COLOURlovers

On COLOURlovers you can keep current on color trends, have discussions with peers, and get inspired.

You can also add your own colors and palettes which sometimes doubles as cathartic therapy. The palette by aleksandra, titled "i hate him", gets extra points for spite.

However "old french linens", pictured above, wins for grace as far as I'm concerned.

Banksy

After seeing Banksy's work on Blur's Think Tank album in 2003, I was immediately drawn to the anonymous artist. Subversive, powerful, political and controversial, Banksy is responsible for stenciling the streets, walls, bridges and zoos of cities throughout the world.

Also known for a variety of brilliant art stunts (from putting up subverted artworks in a variety of museums to replacing 500 copies of Paris Hilton's debut cd in UK record stores), Banksy has achieved somewhat of a cult following, even with the Hollywood crowd, who snaps up his artwork at astronomical prices.

Fantastic Man

Are you tired of men's fashion mags? Bored of the GQ / Esquire insanity? Then look no further to Fantastic Man, a fashion mag that is decidedly anti-fashion.

Instead of ultra high-gloss paper, loads of ads or vacuous content, you'll find uncoated paper, restrained advertising, and refreshingly quirky and compelling articles. Oh yea, and most of it is in black and white, the hot new color palette of 2007.

Negative Space

Michael Wolf photographs different aspects of life in Hong Kong. His Architecture of Density collection presents a view – from the outside – of how 6.9 million people live together within roughly 100 square miles. In his project 100 x 100 he gives us a peek inside the oldest public housing project in Hong Kong. Each room in the project measures 10 x 10 feet. Michael describes the work this way, "The series has some of the characteristics of a scientific project – an investigation into the use of limited space in Hong Kong."

Which has me thinking, how much space do you really need?

Space is a luxury in this part of the world as well. Jay Shafer is a local designer that specializes in sustainable architecture and urban planning. He has an unique perspective on the subject, an alternative to the prefab options out there. His Tiny House Company can outfit you with all of the essential rooms in under 200 square feet and for less than $50K, finished. There is an additional cost for delivery; $4.00 per mile from Sebastopol.

25 Best Film Titles

For graphic designers, movie titles can be more interesting than actual films. This YouTube posting collects what are (arguably) some of the best title sequences in film history.

Big Brother State

This is a very nice animated film by David Scharf illustrating the development of a "Big Brother" state.

From the site: "We believe that people willing to trade freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both."

Queen Gene

Here's one of my more favorite visual mash-ups by pop artist Ron English.

This is a just a poster-size piece, however he's best known for his culture jamming billboard works. If you find yourself thinking about how brand imagery uses symbolism and and how advertising is similar to propaganda then you might want to check out his billboards.

Another magazine for my nightstand

My publication obsession peaked a few years ago until I realized I didn't have the time to make it through 30+ magazines a month. My ears perked up recently with all the buzz about a new men's magazine coming out of NYC called Antenna.

Their website does not have much information at this point, but from those who have seen the newly launched preview issue the magazine has been described as “ a mix between Lucky magazine and design magazines with a dash of the street/skate scene.” Unless you can get your hands on a copy of the preview issue you will have to wait until August 2007 when the premier issue arrives on the stands.

This American Life Chris Ware Animation

This is a great short animation done by Chris Ware for This American Life airing on Showtime. The cartoon is about schoolkids who make fake video cameras and start "filming" stuff happening around the school yard. Of course what results is lightly tragic - a perfect topic for Ware to animate.

Wee Planets

We've all seen panoramic photos taped together and presented as a long narrow story. Have you ever seen a panoramic photo turned into a planet? Check out the rest of them. There's even a tutorial to get you started.

Drawing with Light

Philips is developing a digital drawing system that paints with light. Anywhere. There is a cool feature that builds an animation around a drawing with a simple wave of the wand. Added Bonus: Clean up's a breeze!

MOMA on YouTube

The Museum of Modern Art and Creative Time, a New York public art group, are collaborating on a YouTube channel called MoMAvideos. Two trailers for Doug Aitken’s monumental outdoor film project, "Sleepwalkers," are the first programming featured. Here is a New York Times essay on the films, which are being projected onto the sleek exterior of the musem's new midtown building.

Swedish Candy

Form Us With Love is a young design studio in Stockholm Sweden looking to break new ground in product design while staying forever fashionable in their all black uniforms. My favorite object from their growing portfolio is the B.I.O office. The Bendable Interior Object line is made from a laser cut aluminium sheet from which the user, without any tools, snaps the products out and then fold them into the intended shape! BIO office saves space, costs and the environment!

