We usually feature sites that are heavy on inspiration for type or poster design. In this post, we feature a selection of magazine covers taken from nascapas. The Brazilian site captures the best magazine covers from around the world, posting up to a dozen different issues a day. Covers often include captivating photos, lively type treatments, and intelligent conceptual illustration. (Plus some funny-looking words from countries that don't talk American.)
In an earlier post, we showcased a book that extols modern design created with age-old technology. Now, from our West Coast correspondent, James, comes word of the Alt1977 project. Alex Varanese has done the opposite: he celebrates today's technology through the lens of yesterday's design. His ads, two of which appear above, tout the power of recent technology to the technophiles of the late 1970s. More spectacular images here.
Whenever a new version of InDesign or Photoshop is released, it's the first thing I look for: the as-of-yet-invented AutoDesign tool. Just imagine: with one touch, your entire project could be designed. Touch the button again and -- whamo! -- it redesigns your project. Hit it again and get a third iteration. This button would revolutionize the industry.
Fifty years ago this month, goaltender Jacques Plante took a stick to the face. It was pretty much just a day at the office for goaltenders of that era. But not for Jacques. The Montreal Canadiens' goaltender refused to skate again unless he was able to wear a mask. Since at the time there were no hockey mask designers, he came up with the structure himself (at left). Soon after, others followed.
Left: Philadelphia Flyers' Wayne Stephenson; right: Quebec Nordiques' Don McLeod
Clockwise from top left: Wayne Stephenson ('80-'81); Gary Inness ('79-'81); Bernie Wolf ('78-'79); Gary Smith ('77-'78)
WalMart is legendary for keeping their expenses lean. Take their "greeters". Legend has it that Sam Walton was too cheap to pay for security guards at his stores, so he enlisted the help of retirees to work for peanuts as doormen. The wisdom was that shoppers are a lot less prone to shoplifting when they have to walk out past a smiling grandmother.Bouchat had submitted his design to the Maryland Stadium Authority by fax after learning that Baltimore was to acquire an NFL team. He was not credited for the design when the logo was announced. Bouchat sued the team, claiming to be the designer of the emblem; representatives of the team asserted that the image had been designed independently. The court ruled in favor of Bouchat, noting that team owner Modell had access to Bouchat's work.So c'mon Walmart, you can come up with something better. Heck, at the very least steal something better. It won't cost you anything. Or perhaps the readers of this blog have some ideas...
The alt craft caravan is in full swing this time of year. Markets across the U.S. dedicated to the handiwork of alternative crafters draw shoppers from all corners of society. The handmade movement has been propelled by sites like Etsy, but it's the face-to-face encounters these markets offer that are at the center of the hobby. Buying directly from the person who crafted your stuffed animal, sewed your skirt, letterpressed your stationery, or hand-dyed your vegan yarn is as eye-opening as it is gratifying.
There's more than just one function to those wily Japanese manholes we wrote about last week.. Aya Tsukioka, a Japanese designer, uses them to avert theft. The New York Times ran a piece awhile back on her line of clothing and accessories that use stealthy optics to thwart crime:"Take the “manhole bag,” a purse that can hide valuables by unfolding to look like a sewer cover. Lay it on the street with your wallet inside, and unwitting thieves are supposed to walk right by."She also designed the backpack on the right that unfolds to reveal a replica fire extinguisher box. (Good for both kids who get beat up by bullies and for naive altar boys.) Her most ambitious clothing line features a skirt that unfurls into a full-sized soda machine. Amazing.
In a stroll down the back alleys of Flickr, it's easy to bump into a photo pool of Japanese manhole covers (they're the fancy ones pictured above). Photographers and designers alike celebrate that country's penchant for spicing up the streetscape with creative, colorful motifs. You can even find maps of exactly where these gems can be found. Stateside, we're fascinated to find that government-types care enough to create utility covers that willfully transcend their purpose.
We make sense of the world by recognizing patterns, an exigency of survival we inherited from our Neanderthal aunts and uncles. (No, not the ones who came out the woodwork to swig down the open bar at your wedding.) It was a matter of life and death for them: interpret the repetition inherent in nature, or be eaten. Fortunately, in a life full of modern amenities like GPS, rifles, and open bars, we're allowed to be lazy. But that doesn't mean that somewhere in the backs of our heads we don't still have a taste for order, repetition, and structure. Well, given the fact that there are a billion Denny's, maybe it's still in the front of our heads. So while you're enjoying that Lumberjack Slam breakfast this morning, feast on the above posters. (Click to enlarge.)
The March bundle from the Amalgamated Printer's Association arrived last week and contained the usual mix of printed pieces, spanning the spectrum from novice to professional. APA members send samples of their work to all the other members at least 4 times a year. Each month every member receives around 50 pieces of letterpress matter printed by fellow APAers. It's a wonderful way to see the work of new printers, as well as marvel at the skills of those old hands who have bridged so many generations of printing technology.The series Typographic Curiosities has been done intermittently over the past 45 years by Richard L. Hopkins. Subject matter has ranged widely, but always related to hot metal type and/or typesetting. It is Monotype composed and letterpress printed at the Hill & Dale Private Press and Typefoundry, Box 263, Terra Alta, West Virginia 26764.
