In other album cover news, Franz Ferdinand will not be giving their albums a title. Ever. Evidently we'll rely on the the Franz paint-by-number kit to determine what album we've just bought. What will those cool kiddies think of next? Actually, this is pretty darn cool.
2005 June 30 by Josh
Taste Osaka is an ocular delight of a site that invites you to do what its title suggests!
2005 June 30 by Brian
Once he bent spoons. Now he's designing web pages. He should have stuck with the spoons.
2005 June 30 by Brian
Still trying to figure out the colored blocks on the cover of Coldplay's latest? Design Observer may have some clues.
2005 June 29 by Josh
Researchers on the Mekong River in Thailand catch the world's largest freshwater fish, a 640-some-odd pound catfish. The article says something about their research being used to promote awareness of endagered species and such. I hope he wasn't the last one, cos... he died after they caught him. Way to go, fellas.
2005 June 29 by Josh
Swizzeeeeet. Taking 30 percent of the gross was a good call for Peter J.
2005 June 29 by Josh
The Panic Button.
2005 June 29 by Brian
LOGO R.I.P. is interesting, even though it's a rather meager presentation existing only to hawk a hardcover book.
2005 June 29 by Brian
Amazing, Buckminster Fuller-ish thing-a-ma-hedrons you can create with paper plates.
2005 June 28 by Brian
Smoking Manners is a brilliantly designed series of lighting-up etiquette lessons produced by Japan Tobacco. (a disclaimer: Don't smoke!)
2005 June 28 by Brian
The opinion expressed in this article is a lot of hooey. .......... On the other hand, maybe it's not.
2005 June 27 by Brian
If Chritmas coming only once a year just isn't enough for you, FaLaLaLaLa.com is live! Listen and mingle.
2005 June 27 by Brian
While we'll be launching the Blinksale blog shortly, you can run over to Yellowlane and get some scoop on the details behind Blinksale. You won't want to miss it.
2005 June 24 by Josh
This seems to be something worthy of keeping one's eyes (and ears) peeled.
2005 June 23 by Brian
The rock balancing art of Bill Dan.
2005 June 23 by Brian
Blah, blah, blah.
2005 June 22 by Brian
A toy car + a camera = Parking Spots.
2005 June 22 by Brian
The 1970s scifi TV show Space: 1999 was in no way of the same caliber as its predecessor Star Trek, but it was a lot funkier. Watch this clip (from an Italian fan page) to see what I mean, and peruse these soundtrack selections to hear what I mean.
2005 June 22 by Brian
Bizarre and/or groovy Russian nesting dolls all dolled up by various contemporary artists.
2005 June 20 by Brian
Hey, kids, design for the feds for fun and profit.
2005 June 20 by Brian
The beautiful Abston Church of Christ is built entirely of Legos (though it's only big enough for a kitty to get inside).
2005 June 20 by Brian
"Its vibrant colors and passive nature make the piñata an irresistible target for violence and aggression."
Find out what you can do to help save the piñata. And for a real shower of fun size confections, have a look at some even older videogame commercials from the "use your imagination — please" era.
2005 June 17 by John
Julian Beever can trompe de'l'oeil like no other. Want to cut a hole in your sidewalk? Or create an oversized Vaio out of thin air? Julian Beever can help. Porthole into an arctic realm? Instant sidewalk refreshment? All in a day's work.
And yes, every one of those was drawn on a flat, concrete surface. Now, can Mr. Beever make it possible for me to be in two places at once? I'm thinking he might just pull it off.
2005 June 17 by John
Wow! An entire b&w B-grade horror flick (by Roger Corman, even!) available for download! Free! Legal! Enjoy!
2005 June 17 by Brian
Raymond Loewy, the industrial design legend, came up in a conversation yesterday between John and myself, and it got me wondering whether there's an official site for him. There is, but the design of it just doesn't do the man justice. So I moved right along and enjoyed the visual fruits of a Google image search as well as brief but brilliant audio recording.
2005 June 17 by Brian
Gorgeous, outlandish character design by Kazuyuki Nakashima!
2005 June 16 by Brian
Now this is the way to sell a record! ..... At least the funky Flash worked on me.
2005 June 16 by Brian
We've quietly redesigned Calligraphy of Oakbrook, a long-time client and friend. I'm sure we'll continue making some tweaks and adjustments in the days to come, but more or less it's ready for primetime. Enjoy!