Milk and Tales

The young British collective Milk and Tales designs interactive environments that bring a sense of collaborative play to the urban landscape.

Modern Japanese Classic

Nope, it's not some cool Photoshop filter. British artist Benedict Radcliffe made this amazing 1:1 wireframe sculpture of a Subaru Impreza. Funny thing is, it got a couple parking tickets for the two days it sat outside the gallery where more of his work was on display.

Minicard Mania

There are so many online printshops popping up spawned from the viral ripple effect the Flickr sites out there have created. The coolest being MOO.com, which has many options for printing sets of 28mm x 70mm minicards of your Flickr photos or other coolr stuff.

Or you can go big at Wallhogs and print up huge vinyl adhesive posters. Or dust off your old illustration supplies and start making archival prints of your masterpieces at Thumbtack Press – the ideas and endless.

Jeff Wall

New York's MOMA has staged a retrospective of this renowned photographer's work, which inevitably provokes critical argument. The MOMA exhibition website offers a dynamic preview of the show, scheduled to arrive in San Francisco this October.

Sweet Blogspot

The Torture Garden is a wellspring of new music; downloads, interviews and cultural what-have-yous from indie music heaven. They have a great mix available today dedicated to the life of Jean Baudrillard.

An interesting component to Baudrillard's work was his photography. You can find some samples of his photographic work here.

Captain America Dies

So I just learned this morning that Captain America was shot and killed by a sniper on the steps of a courthouse in New York. Is this not true terrorism, where our comic heros aren't even safe walking the streets? Who's going to pluck us from burning buildings and runaway trains now? Luckily, Marvel has left a clever loophole, where hopefully Capt. AM will reappear and all is well. Fingers crossed!

Superhero Paintings

Alex Ross' paintings turn the graphic novel into an art form. He's probably best known for illustrating the novel Kingdom Come, but has had a long history with both Marvel and DC Comics. Check out his website for a peek at the breadth of his abilities.

Japanese Cell Phones

OK. These are some cool Japanese cell phones by FOMA with lots of mod street-cred. Who wants one? I do. Check out some of the other models too likes the SO703i and the P703i?. Too bad they only work in Japan.

Fisheye

If you want some interesting and fun photographs with fisheye distortion, try this camera called Fisheye No.2. It's definitely different from the digital camera options out there. The result is just amazing and unexpected. It works great with people and nature shots too. You can use normal 35mm film that can be developed anywhere. The hardware design is also really cool!! One more thing, you can use the Fisheye No. 2 circle cutter to trim your prints into a circle shape.

Zoe Strauss

A self-taught photographer born in Philadelphia, Zoe Strauss takes candid photographs in the marginal neighborhoods of that city. Her images are spontaneous, colorful, and filled with the hard scrabble tragi-comedy of urban poverty.

Several years ago she began displaying her prints on the pillars under Philly highway 95 and selling photocopies for $5 each. Last year, her work, which you can still buy for five bucks a shot, was included in the Whitney Biennial.

Jazz Poet

Yusef Komunyakaa's poetry is jazz improv. His poems are accessible, plain-spoken, and brave enough to address culture with a soft and seductive voice.

As the first African American male Pulitzer Prize winner for poetry, Komunyakaa carries a special place in American history. And as a poet, plain and simple, he carries a special place in an art whose history predates the written word.

Read what he has to say about his art in Chicken Bones: A Journal.

Man With Udon

You know those plastic plates of sushi in a restaurants window? Well, these works of sculptural art are sometimes a bit less appetizing. For instance, Man With Udon (can't help but think 'Waiter! there's a man in my soup!).

Be sure to check out Portrait With French Fries. And then there's always a room made of chocolate, which is so totally not what you'd expect. And if you're in a need of a wedding cake...

Photos of an Unknown Family Who Probably Owned a Liquor Store

I'm not exactly sure what the Houseplant Picture Studio website is all about, but from what I can gather, they seem to find and archive all sorts of ephemeral photographs and neat-o stuff. My favorites being Photos of an Unknown Family Who Probably Owned a Liquor Store and A Very Pleasant Afternoon At The Home of Phyllis Diller.

You have to scroll down almost to the bottom of ther site to find the links. Click on the to find a bounty of wierd and wonderful things.

Tribute to Hermann Zapf

These specimen sheets from 1954 bring home the beauty of fine typography, an art that is finding new and daunting challenges in the electronic age. Read more about Zapf, the creator of Optima and Palatino.

Genographic

This National Geographic site, based on genetic research, illustrates human migratory paths across a 60,000 year time span. Its interactive charts and features make learning about this rapidly evolving area of bio-science a pleasure.