Oh how I love the small, folded cards in the “For Get Togethers Collection” by designer and illustrator Kathryn Whyte. A fantastic mix of art deco-like details, typography and modern-day wording. Can you think of a nicer card to receive through your letterbox?

(image via kathryn whyte’s etsy store)

I’ve always loved Picasso’s portrait of his adored dachshund, Lump. Picasso loved animals and his work is rich with depictions of them. In contrast to his usual beautifully complex style, I love Picasso’s animal drawings for their simplicity and minimalism. There is even a book devoted to the artist and his best friend – Picasso & Lump: A Dachshund’s Odyssey. I love this drawing and that so many of Picasso’s pieces have his dachshund as a muse but most of all, I love that a dog named Lump became an icon in modern art!

(image via art prints gallery)

I recently came across Dirt Poster by Roland Reiner Tiangco and totally fell in love with the design and sentiment. The back of the poster is covered in black dust that makes your hands extremely dirty for a reason. Rubbed across the white poster front, your hands reveal the poster’s message. How fantastic is this design? I love the statement because it is true on so many levels. Anyone precious about making mess is probably not going to change the world (or be much fun to hang out with!)

(photographs via white zine)

Olly Moss is a British designer and illustrator who you can add to my ‘obsessed with’ list. He has an obvious abundance of creative chops but it is his cleverness that never ceases to amaze me (case in point, his sea-saw illustration I posted about a couple of months ago). Olly just opened a solo show at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles called ‘Paper Cuts’. The exhibit features over 350 laser-cut and hand-finished silhouettes of pop culture icons from the cast of Saved by the Bell or Seinfeld to animated Disney classics to Cliff Huxtable in one of his crazy sweaters. I love the juxtaposition of historical cameos with modern pop culture. A brilliant concept, six months of exquisitely detailed paper work and fantastic styling in vintage frames all add up to a spectacular show the is overflowing with Olly’s talent and cleverness.

(photographs via olly moss, the fox is black, hi fructose, jawilmesjr & flixist)

The Rubik’s Cube is an iconic 1970′s 3D puzzle with the ultimate goal, via twisting and turning, of organizing the squares into six solid colour sides. But how would you solve that puzzle if you couldn’t see the colours? The Braille Rubik’s Cube designed by Konstantin Datz seeks to answer that question with striking results. The braille word is used for each colour so the hues are felt and the puzzle can be solved. A thoughtful and really beautiful piece of design.

(photographs via konstantin datz)

When I saw these photographs of So Takahashi’s Origami Chair, I swear I was speechless for a good ten minutes. The folds of powder-coated sheet metal, the pin-thin back legs, the exquisite angles – this piece must rank among the most beautiful chairs ever created.

Okay, this is a pretty genius idea. Londji created a chess set made of recycled cardboard that can be laid completely flat when not in use. Requiring only a couple minutes to set up, this game version is ridiculously useful for travel and handsome to boot!

Anagrama is a design studio in Mexico that I am constantly in awe of and is definitely among my favourites anywhere in the world. It really feels like they have pattern, colour, branding and interior design super powers! I love this identity system created for Micheline, a stationery boutique in Mexico. Keeping in mind the company’s catalogues were brightly coloured and their work is often similarly hued, Anagrama created a brand focused on striking black and white pattern and texture. A perfect mix of creating a unique voice for Micheline yet still allowing their work and colourful creations for clients to take centre stage. And how gorgeous is their workspace? What an amazing mix of black, white, colour, pattern and texture.

To say I am a Douglas Coupland fan would be a rather large understatement. He is one of my true design heros and I plan to do a special post on Douglas under my colour hero feature in the next bit. Although his Digital Orca sculpture outside of the Vancouver Convention Centre has been in place for 10 months or so, it still continues to dazzle and inspire me. For a city where marine life plays at the foot of our urban core while technology, innovation and video games grow as vital industries, it is simply poetic to create an orca out of pixels. We are, after all, a city where nature and urban life overlap but fuse together in harmony. Digital Orca has quickly become one of my favourite pieces of art. If I win the lottery tomorrow, I will see to it that Douglas Coupland designs many more sculptures in Vancouver!

I like the words written on the plaque beside the sculpture: “The digital orca sculpture breaks down a 3D Orca whale into cubic pixels – making a familiar symbol of the West Coast become something unexpected and new. This use of natural imagery modified by technology bridges the past to the future. It speaks to the people and activities that created Vancouver’s thriving harbour culture, while addressing the massive changes reshaping the BC economy. The sculpture’s metal construction and lighting components evoke the daily moods of the harbour and the diversity of those who work here.”

(images via douglas coupland & claire fossey)

I don’t know if you have been in the market for hosiery lately but it isn’t exactly an area of packaging design that screams inspiration. I think that all changes with these designs for Nordstrom. The photography is sharp and I love how the typography plays off the type of stockings inside. Perhaps this could be the spark that lights the hosiery design world on fire? Fingers crossed…

(via thedieline)

I just love this Athens street art by Greg Papagrigoriou. How often do you see graffiti with such a calligraphy soul? Beautiful.

(via unurth)

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!

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)

Love these black and white paper art letters by French designer Jerome Corgier. It always feels like each letter of the alphabet has its own personality so it is nice to see that captured in the very different designs and typefaces used. My only wish is to see these beautiful works of art photographed on white. It feels like the coloured gradient backgrounds are distracting from the contrast and strength of pure black and white. That being said, I love the intricacy and depth of Jerome’s letters and you can view the whole alphabet here.

(via quipsologies)

This Universal Wrapping Paper isn’t just attractive, it contains a fantastic idea. Using the concept of a word puzzle, it allows the user to customize the paper for any required holiday. Such a brilliant idea by Fabio Milito and Francesca Guidotti. I can only imagine the colour co-ordinated pens that could be used on this handsome black and white paper.

(via the dieline)

I really like this project by Estudio Ibán Ramón titled “We Love Geometry”. The set consists of nine cards with unique geometrical renditions of the numbers one through nine. The cards fold out into posters and we discover that the numbers are part of a larger design. I like how this project works on two levels and features such bold black and white geometry and typography. Love how each number is given its own personality!

(via shiro to kuro)