Japanese Toys
BibliOdyssey, one of my favorite places on the Web, comes through again with a collection of watercolor sketches of Japanese toy designs, from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They're fantastic.BibliOdyssey, one of my favorite places on the Web, comes through again with a collection of watercolor sketches of Japanese toy designs, from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They're fantastic.Richard Powers
via Boingboing, Hedonia has some information about, and images by, Richard Powers, who pretty much defined the look of science fiction book covers in the 1950's and 60's. Powers didn't care much for science fiction himself, but the genre provided a convenient outlet for the kind of images he was interested in making.
I grew up seeing these covers in used book stores. The images that mix default 50's-style ramrod-straight blonde heroes with melting Tanguy-style landscapes especially ring a bell somewhere deep in my hindbrain.
Flash animations
Space Alone and The Circle Of Life, award-winning short Flash animations by Ilias Sounas. (via MetaFilter)
get ready to mutate
Getting away from design for a minute, it seems that a rotating binary star system may be poised to emit a beam of highly focused gamma radiation aimed directly at the Earth. It's always good to know these things.
On the plus side, if you've ever wanted to be the Incredible Hulk, this is your chance.
On the plus side, if you've ever wanted to be the Incredible Hulk, this is your chance.
smashing posters
Smashing Magazine has created a big long list of "breathtaking typographic posters." Lots of great-looking stuff.
the truest black in the world
Scientists have developed a substance that sucks illumination out of the surrounding environment, making it 30 times blacker than the next blackest thing. This will be a tremendous help to Western civilization.
New York past and present
A featuring Douglas Levere's 60-year-later recreations of Berenice Abbott’s New
York images. The side-by-side comparisons are surprising not for the great architectural changes seen since the 30s, but rather for the amazing degree of stasis.
Tactical Media
From Matt Yglesias at the Atlantic, a timely example of old-fashioned guerrilla media.
More Beirut
The Atlantic Online has a nice short article on typography by Virginia Postrel, once again featuring Michael Beirut.
GOTV Poster Design
An until now neglected link to the AIGA's terrific quadrennial Get Out The Vote poster design effort.
Political Branding
From the Newsweek blog, a discussion with Michael Beirut of the political uses of typography and design, focusing on the Obama brand.
Graphis from the past
The Nonist has been uploading choice images from some old annuals of Graphis, the graphic design magazine. In this one, in the words of the Nonist, "you can see the past and future jostling for position." Also follow the links to the 59/60 and 71/72 issues.
Killer Engagement Ring
The engagement ring that says, "Here, scar somebody with this."Designed by Tobias Wong.
Astronomy and Books
From the NYT, an article on a historical survey of Astronomy at the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum in Chicago. The books are particularly nice.
Information Design of Minor Data
Didn't get a chance to post this at the time, but the NYT had this very effective (call it Tufte-esque) graphic after the Super Bowl. I don't think the link is still live.
designing democracy
via DesignObserver, Dan Pink is unimpressed with the design of the American voting process. There are one or two thoughts on how to improve, though.
2008 Animated Short Oscar nominees
All the nominees for Best Animated Short are online here. My favorite, at least in terms of look, is Moya Lyubov (My Love), from Russia, which is painted on glass.
