grenade fishing

intensity

k. — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 06:48:33 +0000

I have a feeling I often displayed this expression as a child. (I wish I could warn this child that the frown between her brows will not go away at 40. Nope, botox will not help. Already checked, unfortunately.)

Check out other great work by Lianbing Li, Kashya Hildebrand Gallery, New York.

wall sofa

k. — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 12:17:04 +0000

This almost qualifies as an art project for Burning Man. Jordi Canudas’s installation challenges human interaction via wall and sitting area. Individuals can sit on either side, creating wall movement with body movement. Very interesting concept. I like.

via thisnext

the bad + the ugly . july 4

k. — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 09:37:08 +0000

It amazes me that you can still find really, really unattractive websites. Most applications in the market provide off-the-shelf design, which means you can’t make your site ugly, even if you try.

In reviewing this site again, I realized it’s not the lay-out that’s completely bad (but let’s be clear, it’s not great either). It’s the content creative that’s horrible - the images, color and fonts are all wrong. Simply all wrong.

oh la!!! (triple exclamation marks)

k. — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 18:18:02 +0000

These poor guys who designed the Olympic logo. In addition to the ugly criticism, their website’s animated video some how triggered seizures. I’m not kidding. Eight people went to the hospital after having epileptic fits while watching the “water movement animation.” It was promptly yanked after health officials made contact.

They want you to know “it was NOT the logo itself, but the animated video on their website.”

I also stand corrected on the $800,000 cost for this branding project. It was only $400,000.

“Please Look Away, it’s the 2012 Logo” at Guardian.co.uk
“London Logo Pulled from Web Site” at CNN.com

oh la! (and not in a good way)

k. — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 06:28:19 +0000

The 2012 London Olympics Game logo was unveiled on Monday to much controversy, or shall we say, criticism. Rumour has it they spent $800,000? I can’t believe that is true, though they do act a bit suspicious with their hush-hush ways. “What a waste of money” is what you pretty hear now-a-days in London.

My opinion? Oh la. It’s pretty unattractive. What IS it? People dancing? Rooftops? We’re all different but we are one community? (Good translation there, heh?)

via yahoo news

cherry blossoms

k. — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 18:22:52 +0000

Cherry blossoms, another little obsession of mine. Five years ago, when I was at RedEnvelope, we were not successful at sourcing cherry blossom themed products off-the-shelf (already manufactured), so we had to design and manufacture these items ourselves. Looks like times have changed. I’m loving the cherry blossom chandelier and wall treatments.

Will cherry blossoms be the next “it” flower for home decor? Looks like it’s moving in this direction, doesn’t it?

_{See more of my cherry blossoms list at ThisNext.}

the new resin

k. — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 07:34:08 +0000

I’ve been a fan of resin for a while now. We’ve seen them in decorative tabletop mostly, such as vases and trinket boxes. Japan’s Toto just introduced the epoxy-resin Luminist Counter, which not only beautiful but highly functional - it is heat resistant. I love how it looks like frosted glass, but it projects much more warmth than glass. (Give it two years, if even that, and you will see immitations at much lower prices. Unfortunately, my kitchen can’t wait two years. Bummer.)

_{via Business Week Online}

the bad

k. — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 12:30:27 +0000

This week’s bad [+ ugly] needs to go to our six foot tall, anatomically correct Chocolate Jesus.

I love the fact that blogger Robot Hero found and shares a Tom Waits song just for this “artwork.” The song is appropriately titled, “Chocolate Jesus.”

(Noticed I left off “+ ugly” in the title? I can’t call Jesus ugly! That’s not right. Even if he is chocolate.)

_{via OMG! WTF?}

reactable

k. — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 06:26:51 +0000

I am amazed with some of the innovative lighting designs I’ve seen lately. I may have to make this week’s posts a tribute to light.

This is a very cool invention. The table and objects interact with the user - move the objects to conduct sound or music. In a few years, we’ll probably see this as a children’s learning toy for $29.99. Technology moves very quickly now-a-days.
.

_{via youtube}

southeast asia images

k. — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 06:27:04 +0000

Rich, beautiful photography by Scott Stulberg.

adidas' virtual shoe fittings

k. — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 15:01:57 +0000

At the Adidas store at the Avenue des Champs Elysees, customers can try on any shoe of choice without physically trying them on. This is done via a virtual mirror using camera, 3-D processing and motion tracking system. Apparently the motion detection is so fast, it follows the customer on screen in real time. This technology was developed by researchers at the Heinrich-Hertz-Institut HHI in Berlin.

(via GizMag)

creative director job opening

k. — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 09:59:55 +0000

COMPANY: Power of Entertainment
INDUSTRY: Web 2.0 / Social Media E-Commerce
POSITION: Creative Director
LOCATION: Los Angeles

Internet start-up is seeking a hands-on, experienced Creative Director. This individual will oversee all creative aspects of the website development process, including development of the site’s style guide.

switched on london

k. — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 08:30:44 +0000

On February 15, a team of designers, architects, and manufacturers collaborate to change a portion of London with use of light. How cool is this lighting festival? San Francisco needs something like this.

^{Via CoolHunting.}

chugrad mcandrews photography

k. — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 11:53:58 +0000

My friend Chugrad recently launched his website. I love his work. Here is a talented individual. I’ve worked with Chugrad in the past. He has great technical skills in digital photography, but the value for me was his great eye. Best of all, he is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. (A complete opposite of those pre-madonna types.) Check out his site. Visually pleasing, even if you’re not in the retail business.

