Cozy Fruit!

While I was sifting through a Communications Arts magazine, I came across these advertisements for the Calgary Farmers Market.

First of all, fruits and vegetables wearing sweaters is just plain adorable.  Aside from that, though.  I can really appreciate the Plakastil-like style of the design.  It's straight forward. You know from first glance exactly what this advertisement is for.

Fruit or vegetable wearing a sweater.  

Open all winter.  

Calgary Farmers Market Logo.

Simple, yet very effective.

bad habit.

I unfortunately have a nasty habit.  I smoke Camel Menthols, so naturally I would know exactly how the package looks, but I can recall a time not too long ago when they made the big switch from old to new.

Marlboro and Camel are two of the  top cigarette brands, though they are both successful, Camel has been significantly more successful design-wise.  Marlboro never strays far from the normal packaging--just a few changes of color here and there.  They've pretty much had the same design for as long as the company has been in working order.  Camel, on the other hand, also has a very distinguishable package, but in recent years has upped their look to something much more modern.  I'm sure the goal of this is to appeal to a younger crowd, which it certainly does.

Camel Menthol, in particular, changed its package significantly about six months ago.  The classic Camel logo is still front and center, but instead of an elaborate drawing, it has become a simple silhouette.  This silhouette is highlighted with a whirlpool of shades of teal and white.  The placement is interesting; The design is coming from the bottom right corner.  I think it is very pleasing to look at, and that it has definitely been a successful face lift.

neon bible

This is the album cover for The Arcade Fire's Neon Bible.  The design is quite interesting for a couple of  reasons.  One, it is unusual for a band to not plaster their name on the front, so I think that is admirable.  Two, the design itself is almost Victorian and Art Deco at the same time.  The border surrounding the bible-like neon image is slightly Victorian in style.  The different angles of the neon bible itself is very Art Deco. 

Cool music.  Cool album art.

HAUNTED

Chuck Palahniuk is my absolute favorite author.  Not only is he the genius behind Fight Club, but he's written even better things that most people have yet to discover.  Now, his novels are quite graphic and rather raunchy, but the deeper meanings within each book have been life changing for me.  Some of his writing literally gives me chills.

Now, the cover of Haunted is a little freaky, BUT it's also ridiculously cool.  I'm a sucker for a good book cover.  In fact, I probably never would have picked up one of his books had I not been intrigued by the design.  The typography is perfect for two reasons:  It has an eerie feel to it just on its own, which plays off the title.  AND the book itself is about a writing retreat that ended up horribly, so I can imagine them feverishly documenting their experiences with handwriting similar to that shown on the cover.

The white portions of the face on the cover are actually glow-in-the-dark.  I definitely did not know that until I was reading before bed, switched the light off, and then nearly had a heart attack.

Now, as a side thought, here is a quote from the novel:

"In the big factory of perfecting human souls, the Earth was a kind of tumbler. The same as the kind people use to polish rocks. All souls come here to rub the sharp edges off each other. All of us, we're meant to be worn smooth by conflict and pain of every kind. To be polished. There was nothing bad about this. This wasn't suffering. It was erosion. It was just another, a basic, an important step in the refining process."

MOVEMENTS!

I used the same book to do this assignment that I used for a design blog earlier.  It is Gig Posters: Rock Show Art of the 21st Century.  I thought it would be interesting to see how many of these posters resemble the posters from the Victorian, Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau, Early Modern, and Art Deco movements.

VICTORIAN:

On the left is a poster for Hank Williams, and on the right is an example from the textbook.  I think the busy, intricate illustrations are very similar.  Although the illustration on the left is within an oval frame, the borders surrounding both illustrations are nearly identical.  Also, though not shown in the text book example, text within banners was very popular in Victorian design, which can clearly be seen in the Hank Williams poster.

ARTS & CRAFTS:

The Neko Case poster and the textbook example have extremely similar line characteristics within the illustrations.  I think the bold use of black and white is apparent in both.  The Neko Case poster could easily be mistaken for a woodcut illustration, which the textbook example (from The Hobby Horse, 1886) just so happens to be.  Intricate woodblock illustrations were the essence of what William Morris stood for during the Arts and Crafts movement.

ART NOUVEAU:

I think this one is pretty self explanatory.  The resemblance is uncanny.  The Art Nouveau artists had a fascination with the woman figure, particularly from a side angle.  The stylized hair pattern was a hallmark of the era.  The Nine Inch Nails, Tool, Moximo Park, and Hot Hot Heat poster is a direct descendant from the work of Alphonse Mucha in his Job cigarette paper poster.

EARLY MODERN:

The flat color, the simplicity, the self-explanatory design.  These two are alike in almost every way.  Even down to the black background.  The Wilco poster is for a concert in Washington, DC.  The Washington Monument is the center of attention, and it is followed with the largely printed "Wilco" underneath it.  Minimal information gets the point across quickly and effectively, and that was the whole point of Plakastil.  This can be seen in both the Wilco and Priester posters.

ART DECO:

These two aren't really as similar as the others have been.  I do think that the Franz Ferdinand and Death Cab for Cutie poster has some Art Deco qualities.  When I look at both of these posters side by side, my eye is forced upwards, which is a HUGE characteristic of Art Deco design.  Aside from just that fact, I think the interesting typography on both is something to be noted as well.  

