me cold and I just had to have it. (Packaging wins again.) I like the Victorian feel to it which adds character and a sense of genuine craft, like it's a trusted brand, a bit weathered and down-to-earth goodness all in a chocolate bar. Buy some now- they even have a letterpress variety pack!


Anderson Design Group created the logo, packaging, and promotional posters, which went on to win best of show at the Nashville ADDY's last year (see their blog entry).

Here's how they make the heavenly chocolate:

Olive and Sinclair Artisan Chocolate from josh anderson on Vimeo.

Magritte coat hangers

Igor “Rogix” Udushlivy created these great coat hangers inspired by RenĂ© Magritte’s iconic painting The Son of Man. (Seen on CMYBacon).



Saturday, May 14, 2011

Coca-Cola celebrates 125 years!


On Sunday, May 8, Coca-Cola celebrated its 125th birthday! In 1886, Coca-Cola debuted in Jacobs’ Pharmacy in Atlanta. It sold for 5 cents a glass at the soda fountain.

Coke is promoting 125 in different ways, from an illuminated display on the office headquarters in Atlanta (see video below) to giving out free Cokes in London and other European cities, kicking off their "125 Years of Summer Fun" campaign. They also threw a free birthday concert and donated $1 million to the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta and to the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation's Peopling of America® Center.

Zoe Howorth, market activation director at Coca-Cola GB, said: "Coca-Cola is a timeless icon that has been synonymous with happiness and is still as relevant today as it was when it first began in 1886." (Brand Republic)

Also to promote the brand's rich history, Selfridges is selling the 125 Years box set (~$65) which includes several versions of the most recognized and iconic bottle in history housed in a commemorative wooden crate. They are also selling the Hutchinson bottle for about $3.22 U.S. dollars. How cool is that?






I also thought this video was cool, asking people on the street what they would do to make the world better. It's something each of us could think about:



Open happiness!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Barbra Streisand.

I know this has been out since last year, but I love it 'cause it's New York, and I can't get it out of my head.

"Barbra Streisand" continues to perfect the Duck Sauce sound, which joyously mashes classic disco house with forward-thinking dancefloor energy and expert production. A-Trak and AVH are bona fide DJ heroes whose team-ups are fueled by anything-goes samples, an almost childlike sense of fun, and 100% NYC attitude. This approach has made Duck Sauce fans-for-life out of partygoers around the globe, and will continue to convert anyone within earshot of "Barbra"'s instantly addictive, whistling hook.

For the video, director So Me (Justice, Kid Cudi, MGMT) uses the song to soundtrack a hyperactive, ecstatic New York City travelogue. Shot over a week of long nights out with A-Trak and Armand (including live footage from the Fool's Gold "Day Off" labor day block party), the clip is a pop-art adventure starring commandeered taxis and hotdog stands, sexy strangers, and a who's-who of famous friends: rappers, producers, indie rockers, graffiti writers and nightlife icons all take turns adding their own special sauce to the song, turning "Barbra Streisand" into one of this year's must-rewind clips. (Mr. Goldbar on Vimeo)


Duck Sauce - "Barbra Streisand" from Paradoxal Inc on Vimeo.

Letterpress, an instructional video:

Letterpress from Naomie Ross on Vimeo.

Get your 'shine on.



This moonshine packaging is by Shane Cranford (Winston-Salem, NC) for Piedmont Distillers. I like the simplicity of the black and white.

Few family recipes carry a jail sentence, but for the Johnson family it was a way of life; with the law on his heels, Junior ran the finest moonshine to the dry rural south. Junior Johnson’s family recipe is a triple distilled, lower proof and a legal version then the original. As smooth as premium vodka, it’s grain neutral and virtually odorless. Drawing inspiration from the design of Johnson’s cars, used for running in the 1930s and ’40s the packaging was kept simple and bold. (The Dieline)



Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Haley Reinhart sings "House of the Rising Sun"

I don't watch American Idol every week, but from what little I've seen this season, Haley Reinhart is my favorite. She's got this unique kind of jazzy but raspy (in a good way) voice with lots of soul. There's something classic about it, but it never gets old.

