Today I saw this lovely piece of work for Madam Madsen by Tim Bjørn whilst reading the selective and inspiring blog designworklife.
This made me think of other inspiring work I have been seeing lately that use pattern in a similar way. Firstly, it reminded me of Jessica Hische, (previously featured) and her wonderfully intricate embellishments, and secondly of the wonderful Marian Bantjes’ complex, highly resolved work.
Jessica Hische
Marian Bantjes’ Restraint typeface
And thirdly, it reminded me of the Kolam patterns that I also saw very recently on the equally wonderful BibliOdyssey.
Kolam (as it is known in Kerala and Tamilnadu) is form of sandpainting using rice powder that is traditionally practised by female members of the family outside the home. They are thought to bring prosperity to the home.
Images from BibliOdyssey
According to Bibbi Forsman:
“The basic pattern is a mathematical construction of beauty, one single line with no beginning and no end.”
Images — Bibbi Forsman
There’s such a rhythm and balance to these patterns and designs, and I love the craft and the mathematics involved in its traditional practise.
A few other delightful aspects of Kolam:
“Through the day, the drawings get walked on, rained out, or blown around in the wind; new ones are made the next day. Every morning before sunrise, the floor is cleaned with water, the universal purifier, and the muddy floor is swept well for an even surface.”
And my favourite:
“In olden days, kolams used to be drawn in coarse rice flour, so that the ants don’t have to work so hard for a meal. The rice powder is said to invite birds and other small critters to eat it, thus inviting other beings into one’s home and everyday life: a daily tribute to harmonious co-existence.”
(both—Wikipedia)
These characteristics of the practise reminded me of part of an essay by Ros Moriarty called Interpreting Visual Language: Aboriginal Australia (in Open Manifesto 2, 2005). Moriarty explains that the Indigenous Australian mark-making process similarly rejects the idea of art as precious, and immediately after being made a mark will naturally start to deteriorate and disappear.
“The diametric opposition between Indigenous and Western approaches to art, applies equally to signage. While a Western artist might often create a work to hang in a permanent location, to be reviewed and assessed, judged and acclaimed, the immediacy of Indigenous art making has no such aspirations. Whether gouged from rock on an inaccessible cliff face, scattered in ochre on the ceremony ground, or slathered in river clay on an initiate’s body, patterns and symbols are about the meaning of the moment. Their spontaneous beauty lacks artifice or self-interest. The very act of their creation is to pass knowledge, re-enact process, ensure meaning will pass to each new generation.”
On my train ride home today I was looking at graffiti and marveling at the typographic mastery that sometimes surprises me amongst walls of scrappy tags and figurative murals. Then this evening I read about Eine’s work, over at my love for you is a stampede of horses, and it tied in so nicely with what I had been pondering earlier. I’m also pretty grateful to be introduced to Eine, though I feel I am somewhat behind the 8-ball.
On Thursday, July 9 Carmichael Gallery will play host to The A – Z of Change, the debut LA solo exhibition of Eine. Internationally recognized for his super-sized lettering in urban areas, Eine will unveil a new body of works on canvas that combines his trademark typeface, a vivid color palette and provocative imagery to powerful effect.
If I were in LA and not four squillion miles away in Melbourne, I would surely be checking it out.
There is also a Google Map of his letters in & around Shoreditch, UK.
All photos from Carmichael’s flickr set.
When I was busy spending more money than I had in MagNation the other week, this copy of Voiceworks caught my eye—not least because of its use of my favourite colour.
The design is striking, the typography is inventive. It was glossy and neat and flat. I immediately had to have it, though I had no idea what the magazine was or what it contained. Further inspection revealed that it contained new writing (laid out wonderfully) by young Australians — fantastic.
The inside cover revealed Aaron Moodie was responsible for the design and so off I went on a tiny key-tapping research mission.
His website reveals that he is a Graphic Designer with 8 years’ experience but has “an interest in pretty much anything that involves making things”. He has worked on everything from magazines to typefaces, books to logos, websites to interfaces.
He has also worked on quite a few websites, including one for The Pond, a summer pop-up bar from Pure Blonde beer. Sadly it appears that I missed his first exhibition of artworks by the Platform Artists Group in the Majorca Cases last month (Centre Place, Melbourne).
Aaron has a diverse and impressive body of work. He’s prolific and consistently inventive in his approach, especially when it comes to web design. Check out aaronmoodie.com, and you can also follow Aaron on twitter and check out his Flickr page.
All images © Aaron Moodie.
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These artworks are part of David Fullarton’s installation in the offices of a Houston radio station, called What I do when I’m supposed to be working.
The works were placed in amongst other flyers and notices in the office. It is part of the Sisyphus Office project which involves artists who wish
to highlight art as an integral and necessary distraction in our day to day life.
Below are some of those necessary distractions.
All images © David Fullarton. Also see his Behance page, and Skydive gallery.
- words to live by
Recently I’ve been observing a graphic trend of packaging and design that evoke a sense of old medical labels and classification. Personally I am quite a fan.
