OK GO Plays Mousetrap with This Too Shall Pass

It's nice to see that OK GO has continued it's run of excellent, and hopefully virally successful, music videos. You remember Mouse Trap right? (the board game, not the movie) if not what about the breakfast scene from Pee Wee's Big Adventure?

Well OK Go, with the help of director James Frost (Zoo Films) and Syyn Labs created a life sized, and extremely intricate, moving chain reaction machine that in itself took months of pre-planning to create before the camera choreography was even a thought - the end result - fun. really really fun. Check it out.

Here's some trivia for you, the actual name of such a machine is a Rube Goldberg machine, a machine that achieves a simple task in an over complicated or convoluted manner.

Want to see that Pee Wee scene? You got it!

Type Tree

so, at some point last year while scouring craiglist for art submissions or design gigs i sent some of my projects to a little zine. well, it finally came out and i was shocked to see not only did they use my piece but they made it the cover?!

it's something small i know - but to me it is huge in the way of confidence in my creations, like, that they must look at least interesting to someone else for them to select it and slap it on a cover, right? well thats how i take it and i'm proud. The tree on the left was the selected design.

growing graffiti

whose on a kick? yep. green, living, growing, graffiti in the streets of Brooklyn from artist Edina Tokodi. She has taken urban gardening and environmental graffiti to a whole new place (and not without a message or a sense of humor.) see for yourself, the juxtaposition of the moss illustrations and the streetscape is amazing.

New York City 2009 Holiday Window Displays

Some people hate shopping during the holidays, the crowds, the headache of parking, the lines - but i love it. I love the hustle bustle, and i LOVE the decorations. It's amazing what these department stores can do with their design budget, my local Nordstrom for instance is full of paper made woodland creatures and the Anthropology is a poofy recycled textural dream.

Like last year, I wanted to share some imagery from the best of the best in holiday decorating greatness from New York City department stores.

Macy's 2009 recreates A Miracle on 34th StreetLord and Taylor's 2009 Crystal Encrusted Winter Wonderland

Bergdorf Goodman's 2009 Compendium of Curiosities (very Alice in Wonderland)
like to gaze at window design? check out another normal for lots of eye candy

Brandon Schaefer Movie Poster Redesign

I'm not sure how i stumbled upon the flickr collection of designer Brandon Schaefer, but I'm glad i did! I'm loving these redesigns of some of my favorite films (i admit it, the Annie Hall poster could be on post-it notes and i would probably still gravitate towards it) - all of them conceptually strong and in a clean geometric style reminiscent of russian constructivist or german modernist design.

New Illustrations from Mario Sughi

If you don't remember Mario from my previous posts you will as soon as you see his new work in the same unmistakable voice. It's all very sexy yet they seem somehow vacant, something that is really interesting considering the vibrant energetic color and lines. i love them.
i had to ask Mario how we (me) could get our hands on his work (being the season of giving and all) he pointed me to his page on Zazzle where you can grab some super affordable art, or for the more handmade versions you can find information on limited edition giclee prints from various galleries via his website. stateside check out The Shiny Squirrel and Little Paper Planes or see below.


ok - here are some more links in case you want to shop:
Sexy Art Gallery
London Art
New Irish Art
Printastic

Amazing Book Redesign from Mikey Burton

I don't know how exactly i stumbled upon this fantastic thesis project from designer/illustrator Mikey Burton but it blew me away. Since i'm making the finishing touches to my own semester's design work as we speak, i thought it only appropriate to share someone else's much more impressive accomplishments. enjoy!

What's your favorite? I think mine is Gatsby, could be that i love the book, could be how he manages to make such a complex design still feel delicate and romantic - i love it. Oh, and like to see the process behind the creation of these beauts? Check out Mikey's flickr page which has a number of preliminary tests and sketches, i love seeing how the ideas evolved.

Logomotion

Last night in class my typography teacher recommended this animated piece as a peak inside the creative process of logo design. Though it doesn't explain the process outright, by drawing comparisons between designs as they transform into each other some of the thought process is ultimately revealed. All trademarks are created by Chermayeff & Geismar.

Rock n' Roll Wouldn't Be the Same Without Whisky

Nice use of some bad ass logos, don't you think?

yU+co: Cirque du Freak Opening Titles

If you don't know yU+co chances are you do know their work. yU+co is a design company responsible for some of the most memorable title design in television and film, including Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives, 27 Dresses and The Day the earth Stood Still, AND also happen to have one of the coolest websites it the biz.

Their latest project for Cirque du Freak combines some of my favorite things at the moment, animation, silhouette, and a cut paper aesthetic.

yU+co: Cirque du Freak // Main Titles from Steve Dilley Design // Archives on Vimeo.

check out this interview on Motionographer for more about the project and the process.

