British talent Rob Ryan is one of my very favourite artists. What he creates out of paper, meticulously cutting intricate shapes, is truly phenomenal. On top of all that creativity, Rob has an amazing gift for beautifully poetic words. I plan to feature Rob Ryan in a future post devoted to his work but I couldn’t resist sharing his Royal Wedding commemorative plate design for William and Kate’s big day. What a welcome change from the wedding-cliche riddled commemorative designs I have seen around. I love how the traditional British lion and unicorn fuse seamlessly with Rob’s whimsical design and trademark birds/flowers. The gorgeous blue, white and gold accents are elegant, modern and so very British. As always, I particularly love Rob’s words as they are a perfect reminder of what all the hoopla should really boil down to at the end of the day:

“The Crown and the Throne and the lions and the unicorns & the bowing & scraping and all the Palaces and the privileges are worth nothing if you will not spend every day of your life with me until I die. April 29th 2011″

(black version available at Rob Ryan’s etsy store)

The more photos I see of Cielito Querido Café, the more I fall in love with it. Drawing from Mexican and Latin-American design heritage from the late 19th century to early 20th century, the space is just so full of life and details. With vintage Latin-American signs and product labels of old grocery stores in mind, Mexican studio Esrawe and Ignacio Cadena created the vibrant branding and café design. In a world of coffee spots that are far too beige, Cielito Querido is café overflowing with bold colour, dramatic typography and wild patterns. It is a modern and playful place that retains a truly Mexican flavour. Even the take-away coffee cups are beautiful! Fingers crossed Cielito Querido Café expands in Canada soon. If that happens and you need to get in touch with me, I’ll be the one in the pink chair…

(via we heart & the dieline)

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

(via unurth)

It feels like many in-house grocery and department store brands suffer from bland and generic design. The products are meant to be simple and cheap but does that mean the design has to be as well? Monoprix, a major supermarket chain in France, suffered from the same issue until their recent packaging overhaul. I absolute love it! If I lived in France, I would fill my cupboards with their products simply based on the colour patterns that would emerge from shelf to shelf. The colour palettes, unique to each product, are also a brilliant way to stand out to the consumer and make their products easily recognizable upon return visits. Even though the packaging is pretty simple and modern, there is still room for each product to feature a single line of humourous copywriting. For example, on the horseshoe-shaped sausage package, the label says, “high-quality dry sausage: the sausage that does a demi turn”. Bold typography, vibrant colour and wit? I hope more in-house brands are inspired by this packaging!

(images via kesako, epica, xulux & japanese forms)

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 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!

A piece of art I always imagined would be featured here is Bruce Nauman’s One Hundred Live and Die. When I saw it featured on the fox is black, I was reminded of the beauty and vibrancy of Nauman’s masterpiece and knew I had to post it. One Hundred Live and Die features multicoloured neon phrases outlining 100 ways one could live or die. Installed on four metal monoliths in a pitch black room, the different colour phrases are lit up individually and then in patterns of connected emotions. The result is a commentary on life and the many ways it can be made incredible, difficult, mundane, beautiful, unfair, funny, strange and so forth. Some phrases make perfect sense, some feel a bit more obscure (what exactly does ‘yellow and live’ mean?) As each phrase lights up, the dark room is bathed in glowing, brilliant and ever-changing colour. Eventually the entire piece is lit and the viewer is overwhelmed by not only the spellbinding colour but by the emotion of 100 ways life can be lived and experienced. What is stunning is that this piece was created in 1984. It certainly could have been made today which only underlines Nauman’s talent in creating timeless contemporary art. To me, the story and feeling behind this work of art and the colours used are awe-inspiring. I would love to see the vibrant colours and light patterns of One Hundred Live and Die in person and experience true neon poetry.

(via the the fox is black & pbs)

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)

I am a huge fan of Vancouver artist Bratsa Bonifacho. His 50-plus year career has covered many topics and styles but it is these abstract paintings that I particularly love. Bratsa uses symbols and typography to depict computer viruses and the scrambling effect they create. His use of colour and the intense palettes created are just stunning. Fingers crossed that one day, I can hang a Bratsa Bonifacho painting on my wall. Or, to be realistic, let’s hope prints of these works of art will be available at some point!

(images via bratsa bonifacho & bau-xi gallery)

I love this wood block typeface created by province studio. Using blocks of all different widths and heights creates a texture and dimension that would not have been achieved if all the blocks were equal sizes. I especially love the bright colour palette of aqua, azure, bright blue, yellow, purple, magenta and brown!

(images via behance)

This is such a brilliant movie poster for “Coffee and Cigarettes” by Viktor Hertz. I love how the ampersand is the bold focal point with simple but strong details that suggest the title features – cigarette filter lines and a coffee cup in the negative space of the bottom ampersand loop. Most modern movie posters feature glossy photos of movie stars or animations so this clever, typography-focused poster is a refreshing change I would love to see explored more often.

(image via designspiration)

I love typography made out of unexpected things (especially when it becomes 3D). The primary colours and teasing nickname Richard Perez used to create this woodblock piece are instantly childlike yet the typeface is handsome and so beautifully constructed. I hope there is more where this came from!

(images via friends of type)