Design Corner /////////////////////////////////////////// Textiles Dance in Zeitguised?s Dreamlike Digital Fashion Project (Hi-Fructose Magazine) Posted: 21 Apr 2016 06:00 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&edburner&utm_medium=email "Void Season" is a different kind of fashion project that makes us excited to see how the future of fashion is going to look. What first appears as an eccentric, simulated dance and a color-coordinated Tumblr exploration turns out to be a study of algorithmic textiles and procedural surfaces. This digital magic was created by the Berlin, Germany based design studio known as Zeitguised. Their mesmerizing visuals are crafted as a unique blend of tantalizing design, handmade algorithms and bespoke generative processes.More /////////////////////////////////////////// Kris Hofmann ? Fixology (03:03) (IdN? RSS) Posted: 21 Apr 2016 03:18 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&edburner&utm_medium=email A series of Vines illustrating helpful tips and tricks for in and around the house /////////////////////////////////////////// Ace & Tate launches Creative Fund for emerging artists and designers ? apply now! (It's Nice That) Posted: 21 Apr 2016 03:00 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&reative-fund-launch-partnership-210416?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email The Ace & Tate Creative Fund is looking to support individuals or collectives working anywhere, in any medium, who are taking creative risks to break new ground. The initiative is offering a number of one-off grants for specific projects and the support of established networks and connections to guide and assist in the realisation of each successful proposal. Read more /////////////////////////////////////////// Printed Pages SS16 is now available for pre-order ? with exclusive prints, a party, free postage and more! (It's Nice That) Posted: 21 Apr 2016 03:00 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&spring-summer-2016-preorder-210416?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email There is just one week to go before Printed Pages goes on general sale around the world - but you can ensure that the issue lands on your doormat early with a host of extra goodies if you order today. The 240-page magazine is an inspiring snapshot of the creative world curated by the Its Nice That Team. This issue is published with three different covers, each featuring the stars of Dont Hug Me Im Scared photographed by Neil Bedford. The pre-ordered magazines will be delivered next week before the issue is available in shops. Read more /////////////////////////////////////////// Moritz Reicharz questions the future of AI in his quirky film Hands Off (It's Nice That) Posted: 21 Apr 2016 12:30 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&t-ai-hands-off-film-210416?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Inspired by Tim Urbans text The AI revolution: The Road to Superintelligence motion designer and 3D artist Moritz Reicharz has created a surreal film titled Hands Off [AI]. The film is a collection of automated animations generated as part of his research for other projects over past year. The thee-minute short sees a surreal and alien objects flail and wave around a series of unfamiliar landscapes to a haunting soundtrack. The animations were created without using keyframes, with the movement of the forms defined by the codes used to create them. Its a compelling, unnerving and technically astute experiment that hints at what we might come to expect from the German artist. Read more /////////////////////////////////////////// Dundee: the UK's new creative capital? (It's Nice That) Posted: 21 Apr 2016 12:00 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&e-scene-210416?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Scotland has no shortage of creative heritage: from David Shrigley and Eduardo Paolozzi to 1996 Turner Prize winner Douglas Gordon, Rachel Maclean and Haroon Mirza its produced a long line of big name talents. But its perhaps fair to say that creativity is mostly associated with Glasgow and its school of art, and Edinburgh with its festival. Until now, perhaps. Enter Dundee: long-known as the home of publishers DC Thomson, and more recently, home to a new Design Festival and a soon-to-open Victoria and Albert Museum, its first outside of London. Read more /////////////////////////////////////////// Why we need to have a women-only creative conference? (It's Nice That) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 11:00 PM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&le-only-creative-conference-210416?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email This year sees the first ever Make Nice "un-conference" take place in Australia, a three day women-only event. The fact it exists reveals a lot about gender issues in the creative industries, so we spoke to its co-directors Ngaio Parr and Alex Winters about why such a conference needs to exist. Read more /////////////////////////////////////////// Philip Coppola spends nearly 40 years illustrating New York City?s Subway Stations (It's Nice That) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 11:00 PM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&y-philip-coppola-ny-subway-stations-210416?