Video: A Brit’s impressions on brandmarks, from Grain Creative’s own 5-year-old

By Amanda | Published: March 9, 2012

I finally got my internet access going after major drama with good ol’ Cablevision over the last 2 weeks. (sigh)

Anyway, I wanted to share the British response to Adam Ladd’s brandmarks video I posted a couple of weeks back (see here). This one was created by London branding and design studio Grain. Thanks again to Esmee for leaving this in a comment earlier this week.

If you compare the two videos, it seems as though the American 5-year-old knew a couple more brands. Probably due to the heavy advertising presence you see in our society . I still think it’s weird that both of these kids knew the Starbucks logo!

Side note: Everything sounds lovely in a British accent! I’ve enjoyed this quite immensely due to the accent alone. :)

 

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Rex Ray for Flavor Paper

By Amanda | Published: March 6, 2012

Great texture on these collages by San Francisco based artist Rex Ray. These were created as a collaboration with Brooklyn wallpaper company Flavor Paper. I’m enjoying the bold use of color and shapes on these.

See these and much more wallpapers on the Flavor Paper site here.

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Music Inspiration: Ol’ Dirty Bastard Mural

By Amanda | Published: March 2, 2012

I finally got on Instagram a few weeks ago and I love it! I may have to abandon Twitter and Tumblr for it. :)

Anyway, I snapped this cool wall mural of the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard around the way in Bed-Stuy and wanted to share it here. It was done by artist/model Ibrahim Yaqut.

Have a great weekend!

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A Walk Through Brooklyn

By Amanda | Published: March 2, 2012

Since early February,  San Francisco-based artist Jennifer Maravillas has been collecting a piece of paper from every Brooklyn block she has walked on. Her plans are to have covered the entire borough by the end of March gathering each piece of paper into a unique, colorful grid of the borough.

Brooklyn’s urban landscape prints will be available in later this year, but the below represents Jennifer’s similar artistic cartography for Manhattan. Follow Jennifer’s progress at 71squaremiles and on Twitter. Check out past projects on San Francisco, Austin and Richmond here.

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Video: Jes Grew

By Amanda | Published: March 1, 2012

I’m loving the “Jes Grew” video from visual artist Ali Santana for the Mishmash Music Video Remix competition.

The concept surrounding the piece came from Ishmael Reed’s acclaimed novel Mumbo Jumbo. Set in 1920s NYC, the novel depicts the struggles of “The Wallflower Order,” an international conspiracy dedicated to monotheism and control, against the “Jes Grew” virus, a personification of ragtime, jazz, polytheism, and freedom. The Wallflower Order is said to work in concert with the Knights Templar Order to prevent people from dancing, to end the dance crazes spreading among black people (who are referred to in the novel as “Jes Grew Carriers” or “J.G.C.s”).  The book mixes historical, social, and political events mingle freely with fictional inventions. I definitely want to give it a read.

The soundtrack “Give the Drummer Some” is by Black Milk and the titles and hieroglyphics were done by past Color Muse Stephanie Matthews.

Some cool shots from the piece.

The contest is now closed, but the judges will be using the public’s votes to help guide their decision. If you like it as much as I do, vote here!

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Music Inspiration: Illustrations by Ron Ackins

By Amanda | Published: February 27, 2012

Sade and Black Thought illustrations by Brooklyn based illustrator Ron Ackins. Peruse through the archives of his blog to see other work as well as keep up with his daily musings.

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Worldly Beer

By Amanda | Published: February 27, 2012

I’ve been seriously busy for the past week moving into my new apartment. My internet service is spotty too, so forgive me for the limited posts. I’ll try to get a few things up as I bum off my friends’ wifi connections.

I’m working on a really cool package design project at school. Designing a beer bottle for a Brooklyn brewery’s new product that targets young urban female professionals. Anyway, I was tweeting about this last week when Gabrielle from iamthenublack (one of my favorite blogs) shared an awesome link on some illustrations created for the 2010 World Cup. This 16 poster set represents the qualifying teams for the event. Each poster includes originally designed vintage-style beer labels refreshed with a contemporary spirit. The end result is pretty cool.

Check the rest of these out here.

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Suno Fall 2012

By Amanda | Published: February 21, 2012

Flower power from the Suno Fall RTW 2012 collection.  Diggin’ the details down to the shoes.

Images via Vogue

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Current Hearts – 2/15

By Amanda | Published: February 15, 2012

I’m on a brief sabbatical from the advertising grind I’ve been on for the past several years and taking some time to focus on my education. In this short time (a little over a week at this point), I’ve been a lot less stressed and had the opportunity to enjoy a little down time. I thought I’d share some of the things have been taking up room in my head.

  1. I’m trying to build my library and recently purchased Ellen Lupton’s latest book Graphic Design Thinking: Beyond Brainstorming. It’s really easy to read and is a comprehensive resource for students and professionals alike who are seeking fresh approach on attaining design solutions.
  2. I love this turntable from Urban Outfitters. Since getting it I’ve snagged a few old records and I’m  looking forward to doing some  more crate digging. Old records give a greater appreciation to today’s music (since 95% of it is sampled) and the album covers provide inspiration. You can find a lot of handmade typography on these.
  3. I’ve been rocking colored jeans for years now. I have pink, yellow, green and purple, so I think it’s only right that I pick up a pair of orange ones. Another goodie from UO.
  4. I don’t walk very well in heels – ok I’ll be honest I barely stand up in a pair of heels, but I’ve been seeing a lot of girls look amazing in these daring Jeffrey Campbell’s platforms.
  5. This month marks the 6 year anniversary of the death of one of greatest producers that ever lived. I’ve had J Dilla’s final album Donuts and previous work in heavy rotation celebrating his sounds.
  6. Nothing’s better than a pair of studs. Ditty Drops has a nice selection. Need these turquoise and black beauties in my life.
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Happy Valentine’s Day!

By Amanda | Published: February 14, 2012

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! I love typography so I see no better way to celebrate today than to celebrate it in today’s post. Check out these lovely V-day inspired designsI found on Typeinspire.

Hope you enjoy the day! XOXO!

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