ChugradMcAndrewsPhotography.com

stencils + decals

k. — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 13:09:22 +0000

More stuff to put on your wall. This is kinda like like a bourgeois’s version of graffiti, isn’t it?

INKE HEILAND

Inke Heiland, from Netherlands, originally created these whimsical stenciled wallpaper pieces for her son’s room. After much positive response, she expanded her line for commercial distribution. She uses original wallpaper from 1960-1970, so supply of patterns are limited. This do-it-yourself kit is available in the U.S. at Romp.com.

INTERACTIVE WALLPAPER

Interactive Wallpaper, from the U.K., offers two creative concepts. One is the combination of background wallpaper and self-adhesive stickers. The combination allows the user to semi-personalize the wallpaper according to their personal taste. You love pink? Go for it. Add pink to your heart’s content.

The other product is dry decal. Easy to apply dry decals in floral patterns. Both stickers and decals have been lace cut, so they will adapt to your wall color. This detail that makes these really interesting… They adapt to your environment.

LINDA FLORENCE

Scratchcard wallpaper. Well, that pretty much sums up the description of this product. Clever idea, though I do recommend keeping this a secret from friends with O.C.D.

Discovered at ThisNext.

I’m a bit stunned how big this trend is at the moment, especially within the design community and Europe. This thing didn’t just creep up. It blasted its way in.

I’ve been calling it wall art, which is inaccurate. Many of these decals or stencils were designed to empower us with approachable solutions for improving our everyday lives with creativity. by visually stimulating our senses. visually improve our everyday living by changing the ho-hum surfaces around us, including windows, autos, fridges and hippopotamus (proof below). It’s great. So far I’ve only seen limited availability in the U.S. on all fronts - few manufacturers, retailers and style options. (Kachiing… I smell opportunity?)

POST 12.28.2006

POPCLING

I dig this company. PopCling makes skateboards and large adhesive art (aka giant stickers). They represent street culture at its best. A collaboration of smart, creative people doing what they love. Their product line steers towards on the street/pop art side and *very* good. I particularly appreciate how well-focused their brand point of view is. More from PopCling:

UNSOLD FORM

Unsold Form offers a limited selection of self-adhesive vinyl, mostly nature-inspired graphic art. Their design style is modern with a lot of softness (= good). They focus much of their messaging on the creative applications, which is important. The designs offered are very visually-friendly (wide appeal), therefore they work well applied to most flat surfaces - washer/dryer, fridge, windows, doors, glass tables and so forth.

UGLY HOME

Ugly Home is one of the most creative companies in home decor. A complete contradiction to their self-persecuted name, they’re anything but ugly (smart branding). Their self-adhesive decals are incredibly creative, and riske (they’re French). The riske definitely falls under the “adult only” category, and I’m not quite sure who would use these decals except places like the Porn Palace.

They design a wide-breadth product line, including some amazing wallpaper and cool concept lighting. If you enjoy creative product design, they’re worth checking out.

CUT ARTS

Cut Arts provides silhouette art by third generation silhouette artist Karl Johnson. You can buy existing silhouette art (Hitchcock collage and polka dog dog shown above) or send in your own photo profile for custom production. It is a great way to add personalized art to your home in place of the grandiose family portrait above the fireplace. Though not a stencil per se, the final artwork is basically a stencil master. From this, it is quite easy to reproduce the same silhouette in different color and sizes (I read this in Martha Stuart years ago. Simply xerox and cut. I suppose now it would be scan, print and cut).

MY TRICK PONY

What a great idea. My Trick Pony is a San Francisco based apparel shop providing custom stenciled t-shirt (or ties, etc) via transfers, spray, or airbrush. This takes ‘unique t-shirt design’ to a whole new level. They are located at 742 14th Street, San Francisco.

DESIGN WITHIN REACH

These are house number plates, not actual stencils. Designed exclusively for DWR by Eric Spiekermann. $24 a piece.

STICKERS BY DVIDER

Great graphic design applied to stickers that can be used to create interesting visuals by blending two and three dimensional objects in one space. For example, the blue bird/dots sticker (shown above) would be fun on a glass shower door.

DOMESTIC

Introduced to Habitat by Domestic, the principle in the collection is simple: literally hand over to users who, invited to transform their interior into an area for expression, design their own decor. Thanks to Vynil, « the wall space » becomes the playing field for composition and into which one can put a lot of effort and invention.

STENCILRY

Stencilry is a huge collection of free for-personal-use stencils. Stencils are added frequently. Stencilry not only provides readymade stencils, but they also accept submissions and take requests for stencils to be made. Requests and submissions can be made through the forum. If you have some skill in image editing software, you can help people out by fulfilling requests.

STENCILREVOLUTION

This site is more artist-focused and very specific with their point of view - revolutionary art. A very creative site with some amazing work, their stencils lean more towards graffitti applications. A public forum and resources section creates a community-friendly site.

BLIK

Provider of self-adhesive decals (think stickers for grown-ups) that allow you to easily transform the look of a living or office space in minutes. Affix to any smooth, flat surface such as a wall, window, mirror, ceiling, tabletop or floor. Choose your space, plan the design you’d like to make, and literally, just peel and stick. And when you’re tired of your design, say after years, a month, maybe a day - the decals are removable. Corporate design and production services available as well. Available at Velocity Art and Design.

THRIFTDELUXE

Free instructions for how to create your own stencils and share ideas. Really cool if you’re the Martha type with an edge.

WHERE TO BUY SOME OF THIS STUFF

green grass design
stickers by dvider
urban outfitters
chiasso
pj stencils (stencil supplies)
velocity art and design

WHERE TO BUY MORE OF THIS STUFF