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email The Great Big Story is a New York-based video network dedicated to delivering stories on the "untold, the overlooked and the flat-out amazing." For its latest instalment it talks to Philip Coppola, a man who loves New Yorks subway stations so much that hes spent the last 38 years sketching them in glorious detail with just a ball point pen. Read more /////////////////////////////////////////// Violaine & Jrmy?s elegant identity for a Paris exhibition (It's Nice That) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 11:00 PM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&eremy-lempreinte-du-geste-210416?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Paris-based studio Violaine & Jrmy has created this elegant identity for an exhibition at the Muse des Arts Dcoratifs of Paris. Titled LEmpreinte du Geste (The Imprint of the Gesture), the show gathers 18 artists to celebrate craft and consider modes of production and the way things are manufactured. Read more /////////////////////////////////////////// Justin Hallstrm creates gorgeously graphic, colourful identity for Flatpack Film Festival (It's Nice That) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 11:00 PM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&val-monokrom-justin-hallstrom-210416?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Another year, another superb identity for Birminghams Flatpack Film Festival by designer and art director Justin Hallstrm. Following 2015s colourful look and feel created when the designer was part of Dot Dash, hes set out independently to create an equally colourful concept for the festivals 2016 edition, which marks its tenth birthday. Read more /////////////////////////////////////////// A sleepover with a bunch of strangers, thanks to Max Richter's eight-hour Sleep opus (It's Nice That) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 11:00 PM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&eep-sonos-studio-sleepover-secret-7-eve-mattress-210416?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Losing circulation in a very cold pond, an insanity workout in a gallery, dancing about in my pants for the sake of a reinterpreted Twin Peaks; Ive done a lot of strange things in the name of art, but none as yet have made me as nervous as the prospect of a sleepover in a studio with ten strangers. Read more /////////////////////////////////////////// What is this gigantic hellshard?! It?s fantastic! (The Fox Is Black) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 04:46 PM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&edburner&utm_medium=email via Instagram /////////////////////////////////////////// Lump sat alone in a buggy marsh (The Fox Is Black) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 03:58 PM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&edburner&utm_medium=email via Instagram /////////////////////////////////////////// New York is not disappointing me so far (The Fox Is Black) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 03:30 PM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&edburner&utm_medium=email via Instagram /////////////////////////////////////////// Flew across the country and the first thing I do is go to @shakeshack (The Fox Is Black) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 03:01 PM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&edburner&utm_medium=email via Instagram /////////////////////////////////////////// Jason Middlebrook?s Striking Geometric Paintings on Wood Planks (Hi-Fructose Magazine) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 02:42 PM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&edburner&utm_medium=email Since moving from New York city to the countryside in Hudson, artist Jason Middlebrook has found himself in a constant contact with nature. His striking "plank series" is informed by his surroundings; vividly painted abstract designs on natural pieces of cut wood like maple and birch, sourced from a local mill. Though his use of straight lines and angles, drawn with a geometric precision, may not be naturally occurring, they are inspired by the subtle nuances found in his materials.More /////////////////////////////////////////// Jason Borders? Latest Series of Intricately Carved Animal Bones (Hi-Fructose Magazine) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 01:49 PM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&edburner&utm_medium=email In using animal remains to create something new, Jason Borders' intricate work reminds us of the cyclical nature of life. First featured here on our blog, Borders has always been inspired by nature and always collected bones, but it wasn't until recently that he began to use them as an art medium. He once said that he likes to think of these sculptural pieces as characters, ornately carved bones, antlers and skulls which are designed on the spur of the moment in his Portland, Oregon based studio.More /////////////////////////////////////////// Dadomani Studio ? The Box (3:04) (IdN? RSS) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 01:40 PM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&edburner&utm_medium=email The second episode of a personal short stop-motion project /////////////////////////////////////////// What Would The Starbucks Of Weed Look Like? (Co.Design) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 12:05 PM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&-starbucks-of-weed-look-like?