There is something about this illustration, with its geometric shapes and vibrant cool hues, that makes me extremely happy. It kind of feels like a turquoise ocean translated into a pattern! (There is a skull hidden in the drawing as well which only adds another layer to this fascinating piece.) The illustration is part of German designer Hannes Beer’s All Day Everyday Project, a graphic design diary in which Hannes designs “something cool everyday”. The daily creations are available for purchase via his Etsy shop.

I think I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw these illustrated and hand-embriodered Penguin Classic book covers by Jillian Tamaki. They are a stunning piece of craftmanship. Not only beautiful illustrations but incredible embroidery detail and colour. After a commission from Penguin, Jillian took two months to create the wraparound covers with French flaps. What a mesmerizing update to the covers of classic literature and yet another fantastic Penguin book cover. Wow Jillian. That is all I can say! (p.s. the books will be available in Fall 2011)

(via sampaints)

I feel like 98% of shower curtains are really unattractive. It’s as if bad patterns go to die in the shower curtain sector! Perhaps Ty had the same feeling when they created the brilliant DIY Shower Curtain. Using a breathable, high-density polyethylene and permanent market, you can create the shower curtain of your dreams. Words, illustrations, patterns, sports stats – the options are endless. Now your bathroom can have a custom piece of design!

There are few things as effortlessly full of joy and innocence as pink cherry blossom trees or Japanese sakura. Their symbolic use on the cover of the March 28th issue of The New Yorker is as beautiful as it is heartbreaking. A moving cover by Christoph Niemann.

(image via how magazine)

This illustration by the super talented Spanish illustrator Pablo Amargo made me laugh. Pablo’s work is always clever, smart and wonderfully designed. I don’t think I will look at cows the same way again!

(image via shirotokuro)

I have always admired the craftsmanship and detail required to do embroidery. It is a beautiful form of art that adds so much texture, value and intrigue to fabric and other projects. I have become semi-obsessed with the work of Sydney-based studio maricor maricar. On top of fantastic design, illustration and motion work, they create the most gorgeous embroidery I may have ever seen. It is easy to dismiss embroidery as a traditional art form but one look at the modern, colourful and typographically exquisite work of maricor maricar and your mind will be changed forever! Their embroidery, with its bold colours and incredible layers and patterns is just breathtaking. The detail and vibrancy is unreal. Fingers crossed one day I work on a project with maricor maricar and see how they create such jaw-dropping work!

I find these ads for Bic pens brilliant. The lifespan of the ubiquitous ballpoint pens are tested to last for two kilometres, a distance equivalent to six Eiffel Towers, two Tower Bridges or four Empire State Buildings. What a clever and effective way to describe just how long the pens should last. The sole use of the very recognizable Bic pen blue across the entire ad (even the logo) is a final brilliant touch of brand in a fantastic ad campaign.

(images via ads of the world)

I really like these beautiful illustrations created for a Mercedes-Benz ad campaign. Love the very technical, industrial left side designs and the wild, colourful and layered illustrations exploding from the right side. I think I know what side I tend to spend most of my time using… (Click on the images to see big versions of the ads)

(via ads of the world)

Olly Moss is a brilliant British illustrator and designer. I especially love this illustration – his colourful and clever take on a seesaw!

(image via olly moss)

Using their famous colour palettes and graphic elements, Illustrator Fabian Gonzalez created icons to depict famous comic book characters and superheros in their most simple form. It’s amazing how these striped down symbols really capture the essence of the characters. I love Batman, Spiderman and Wonder Woman but most of all, the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their colour-coded masks.

(Left to right, top to bottom: Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Superman, Supergirl, Barbarella, Mighty Mouse Ironman, Captain America, Thor, The Hulk, Cyclops, The Incredibles, Kick Ass, Radioactive Man, Fall Out Boy, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Captain Atom, Aeon Flux, El Santo, Wolverine, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Professor X, Chapulin Colorado, The Darkness, The Tick, Ben (FF), Hellboy, He-Man, Freakazoid, Silver Surfer, Witchblade, Metamorpho, Spiderman, Mandrake, Mighty Man, Green Lantern, Falcon, Atom Ant, Green Arrow, The Phantom, Storm (Xmen), Birdman, Aquaman, Iceman, Captain Marvel, Spawn, Space Ghost, Blade, Blue Falcon, Dynomutt, Flash Gordon, Bartman, The Vision (Avengers), TMNT Raphael, TMNT Leonardo, TMNT Donatello, TMNT Michelangelo, Plastic Man, Duffman, Scarlet Witch, The Punisher, Dare Devil, Hawkman, Black Vulcan, Zorro, Hawk & Dove, Sandman, Antman, Gambit, Wonder Twins, Marshal Bravestarr, Electra, Spider Woman)

(image via fabian gonzalez)

Love these clever ads for Comex Paint using iconic cartoon characters and their identifying colours. Bright, eye-catching and to the point: they can match any colour!

(images via coloribus)

Love the work of Malaysian illustrator Lim Heng Swee and his Doodle Everyday project. It is hard to pick a favourite but I fell in love with this doodle in particular. If you live in Vancouver or anywhere that gets a lot of rain, this should give you a new perspective on how whimsical and jolly rain clouds can be if you choose to see them that way!

(image via Doodle Everyday)

How do you help a sighted person understand how a blind person experiences colour? The Black Book of Colours by Menena Cottin and Rosana Faria uses gorgeous embossed nature illustrations so the reader can “feel” colour rather than see it. The entirely black book has accompanying braille and regular text that describes each colour through all of the senses (“brown crunches like fall leaves and smells like chocolate”). Intended as a children’s book accessible to both the sighted and the blind, the final result is a striking and elegant piece of art that opens our minds to a new way of understanding colour.

(images via brain pickings)