Glenrothes Whisky, via Lovely Package
Old Malt Cask liquor, via Lovely Package. Not a fan of some of the typefaces on here though, hand lettering might have been better
This one is my favourite, Karlsson’s Vodka, also via Lovely Package.
Incidentally I also love the logo. This is loto packaging, designed by Arutza Onzaga, P576
I really enjoy the idea of applying these aesthetics and principles to other objects, and I think that Jessica Hische’s book cover design below seems to convey a sense of the old, the medical and the organisational.. and it works really well.
Budapest book cover © Jessica Hische
This photo absolutely made my day. It is Cooper the Photographer Cat being interviewed by the press at a gallery show of his CatCam images.
Meet the Press (via Cooper: Photographer Cat)
Jessica Hische’s custom hand-lettering and illustration has been a very big inspiration to me. Letterpress, ornament and typography; where can it go wrong?
Amazingly, Jessica state’s in her site’s FAQ that she mainly works on the computer using her mouse:
I don’t use a wacom tablet (at least not yet), I’m a point and click kind of gal. People are flabbergasted by this but I used to work exclusively on the trackpad on my laptop. I will have carpal tunnel by the time I’m 30.
She also says she mostly goes straight to computer, without sketching and scanning. Keep all of this in mind as you view her stunning work…
Some of Jessica’s hand-drawn type
Jessica works for Louise Fili Ltd., a design firm in New York City that specialises in food packaging and branding for restaurants and delicious things, as well as logos and book design in general. You are probably familiar with the studio’s work.
Design*Sponge published a Sneak Peek into the fabulous studio of Louise Fili Ltd and it looks like a wonderful creative space filled with a gorgeous selection of ephemera collected by Louise on her travels.
Images from Design*Sponge
Jessica on which designers and illustrators motivate her:
So many its hard to say. I have a major design crush on Marion Bantjes and a brain/concept crush on Christoph Niemann (you should reread the illustrated article he did for Print a few years back (2005? 2006?) on being an illustrator). Of course Louise Fili is a major inspiration. I have a really talented group of friends that also keep my motivation high. I see work every day on sites like ffffound, the dieline, etc. that makes me seethe with jealousy. Envy can be a big motivator.
Some more of Jessica’s gorgeous custom lettering and illustration is below. This Boston Globe cover is amazing. Her attention to detail can’t be faulted, I love the ornamental decoration and the way each letter harbours more delights.
A cover from the Boston Globe, May 3. I love the little fella in the ‘E’
More gorgeous custom lettering
All images and quotes are © Jessica Hische
Visit her at http://jessicahische.blogspot.com/
I am nearly finished my uni work for another semester — only 1.5 left forever. Part of my work this semester was a studio shoot of a deck of cards that I produced for Melbourne Museum’s The Mind: Enter the Labyrinth exhibition, which is incidentally very good and I highly recommend checking it out if you are in Melbourne.
My outcome is a promotional deck with one topic per letter from A–Z on the mind and its history.
And with that, I’m off to finish the rest.
Bodies without heads or faces are amongst my favourite visual devices, which is probably why I love these Prologue Film titles for the ‘09 MTV Movie Awards so much.
Watch all the titles over at Motionographer. Tipped off Via Armin’s Quip on Quipsologies (Vol. 30 No. 9.)
I had to share Wiley Valentine’s photographs of this wonderful Anthropologie catalogue by Hatch Show Print.
I love overprinting!
Ooh, The Eichlers! Such delicious morsels of Modern real estate greatness.
Joseph Eichler (1900 - 1974) was a California-based, post-war residential real estate developer known for building homes in the Modernist style.
Unlike many developers of the day, Joseph Eichler was a social visionary and commissioned designs primarily for middle-class Americans.
He hired the respected architect and Wright disciple Robert Anshen of Anshen & Allen to design the initial Eichlers, and the first prototypes were built in 1949. In later years, other Eichler homes by other architects emerged, including homes designed by the San Francisco firm Claude Oakland & Associates, the Los Angeles firm of Jones & Emmons, A. Quincy Jones, and Raphael Soriano. — Wikipedia
These stunning photographs are all Copyright © 2009 Hirofumi Inaba. Visit his website for more gorgeous architectural photography.
Original tipoff via @ilovetypography, via @typegirl on Twitter.
I was just watching the BBC’s Dan Cruickshank’s Adventures in Architecture. He visited the 18th Century Baroque style Catherine’s Palace which is just so beautiful, I wanted to see more and share! 
St. Petersburg Guide
the gray monk
The famed ‘Amber Room’, a replica of the original which was destroyed during WWII. In 1979, the Soviet government initiated the reconstruction of this Amber Room which was unveiled in 2003. Six tons of amber were used. flickr: sgmerie
Catherine’s innovative art arrangement. flickr: jimg944
I adore these bus tickets from the 1940s. O, how I wish tickets looked like this today! It’s on my list of Graphic Design Missions.
