----- We Need to Change ours Too -----

New York City, the city of wit, smarts, egos, culture and design, finally redesigned their enigmatic parking signs. Even "No Standing" confuses me each trip abeit researching the meaning each time, but it doesn't mean the redesign abolished those words. In partnership with Pentagram and a member of design's monarchy Michael Bierut, the signs have simplified from original four to two. I would love to embark on a project like that; brainstorming concepts to ease visual pollution into visual clearness.

 

Sigh, it breathes! Easier on the eye and better legibility. 

My city needs to enlarge street signs, add additional street signs half a block before the intersection, replace street fading signs and even add a some to ones that don't have any.

"Love, Florence xx"

yeah! happiest thing to receive in the mail and the most exciting thing to open. Very well concealed cuz I had to tear the back to open. Now, if only she could have signed on the back...

----- Wallpaper's Made by Hand 2012 -----

Every year the design lifestyle magazine Wallpaper selects the August issue as the hand-made issue, either welcoming known designers and creators to contribute to the cover or like last year, invite readers to customize their own. I really like this year's lineup of designers.

I'm going through a design slump; this is really inspiring. 

Check out more here and you will get to see videos of the designers' process. Amazing talent.

SOURCE

----- Avengerous -----

Some fan-made posters i found. My favourite is the latter.

I LOVE a good kick-ass action film; not just any. There have only been a few occurrences in my life that I lose myself in an action film (The Matrix, Bale's Batman, Iron Man—does Lord of the Rings and Star Wars 4-6 count as an action film?) and making me feel part of the fighting sequence. My recent addition is much talked about Avengers. Assembling the right formulas and chemistry are critical to pull off such a grandiose, high-expectation stunt and it was all well risked at the end. Of course, we don't expect it to be a mind-provoking, societal piece of art—academy worthy film; for a general good beating and fighting, smack talk, super heroes teaming up to save the world from Armageddon kind of film, it definitely meet satisfaction. guaranteed. 

----- Bow down to the Bauhaus ----- 

It's one of my favorite design eras. Germany's Bauhaus, i believe, is the epitome of minimalism and modernism design. Moreover, it's the reason I want to peruse the German cities that are injected with Bauhaus, and the opportunity to stand in front of the original Bauhaus HQ, as pictured, would be quite visionary. Bauhaus's style is very distinctive with their asymmetry, use of steel and concrete, continuous motto of "form follows function", rejecting ornamentation for functionality. A strong belief in craftsmanship—an amalgamation of skills and techniques—is the drive to good design. Its influences were seen passing through every creative corner: graphic design, architecture, industrial design and interior design.

Founded by Waalter Gropius, a very harry-potter-esque last name may I had, coined the name from the word bauen (to build) and haus (house). Started in 1919, Bauhaus have seen its fair share of issues and political opposition. Leading to the Nazi domination and WWII, many considered Bauhaus to be using a socialist regime and therefore leading to its various mobilization several times during its active years, until eventually a move to the USA brought upon a the "new" Bauhaus: the International Style (the the towers in Westmount Square, mtl).

----- Relighting the Spark: Powering Up Your Creative Process -----

http://www.aiga.org/relighting-the-spark-powering-up-your-creative-process/

• Two very important questions were posed at the beginning of the session: How do we think outside the box? How do we generate new ideas?
• Creative process is comprised of three elements: observing, reflecting and making.
• Ideas to being like fragile babies that have to nurtured and cared for.
• If an idea cannot be explained in thirty seconds, the idea needs to be reworked.
• Keep your eyes and ears open; inspiration is everywhere. Limitations and deadlines are your friend, whether they are ones imposed by the client or self-imposed. And last but not least, NEVER settle for mediocrity.

(i've fallen sick, so I feel like i'm not writing my usual self)

Wallpaper* Magazine is offering an opportunity for its readers to design their very own cover. August 2011 in this case. All you need to do is go on www.wallpaper.com, find the link, click it, pay it and sign in to design. What is Wallpaper* (with an asterisk)? Well for one, it's definitely not a magazine on wallpapers. Wallpaper* is one of those lifestyle/design magazines that I picture you'll find on the coffee tables in the lobbies of ad agencies, PR firms. Its focus is design, interior design, architecture, technology, entertainment, and fashion. Basically anything that is pleasant to the eyes. Of course, you won't be able to afford anything that you read. They also own travel guide books that are, to me, not the most useful; though aesthetically speaking, is enough for me to want to own them.


Here's the process. You are limited to 6 layers, 7 patterns, 17 images, 7 fonts, 7 shapes, and a rainbow of colours. Then you have the option to rotate, re-size, blend and play with opacity. Masking images and patterns are available.


I played around for a few days and came down to plain simple typographic look. As much as I would like to impress or fantasize being noticed by designers or art directors, this issue is about me and what I want. I wanted it to "belong" to me because one time my Wallpaper* magazine was stolen at my university exhibition at a local interior design show because I dumbly used it as a prop for my design work. Who steals a magazine?! Anyway, it's a personal inside joke, and now no one can steal this particular issue.

source

------ Minimalism is Bliss ------
A revision of classic album covers by artist Ty Lettau.