Tonight, she sang my ultimate favorite song, House of the Rising Sun (made popular by the Animals in 1964). I can't tell you exactly why I love it so much, but it resonates deep within me, besides the tune and the lyrics being so bad-ass. On top of all that, no one knows where it came from; there is no known original author. I have 17 versions of the song currently in my iTunes, and I want Haley's as soon as it's released. She does it right.




I thought it was also worth mentioning that Siobhan Magnus sang it last year. I liked it a lot then, but I think Haley Reinhart topped it this season:

Happy birthday, Audrey Hepburn!


Happy birthday to Audrey Hepburn! She would have been 82 today. Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) is one of my favorite classic films.

You know what's wrong with you, Miss Whoever-you-are? You're chicken, you've got no guts. You're afraid to stick out your chin and say, "Okay, life's a fact, people do fall in love, people do belong to each other, because that's the only chance anybody's got for real happiness." You call yourself a free spirit, a "wild thing," and you're terrified somebody's gonna stick you in a cage. Well baby, you're already in that cage. You built it yourself. And it's not bounded in the west by Tulip, Texas, or in the east by Somali-land. It's wherever you go. Because no matter where you run, you just end up running into yourself.


Tuesday, May 3, 2011

50 reasons not to date a graphic designer

I put my favorites in bold. From A Bourbon for Silvia:

1. They are very weird people.
2. There are billions of them in the world, like colors on the screen of your computer.
3. They will analyze conversations in layers.
4. You will spend the day assembling furniture from IKEA.
5. They drink and eat all kinds of weird shit just because they like the packaging.
6. They hate each other.
7. You’ll come out the last out of the movies because you have to see the full list of credits.
8. They cant change a light bulb or without making a sketch.
9. They fuck up all the tables with their cutters.
10. They rather study the paisley pattern on your outfit than listen to what you have to say.
11. They will fill your house with magazines and whatever is out there that has drawings.
12. You never know if it is really an original or a copy.
13. They make collages with your photos.
14. They do not know how to add and subtract, they just understand letters.
15. They idolize people who nobody knows and speak of them as if they were his colleagues.
16. They take pictures almost daily and all are cut in weird shapes.
17. They ask your opinion about everything but they do whatever they want.
18. Everything is left justified, right or center unless they arrive late.
19. They hate Comic Sans with the same passion they love Helvetica.
20. They use iPhone for everything, because everyone has one.
21. You can not decorate the house without consulting them.
22. They steal street signs.
23. Always carry their hands painted with something.

24. They buy dolls unfinished for them to paint.
25. Everything becomes something other than what it really is: cards as tickets, cards as …
26. When arguing, you will be nicknamed like the OSX spinning wheel (not affectionately)
27. Do not know how to dress without consulting the Pantone book.
28. They hate Excel.
29. They read comics.
30. They want to save the world only with a poster.
31. You will spend the day brainstorming.
32. On vacation they will take you to countries that you do not know exist and have no beach.
33. Museums are their second home.
34. They know more positions than the Kamasutra.
35. They can’t go to a restaurant without secretly critiquing the menu design.
36. They listen to music you have never heard of.
37. They can´t cook a normal dish, they always have to experiment with new ingredients.
38. They read rare books: stories of children, Semiotics …
39. When you are going to tell you something, everyone has read it in their facebook and twitter.
40. They have own iPods before you knew they existed.
41. The orgasm they remember is when they heard that Adobe was acquiring Macromedia.
42. They have their own shops just for them and there are the most expensive in the city.
43. They want to spend all the money in the Apple Store.
44. You will never understand their gifts.
45. They see ordinary objects and laugh.
46. You wake up in the middle of the night hearing them screaming, “When is the deadline?”
47. They see CMYK and RGB like Neo sees the Matrix.
48. They dream of the day nobody will make a single change to their designs.
49. They rather pay for a font than for a special birthday gift.
50. They are always sleepy because they work 24/7.

Severed Dreams

Ian Bucknole was asked to direct a video for Ruarri Joseph at Mondo Management. The story is based on Ted Hughes' The Iron Man, telling a story of a childhood imaginary friend that is carried into adult life. Read more about the video on Bucknole's blog.

And I wasn't going to admit this, but it made me tear up.