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louis xu – Google 阅读器 2010-9-8 Crafty 2010 Conference in Singapore – Yummy Fresh grain feed! Crafty 2010 will explore the artistry and process behind disciplines from design to art, fashion to film and advertising to specialized print techniques. Held at the Lasalle College of the Arts in Singapore, the project is produced by design think tank Anonymous and curated by art director Felix Ng.

Speakers will include: The Official Manufacturing Company, The Glue Society, Adrian Chan, B.A.L.L.S, Grace Tan (kwodrent), Larry Peh (&Larry), Michael Lee and Sean Lam (Plate).

Supplementing the conference will be A Crafty Paper.

The 40pp newsprint paper, will feature a foreword by Thinking For A Living founder Duane King, as well as speaker profiles and interviews. The paper is complimentary for all conference attendees.

(via Swiss Legacy)

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louis xu – Google 阅读器 2010-9-9 Daily Inspiration #609 – Abduzeedo | Graphic Design Inspiration and Photoshop Tutorials This post is part of our daily series of posts showing the most inspiring images selected by some of the Abduzeedo’s writers and users. If you want to participate and share your graphic design inspiration, just send us, via email, the image with the link from where you found it, also use “Daily Inspiration” in the subject, and don’t forget to send your Abduzeedo username; or via Twitter sending to http://twitter.com/abduzeedo If possible use the HTML code:

Do you want to see all images from all Daily Inspirations? Check out http://daily.abduzeedo.com 2D

al b sure

Anderson

“LAKAIROMANIA” from Marc Ritzema on Vimeo.

Best Bookmarks

Cmyll

Color.

Dews Designs

Electric Lime Studio

eugene kim

Fabiano

Fabio

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Gisele

Jack

Newyorkiz

Shoelace Graphics

smudged

Via Twitter Send your suggestions via Twitter to http://twitter.com/abduzeedo using #abdz in the end of the tweet. @Marcos333

@daniel_nelson

About the author Someone with a bachelor degree in Foreign Trade that really likes technology, design, photography and creativity. A person ‘digging’ a new way as a ‘geek apprentice’, blogger ‘wanna be’ and a communication lover! Current location: Porto Alegre, RS – Brazil Twitter user: gismullr Sponsored Links:

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louis xu – Google 阅读器 2010-9-9 Orange Tart – Brand New QR National is a soon to be listed public company that owns and operates Australia’s largest rail freight network. In a country that is the world’s largest exporter of coal, it’s not surprising that QR National is also the world’s largest transporter of the dirty rocks. In a big brown land, with big brown trains, from the state of the big pineapple, big mango, big bottle of rum and the big boofhead, a big new company is about to be created — with a smart new identity courtesy of Cornwall Design, Melbourne.

Train livery..

The Queensland government has decided to split the publicly owned railroads, selling the freight business by public tender, and retaining ownership of the passenger rail. The first step in this sale process was rebranding the previous QR – QR National as Queensland Rail and, err, QR NATIONAL. It’s a big change. But not yet. It’s almost a pre-emptive rebrand — before the sale goes ahead and the new owners get the keys to the trains, they’re getting a new look — creating the rather ridiculous prospect of the company being rebranded, sold, and rebranded again, in the space of 12 months.

Simplified back into one color, the mark is quite strong, bold and graphic.

There’s a common practise when selling your home to give it a “pre sale renovation”. You move as much furniture out as possible to make the rooms seem bigger, a fresh, bright coat of paint and do the gardening. Then, on sale day, get some bread roasting in the oven to give the house that “homesy” feel and, lastly, fresh flowers in every room. This rebrand reeks of a pre-sale tart-up, but I must admit, the result is a rather pleasant looking tart.

The semantics of calling something QR, which locates it as based in the state of Queensland, but calling it National, certainly bugs me. On that point, the name is set in the ever dependable Gotham, but probably one of the better uses I’ve seen — one can’t help but like that “Q.” Not in black, not in white — but the nice, warm embrace of grey. Personally, I have a particular disdain for grey — it’s the color of indecision — but in partnership with the orange, rusty ochre, red and yellow of the symbol — it’s an acceptable choice.