GELATO

In 2009, I traveled with a several members of my senior class to Europe for our spring break.  Our first stop was London, the second was Paris, and we saved the best for last: Italy.  We went a few places in Italy: Assisi, Florence and Rome.  Each one had something about it more magical than the last.  Though the scenery and architecture is absolutely spectacular, there is nothing better than the food.  American translations of Italian cuisine is appalling!  Aside from all the pizzas, pastas, and breads I ate, there was one thing that really stuck with me... GELATO!

So fantastically delicious!

Naturally, upon stumbling around the internet, I had to stop and admire this package design.

What I think is truly spectacular about these is that each flavor shows the charm of Italy, while still maintaining a very clean and modern design.  I would definitely buy this in a grocery store, no matter how much money I was spending for just a few spoonfuls.

I worked 22 hours this weekend...

I work at Publix, which I actually really love even though they practically own me on weekends.  So, I see a lot of products and different packaging designs go through my line.  I scan them, barely look at them, but every now and then something will catch my eye and I'll have to stop what I'm doing to admire it.

Interestingly enough, I think that the Publix brand itself has done a great job with their packaging.  The aluminum foil is one of the best.  They do such a great job of making their names and overall design very simple.  Usually just black and white with one color, and the product itself is always displayed but never in a dull way.  It's ridiculously creative to have the aluminum foil shaped like different animals.  Everyone has done that at one time or another, so to display that is just too adorable.

Here's a Publix brand version of Cheez-its which is just so cleverly designed!

Anyway, come visit Publix.  Check everything out. :]

Mr. Talbot, you'd be proud!

William Henry Fox Talbot created what is known as the photogram.  Although his process was far too complicated for me to even begin to comprehend, I made a few today using light sensitive paper.  The simple way of doing it was to place objects on the paper and expose it to light.  When the blue paper turned almost white, I took it back inside and placed in a tub of water for a few minutes.  After the paper dried, the background turned a dark blue, and where the objects were became white silhouetted images.

For the first, I used a few twigs and some leafs that I found outside.

For the second, I used a swirl pattern sticker of sorts and leaves.

And for the third, I used mesh ribbon, a bird sticker, and a button.

Though they didn't turn out perfect, I'm pretty impressed by the concept of a photogram.

Today, we took a scenic route to an adorable place!

Leiper's Fork.  So charming.  Where exactly did I go today, you ask?

A lovely old book store, Yeoman's Rare Books.

I found the tour to be very interesting.  I've always been fascinated by old houses, so just being in there was a treat.  It's funny, though; I absolutely hate history.

Anyway, so I picked up a brochure.

Now, tell me that is not the most creative brochure you've ever seen?! Did anyone else pick one up?  I had to have it, as soon as it caught my eye.  The little houses are just precious.  It's such an appropriate design for Leiper's Fork.  The brochure has just about as much charm as the place itself.

Laura Foote from Character Maps for Your Community did all of the drawings for the map and front of brochure.  Kudos to you, Laura.  Brochures are generally very boring to look at (in my opinion, at least), but this one it's really quite spectacular.

My friend Matthew came to visit me from Cookeville this weekend.  He is the web and media director for Tennessee Tech.  Needless to say, we have a lot in common.  He actually is one of the biggest reasons why I left Tech to come to O'More.  He told me he wished he could have done it, and that it would be perfect for me.

So, when he arrived, he brought me Gig Posters: Rock Show Art of the 21st Century by Clay Hayes of GigPosters.Com

AND I have to say... it's pretty stinkin' awesome.

I've looked through it several times in the last couple days, and there are two posters that really stand out to me.

First is a Pretty Girls Make Graves poster for a show on May 22, 2007.  What's really awesome about this book, is it gives you information about the artists who created these magnificent posters.  Robert Lee and Mark McDevitt of Methane Studios in Atlanta are the designers for this particular one.

I apologize for the rather obscene images, but I just couldn't pass up posting this.  It's just so cool.  I think it portrays the band's name really well, first of all.  Also, it's such a colorful design, which is perfect because they're music is as well: very upbeat, fun to listen and dance to.

The second poster is for Modest Mouse in Anaheim, California.  The designers involved are Paul Fucik, Geoff Peveto, Derrit DeRoun, and Ben Berry from The Decoder Ring in Austin Texas.  They have done numerous posters for Modest Mouse.  They wrote, "Those guys ...  have grown to be not just clients, but good friends over the years."  Though they all work differently, they love hand-rendered typography, which is very apparent in this design.

"The Good Times Are Killing Me" is the last track on Modest Mouse's Good News For People Who Love Bad News album.  "Float On" and "The Ocean Breathes Salty" are also on this CD, which are pretty much the only two songs that have ever gotten any radio play.  I love the band, so I'm pretty biased in my opinion on this, but I think it's one of their best albums.  So, anyway, that's why I found this so intriguing.  Aside from liking the band, the design itself is really interesting.  I love the skull within the lips; it's a clever play on the text.

I love the simplicity of both the Pretty Girl Make Graves and the Modest Mouse posters.  The stark white background and the burst of color(s) in the middle just really suck me in.