The one and only Scott Hansen. He’s a rockstar in the illustrating world, and a bit of a rockstar in the rockstar world (He’s the recording artist Tycho). I like Scott Hansen because his rock posters don’t use any clip art and they don’t use any non-sequitur imagery. Don’t get me wrong, I love today’s trend in rock posters, but ISO 50 is a breath of fresh air in the over-saturated poster design scene.
I love Brazil. The last two posts led me to Brazil Inspired, a cool website featuring brazilian designers. Who is the first poster on their newsfeed? Misprintedtype (from two posts ago). I follow the link. I find Felipe Guga. He doesn’t have a lot of info on his site. I don’t know anything about him. I do know – kid can draw. I mean – kid can seriously draw.
Hey graffiti kids – Take a lesson. Today is Brazil day. Meet Herbert Baglione from Sao Paulo. Look at what wall art has the potential to be. I’m not knocking graffiti as an art form, and I certainly don’t want to discredit the work of some great spray painters from back in the day, BUT if you’re thinking about spraying some lame tag up on newspaper box, please don’t. Look at Herbert’s work. Grab a pencil. Steal everything you can from him. Then draw some stuff on your own, and go to work. His illustration and lettering work is equally amazing.
I can’t say enough good things about Mr. Brazil Eduardo Recife. His fonts have practically defined the last few years. You’ve seen Porcelain and Selfish all over, I think Old Navy used Rosewood. Download the entire set at his website. While you’re at it, download his Photoshop brushes as well. They put something in the water down there, cause the Brazilians got it going on. See it at MisprintedType.com
VIRB is social networking for people who like nice looking things. Ever found your self bothered by how ugly your myspace page is. Social networking sites like MySpace and FaceBook get all the press, Virb is on its way. The tools they have built to allow their users the freedom to customize their pages is unsurpassed. They are built in such a way that you can’t make an ugly Virb page. Their slogan “Virb makes your favorite things easy to publish and easy to find” is pretty much true. The polish feels genuine. There is no sense of corporate gloss. Does this bring in folks with better taste? Maybe. I might just give it a try.
Eric Ray Davidson is a photographer. I don’t really know a whole lot more about him than that. I don’t know who the people in his photographs are. I don’t know where you can find them. I do know they are rich and lush. They have a narrative quality to them that inspires wonder. The people in his portraits fell directly out of love stories. Spend a little time looking at these pictures. You’ll be better off for it.
I’ve been a big fan Mike Perry for longer than I’ve known who he was. Organic aesthetic is really hard to pull off without looking cheap. His client list should be the envy of any designer. MTV, Dwell Magazine, Saatchi & Saatchi, Nylon Mag, Polyvinyl records. He’s got a new book coming out called Hand Job, a catalogue of hand drawn typography which I’m itching to get my hands on.
Curbly is a community based web site for ‘people who love where they live.’ The community seems uber friendly with users asking, and answering all types of home improvement questions. It’s got a slew of articles and interviews featuring interesting happenings in the design community, and how-tos ranging from grilling tips to wall hangings and image transfers.
Their get inspired section is particularly appealing, but be careful, you’ll have ripped apart your living room before you know what hit you. The best part about Curbly is it was founded right here in our little city that could: St. Paul.
Check it out, and support a couple of local st. pauli’s with fine taste.
Hint Magazine is a great site for staying on top of the fashion industry. The multimedia pictorials are filled with top notch photography and design. Come for the photography and stay for the book + music + art reviews. Right now they’ve got an interview with Harold Koda, chief of the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute, and MR. the cooky Japanese artist. It’s that range and diversity that makes Hint a delight to read. The articles are well researched and the darn thing is just pretty to look at.
Urban Dirty is my favorite kind of website.
1.) It has a specific purpose and focus.
2.) It’s well built, and it always works.
3.) It provides great content for FREE.
A must resource for visual designers and artists, Urban Dirty is a free grunge-texture stock photography site. Download all the great grunge textures you want and go to town.
The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst
Book One: Work, 1986-2006 by Chip Kidd
Trek: David Carson, Recent Werk by David Carson
The End of Print: The Graphic Design of David Carson by Lewis Blackwell
Hand Job: A Catalog of Type by Michael Perry
Making and Breaking the Grid: A Graphic Design Layout Workshop by Timothy Samara