Horizontal and stacked logos

On the symbol — hipsters will applaud the subtle integration of the shape de rigéur — triangles — and they’ve even snuck a couple diamonds in for good measure. A pair of arrows, signifying movement, and also evoking a stylised map of Australia — quite appropriate for a national rail freightc ompany located in Australia. Does this sound familiar? Whilst admittedly different marks, there is indeed a striking list of similarities between this and the Australia Unlimited mark we reviewed earlier. Warm grey sans serif type? Check. Orangey ochre? Check. Map of Australia? Nailed it, but let’s make sure to remind everyone we’re “on the move,” okay? Get some arrows in there!

Moving forward. Or backward. Cool stripes.

It’s this sort of orthodoxy that pervades top end corporate identity (particularly in Australia) that I find incredibly annoying — but somehow the precise, crafted nature of this mark, redeems it. In researching this piece I ventured into a dark, dark corner of the internet — forums, Picasa (never Flickr) and YouTube accounts of people who photograph trains — the dreaded Trainspotters. It’s not a place I’d recommend for graphic designers — I’d imagine they’ll get a particular thrill from the new train livery, which looks very smart indeed. But as a “fresh coat of paint,” a “re-arranging the deck chairs,” a “change-of-clothes,” or however you describe this type of identity re-design, this isn’t a bad one at all. As far as pre-sale tart-ups go, this looks to be the most expensive and wide ranging “For Sale” sign I’ve seen in quite a while.

All images are screen grabs taken from a corporate video here. Requests for images to the designers and QR National were ignored.

Thanks to Luke Martin for the tip.

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louis xu – Google 阅读器 2010-9-9 Surf’s Down – Brand New Founded in 1984 by a small group of surfers in Malibu, California, Surfrider Foundation (SF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to “the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves and beaches for all people, through conservation, activism, research and education.” Through more than sixty local chapters, SF counts with over 50,000 members across the United States. Earlier this month, SF introduced a new logo designed by Los Angeles-based 72andSunny.

Not identity related, but I just love how the chapters dot the coasts. I guess if there was a Pasture Foundation they would have the inverse map. “We wanted to build from Surfrider’s heritage and infuse it with the idea of growth through activism. Both the wordmark and icon swell, becoming bolder over time,” said John Boiler, co-founder, 72andSunny.

Surfrider Foundation’s new logo maintains many familiar elements from the original mark, including the organization’s famous stripped wave, albeit in a more streamlined and contemporary design. — Press Release This change is like going from surfing in Hawaii to your grandma’s tub: All the energy and dynamism the previous icon had has gone awash in the new one. By being confined in a square, the old wave conveyed a sense of the grandiosity a good wave can reach, completely engulfing you. I am sure someone, somewhere had a hard time reproducing the logo on a t-shirt or wetsuit and said they needed to change to something more simple and Nike-like. The new icon is weak not just in its sloppy execution but also in its depiction of a wave. It has no energy or power. The typography is a bit of a cliché but it could have been saved by better execution and a more interesting choice than all the weights of Helvetica Neue — just as one alternative, take different weights and widths of Titling Gothic and go to town or, to ocean, with it. There was no need to change the old logo so drastically; drawing one or two versions of it with less and more spaced lines for small reproduction and replacing that funky italic would have been sufficient.

Thanks to Elizabeth Macdonald for firs tip.

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louis xu – Google 阅读器 2010-9-9 Two Triangles are Better than One – Brand New The Dutch public broadcasting organization VPRO (an acronym that translates into “Liberal Protestant Radio Broadcasting Company”) started its life in 1926 as a religious radio broadcaster. Over the years it became more liberal and less religious until, in the sixties, it planted itself firmly in the avant-garde by being the first television broadcaster showing a nude woman on national television. Since then the VPRO never left its nonconformist role, with slight stubbornness purposefully choosing those programs, topics and formats that the other broadcasting companies passed over. Although not well known outside of the Netherlands, the VPRO is the real deal. It continuously airs intelligent, cultural and quirky programs, the stuff that makes TV interesting.

So the recent redesign of their 29-year-old logo predictably caused a stir, being one on those projects that every designer in the Netherlands will have an opinion about. Amsterdam based graphic design agency Thonik had the honor and, as far as I am concerned, they did a good job of updating the old logo with a fresh new wordmark.

