Twitter Influencer: Debbie Millman

Debbie Millman has been in the design business for 25 years and has a lot to show for it. She’s worked on the redesign of Pepsi, Procter & Gamble, Campbell’s, Colgate, Nestle and Hasbro at Sterling Brands where she is now president of the design division. She’s also president of the professional association for design, otherwise known as AIGA, as well as a contributing editor to Print Magazine, a design writer for FastCompany.com, Brand New and Chair of the Masters in Branding Program at the School of Visual Arts. She’s written three books on the subject of graphic design and has a weekly talk show where she interviews the best and brightest in the field.

With all of this, Millman still manages to design and illustrate as well as scoot around the country for speaking events. She also manages to keep up with a popular twitter feed where you can stay abreast on the very busy happenings in Millman’s life. Hear about all the good design and interesting news around the world in addition to her own quips on any and everything design.

March 10, 2011 | By: Shayna Kulik

Fashion: Stella & Moodboard Advertising

Stella McCartney‘s got nothing to hide with her latest print collaboration. Using paralleling imagery to reveal the creative process, her team unveils the rough concepts alongside the polished product. “I wanted to play with the purity and realism of the citrus print from summer 2011… exaggerating the scale and playing with the female form in its purest form, as nature intended,” says McCartney. Next time you’re making your mood boards, remember designers at every level can’t skip this crutial part of the process and sometimes exposing this can contribute to your final product.

March 9, 2011 | By: Shayna Kulik

Book Review: Pattern Design & Beyond

Fellow pattern lovers Claudia Brown and Jessie Whipple Vickery started their careers working on freelance graphic design projects. In 2007, the two decided to forgo the limitations of a strictly graphic design career and start Pattern People, their own surface design studio. The process of growing their now flourishing business has been exhilarating, though not always easy. The two recently pooled their insider secrets for their new e-book, Pattern Design & Beyond: An Insider’s Guide to Creating and Managing Your Own Surface Design Career.

With how-to pattern design guides, a thorough break-down of how the print industry operates and loads of helpful resources, their e-book provides a wealth of information for the burgeoning surface designer. The book also showcases over 80 international artists whose work illustrates the many print styles found in the market. Pattern Design & Beyond is an inspirational guide for students, professionals or anyone else with an appreciation for pattern design.

March 9, 2011 | By: Shayna Kulik

Trend: Pink, Pulp & Grainy

It’s not everyday you see pink fused with wood grain. The combination’s unnatural and unexpected, particularly now, as rustic trends barrel through home and retail decor. Interestingly though, the texture makes for a beautiful combination- one that looks very french to us.

The top left image by Barnaby Furnas was featured in last week’s New Yorker. The painting, entitled, Browns Raider (Dangerfield Newby), is indicative of Furnas’ violent home-spun style of fusing sensational media with subversive cartoons.

Using humor and type to direct his layouts, Ben Skinner’s works are often hung in retail windows. This particular piece was chosen by The Jealous Curator for her first show at the Honfleur Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Rounding out this category with a beautiful and subtle geometric print, we have Yto Barrada‘s photograph entitled, Family Tree. this print reminds us how interpretation and execution is done on a luxury level.

March 8, 2011 | By: Shayna Kulik

Digital: Audience Participation

These days, social strategy should be part of every one’s growth plan. From crowd-sourced content to rewarding five minutes of fame, every brand is hoping to engage using digital technology, beyond the sweeps of yesteryear.

Here are a few snapshots of Forever 21‘s Time Square store. The video loop on their LED screens is playful, engaging and larger than life. Models “walk” up to the screen, summon the crowd then take a Polaroid shot of the street, capturing everyone who’s a fan. Remarkably, hundreds of people are willing to wait through the five minute loop to see themselves on the big screen, over and over again.

Just across the street, the monolithic LED screen that belongs to American Eagle takes a similar approach, merging their customers, twitter and a branded photo booth. Developed by the brains at RGA, customers can have their picture taken with a short caption and it will scroll down the outside of the building. Not only do the photos make their debut in Times Square, they’re also easy to share using a computer or mobile device.

Keeping with the theme of models trapped inside their own advertisements, Lara Stone‘s most recent billboard for Calvin Klein located at Lafayette and Houston is as engaging as it gets for still imagery. Similar to Forever 21’s loop, her proportions are skewed, slightly edgy and entirely engaging.

March 7, 2011 | By: Shayna Kulik

Friday Quick Links!

1. Who knew bleached out books could be so beautiful via Happy Mundane
2. A tablecloth you can draw on over and over via Designer’s Block
3. Incredibly detailed dark paintings via The Jealous Curator
4. Vegan bowties from blueprints via ecouterre
5. Kansas City’s amazing library a giant bookshelf via Sweet Station
6. Potholes as an interesting extension of yarn bombing via CMY Bacon
7. Fabulously unique swimwear from Black Milk via The Audacity of Color
8. In love with this optical illusion bookshelf via This is Colossal
9. Super quirky paintings from Four Yip via Peanut Soup Deluxe
10. Brilliant and colorful flooring from Domestic-Construction via poppytalk
11. Alina Ene transposes light painted images onto dresses via design-milk
12. Linda Topic’s beautiful and ecologically sound modular flooring via I Love Belgium

Compiled by: Emily Gup

March 4, 2011 | By: Shayna Kulik