2005 June 15 by Josh
The Constitution of the United States on your iPod.
2005 June 15 by Brian
A gruesome yet compelling kitchen utensil.
2005 June 15 by Brian
The fanciest foosball table I've ever seen.
2005 June 15 by Brian
Zombie Astronaut is a monthly audio magazine featuring old-time horror, scifi, and suspense radio. If you listen to nothing else, at least download the Vincent Price version of Three Skeleton Key - it's one of my all-time radio faves!
2005 June 14 by Brian
The folks over at Threadless recently launched Naked & Angry, a new clothing site geared towards high-end fashion (as opposed to t-shirts). They're taking new submissions for pattern designs, and collectively we've submitted a handful.
If you're not familiar with the process, the general public votes on their favorite patterns, and the top rated patterns are turned into textiles to be used on ties, socks, and all that jazz. We think ours are pretty slick. Get on over and vote for your favorite Firewheel designs: Pixel Rain September, Pixel Rain January, Popukafka, Pinapple Acid, Pookla Surf, Poolka Olive, Poolka Berry, and Dressed in Yellow.
2005 June 13 by Josh
Graphic Design USA recently posted an article on logo design trends, but it was only this last Thursday that we realized one of our logos (SimpleWare) was used in the article. So there you have it, for better or worse, we're a trendsetter.
2005 June 13 by Josh
I promised to cease the Star Wars links, but this Lego mini-fig/John Williams soundtrack amalgumation deserves your attention! And while we're on the subject (sort of), here's the lowdown on Deep Note, the computerized audio crescendo heard whenever the THX logo appears.
2005 June 13 by Brian
Only the true laundry master will attain to the heights of folding skill shown here. Don't blink or you'll miss it!
2005 June 10 by John
If you have a fast net connection, and a little bit of patience, you can experience ephemeral film nirvana! Among my favorites are Aluminum On The March part one, Aluminum On The March part two, and Wonderful World of Fords.
2005 June 10 by Brian
Retro aerial enormousness: The Boeing 377 Stratocruiser
2005 June 10 by Brian
Cartopia is as its name suggests.
2005 June 10 by Brian
Check out Google's logo today, with props to Frank Lloyd Wright. It'll be gone tomorrow, so enjoy. Definitely one of the better logo variations I've seen there.
2005 June 8 by Josh
Orisinal is a bevy of beautiful Flash diversions, Bauns being one of my favorites.
2005 June 8 by Brian
The Teen Titans television cartoon truly overdoes it with all its Japanese anime wannabe shenanigans, yet Battle Blitz is an entertaining tie-in.
2005 June 8 by Brian
The desktop pattern at the center of this page has been around for a few years, but after yesterday's news its sentiment seems as fresh as ever.
2005 June 7 by Brian
Put your hands on various notable light sabres.
2005 June 7 by Brian
They just don't draw 'em like this anymore - in particular, the surreal genius of George Herriman.
2005 June 6 by Brian
Much retro gaming imagery goodness can be found here. A case in point: vector art versions of the Pac-Man characters. But if for some reason you couldn't care less about vectorized video game art, maybe you need a good dose of emulation.
2005 June 6 by Brian
We get asked a lot about the tools we use for creating icons. For the most part, they're pretty much the same tools every graphic designer uses, with a few extras thrown in for fun. If you're interested in learning more, I've posted a detailed list at Yellowlane. Enjoy!
2005 June 3 by Josh
Action-packed photos of little plastic people who resemble Lego minifigs.
2005 June 3 by Brian
Load up that little iPod of yours with these amazing feats of the human voice!
2005 June 3 by Brian
The iGuy? Give me an iBreak!
2005 June 2 by Brian
"For 20 years, Rini Templeton made drawings of activists in the United States, Mexico and Central America while she joined them in their meetings, demonstrations, picket lines and other actions for social justice. She called her bold black-and-white images "xerox art" because activists and organizers could copy them easily for use in their banners, signs, leaflets, newsletters, even T-shirts, whenever needed."
2005 June 2 by Brian
The site hasn't been updated for a few years now, but Retro Blaster keeps me coming back again and again. So simple, so clever.
2005 June 1 by Brian
The art of classing gaming hanging on a wall.
2005 June 1 by Brian
