AIGA MN Design Camp: just days away!

Good F'n Design Advice

I admit, I probably use the fbomb more than is necessary and in general swear like a sailor for no particularly good reason. Which makes the Good Fucking Design Advice site quite enjoyable for me! Sometimes the truth hurts and in this case the truth would be censored on broadcast television. You should check it out, but in the meantime a few of my favs:

Fix your fucking letterspacing.

Fucking simplify.

Educate your fucking client.

Use a fucking grid.

Take a fucking chance.

Drink more fucking coffee.

Don't fucking quit.

and the big one:

Love your fucking job.

So true...

Travel Inspiration : China : Cloisonné

An unexpected stop we made on the way back from the Great Wall of China (more on that later) was a Cloisonné factory just outside of Beijing. Prior to this stop I had seen pieces made in this style, but knew nothing (nothing!!) about the tremendous amounts of work that go into each handmade item. A brief overview below.

First, items are shaped (no pic for this). Then the wire outlines are applied to each vessel. Designs are shaped and applied with tweezers. We're talking major detail work.


Then comes the color. Each piece is meticulously filled with colored powder by artists (4 coats, a trip through the kiln between each). Their workspace was breathtaking with the bowls and bowls color surrounded by stacks of gorgeous in-process items.

After the color is added there are several rounds of polishing to create the final effect (see the blue vase in the background of the last picture of the colored powders).

Our tour guide at the factory, "Babbit," explaining the process to us.

Travel Inspiration : China

It was this time last year I was packing my bags and heading to that far away land we call China. In the next couple of days I share some of the gorgeous sites and wacky cultural quirks we came across...

"Hey lady! Lady! Lady! Wanna buy a watch? Mao watch? Rolex? Louis Vouitton? Watch? Lady!Lady!"

Poster Love

There is nothing I love more than getting mail... with the possible exception of getting packages in the mail!

Just arrived is this poster from Plaid Creative. Between my coffee addiction (they list my favorite drink that I had in Australia- the flat white) and love of all things kooky (I mean really, a drink called the Miami Vice?), this seemed like an obvious buy.

I can't wait to get it into a frame- my kitchen wall will be so happy to see it!

(image from Plaid's blog)

For a closer view (or to get your own) visit their shop.

Blogs I Stalk: small caps

Since I began working in a design and letterpress studio I've really started to appreciate all of the work that goes into printing. What has really caught my attention is the old school wood type floating around the shop (and I've been lucky enough to pull a couple proof prints for projects... try saying that three times fast). That fascination combined with my constant blog stalking let me to the small caps site. Written by an artist in Berlin (don't worry they provide translations for most of the writing on the blog), there are some fun blurbs and explorations, not to mention a peek into life across the globe.

Recently posted were exercises of wood type on vintage maps, available in their shop. My personal favorite shown below (Australia!!). Not to mention I love the German version of Ahoy!

(images from the small caps shop)

AIGA MN Design Camp Preview: Even More Frank

Frank has been writing a series on his blog entitled The Back Side of Your Gullet is Decadent and Depraved, they are by far my favorite pieces of his writing. In the latest edition there was a blurb that really struck a cord with me- seems to be what we all hope 26 will be (or was).

"A girl suggested that being 26 was the perfect age. It was even, and you were closer to thirty than twenty, but still well shy of it, whatever awful thing being thirty signified to her. Hopefully, at that point you would feel invigorated with your clarity of direction and purpose, and skilled enough to execute. It was almost like you had done enough to feel like you were well on your way to fulfilling whatever you were supposed to do with this tiny life of yours. We all nodded in agreement. Little did we know that 26 would come, the world would change around us faster than we could change ourselves, and we would still feel like babes."

Soldier Portraits

I am entranced by these soldier photographs. A project by Ellen Susan, the collodion wet plate photos are accompanied by a blurb written by the soldier.

Careful clicking through, though, once you start it's hard to stop.

(photos from her website)

Worth of a Word as Picture

words from jacques khouri on Vimeo.

(via Share Some Candy)

repost: Awesome

I'll feature more from Design Crush at some point, but this was too great not to repost.

I love NPH and I love How I Met Your Mother, therefore I love this quote/picture combo.

via Design Crush