That the VPRO opted for a visual continuation of the old logo, feels a bit like a missed opportunity however. Their viewers being almost by default an audience that can appreciate ground-breaking new directions. “vpro” is now set in lowercase, but some equity is maintained by keeping the triangle… heck, they even doubled it. The triangles and centers of the “p” and “o” are used to play a formalistic game of shape and color, creating a seemingly unlimited number of possible marks. With inventive use of just these few elements a playful extension of the style is possible.

Show reel with previews on program indents.

I like that the new identity is colorful and vibrant, and has enough “weirdness” to fit with VPRO as a brand. There are some minor points like the circle of the “p” not being the same as the “o,” something that is shown in the explanation of the logo, but seems to have been abandoned later.

More pressing is that the idents for the programs (a sneak peak can be seen after 0:24 in the show reel above) do not seem to benefit from the outspoken flatness that works so well for the logo and printed matter. They feel a little too simplistic to do justice to the in-depth and imaginative programming of the VPRO. Although this flatness is somewhat of a statement in a media landscape of flashy, rotating 3d logos, it is not a new one after Max Kisman’s iconic, 8-bit like idents for the same broadcaster in the 1990s. That being said, these are sneak peaks so a final judgement might best be saved for the future.

On its own, this new identity definitely passes muster, only question that remains is why the choice was made to update the logo instead of creating something new altogether. If there was ever a client to push the envelope, this would have been the one.

The logo in action on existing program guide covers.

Titles for Dorst, an online youth magazine of VPRO, set in the bespoke typeface created by Bold Monday (sample below).

Images via Fontanel. Mark Holtmann is a graphic designer working at Koeweiden Postma. Don’t forget to cast your vote about this post online

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louis xu – Google 阅读器 2010-9-8 enormouschampion Studio Visit – Yummy Fresh grain feed! This past weekend, I had the privilege of visiting Jordan Provost and Jason Wong, the dynamite duo behind Brooklyn based stationery and gift line enormouschampion. Their incredible collection of letterpressed cards, screenprinted cloth, and wooden goods features images of animals, love, and nature, as well as bold type. In this studio visit, Jordan and Jason show us some of their favorite things and offer a couple of handy hints on organizing and collecting.

Where did the name enormouschampion come from? It was upon completing the first project we worked on together. We were asked how we wanted to be credited and neither of us wanted our individual names, because it was such a collective effort. The two words were spoken together and everyone agreed it was the perfect name for us… from then on, it stuck.

What’s it like working with your significant other? Do you ever get tired of working with each other?

It’s good for the most part, but we have to try really hard to separate the work day with the home life…sometimes we get caught up with a lot of work talk and not enough board game playing time.

How long have you had your studio? We made the leap to get a studio in the summer of 2009. Prior to that, we were operating out of our home and even though our cats enjoyed the playground of boxes, it wasn’t a mentally healthy environment for us humans to live in.

What do you like most about your space and the neighborhood? We’re in an awesome building that has some other creative folks, and although our studio is separated from the others in the building, we occasionally exchange high-fives by the mailboxes. We also love that the studio building is a green building, with solar power, salvaged lighting, sinks, and other materials as well as radiant heating, etc… It is walking distance from our home and in between the two are some great spots to stop for coffee, burgers or beer.

What are some of your favorite objects in the studio?

Jason: I would have to say, I like seeing my old skateboard decks on the column when I come in. It reminds me of the time when my bones were a little stronger, or when I didn’t have a fear of breaking them. I also like being surrounded by the things we make next to the random things we’ve collected whether they be an old schooner bell or a LEGO set.

Jordan: Cameras (which I use), the collection of typewriters (which I don’t), and issues of Vogue Living Australia as eye candy.

Jason – I noticed you have quite the collection of LEGO sets. Could you tell us more about them? How long have you been collecting them and what’s your favorite piece? I’ve been a life long enthusiast of the bricks… the ones at the studio are the sets that Jordan is more indifferent to versus the ones at home. My favorites would have to be 2 sets at home from the classic space theme from when I was a kid. They were the first “proper” sets that were given to me after years of envy of my older brother and sister’s many Lego sets. I have the original boxes and instructions to them as if it were still the day after my 7th birthday.

You both have quite the collection of skateboards, stickers, books, and mid-century furniture. How long has it taken to acquire your collection? Do you have any tips on organizing and collecting?

