Mythbusters Paint Mona Lisa In One Go With 1,100-Barrel Paint Gun

"Leonardo Da Vinci might have worked painstakingly on the Mona Lisa and her enigmatic smile but the crowd at Mythbusters managed their own version in less than a second at nVidia's NVISION event this week.

Of course, the duo of Adam and Jamie were going to have to pull it off in style, if they wanted to demonstrate the difference between single-core CPUs and multi-core graphics processing units (GPUs). And that they did, with the help of an 1100-barrel paint gun that fired all the paint simultaneously."

One word.....WOW!!!

Fossil Washbasin

Ammonite concrete washbasin. Available here.

Saltimbanque: Paul Ruiz

Saltimbanque, 2008, oil on linen, 20 x 15 cm

Absolutely love this painitng, by Paul Ruiz. The original has sold, but I'm keeping my eye out for prints......as if I could afford it anyway!! Lots more on the website.

Women

Women is an art project by 28mm that’s raising awareness about violence against women. The above pictures are of an installation in Rio. I think that this is such an important issue and I'm really glad that a greater awareness is being raised. Great visual impact too.

Yu Tsai: Photographer

Yu Tsai is really an amazing photographer. Have a look at his portfolio; all the photographs are beautiful. The above 3 from the Chanel Paris Collection.

a favorite design

I love the letterpress work of amber favorite of a. favorite design...so cheery and happy.

The Mossenger Project

Great concept...Anna Garforth's 'Mossenger' project' will use moss to create type for the verse of a poem written by poet Elly Stevens as part of YCN LIVE.

"Being interested in public art and ecology, it led me to thinking about sustainable graffii. I collected a common moss that grows well on brick walls and glued it to the wall using a mixture of natural (bio active) yoghurt and sugar. I will be experimenting with type and illustration to create further messages using this mossy medium"

How to be a good client

How to be a good client (PDF). By Number17.

This made me laugh, especially because we have a certain "problem" client at work at the moment...maybe I should send this to them?

Pebble Alphabet

Pebble alphabet by Clotilde Olyuff.

A Field Guide to Weeds

By Kim Beck

"A Field Guide to Weeds masquerades as a 19th century pocket guide, but a guide in which the weeds themselves have taken over. This project uses the physical form of the book as a metaphor for a crack in the city sidewalk: printed in luscious five-color printing, the common dandelion, pigweed, and poison ivy—the very plants we ignore, step over, ignore, dig up, or scrupulously avoid—creep out of the gutter, up pages, and overrun the book. Multiple silhouettes overlap and repeat, drawing the reader’s attention to the overlooked."

Olympic logos from 1924 to 2012.

As you may gather, I've become a tad obssessed by the Olympics this year. I came across this link, showcasing the Olympic logos from 1924 to 2012. Some good, some very bad...my fave is by far the Mexico 1968 games, maybe because the retro style has bacome fashionable in recent years, but I just love the type, and this identity seems so much more adventurous than others.

Packaging Lamp by David Gardener

An example of packaging becoming the product itself, by David Gardener. In Gardener's own words:

"The pulp structure starts off as the packaging to house the bulb plug wire and socket. When opened, the user removes these electronic parts and repositions them back in the pulp structure in their correct positions where it actually becomes the structure of the lamp, leaving no waste packaging to be thrown away.The process of molding paper pulp can produce beautifully molded shapes. Due to machinery restrictions the lamps are all hand made, unlike the pulp packaging that is used in the packaging industry. The middle section of the lamp is created to look like a standard turned wood stand, but in fact the shape is entirely determined by the electronic components that are packaged in it during transport."

As if Post-its havn't been used enough....

Tagline: If you are going to get another car, let us remind you a couple of things.

Released: Aug 08
Advertiser: Honda
Agency: Fischer America
Country: Brazil

I wish people would stop using Post-its!! its sooo old.

Breakfast

Considering I rarely eat breakfast, I surprised myself with how much I liked this site...it's probably because I'm nosey! Simply a peek at what lots of different people eat for breakfast...lovely!

As I was scrolling through the pics, I found myself covering the breakfast image, looking at the person, guessing what they would eat, then checking to see how close I was...not very most of the time. I guess what you eat for breakfast can say very little about the kind of person you are, or maybe alot, who knows!

