2008 June
It’s always better on holiday…
On 29, Jun 2008 | No Comments | In Design Life | By Lorraine
I’ll be on vacation in Chicago for the next week, so expect some good posts once I get back. I hope to take a ton of photos, scout out some interesting stores, and catch up on some podcasts/new music while I’m there. Oh, and get my German fix too: I absolutely love visiting Europa Books whenever I’m in town. That, and the Euro 2008 Final will be on ABC on Sunday: Go Deutschland!
You know you’re a big time designer when…
On 28, Jun 2008 | No Comments | In Design, New Work | By Lorraine
…they bedazzle your logo onto a shirt.
Back in March, KC was host to the Big 12 Basketball Tournament. To encourage ticket sales to the womens’ games, WIN for KC hosted a happy hour event entitled Hoops and Heels. I was flattered when they chose my logo for the event signage and advertising:
They wanted the logo to be sporty and collegiate, yet feminine, fun and classy. Although perhaps a tad obvious, the finished logo was straight-forward with a bit of sass. It ended up working well in a horizontal format on the flyers, but unfortunately, none of those photos turned out.
…And then we saw the door-prizes at the event itself: pink basketballs with just the shoe and tagline printed on them as well as this shirt. Ha! Although not a good reproduction of the logo itself, it turned out pretty cute, and I think I actually will wear it…unlike some other free shirts.
Viva la Coldplay!
On 26, Jun 2008 | No Comments | In Inspiration, Product Design | By Lorraine
Coldplay’s Viva la Vida is like a perpetual hug: sometimes bone-crushing in its intensity, sometimes a familiar, warm embrace. With this album, more than any other, they’ve taken a huge step forward with their sound, and I approve.
But what of the CD’s package design? Frida Kahlo vs. Delacroix’s French Revolution aside, my only complaint was paper choice. It’s an awesome package, but the paper just feels a little thin…perhaps that was just the best stock for the construction. Thoughts, anyone?
Little Factory’s Typographic Scarf
On 23, Jun 2008 | No Comments | In Design Life, Fashion, Inspiration | By Lorraine
I woke up this morning to find this awesome scarf listed about 5 times in my feed reader. Sweet, huh? Adding this to my birthday wish-list…It’s never too early to start one, right?
(Thanks to Speak Up!, HOW, and i love typography among others.)
Design + EURO 2008
On 20, Jun 2008 | No Comments | In Fashion, Inspiration, Web Design | By Lorraine
To celebrate Germany’s win in the quarter-finals, I thought it would be fun to post a few Fussball-related items.
The following 2 were found via QBN:
Steve Rura created an awesome collection of T-shirts for Nike representing each country that qualified for Euro 2008. I LOVE the German one, and thought that the collection overall looks great.
On a goofier note, Germany’s Otto has been promoting their Mission: Color campaign through this micro-site: Malt Mich An! (Paint Me!). The flash site allows soccer fans to paint the man with a click of their mouse while watching video of the actual Malt-Mich-An-Man getting painted at the Euro 2008 games. I would comment on the effectiveness of the promotion, except that Fussball Feber defies conventional logic. For example, we saw this at Munich’s FanFest for World Cup 2006:
Yes: that IS a van with a mohawk.
Orphan Works Bill: Part 2
On 17, Jun 2008 | No Comments | In Design Life, Updates | By Lorraine
I first posted about this issue in one of my first posts. Today, I just noticed that the AIGA recently posted an excellent article written by David Rhodes for SVA’s commencement ceremony. In it, Rhodes explains the history and issues surrounding the controversial Orphan Works Bill, along with a call to action for artists. If you create art or post any work on the internet: photos, artwork, crafts, design, et cetera, I highly recommend you take a moment to read his essay. (The Graphic Artists Guild also has some great information. It seriously only takes 15 minutes to sign a petition or write your congressman, and as Rhodes states, “it is your work—only you can protect it.”
AIGA Profile Updates
On 15, Jun 2008 | No Comments | In Design, New Work, Product Design, Updates | By Lorraine
Well, I’ve been slow to post something lately, but it’s been for a good cause: I’ve been busy this past week updating my profile on AIGA’s site. It’s not 100% finished yet—I’m still taking pictures of my latest work—but it’s almost there! Even more exciting is that once everything is photographed, I can continue working on the redesign of this site. (I’m striving for a fall launch for the new look.)
So click on the badge to the right to check out the new work/new photography. Here’s a teaser to get you clicking:
Cool Product Design: BORBA water
On 09, Jun 2008 | No Comments | In Inspiration, Product Design | By Lorraine
One of the great things about working with Jen is that her dad works for Anheuser Busch. So from time to time, we get to sample some of their more unique offerings. Today, I was surprised with a chance to try some of the new water they are producing: BORBA skin care water. (NO: it’s not made from beer.)
According to this post, BORBA water is part of a skin care line and is supposed to help promote great skin from within. I just thought it tasted good and had a great product design. I especially love that the outer cap doubles as a glass: it’s a great way to keep the shape of the bottle while working around the screw-off cap issue.
Amy Sol’s Work is Magic
On 06, Jun 2008 | No Comments | In Illustration, Inspiration | By Lorraine
I ran across Amy Sol’s work a while back and loved what I saw. She has such a nice, soft color palette and her style is just serene and whimsical at the same time. Apparently she has a new show opening next Friday. I wish I was geographically able to go. Since I’m not, I’m just enjoying her latest posts which talk about her process for each piece. (I dig the woodgrain backgrounds.)
It makes me want to pick up some watercolors.
Steadier Footing: Death Cab’s Narrow Stairs Tour
On 06, Jun 2008 | No Comments | In Design Life, Inspiration | By Lorraine
A while back, Linden’s husband, Rob, wrote a guest post on her blog about Death Cab for Cutie’s latest album. I couldn’t have agreed more with Rob’s assessment once I listened to their new album, Narrow Stairs. A week has now gone by since my sister and I saw Death Cab in concert, and I’m just now getting the chance to share how it went…so I apologize for the delay. (Don’t worry: I won’t try to be a music critic.)
First off, let me begin by saying that if The Kooks would have had any CD’s at their merch table, I would have bought one right away. Although I’d heard of them before, I’d never actually heard their music until that night. I loved it!
Death Cab started their set with the new Bixby Canyon Bridge. What I love about seeing Death Cab live is that they don’t merely play their latest album from start to finish. On the other hand, they also aren’t a band to simply plays a list of their greatest hits either. So what followed was an hour of old favorites such as Tiny Vessels, Photobooth, The New Year, etc. mixed in with newer ones such as Soul Meets Body, and Marching Bands of Manhattan among others. From the new album, I Will Possess Your Heart and No Sunlight were the two that really stood out to me. Their encore was about 5 or so songs: a bonus half hour!
On a side note, this wouldn’t be a design blog if I didn’t at least mention a few opinions on the graphic design at the concert. I really like their new album cover: I thought it really brought out the depth and layering that’s present in their sound. (It almost has a contemporary quilting look to it. That, and I love that the liner notes booklet isn’t cut flush.) So when the stage’s backdrop unfurled during Bixby Canyon, I approved. I also approved the tour date shirts playing off of the album art. I got one with a cute stair step design on it (sorry no picture yet). But other than the 2 or 3 with the album art, I was kind of disappointed…their t-shirts have an awesome reputation for being well-designed, but there really wasn’t anything at the merch table to live up to that. Bummer.
As Rob mentioned, Death Cab’s sound just keeps building. The new songs don’t sound out of place when mixed with the old: the result is a live music experience with rich layering. So all in all, a great time, a great show, and definitely worth seeing if a tour date happens to be where you live.
