DESIGN INSPIRATIONS

I met today with a design agency to discuss the potential of working together. All was going smoothly until the creative director asked me to list some design influences. A simple enough question, right? My brain farted and I muttered something along the lines of "usafgsh."

Fuck.

If you are ever faced with this question and your noggin' lets you down....here is a short list of designers and websites that inspire me to help you out. Friends don't let friends look stupid.

Tim Gough, Graphic designer & illustrator [traditional print style]
Sébastien Nikolaou, Greek graphic designer & illustrator [flyer work]
Julien de Repentigny, Graphic designer and artistic director [3Deelicious]
Zeptonn, Graphic designer, illustrator & art director Jan Willem Wennekes/ Zeptonn [creative creatures]
Iain Crawford, photographer [texture]
Bloomsberry & Co., New Zealand based designer chocolate bar company [packaging & company branding]
The Die Line, Packaging designs from around the globe [packaging]
FFFFound, web service that allows users to post their favorite images found on the web and dynamically recommends inspirational imagery [blogging resource]
Geekologie, Gadgets & gizmos galore [blogging resource]
ILoveTypography Typography, Fonts & Typfaces [blogging resource]

I also regularly visit:
http://www.graphicdesignblog.org/
http://freelanceswitch.com/

COLLABORATIVE SKETCHBOOK

For 36 weeks Brooklyn artists Mac Premo & Duke Riley and Belfast artists Oliver Jeffers & Rory Jeffers collaborated on Book. The sketchbook was sent back and forth traveling over sixty thousand miles between the artists who took turns creating the beautiful pages. The artists created their sketches as a response to the content the previous artist had created. Book is now on display in Belfast at Laganside's Tunnel Under the Weir.

DIRTY SIGNS

I spotted this truck on the way home from a trip to O-Town for Thanksgiving. 10 points for creativity.

When you need to wash your truck Bradley, give me a call . . . I can hook you up with something a bit more permanent.

TIME SWITCH

Time Switch [2009] is a concept LED switch plate clock by New York's Harc Lee. The concept arose from working with tight deadlines and the notion of being "on the clock." When you turn on the light, the time is displayed.

Click here to view more details about the artist and project.

PANTONE

I forgot about this one! A post I wrote in January and forgot to publish. Better late than never . . .

To understand why this post is cool it helps if you have a basic idea of what Pantone is. If you’re in the know just skip the next paragraph and get to the good stuff quicker.

Pantone Inc. is a U.S. corporation that is best known for its PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM® (Yes, that’s PMS for short…some marketing director was asleep in that meeting). PMS is a proprietary color space used in a variety of industries, primarily printing, though sometimes in the manufacture of colored paint, fabric and plastics. The idea behind PMS is to allow designers to 'color match' specific colors when a design enters production stage—regardless of the equipment used to produce the color. This system has been widely adopted by graphic designers, reproduction and printing houses for a number of years now.

Pantone seems to be creeping into fashion, household products, office supplies...just about everything. Below are some fun Pantone projects for your viewing pleasure.
















[Pantone handbags from Mango in the UK]















[Pantone carpet from The Mohawk Group]















[Pantone glasses from Arm One]















[Pantone flight stool from British design team Barber Osgerby. Pantone decided to sell a limited edition of these stools on their website and Lawrence Herbert, founder and innovator of the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM®, has signed 20 of them! Click here to get your own flight stool!]

WATER-INSPIRED SINKS

Since doing design work for a high-end bathroom/kitchen faucet company, I find myself noticing bathroom fixtures around town more than I care to admit. Recently I came (virtually) across the Ocean sink from Bandini. With ceiling mounted faucets, this sculptural, yet entirely functional piece is an eye-catching organic form. The Ocean wash basin is available in black and white, and two sizes which can be combined into different formations due to their modular nature. It's f'n cool!

SPEAKING OF NEW GADGETS

Speak-er are high-qualtiy multimedia speakers designed by The. These iconic "speak" shape speakers plug directly into your computer or MP3 player. Set includes a left and right speaker and power adapter. For $120 USD a pair these limited edition speakers (1,000 made in total) are due out in April. Have to have them? You can reserve a pair by emailing: speaker@thinkofthe.com.