Very nice photography too. Take a look at http://jonhuck.com/breakfast

A Map of Olympic Medals

Nice visual by Lee Byron, Amanda Cox and Matthew Ericson of The New York Times.
Visit this link and click on a country on the map for more info.

Ice Men

I came across this on another blog, and no-one seems to know who/what/when/why/how, but what an amazing concept! I'm impressed....

Bad Taste?

Titanic ice tray....available from Fred & Friends

The Heads of State: Ohio State Magazine

"Jason Kernevich and Dustin Summers have been working together since 2002. The graphic and conceptual simplicity of their collaborations made an immediate impact on the burgeoning poster revival in North America. They've won awards from Communication Arts, American Illustration, Print Magazine, Graphis, and the Society of Illustrators."

Illustration: The Future of the Lecture. Ohio State explores integrating new technology into the classroom and lecture halls.

The Heads Of State

Gray318

This week I've, once again, been on the trail for book cover designers for the dissertation. Jonathan Gray works in East London, and has produced many impressive cover designs, a few of which are pictured above.
Gray318

BVD: Stories

Stockholm’s well-known ”Skatteskrapan” (the high-rise building where the tax office used to be located) has undergone a total transformation and now accommodates both student housing and a new, modern shopping centre. Stories, a new café concept developed by BVD in cooperation with Ivan Akibar Arkitekter, is housed in the newly opened mall Skrapan.

BVD’s assignment was to create a totally unique café experience: from concept and name, to graphic profile and packaging. The inspiration for Stories comes from conversation, thoughts, tales, and gossip, in other words what cafés have always been about. How many ground breaking ideas have been born over a café table, hastily written down on a napkin? BVD wanted to capture this classic atmosphere and give it a modern interpretation: a place to take a sandwich, grab a coffee on the go, or wile away the hours. A space for proclamations and revelations, quiet chats and confidential conversations.

The challenge of Stories was to create a strong, recognisable concept that, at the same time, would be influenced by the atmosphere and capture local flavour. A Stories café is going to look different in each neighbourhood and city, but the feeling will be the same everywhere.

BVD

Sweet Gifs

I was shown this website a few days ago. The low-tech aspect of these animated gifs is just something really different and fun. Set up by a couple of american graphic designers in Portland, SweetGifs is a treat for your eyes!

http://www.sweetgifs.com

The Daily Figure

The Daily Figure "A series of daily figurative doodles from my imagination." by Kyle T.Webster. This was yesterdays. I really like his technique; so simple. He also has a store.

I can't believe that there were people in there!!

Anyone of the 4 billion of us who watched the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony would have been left speechless after the unsurpassable and magnificent show. However, I'm currently in disbelief; I've just been informed by my boss, John, that the 'movable boxes' part of the ceremony was infact created by three-thousand people jumping up and down inside columns (as seen above). The illusion they created was phenomenal, and I was convinced this was all down to digital enhancement; definitely my favourite part of the ceremony. Apparently the chinese practiced this routine again and again for....wait for it....five years!!!!! what amazing dedication. As John said, "its easy to see why, when china can produce something like that, that communism clearly works." Hmmmm..not sure about that one!

I've also just come across this site, with some great photography of the ceremony:

Lazy Soosan:Alphabet Books

Lazy Soosan is in fact the work of two London based illustrators more commonly known as Laura and Lucy.

A self published zine devoted to the rip-roaring phenomenon that is The Alphabet, with each issue being dedicated to one letter.

Each issue contains 26 black and white illustrations related to the letter of the alphabet in question, and a full colour front page. The zine itself is A6 in size, so can be easily slipped into your pocket for a bit of light entertainment whenever and wherever you may require it!

So far they have done A, B & C. Available from etsy

You can also see more of their work by visiting their blog

Elly Nelly

I love this lace series from the talented mother/daughter duo elly nelly...they have some fabulous wall graphics in their shop too. check 'em out here...

Dutch Photogram Alphabet

"Composed of found, recycled, and reused objects this new typeface is captured through the photographic process known as the photogram. Each letter is created by capturing the shadow of an object. There is no distortion of scale between the image thta is captured and the object from which it as cast. As each object has a unique shape the signature of the shadow is often a surprise. As a collection these signatures have begun to define a new typography and an attitude towards reuse and appropriation. While some images are familiar to adults, others present themselves to children. The purpose of this piece is to foster a dialogue of discovery and exchange."

