Today’s a sick day on our end, unfortunately. In catching up on sleep, orange juice, pop culture, and a few Grammy related videos, this new single jumped on our radar. Neon Trees have always been a favorite, and their new song, Sleeping with a Friend is more pop than ever- in a fun way. Has a bit of a Scissor Sister’s vibe to it. The video’s animated, playing with patterns in the foreground, background and through many of the transitions. To watch it in full, click here.
Circular motifs never get old. When history, science and creativity are hinged upon these forces, you realize why cyclical flow is a part of our daily vernacular. Much of the branding and styling I’m attracted to incorporates this concept, and you realize, over time, that it’s actually easy to reinvision a brand, packaging or any design for that matter, if the underlying direction has a timelessness to it.
From the mechanical curves of the Sonos logo to Dan Funderburgh’s recent illustration collaboration in the Manual for Speed, to ABC Carpet’s spiritual and nature-inspired retail merchandising to the graphic styling techniques in this Dazed and Confused spread, all overlap in relatable, defined ways.
You know when you’re flipping through a newspaper or a magazine and an image is so arresting it stops you in your tracks? So goes the story with Katherine Taylor‘s pictorial spread in this Saturday’s NY Times. The article, Duet for Composition and Software is fascinating. It’s a deep dive into M.I.T.’s famed Media Lab, articulating the audio and visual work of composer and inventor, Tod Machover. Focusing on the future of Opera, his team’s been working to improve sound, through sculpture, movement and visual sensors.
If they ever wanted to cross pollinate, they could commercialize at Owen’s West Village shop, as the paper-covered walls probably offer similar acoustic wonderment.
It’s rare when a banner catches your eye- they’re always a bit pesky and quite honestly, as a designer, they’re one of my least favorite items to create for clients. I’ll do everything I can to suggest other advertising methods before doing a banner-specific media buy. That said, this one, in particular, is interesting. It’s bold, it’s graphic, it’s minimal, and Samsung’s let Jay-Z and his latest album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, really shine. Rounding out a hefty social media campaign, this is one part of the puzzle preparing the world for Samsung’s Magna Carta app and Jay-Z’s July 4th release. Getting excited?
Every few months we share a new take on the all-over-patterned look. It’s forever getting a facelift and finding it’s way through various cultures and set designs. Remember this, this and this? Well today we’re sharing Max Gazzè‘s album art which we found on Luz Photo, a Milan-based photo agency. Shot by Barbara Oizmud, this blue and white classical theme rings true to Gazzè’s Italian roots, presenting textured shapes representative of a grand bedroom and library.
While thumbing through the New Image Art opening, I came across this piece by Chad Muska– it made me laugh. It doesn’t matter if you’re Billy Joel singing about girls in New York from a few decades ago, or an LA artist and skateboarder commenting on the current state of affairs.
Uptown & Downtown dating American styles remains the same…at least from a male point of view. What do you think?