Starry Night (Interactive Animation)

More than anything, I want this for a wall in my house.

Saul Bass: On Making Money vs Quality Work

The inimitable Saul Bass — designer of some of the most impressive opening title sequences in movie history — on Making Money Vs. Quality Work. Bass has created title sequences for such films as The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), Vertigo (1958), Anatomy of a Murder (1958), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), Ocean’s 11 (1960), It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963). He also designed posters for many of the same films, including The Shining in 1980.

A Sneak Peek at “Shapes & Smiles” New Works by Jolby

A video sneak peek at the new body of work “Shapes & Smiles” by Jolby opening December 16th, 2011 at Subtext Gallery in San Diego, CA.

Somewhere between the shared brains of collaborators Josh Kenyon and Colby Nichols (Jolby) is a land occupied by their beliefs, passions, thoughts, and memories. Returning for their second solo show at Subtext, these seasoned creators will guide us on a voyage through their past, present, and everything in between to find out what makes them happy.

Watch this link to view all of the work from their new show on December 16th: jolbyandfriends.com/shapesandsmiles

Real-Life Models for Classic Pin-Up Paintings

Before Photoshop, there were just these guys who could paint really, really well.

(via UFUNK.net)

Tiffany Desrosiers

Client: Tiffany Desrosiers

When Tiffany’s mother Joanne came to me a month ago regarding Tiffany’s website, she had a special request, “we don’t feel that this look represents her music and is outdated.”

It was February 20th and Tiffany had a new single being released mid-March, they were hoping to tie a new website into their marketing piece that would reflect the new direction that Tiffany’s sound was taking in “High,” her latest single. Most importantly, she sweetened the deal with “we would like the option of maintaining of content once the site is finished,” which is one of my favorite things to do. Empowering a client is so important, what’s the point of them having a website they can’t use and update themselves. After a few emails back and forth, it was clear we were on the same page and both parties felt comfortable moving forward.

You can see from the initial two designs I presented that sometimes these things can take completely different directions. With some hard work, we were able to get the site built to go live Friday, March 18th. There’s nothing like a challenge to bring out the best in people, it was a complete pleasure to work with Joanne, Tiffany and her team to bring this concept to light.

Visit the site here

The Thomas Beale Cipher

There’s a lot of striking moments in Andrew S. Allen‘s “The Thomas Beale Cipher“, a film based on a true legend of the famous unsolved code.

The film contains 16 hidden messages that hold clues to the characters’ secrets. Eight are fairly easy requiring only a close eye. Six are moderately difficult using various encryption methods. Two are extremely difficult requiring a genius mind to decrypt. Delicious textures—herringbone fabric and washed-out wood—mixed with grainy whisps of wrapping light, I get lost in the motion of the movie and at times drop out of the storyline. Don’t take that the wrong way, it’s not that the story doesn’t work for it, trying to undress the process is always something I let get in the way of a plot line, leaving me often lost and somewhat uncertain at the end of a lot of movies.

Presented by Short of the Week as part of their new “Short of the Week Presents” program, featuring short films that have never been online before and help to coordinate their digital launch.

Young Galaxy – We Have Everything

‘We Have Everything’ is from the forthcoming YOUNG GALAXY album, Shapeshifting, out Feb 8th in North America on Paper Bag Records and April 11 on Smalltown Supersound in UK/EU.

Artist: Matthew Lyons – Push it Backwards

I was certain I had posted about Matthew Lyons before, but I can’t find anything in my blog. I apologize, it’s almost embarrasing. Anyway, Lyons (who was only 23 the last time I checked, maybe 24 now at the most) has this particular style that I assumed must come from a steady, weathered hand and not someone two years my junior.

His latest venture, a comic called Push It Backwards is consistent with everything he does, meaning it’s awesome. The story he tells here (the pages you can read) is peculiar and wonderful, be sure to check out the process piece he did for ISO50 last year.