BLOODY DESIGN

Coming in Spring 2009 from Studio OOOMS is this handmade road kill carpet made from 100% wool. The creative minds behind the Dutch Studio OOOMS are Guido Ooms and Karin van Lieshout. Visit Studio OOOMS to shop or view their other products. A struggle between attraction and repulsion, this cuddly car-flattened, bloody fox is exactly what I’ve always wanted on my floor…no, seriously. It’s awesome!

SAFETY COMES IN A SMALLER PACKAGE

StashKit is an award-winning helmet made by Hatpac Ltd. This multi-sport helmet can be easily folded for quick storage when not in use. The sides of the helmet fold inward making it more compact. In 2007, StashKit won the Eurobike award for its innovative design. It retails for about $90 CDN.

Click here to visit the StashKit website.

LE BEANOCK

What's more comfortable a beanbag chair or a hammock? Le Beanock!

Designer Tracie Herrtage took these two nap-worthy ideas and combined them into a trendy piece of furniture. It's more of a loft, attic, or outdoor piece in my opinion though. I'd imagine it would look a bit frumpy in a space with low ceilings. In any case, it's an invention to incite the masses to bring back nap time, so I'm in.

BRAZEN-LICIOUS BLING

Anyone that has seen me in the past 6 months has likely spotted my Brazen bling. My long cutout leaf necklace from Brazen has been the staple of my accessory wardrobe since I got it. That says a lot coming from someone who designed jewelry for 4 years (with co-brain Shermine Sawalha).

The girl behind the magic is Rachel Rachna Dhawan, a dear friend of mine from back in the Concordia/FASA/Art Matters days. Her pieces are handmade, trendy, and in a word- fabulous.

To get your own, visit Brazen's Website.

PICK YOUR NOSE PARTY CUPS

My sister introduced me to a funky store when I was visiting her in Ottawa this past weekend. I was browsing through Lost Marbles in the Byward market and discovered the Pick Your Nose Party Cups. (I first mentioned them a few weeks when my Swedish friend posted photos.) You can buy them online at http://www.grandrivertoys.com.

3 words: cute cute cute!

BUSINESS CARDS ON MY MIND

I'm on a perpetual quest as a graphic designer to create the best business card possible to stand out....meaning people like it, want to sleep with it under their pillow, and remember me in the morning. Honestly, with all the cards flying around I just want something that won't get thrown out or used as a place to hold chewed up gum.

I've been doing lots of research lately on different materials for cards and along the way I've come across a few unique ones I thought I'd share.















[above] Created by Seattle designer Jeni Mattson, this clever card was designed for Melvin, a self proclaimed "hacker, entrepreneur, and all around mischief maker."















[above] British designer Jamie Wieck capitalized on the ever growing number of graphic designers popping up in the UK with his "another bloomin designer" business card. When dipped in water it grows alfalfa!















[above] To stand out from the competition in Austin, Texas, Organic Chemistry tutor Sean Michael Ragan came up with this plastic card. Chem students can use the "chair" stencil in homework assignments.















[above] Aussie fashion designer Laura Camilleri's beautiful card for clothing line Elkha. I like.

Some unconventional cards....















[above] The only info I have about this card is that it's a peanut. Anyone able to read it?
















[above] A clever business card for a chest physician Dr. Pramod V. Niphadkar M.D.

WEAR YOUR SUPPORT CAMPAIGN

Aquabrass, a high end faucet company, hired me to design a series of limited edition breast cancer fundraising bracelets. 5 bracelets were designed to target a broad spectrum of age ranges. The adjustable plastic bracelets will be sold for $5 each with the proceeds going towards breast cancer research.















To purchase a bracelet in support of this wonderful cause email me.

DESIGN IS YUMMY BARS

A look at my new resume chocolate bars. Design really is yummmmmyyy

CREATIVE PAPER USES

The Scrapmode paper designs I created this summer came out in late September. I'm excited to say they've been selling well. I checked out Scrapbook Star (a scrap booking supply store on Somerled in NDG) last week to find that a few lines had sold out!

I've seen some creative uses for the papers online aside from the usual scrap booking layouts: wallets, purses, greeting cards...etc.















Go to www.scrapmode.com to see the whole paper collection or more creative uses of the designs.