I love this typographic chess set by hat-trick design‘s Jim Sutherland based on characters from the Hoefler & Frere-Jones typeface Champion. Laser-cut acrylic letters and a greyboard foiled in black – what a handsome piece of design. I can only hope there will be a new trend of interpreting board games in beautiful, modern ways…
(spotted on creative review; set purchase info here)
I love Olympic design and the identity for Mexico 1968 is one of my very favourites. Full of bold colour, typography and clean illustration – it is a pitch perfect voice for a host city and example of what made 1960′s design so fantastic. I particularly love many of the pictogram design pieces including this Official Stamp Collection by Lance Wyman. Simple, colourful and stylish sport imagery…
(images via design related/karen horton and collectible)
Fabulous colour and a leaning book-like logo are two components of the vibrant new identity for Vicente Aleixandre library in Badia del Vallès, Spain. Designed by studio Txell Gràcia, I especially love the signage and wayfinding throughout the library from bright window graphics to four panel subject signs. A clean, modern and colourful canvas for showcasing beautiful books…
(photographs via txell gràcia)
Last year, I posted about designer Konstantin Datz’s gorgeous braille rubik’s cube and it remains one of my favourite pieces of thought-provoking design. I came across Konstantin’s folded paper typeface this morning and fell in love with the sharp angles. Featured on the cover of Web Designer magazine, there is a real modern paper craft meets origami feel…
(images via konstantin datz)
I love when strong wayfinding, a unique colour palette and beautifully detailed typography come together and this show signage by Raw Color pulls that trifecta off with aplomb. Created for the “Eating by Design” exhibition exploring all avenues of food design, Raw Color was inspired by commercial signage and supermarket shelving. I love the 11 shade palette and sublime CNC milled plywood typography. I wouldn’t mind one of those giant letters hanging on my wall as art. As always, I love the popsicle stick process Raw Color uses to find the perfect hue range…
(images via raw color)
I love the way Dutch studio Raw Color created and presented their colour scheme to architecture studio Merkx+Girod for the pilot store of The Royal Dutch Touring Club. Striking, glossy popsicle stick swatches and autumn hues mixing beautifully with watery summer hues. The seasons really do blend seamlessly, don’t they?
(photograph via raw color)
Paper sampler books are always full of lovely swatches of colour but rarely gorgeous items of design themselves. I love this GF Smith’s sample book created by MadeThought to showcase the brand’s “iconic range of premium coloured papers and boards”. The tab cutting style reveals all 50 colours along the book’s edge and highlights the endless hue combinations possible. Oh and don’t even get me started on that sublime binding with multicolour stitches…
(photographs via september industry)
Logo-shaped paper clips, branded bubble wrap or pylons, innovative cake decorating – there are so many ways the little things create fabulous design and memorable retail. In my latest post for Rena Tom, I rounded up some inspiring images devoted to one of my favourite topics: “retail details”. I strongly believe it is mindful, creative details that turn good stores or brands into great ones. If you fancy, take a look at my post here.
(photographs via kledzik, i am baker, design you trust, jay mug, september industry and veronique)
So technically, this is last week’s ‘palette of the week’. Whoops. Expect two featured colour combinations this week! I love the way brands and identities can be transformed to fit vastly different applications. This photograph by Heather David captures the bold pattern and colour of a Disneyland shopping bag from the 1960′s. How great is the abstract use of Mickey Mouse ears? Proof that great branding doesn’t need to shout to be wildly effective…
(photograph by heather david, spotted on present & correct’s pinterest)
I love this exuberant branding for Dan Arisa, a Spanish musician and percussionist. Barcelona-based designer Alex Dalmau created the sherbet-hued identity and I think the exclamation point fits just perfectly for a drummer. Like a typographical “hi hat” perhaps? Love the branded drum sticks and musical noises on the letterhead too. More musicians need fabulous personal collateral methinks…
(photographs via alex dalmau, spotted on designworklife)
Dreaming of designing retail spaces is often on my mind and my Pinterest boards probably showcase that (obsessive) mindframe. This week, for my bi-monthly post on Rena Tom’s website, I thought I would round-up a few retail images that have caught my eye lately. Signage with metallic details, a neon paper airplane launch invite or a pet shop entrance just for dogs – retail details are never short on inspiration. To have your fill of retail and design eye candy, read the post here. Back to shop owning day daydreams…
(this is collate, here design, tokketok, interior design, design work life, the design files and elana schlenker)
As someone who could spend several hours at a newsstand, I love visiting CoverJunkie where fantastic magazine covers and their creators are celebrated. Three that have caught my eye this month include the Suddeutsche Zeitung Magazin ”Rama dama, design issue” and its explosion of colourful smoke (please tell me there is a behind-the-scenes film of this cover shoot?) as well as a clever, elegant Olympic issue by Sport magazine and a layered FUKT magazine of contemporary drawing. Both digitally and in print, long live the magazine!
(images via coverjunkie)
If 2012 is going to see the end of the world, you may as well go out with some attractive branding! Design studio MENOSUNOCEROUNO created Just In Case, “an end-of-the-world survival kit” or “the perfect brand for the end of times”. The kit contains six iconic products from Mexico re-packaged in bold yellow including dark chocolate, a classic notebook, a simple knife, 40 black matches, liqueur and a bottle of water. This collection may not ensure long-term survival but you certainly will enjoy your final hours… (Read more about the kit here)
(spotted on the dieline)
Pop-up shops, also called temporary stores or flash retail, have grown in popularity and awareness over the last few years. The definition is just as it sounds – a shop that appears suddenly and disappears with similar drama after a relatively short amount of time. Often there is a special collection or limited edition item element as well. Whether in a rented space, a splashy freestanding structure, only online or curated by tastemaking blogs, there are no limits to the innovative ideas flash retail can create. I particularly love that creativity is almost always a vital characteristic of pop-up shops. From big installations (check out that gorgeous net of cardboard boxes above) to bold storefronts to sleek branding, temporary stores seem to form a sublime marriage of retail and creativity. If you interested, I wrote an image-filled article for Rena Tom’s site on pop-up shops which you can read here. Back to dreaming about opening a shop that pops…
(photographs via the fancy, dezeen, hannah dollery creative, decor8, dezeen, we heart and web urbanist)
I love when branding uses an unexpected palette and this identity for Strata Bakery in Barcelona features a brilliant one. P.A.R design studio pondered the many facets of baking and came up with a central theme of layers. From icing cake layers to the layers of ingredients that go into each recipe, the concept fits perfectly and is brought into the branding by layering different papers, materials, typefaces and colours. I love the scrumptious colour combination of mint green and vibrant orange with hits of brown. I also love the stack of business cards in alternating colours as it conjures up a rather magical cake. I think I may need a cookie stat…
(photographs via P.A.R design studio)
Easter is a holiday bursting with happy hues. It’s rather impossible to resist all of the bright, spring fresh colours. I love these modern spins on Easter classic dyed eggs. Jessica from How About Orange made these beautiful Pantone eggs dyed to match their swatch book companions with names applied using temporary tattoo paper. Love them. I also pinned these CMYK Eggs by Martha Stewart a couple of weeks ago and love their vibrant, design-focused designs. I think the technical aspects of printing colour from CMYK to Pantone should be considered a top Easter 2012 trend!
(photographs via how about orange and martha stewart where further DIY instructions can be found)
