Wow! Fun, exciting work from Austin-based design collective Ptarmak. Their work is a refreshing example of design that looks great, and is also very usable. I love when design can do both of those things. It’s simple and clear, but equally as sophisticated. And that typography: whew!
01.14.10 | Ethan | Found design | 
8 comments
Andrew Bird @9:30 Club poster - Designed and Illustrated by Jay Ryan
The work of Jay Ryan was one of my first introductions to graphic design and gig posters — way back in the olden days. I spent many quality hours checking out his website and taking in his work at Flatstock. Screenprinted squirrels, eccentric characters, and hand lettered typography? It’s so interesting that these diverse objects can come together and say something so compelling about a band like Shellac, or Built to Spill, or Sebadoh.
Jay Ryan is this week’s poster pick — and you can purchase his work through Poster Cabaret.
01.14.10 | Ethan | poster picks | 5 comments
2010 Calendar by SeeSaw Designs.
Having trouble remembering what day it is? Still stuck on 2009? Well friends, the future is today!
This particular calendar, designed by SeeSaw Designs, nicely juxtaposes organic forms and geometric shapes. The pairing of the corals with the varied blue hues is pretty dandy too.
We’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite calendars of 2010 for all you procrastinators out there. Check it out!
01.13.10 | Grace Danico | Found design, Uncategorized | 21 comments
Guns Pattern 2 - 17″x22″ Designed and Illustrated by Jonny Wan
Really loving the work of Sheffield based illustrator Jonny Wan. His portfolio is filled with interesting explorations with shape and color, plus the dude can draw some guns! If I had cartoon hand, I would ask Jonny if I could take a few of these heaters out to the local hand-drawn gun range to squirt some rounds!
You can catch Jonny over at Twitter and for those interested in purchasing a print, you can pick one up in his shop.
01.12.10 | Dave | Found design | 2 comments
The Swiss are known for their well designed watches. Franck Muller, Rolex and Omega are just a few of the manufacturers with established roots in Switzerland. I’m sure more then a couple people visit this country each year just to check out luxury timepieces. Can’t say I fall into that crowd, but I’d be more then willing to go if someone wants to front the bill! For those that can afford a watch buying trip and happen to have a time machine laying around, this map could prove very useful. The map, which dates back to the late 1940s(?) helped guide tourists visiting the Lucerne area in search of well respected watch merchants. It includes recommendations from the Swiss Watchmakers Guild, so you know its golden. I think.
I love the teal, and the orange accents, but the pale yellow is a little too much for me. I have a feeling whoever designed this map has a hankering for crusty mustard, word up.
01.11.10 | Dave | Off our book shelves | 12 comments
The Catton house designed by Arthur Erickson and Geoffrey Massey in 1967
More amazing work from the late great Arthur Erickson.
01.08.10 | Dave | Found design | 9 comments
Grain Edit friend and design champ Chad Kouri, of Long Live Analog and The Post Family, has a wonderful solo show opening this Friday at Chicago’s Rotofugi Gallery. Chad’s work, like his moniker, is based in the analog. It’s a compelling collage of found images, hand drawn elements, and textures.
01.07.10 | Ethan | Found design | 10 comments
It’s out with the old, in with the new. Goodbye 2009, hello 2010!
Netherlands based illustrator, Esther Aarts, created this holiday greeting card for van Ditzhuijzen accountants. Its charm lies in its personified objects, such as the gleeful teabags and toothy stapler, set against coarsely textured backgrounds. I really like the color scheme with its varied pink hues in stark contrast to the grainy black, and the hand drawn type is also an added plus…making way for a fresh new year.
01.06.10 | Grace Danico | Found design | 13 comments
Identity for Ohio Arts Council designed by Noel Martin
Noel Martin was a self taught graphic designer who taught at the Art Academy of Cincinnati and served as the in-house designer for the Cincinnati Art Museum for many years. He was one of the first to modernize art museum exhibition catalogs. In an article at the New York times Steven Heller also notes, “With the ubiquitous branding and expert merchandizing of museums today, it is easy to forget that graphic design was once a low priority for them. In 1947, when Mr. Martin became the Cincinnati Art Museum’s first graphic designer, most museum publications were staid and musty.”
The Container list has a nice post on a self-promotional piece titled, Identity Programs, that presents some of Noel’s iconic minimalist logos.
01.04.10 | Dave | Found design | 4 comments
2009 International Year of Astronomy Poster designed by Simon C Page
Simon Page is a self-taught graphic design whiz with a mathematics background. He takes shapes and morphs them into cerebral abstractions. His style shifts around futuristic digital designs and 1960s minimalism, trotting the delicate line between simplicity and detail. His International Year of Astronomy 2009 poster designs caught the eyes of discerning design writers, including the New York Times and Creative Review. It may be the year for Astronomy but its equally a big year for Page, his posters got a boost in sales from all the acknowledgment he’s been getting in print and on the web.
01.03.10 | Diana | Features | 16 comments