Wynn Las Vegas Design

One of the design highlights of my Vegas getaway (aside from my dear friend's wedding of course!) was my first look at the Wynn hotel and casino. Now, the structures are gorgeous as they are but i there were no expectations to prepare me for the whimsy inside the casino doors. My favorite treats were the room of floating parasols and the amazing lake of dreams.

Here's a tid bit from Roger Thomas, Executive of Wynn design about the Parasol installation:
“Very early on in the resort’s design and conception, Steve gave me an assignment: His initial inspiration was the 1932 Picasso painting Le Rêve, which is French for ‘the dream,’” Thomas remembers. “And so he asked me, ‘How do we convey the feeling of a dream?’ Parasols are among the images I find very dreamlike—I think of Chagall and of people floating in the sky, carrying mini parasols over their heads—so I liked the idea of this ballet of parasols that both turn slowly and move up and down slowly. I often think of guests sitting at Parasol Up; they look at the parasols, and when they look back a few minutes later, they think, Have they changed? Am I dreaming?”

“I came up with their design, the whimsical shapes and colors and embroideries, by closing myself up in a room and large sheets of paper, and I put on Vivaldi and just started drawing these fanciful shapes. They took more than a year to create, and we constructed them here, just outside of Las Vegas. Ultimately I’m thrilled that they’ve become such an iconic element of the resort; they were meant to be a heart of Wynn, with a sort of pulse and movement. One of my favorite things to do is to stand off to the side and watch the reactions of our guests—they always seem entranced, and that’s really fulfilling.”

Speaking of entranced, we took a peek at the Lake of Dreams but it was during the day. The glass body of what was still and tranquil, until a giant head sculpture emerged unexpectedly - we thought that was cool - but look what we missed!

Dear Creatures Channels Girl Scouts of America

Los Angeles based Dear Creatures has just about the cutest fall look book I've ever seen. I love the girlscout meets golden books aesthetic, and the retro futurism combined with natural elements? amazing!






































The images are all from photographer Yudi Ela, better bookmark her right away, can't see what else she does!

Design Gives Extra Legs to NonProfit Smallbean

Today I'm proud to be affiliated (read acquaintances) with a brand spanking new nonprofit organization that is not only spreading the love around the world but looking damn good while doing it. Graphic Design friend and Classmate Sean Hewens is responsible for dreaming up and following through with the launch of Smallbean, an organization that takes slightly outdated iPods, digital cameras and other technological ephermera and sends it to communities around the world that dont have such high standards for the bigest, brightest, newest of the new - to be used as teaching aides and to document daily life.
The retro rabbit ear TV graphics for Smallbean scream vintage without being boxed in and the illustrated gadget pipeline by Michelle Morin is just darling. Don't you love the plane full of happy electronics snug in their seats?
Go over to Smallbean, play around the site, check out the rest of the graphics, and for crying out loud put your old iPod back to use by donating it to Smallbean!

Milton Glaser Discusses the Process

...while he draws. Very cool.

MILTON GLASER DRAWS & LECTURES from C. Coy on Vimeo.

I did my typography project on Push Pin Graphic last semester and have to admit I have a full blown design crush on Milton Glaser (yes I know I'm not alone.) The art, the time, the place, and universal design recognition, Bob Dylan, I heart NY. The fact that he is still around, still sharing his work and his philosophy on art and design is a treat to all aspiring designers. Great video.

Painting with Video

Check out this video painting from artist Borna Sammak. It's part acid wash, part hidden image painting and totally mesmerizing. I swear I saw some faces in there. Very cool, I want to know more!

Untitled Video Painting 02 from borna on Vimeo.

via psfk

Design Barcode

I'm sure many of you have noticed the barcode that has graced the Google homepage today in honor of the 57th anniversary of it's first patent.

The image instantly reminded me on one of my favorite Cannes Titanium Lion winners from years past, Design Barcode Inc.. The Japanese company revolutionized the way the packaging and marketing industries viewed something we always accepted as a given, a packaging blemish that we just had to live with and never questioned. Their simple solutions to "design" barcodes represented a change in thinking and their playful designs supported the idea of fun and aesthetic control combined with necessity.

Logo-land, Logo Overload? Logorama

Amazing. Logorama is a short animated film from graphics studio H5 that was FOUR YEARS in the making. Imagine, a world comprised entirely of corporate logos and mascots. Not too far of a leap is it?
Creativity Magazine is featuring a Q&A with the creators as well as design boards, a clip and storyboards from the film, I recommend hopping over to check it out.

Two If By See Design

I recently finished a logo/branding project for a dear friend, director/writer/editor Samah Tokmachi. Samah is using the logo to help brand his film identity Samah Cinema. What do you think?