Commonwealth Stacks, a newly launched skateboard line recently sent up some sweet decks. Since 2000 Stacks has existed as the creative outlet for designer and art director Michael Leon, creating Tees and the occasional deck. The Spring of this year saw Michael pursue Stacks full time, partnering with skate legend Reese Forbes to create a brand focusing on quality, style, attention to detail, and authenticity.
09.24.10 | Ethan | Found design | 
8 comments
San Francisco based artist and illustrator Lisa Congdon has always been fascinated with with collecting, arranging, and organizing her collections. On January 1, 2010, Lisa took it upon herself to photograph, draw, and occasionally paint these collections for the entire year, and thus, the Collection a Day 2010 project was born.
Documenting objects ranging from vintage books and matchbox labels to colorful bits and bobbles, each collection is well curated and carefully composed. Recently, Uppercase announced that these incredible collections will be made into a book, available Spring 2011.
09.23.10 | Grace Danico | Found design | 2 comments
Cité des Choux/ Photo by Kristo
Browsing the web earlier today I stumbled upon these stunning structures designed by Gerard Grandval. Les Choux de Creteil (aka the cabbages) is a residential development located in Creteil, a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. The complex which consists of ten towers (each fifteen stories high) was built in the early 70s as an experimental approach to public housing needs. The petal shaped balconies, which give the buildings their unique appearance, were designed to allow privacy for the occupants. The architect originally envisioned plants to suspend from the balconies. However the idea was shut down by the developers concerned with keeping the buildings insect-free.
09.21.10 | Dave | Found design, Uncategorized | 9 comments
Kemistry Gallery is celebrating the work of legendary designer Lou Dorfsman, art director for the CBS network.
The exhibition centres on his most notable creation, the 11-metre wide handmade wooden typographic wall that he named Gastrotypographicalassemblage. Created during an era when designers were both artisans and well-trained communicators, the wall is the largest modern typographic artefact in existence, described by Michael Bierut as ‘an irreplaceable piece of design history.’ With custom type created by Herb Lubalin and Tom Carnase, the wall contains almost 1500 individual characters.
09.20.10 | Dave | Events | 1 comment
Boutique furniture company Semigood Design, based in beautiful Seattle, boasts an impressive lineup of products. I’d previously seen (and sat on) the made for Dwell magazine Rian stool, but was unaware of the rest of Semigood’s line. With a nod to the past and to Danish styling, the furniture is functional, locally-sourced and sturdy. And with the new flat pack ready-to-assemble line, it’s put together in about 5 minutes.
09.17.10 | Ethan | Found design | 2 comments
Inspired by pop surrealism and alternative cartoons, Alberto Cerriteno’s work is filled with rich textures and fantastically imagery. This print entitled Recuerdos is no exception. We see a small group of birds perching on branches sprouting from a somewhat distinguished gentleman’s head. The man appears to be crying and I hope they’re tears of joy. Recuerdos was originally created for the latest album of Mexican indie band Hello Seahorse, but is now available for purchase here.
09.14.10 | Dave | Poster Picks | 10 comments
Almost exactly 8 years ago the first Flatstock poster show was held in San Francisco. I remember anxiously awaiting my entrance into the show, and subsequently being in awe over the work displayed. I admired all of the work shown, and eventually bought a print from Seripop.
All of the posters exhibited promoted rock shows happening in venues throughout the country and the world. Many exciting books have followed that first Flatstock, covering the exploding rock poster scene. Rock Paper Show is quite a different take on the gig-poster, however — highlighting the posters that were designed to promote the Flatstock event itself. The book contains great work from some of the top-notch poster designers around, including Jeff Kleinsmith, The Bird Machine, Aesthetic Apparatus, The Heads of State, The Small Stakes, f2 Design, and so many more.
09.10.10 | Ethan | Off Our Bookshelves | 1 comment
Herman Miller has just launched Design For You: an exciting contest powered by collective participation. Each prize requires a certain number of people to unlock it. As more people enter the contest, more prizes will be unlocked. For the grand prize, you could win one of five hand-painted Eames Rockers created by Andrew Holder, Philip Lumbang, Christopher Lee, Mark Giglio, and Josh Cochran. Each chair is one-of-a-kind.
In addition to the weekly prizes, the person who gets the most people to enter the contest will win an Aeron chair.
For more information, including a full list of prizes, visit the Design For You home page.
09.10.10 | Dave | Found design | 15 comments
Poland based artist and illustrator, Wojciech Kolacz (aka Otecki), has an eclectic mix of work that ranges from colorfully patterned sculptures to colossal murals and vibrant illustrations. His sculptures, as seen above, are hidden amongst the urban environments we inhabit, adding a playful imaginative element to an often mundane world.
09.09.10 | Grace Danico | Found design | 3 comments
Tomingekijo Music Circle concert pamphlets from 1963
In a prolific career that spanned over 5 decades, Japanese designer Ayao Yamana left behind a rich body of work that few could duplicate. He is mainly known for his elegant and delicate illustrations of women which graced the packaging and printed advertisements for Shiseido cosmetics. These concert pamphlet covers for the Tomingekijo Music Circle represent a side of Yamana that is less familiar, but equally as impressive.
09.08.10 | Dave | Off Our Bookshelves | 4 comments