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Snoop has his own weed brand. So does Whoopi Goldberg. Considering the loosening regulations on recreational marijuana use-and growing popularity-some experts predict that the cannabis industry is poised to grow faster than the smartphone industry. While some savvy entrepreneurs have built savvy brands around their products, by and large the industry is still in a haze and has a lot of catch up to do. To help speed things along, Surface magazine commissioned 12 top design agencies to envision branding for hypothetical weed companies. Karlssonwilker, courtesy of Surface magazine There's ripe opportunity in the weed trade to bring a design perspective to the table. "I was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, and travel back home about once a year," Spencer Bailey, editor in chief of Surface, says. "The past few years, when in Colorado, I've been surprised by the number of dispensaries and brands popping up throughout the state. But on these trips I had yet to see a brand that looked truly game changing. So many of the existing brands look amateurish and as if they were launched out of a van, which some of them probably were. There's ripe opportunity in the weed trade to bring a design perspective to the table." While some branding work, like what Pentagram did for Snoop, is niche, Surface's brief was about imagining what a corporate weed brand could look like. "Once a few more states legalize the drug's usage, we could very well see the emergence of a Starbucks-like national pot brand," Bailey says. Who knows-in a few more years the slogan "This Bud's for You" might have a whole new meaning. Catch five of the 12 concepts in the slide show above and head to surfacemag.com to see the rest. All Photos: courtesy of Surface magazine /////////////////////////////////////////// Designers Reimagine Faucets for Axor WaterDream 2016 (Design Milk) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 11:00 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&edburner&utm_medium=email Luxury bathroom brand Axor reached out to architects and designers to bring their own spin to the bathroom by envisioning their own spout for a presentation during FuoriSalone. The Axor WaterDream 2016 invited world-renowned designers David Adjaye, Werner Aisslinger, FRONT, GamFratesi, and Jean-Marie Massaud to design their own unique spout that "through their materiality, form and function, give a new emotionality and value to the tap itself and the water passing through it." The idea was to see through the designers eyes the value of water in our personal livings spaces and the five developed fully-functioning pieces that push the boundaries of what we think of in terms of todays faucets. Working with the Axor U-Base, a universal fixture base that creates a simple connection to the spout, they incorporated alternative materials and unique forms that result in incredibly beautiful designs that could very easily land in bathrooms of the future. German designer Werner Aisslingers The Sea and the Shore is a conceptual spout that incorporates a shelf into its fountain-like design. Its made from clay, which is an historical material that helps showcase the value of water. Swedish duo FRONT designed a sculptural spout made from metal where the water flows from the upper platform down to the lower one. Water Steps displays the juxtaposition between a fluid natural element and the rigid metallic surface of the material used. Zen was designed by the Danish-Italian duo GamFratesi who went minimal with their design by reimagining a classic Japanese wood fountain. Its simple form and flow creates a tranquil feel referencing the relationship between water and nature. Jean-Marie Massauds Mimicry shows water being released from simple, geometric shapes made of marble with the intention of being in harmony with the architectural landscape. Ritual, by British architect David Adjaye, is made of bronze spout where the water escapes from under a granite inlay. /////////////////////////////////////////// FEATHR opens up $5000 awards for artists working in wallpaper (Hi-Fructose Magazine) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 10:41 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&edburner&utm_medium=email "Nothing on your walls should match your fucking carpet." Thats the motto of Scandinavian designer wallpaper collective, FEATHR.com. Launched in 2015, FEATHR is lifting wallpaper out of the decoration ghetto and turning it into art. So they dont work the way that other wallpaper companies work. And they don't work with the types of artists that other wallpaper companies work with. More /////////////////////////////////////////// From An Ex-North Face Designer, A Backpack for Aggressive Biking (Co.Design) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 10:30 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&th-face-designer-a-backpack-for-aggressive-biking?