Dutch Photogram Alphabet

Face Your Manga

faceyourmanga.com allows you to create a cartoon version of yourself, much like simpsonize me. This is mine!

Kelloggs Rice Crispies Ad

This is, by far, some of the worst casting I've seen in a while! Three young children, two of which are far too close in age to be just siblings as opposed to twins, yet one has a northern accent and the other a southern?! And don't even get me started on the little scottish(?!?!) lad. Surely, its startlingly obvious that this kind of lifestyle advert needs to be, in the very least, believeable.

I'm really unimpressed, and who cares how many rice crispies are in a packet?! Pointless, pointless waste of money; Kelloggs should ask for a refund from Leo Burnett in my opinion. (who's website is also pretty poor, btw!)http://www.leoburnett.com/

Jennifer Marston: Remember this name!!!

This is the work of my amazing friend Jennifer Marston. Her latest collection, based on peacocks, was recently showcased at graduate fashion week in London. I love the fantastic dark emerald coat, pictured above. She has produced clothing for the infamous Pixie Geldof and has been featured in several fashion publications. She is currently looking for work, so if you like what you see get in touch with me!!

More snaps of this show can be seen at Jennifer Marston - Somerset Graduate 2008

BBC 'the journey to the East'

By Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.

Artist, illustrator and writer Jamie Hewlett first joined forces with Blur's Damon Albarn to create one of the world's first virtual bands 'Gorillaz'. Albarn would work upon the music, while Hewlett would come up with character designs, and both came up with ideas for the members of the band.

Their latest work 'the journey to the East' is the BBC promo advert for the Beijing Olympics 2008 coverage. There has been mixed reviews of the ad, which can be seen at brand republic. I quite like the ad; I like that it is centred around china's culture and hertitage. The artwork is really vibrant and has an energetic quality which is obviously reflective of the Olympic games.

Orangina Advert

This is sooo wrong its good!

FFL Paris has created a highly unusual animated TV spot to promote Orangina. The ad, which was released in cinemas before making its debut on TV, relates a love story between a doe and a manly bear. FFL Paris employed Psyop, a group of US directors who gained prominence through their work in plastic arts for MTV's on-screen idents, to give the ad its distinctive look. Their methods combines computer generated images with traditional cinematographic techniques.

First Aired:16-Nov-07
Media: Cinema
Agency:FFL Paris
Client:Orangina
Creative Director: Fred and Farid

http://www.fflparis.fr/

The Happiest Book In The World

By Alex Ostrowski

"In one way or another we are all looking for happiness. Some people even say that man's sole purpose for existence is to hunt down and capture this intangible and elusive treasure. In 2006 researchers at The University of Leicester concluded that Denmark is the happiest country in the world - this was good enough for me. In March 2008 I made the decision to visit happiness, and embarked upon a pilgrimage to find it. My experiences are presented in this book."

The Happiest Book in the world. Only one copy exists!

The 100 Most Common English Words

This is soo hard! You have to guess the most common words in the English language, and you are given 5 mins to do so; I did apallingly, just 36 out of 100! It's quite fun in a nerdy way. Play it here.

Masa Identities

Various identities, by Masa, many of which are in neon pink and black! I particularly like these two. They also have a very nice website: http://www.masa.com.ve/website.html

'Masa's work has strong emphasis in the research of Latin American pop culture and worldwide contemporary street culture. The result is a crossover where urban and folklore references get blended together to produce fresh ideas and strong brand identities in every work.'

Baja BBQ firepack

"The Baja BBQ firepack is a charcoal packaging that lights instantly and burns away in the grille, making the barbeque experience simple, clean and chemical free. Made from 100% recycled biodegradable paper pulp, the package contains 2lbs of natural lump charcoal and features an integrated chimney that creates perfect hot coals without the aid of chemicals or light fluid."

It's good to see the package being used as the product and innovation that looks at stripping away and not adding, that is sustainable but well designed.

Shame that this unlikely to see my back garden with all the rain that never stops!