Both of us are slightly obsessive thing finders and we’ve always been…that was one of the attractive aspects we saw in one another when we first met. Lately, we’ve tried to limit our flea market outings because of space restrictions; but, we do sometimes surprise the household with a can’t live without type of object.

Tips on organizing: get a studio or country house to keep most of it where you can actually see it and appreciate it versus having stuff in a box that can’t be enjoyed.

As for collecting, only acquire things that you love. Being surrounded by stuff that you don’t care about is about as much fun as having friends you don’t like.

What are some of your favorite books?

Jason: From a design standpoint, my favorites would have to be Erik Nitsche’s Dynamic America and Herbert Bayer’s Geographic Atlas. For just the random coffee table sitting I can always immerse myself in Aaron Rose’s Dysfunctional or the LEGO Collector’s Guide which documents every LEGO set for the last 50 years.

Jordan: My favorite photo books are Robert Frank’s The Americans, and William Klein’s New York 1954.55. My favorite novel is Carson McCuller’s The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.

What inspired you to create your series of wooden animals titled The Kingdom Animalia? Do you have a favorite animal?

They were originally our table indicators from our wedding. Instead of numbers, guests were given an animal to find at tables.

Jason: My favorite would have to be the bird for 2 reasons: it was the first one drawn for the table we sat at during the wedding and it’s the most stylized of the bunch.

Jordan: The kangaroo, because it is the only one with 2 eyes, looking at me, and because of my Australian roots.

Who or what are your biggest influences?

Jason: My biggest influence would have to be my mom. She’s been through a great deal and put a lot of hard work into life. Whenever I find myself overwhelmed, I think of how she might’ve dealt with a situation. I’m also grateful that she taught me to be organized with my things when I was younger, retaining the package and inserts that i can appreciate now and keep them as ephemera or reference materials.

Jordan: I’m not sure how this will come across, but seriously, my biggest influence is my interest and love of cultures. One of my undergraduate degrees was in Cultural Anthropology, and from that study, I garnered a real appreciation and constant curiosity for differences in people. It affects how I interact with the world around me, and influences just about every aspect of my personal preferences.

What are you currently working on? Anything fun and exciting you’d like to share?

We made a prototype of a whale mobile that we’re in the process of fabricating. We’re also working on a couple of projects with Chronicle Books as well as some exclusive items with a few shops we sell to.

Thanks so much to Jordan and Jason for letting us visit their awesome studio. To see more of their work, visit their website and store. Also be sure to pick up their new line of postcards titled Our Love: 15 Postcards of Affection from Chronicle Books.

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Like what you see? You may also dig Josh Brill Studio Visit.

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louis xu – Google 阅读器 2010-9-8 Ingela’s Nesting Dolls – Yummy Fresh grain feed! I love these nesting dolls by Swedish Illustrator Ingela Arrhenius. You can choose from an animal set or circus set, both of which are available for purchase at Swedishness.

(via the excellent Kickcan & Conkers)

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Also available for your viewing pleasure: Ingela P Arrhenius Illustration

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louis xu – Google 阅读器 2010-9-8 Jacques Charette – Yummy Fresh grain feed! Booklet cover for Librax Roche Recipe

Jacques Charette attended schools in Ottawa and Brussels (Belgium) as well as the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Montreal. Before establishing his own firm in 1970, he worked on various materials for Expo 67. He is also responsible for designing the logo for the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC).

Poster for Unit Masonry Awards Exhibition 1972

“The Future of the Forest” booklet cover for Canadian Pulp and Paper Association

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Also worth checking: Swiss Graphic Design by Geigy

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louis xu – Google 阅读器 2010-9-8 Scott Albrecht – Yummy Fresh grain feed! Brooklyn based artist and designer, Scott Albrecht, creates incredible work using my favorite material: wood. Creating objects ranging from wooden sculptures to typography, Scott’s work is conceptually and visually striking.

This piece, titled Heart Hands, is featured in his solo show “SOMETHINGMISTAKENFORNOTHING” at San Francisco’s The Curiosity Shoppe. The show opened last weekend, and is up until the 26th of September. If you’re in or around the Bay Area, definitely check it out.

In addition to wood works, Scott also has a great collection of drawings featuring upbeat phrases set in hand drawn geometrically patterned type. To see more of his work, check out his website and pay a visit to his store as well.

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