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Motorcyclists love backpacks, but the average, stylish bag isn't always built for riding. Two-strap bags slide off shoulders when buffeted by wind. Extra lengths of strap that are innocuous when walking around becoming ass-smacking annoyances at speed. And thinner material can deform a pack out of shape at 80 mph. Upstart motorcycle accessory maker Velomacchi, co-founded by a former bag designer for The North Face and a motorcycle racer, aims to alleviate those shortcomings in its new Speedway Pack ($300). Its most standout feature might be its magnetic sternum coupler that snaps together when the two sides are held in close proximity, putting a shiny, metal disc front-and-center on your chest, giving the whole system a decidedly future-warrior vibe. (A quick turn of the coupler unlatches the bag for a quick release.) A water-tight main compartment with a roll-top keeps out rainstorms, and a patented four-point harness design keeps the bag high and secure on the top of the back instead of sliding down to a rider's waist. Abrasion-resistant fabric is folded to keep its shape in the wind, with aluminum toggles for helmet storage, and outer pockets keep cargo secure. (You wear the helmet while on the bike of course.) Pouches for a tire pressure gauge, medical documents, and a hydration bladder are tucked into the straps and bag. While it might be overkill for the average bicyclist, the strap and couplers will definitely get a few people asking you about the bag. The stiff material and relatively small size won't make it a good solution for anything longer than an overnight, and no integrated laptop sleeve might steer a power-commuter toward another solution-although there's plenty of space for a laptop in the main pouch, and Velomacchi sells a matching sleeve for $60-but for riders who like an aggressive commute, the Speedway Pack is one to consider. /////////////////////////////////////////// A Beach House in Portugal Goes Modern (Design Milk) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 10:00 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&edburner&utm_medium=email With views of the ocean, this beach house in Portugal went through a remodel by santiago | Interior Design Studio to transform the interior into a more modern home with updated finishes. The house spans three floors with the kitchen, living room, a bathroom, and a guest bedroom being on the main level. One floor up, theres a master bedroom and a TV room with access to the terrace. Theres also a rooftop terrace with spectacular ocean views. The kitchen is outfitted with a sliding counter that moves back and forth accommodate multiple functions. Cool greys are paired with warm woods to create a harmonious and sophisticated space. Once the garage, the TV room becomes a cozy space to relax and watch movies. In the master bedroom, the bed appears to float above the floor. /////////////////////////////////////////// How to Make Pixel Characters (Psdtuts+) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 09:28 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&xel-characters--cms-26263?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email What You'll Be Creating If you've ever thought about creating pixel art, here's a very quick and easy introduction to one of the most fundamental aspects of it: characters. We'll be creating an extremely simple character, but although it will be simple, it will still allow a decent amount of detail, so it will work fine as an avatar for yourself or for representing your favorite movie or TV characters or celebrities. Can't think of any inspiration? Perhaps work from a stock image from Envato Market.1. Create the Character's Body Usually I'd recommend starting with the head, and that's still a viable starting point, but since this character will be so simple and its proportions will be somewhat realistic, the body will be an equally good place to start. You'll need to create a new file in Adobe Photoshop. It could be 100 px by 100 px; the character I made is only 28 px tall.Step 1 Let's define a skin color. This is 25 in Hue, 40% Saturation and 98% Brightness, but choose what works for you.Step 2 We're going to be working with the Pencil Tool with a 1 px point size and under a nice amount of zoom, like 800%. With our newly created color, draw the legs, which will be 2 px across with one blank pixel between each leg this'll work