Cut Copy’s Zonoscope Album Due Soon

I am in love with Cut Copy. I have been for some time, halfway between their 2004 debut album Bright Like Neon Love and their 2008 follow up In Ghost Colours I came across them and have never looked back. For example, when I started writing this post, I had no music on, but now I do and it’s Cut Copy. It’s like magic!

Today my email informed me there were some limited pre-sale packages available so like a big nerd I had to nab one package #2 with a Vinyl and signed lithograph (hand numbered and limited to 500 prints, hot damn). If you’re unfamiliar with Cut Copy, I used them last summer in one of our ‘vacation videos’ featuring their then just-released track Where I’m Going. You can find it on Oh, Canada! (How’s it Goin’?).

Over the last few months, they’ve been releasing chapters of a 4 part series, documenting the making of their 3rd album, Zonoscope. Catch up now!

And here’s one more treat, their latest single Need You Now.

Podcast: Play in new window

The Walking Dead – Alternate Poster

Andrew Kolb’s poster for The Walking Dead is something I’d expect to find on Grain Edit (and imagine we’ll see it there sometime soon) but is a testament to the fact that even—or rather especially—in the digital age, there is need and want for those classic, organic animation styles we grew up with or that make us feel safe and nostalgic.

LP Cover Inspiration

I have been more and more interested in album cover design and I’ve done a few *real designs this year so far already (*when I say real I mean client work, I don’t count the covers I make for Mixcasts or the like) but hope to get into more in the future. Where I draw inspiration from is really a great prospect because there are a few different styles I like to dabble in, Illustration, Retro-Future, Minimal mostly, so depending on the band, different sounds require different treatments.

For instance, the 70s was a pretty great time for album covers. Many of the covers were so abstract and had little to nothing to do with the band but it was okay. It was a time of musical odyssey and artistic expression. My hope is that we one day look back at this information renaissance and recognize the role art has taking in communications over the last hundred years or so.

The good news is we seem to be getting back to this point. As many infinite album covers as new bands and sounds emerging from the interwebs sparks excitement for this boy.

Julia Rothman on How to Make a Repeat Pattern

Design*Sponge has a great article with Julia Rothman, illustrator & pattern designer. In it she sets out the process of creating a never ending, repeatable pattern for multiple applications, such as a website background, DIY wallpaper for your home or even just as a neat excersize.

Artist: John Kenn

When I asked for a little inspiration from the world to share back, I wasn’t quite expecting the results I got (though I suppose that’s the point, isn’t it?) Sarah Black turned me on to these wonderful and intricate sketches by John Kenn, a writer and director of children’s television shows. Every one of these Tim Burtonesque wonders is on only a post-it note yet the attention to detail and self-contained stories burst forth.

I love the lines and can’t help but feel reminisce to Maurice Sendak’s illustrations from Where the Wild Things Are back in 1963.

A little dark, a little imaginative and a little mysterious, just the way I like it.

Artist: Tomokazu Matsuyama

Tomokazu Matsuyama’s work is similarly influenced by both the austerity of post-war contemporary art and the rough extravagancy of popular culture. An upbringing split between Japan and America spurred the questions of national and individual identity that figure prominently in the style and subject matter of his paintings – attempting to parse the “natural chaos” of our social environment, Matsuyama pushes viewers to confront their conceptions of cultural homogeneity, which seems to contradict notions of Japaneseness.

Joshua Liner Gallery

Matsuyama, born in 1976 now lives and works in NY. As a contemporary artist, he exhibits his work internationally showing in galleries and in institutions in cities from Tokyo, Osaka, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, and Vancouver to institutions such as Asian American Arts Centre.

There is something wonderful and exotic in the work he does, a world you hope to get lost in. At once surreal and vibrant, I love the palettes and shapes he uses.

La Boca Design

La Boca is an independent design circus based in Portobello, West London. They specializing in art & design for the film, music and fashion industries, all industries I’m really excited about but it’s their work on limited edition vinyl record sleeves that I have especially enjoyed.