creative condition

I started using Add-Art a couple of months ago. It's a service that replaces adds with art, in conjunction with Adblock Plus, in Firefox. Sometimes the art is really interesting, and sometimes it's just so-so, but it's almost always better than the ads it replaces. These pieces created by New York-based design firm Elastic Brand caught my attention recently. According to the creators' statement, they were inspired by "creative individuals and their real encounters with people in their lives as they started to define their goals and pursue their dreams." They asked fellow creatives to submit "a quote that marked a turning point in their creative lives," along with a photo of themselves as a child and put the them together using a simple color palette and bold type. The goal was to highlight the opposition that many aspiring artists, musicians and performers encounter from family and friends who, however well-intentioned, don't understand what it means to be a creative person. It's a simple concept, but the results resonated with me.

silhouette masterpiece theatre

These hand-cut silhouette illustrations by Wilhelm Staehle have been making the rounds on the internets for a while, but I really love them, so I'm showing them anyway. They're beautiful, witty and reasonably priced. I highly recommend perusing the entire collection.

brian banton

I saw these posters by Toronto designer Brian Banton on Behance today and I am in awe... and in love. You really have to check out the entire set or you're missing out - so many little details to devour and enjoy!

venn humor

I just found these hilarious little venn diagrams by Frank Chimero on design work life. You can see them all here.

shaz madani

I happened upon this poster by UK designer Shaz Madani on Image Spark today and the message resonated with me. So I decided to check out her website, and learned that it's part of a larger campaign aimed at getting people away from their computers called Man or Mouse. I also found these:


From Madani's website: "An excercise to create a tailor made solution to dissuade an individual from their heavy dependence on a product used on a daily basis and offering them an alternative." Cool.

new math

These are from a blog by artist Craig Damrauer. They're not exactly experimental typography, but they're so much fun I'm posting them anyway. I like the Modern Art one the best.

via Build

this cup isn't lying

I saw these coffee cup designs by waldo pancake for UK coffee company Puccino's on The Dieline today. Holy crap these are awesome! I wish we had Puccino's here, although I don't drink coffee or tea so I don't know why I care... Anyway, according to The Dieline, the designer, Jim Smith, has been designing for Puccino's for 10 years and has quite a bit of leeway to play with language and humor. love love love! Waldo pancake's site doesn't seem to be working (probably too many people linking from The Dieline), but you can see a lot more on his flickr site. Also, there's an interview with Jim Smith on Brand New (which I somehow missed).

even the packaging looks good

Wow, this packaging is some of the most exciting I've seen in a while! It was designed by Pearlfisher for Jamie Oliver's new Jme line of food and kitchen products. I love the playful use of language and type and the vintage-meets-contemporary feel.

via the Dieline