Drawing inspiration from the materials and textures of handmade pieces our great grandparents might have owned, Environment is bringing home furnishing back to it’s roots. Through decades of increased manufacturing productivity and diminishing profits, the quality of materials used in almost all of today’s furniture design is poor at best. Even pieces from the higher end retailers are assembled particleboard puzzles, shipped flat for efficiency. Environment is a refreshing return to quality construction with rustic natural textures and simple contemporary design.
Created as by Fallon, this installation/ad is designed to bring attention to Sony’s use of 200Hz refresh rate for smoother video image. For those who do aren’t familiar with Zoetropes, they are an old school way of turning a series of static images into video dating back to 180 AD in China.
If you’re working on a new logo, you’d be hard pressed to find a better reference than the new Marks book from Pentagram. This one will no doubt be on the shelf of every Designer and Ad Agency by the end of the year. Available from Amazon for $40.
Thanks to Johnathan Jarvis for this animated piece on how the credit crisis evolved. This is about the quickest and easiest explanation we’ve seen to date, and it’s very nicely animated to boot.
Is there anything better than a good graphic resource? Sure you could spend hours getting just the right circle pattern, but are you re-inventing circle patterns? Really?
Well even if you are, Kapitza has just released this lovely new book of geometric patterns to give you a nice jumping off place. Just in case you’re not a circle fan of circles, there are plenty of squares, triangles, lines, and other optical illustions you can play with to your hearts content. It even comes with a CD of all the patterns. Available from Kapitza’s shop.
Prairie Underground’s oversized totes make this simple accessory a staple necessity. Three versatile styles printed in a low key palate with lined interior, zipper pockets, and storage spaces. Seattle based designers Davora Lindner and Camilla Eckersley have projected Prairie Underground into the ready to wear spotlight with eco conscious designs without sacrifice. Get these here for $224.
Porn just isn’t what it used to be. If you go by your local swap meet chances are you can find a few vintage copies of Playboy from it’s heyday in the 1960-70’s when it was still run by Hugh Hefner. At the time Playboy defined the luxury lifestyle in a way Jay-Z could only dream about. This was a time before the Girls Gone Wild crew had taken over the industry, and Hefner made swinging seem like something for the lifestyles of the rich and famous crowd rather than something for lonely guys sitting at home on a Saturday night.
Playboy was a magazine that touted the female form as art (or at least something beautiful) rather than something dirty. The phrase “I just get it read it for the articles” was jokingly tossed around only because Playboy made a habit of seeking up and coming new writers who routinley went on to publish best sellers. Through out the 60’s, 70’s, and even into the late 80’s, being published in Playboy was undeiable proof you’d made it as a writer.
In recent years the magazine has declined considerably due to both the retirement of Hefner himself and the over all decline in publishing. Playboy.com continues to be a lackluster product considered rather tame for it’s industry. But something very interesting seems to be happening with the UK edition of the site.
When we visited Playboy.com.uk we found a site that seemed to be a return to form both visually and content wise to the Hugh Hefner golden era. We felt an interesting quality about this site that seemed reference past greatness and move it forward at the same time. We’re a little hesitant to say this is exactly what the internet has been waiting for, but we’ll go out on a limb and say maybe. Just maybe.
It feels a little strange to say this, but this site is (probably) safe for work. For the sake of (ahem) research we had a look around and from what we can tell there’s no access to nudity until you become a member (there is some girls in bras and underwear, this is Playboy after all). What we did find however was a very good interview with pop diva Lily Allen, a review of the new BMW Z4, and an article on Hugh Jackman that will give both print and web publishers a run for their money. And of course there’s the usual lovely eye candy that makes Playboy special, lovely women who look sexy and fun rather than cheap and dirty.
While the success of the site still remains to be seen, Playboy.co.uk seems to have found an answer that everyone else is seeking. For every other magazine, the gauntlet has officially been thrown down.
City living never lends well to greenery. With a little help from Nobuhiro Sato’s miniature structures we can give sanctuary to our rooted friends in style. These detailed concrete planters measure about 4″ in height, yet feature a front stoop, colored windows and railed balconies and can be purchased here.
What do you get when you combine the graphic design geekdom of kerning letter pairs with the pacing of Tetris? Answer: The KERN iPhone App by FORMation. Letters must be inserted with pinpoint precision into place within words. A hair too far to the left or right and you’ll loose a life (measured in ligatures). Available from the iTunes Store for 99 cents. The words themselves are graphic design themed. Props for giving tribute to Rudy Vanderlans (of Emigre fame) among others. Video demo after the jump.
Longtime Neu Black fave Jeff Soto has given us a glimpse of his process with this time lapse movie depicting “The Corruption of Mankind.” The 12′x5′ painting is currently on display at Riverside Art Museum as a part of Jeff’s solo show “Turning in Circles,” which debuted in December. For those who can’t make it, check out some of the pieces below.
Porn just isn’t what it used to be. If you go by your local swap meet chances are you can find a few vintage copies of Playboy from it’s heyday in the 1960-70’s when it was still run by Hugh Hefner. At the time Playboy defined the luxury lifestyle in a way Jay-Z could only dream about. This was a time before the Girls Gone Wild crew had taken over the industry, and Hefner made swinging seem like something for the lifestyles of the rich and famous crowd rather than something for lonely guys sitting at home on a Saturday night.