fine unless you're doing a chubbier character. The dimensions of the legs will help us define the rest of the character. You may want to try your own dimensions/proportions, rather than just follow mine, to find what you like best. But if you want your character to look just like mine, then the legs above are 9 px tall, and so is the torso. Step 3 To finish the extremities, we add arms on the side; they're simply one extra pixel on the side of the torso. We also add an extra row of pixels at the bottom of the legs with an extra pixel on each side for the feet. I also added a row of pixels for the shoulders. It's a little odd to call the shoulders' corners "rounded" but those missing pixels do give a more rounded-and thus more natural-look in the end.Step 4 Finally we add the head, also with some "rounded" corners. I made it as wide as the torso and 7 px tall.2. Add Facial Features Our character will be very minimal, limited by its small size, but we'll still be able to add some detail.Step 1 There's just enough space on the face to add a pair of eyes. I chose to make them a slightly darker (about 15% darker) shade than the skin tone. I didn't want to have too much contrast there as I didn't think that we should be able to see eye color on such a small resolution.Step 2 Let's add some hair. I used a dark brown shade and added an extra row of pixels, so the head grew in size a little bit, because of the hair.Step 3 Add a bit of hair on the sides of the head. I used a lighter color as if it's either short or antialiased. To add this color I lowered the Opacity of the Pencil Tool to 50%, which can be done easily by pressing the number 5 while the Pencil Tool is on. Just remember to return it to 100% afterwards (you can press the number 0.) And finally I gave my character a little bit of a pompadour hairdo.3. Add the Clothes The clothes will be where we can do most of our customization. This style benefits from not using up any pixels on outlines, so even if the character is tiny, it allows plenty of detail.Step 1 Let's get some pants on the character. The shade here is a low-saturation aquamarine, which I'm using to represent blue jeans. To try variations on colors, I usually Copy the area I'm coloring to a New Layer and open the Hue/Saturation/Lightness panel (Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation) and move the sliders on that panel until I like the result.Step 2 Add some shoes. I'll make them sneakers and they'll be almost white; there's really not much room to give these detail. I won't make them white because I'll leave the background white. A downside of not using outlines is that if the background and foreground colors are the same, some detail can get lost.Step 3 Give the character a shirt. I liked how this color went with the pants color. I made the shirt with short sleeves and a V-neck.Step 4 As I said before, you can add a decent amount of detail-maybe a tie or some graphic in the middle of the shirt. I added some (low contrast) stripes.Step 5 And finally another layer of clothes: a jacket. If you want, you could also give the character accessories like a vest or a wristwatch or headphones.4. Shade the Character Now that all character and clothes details are done, we add a touch of shading that corresponds to the different volumes of the character.Step 1 Create a New Layer and in it draw your shadows in black. Some of the shadows here correspond to the head casting a shadow over the neck and to the jacket casting a shadow over the shirt. The rest just correspond to the volumes of the character; the legs aren't flat, so shading one side conveys extra volume, and the same goes for the right side of the torso. The arms, I thought, were too small to shade. Step 2 And to apply the shading, just lower the Opacity of the layer to 15% or somewhere around there. You can do that in the Layers panel or also by pressing 15 on the keyboard, while the Move Tool is selected. You can then Merge Down (Layer > Merge Down) and export your graphic. Seen at 100%, the character might be too small to appreciate. So you can Select it, Copy it and Rescale it to 200% or 300% (Edit > Free Transform) with Interpolation set to Nearest Neighbor. Then Save, preferably as a PNG or GIF, and you're done!Awesome, Character Complete! Congratulations! You've finished the pixel character. Of course, now you can make more of these, or tackle something like your favorite rock band or a group of characters you like from TV or film, or pixel yourself or your friends, etc. /////////////////////////////////////////// Barber & Osgerby Design New Tiles for Mutina (Design Milk) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 09:00 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&edburner&utm_medium=email Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby created two new, indoor/outdoor tile collections for Mutina that give the user creative control to design a unique space thanks to the endless combinations the tiles afford. Both designs are bold and were inspired by experiments with geometry, color, patterns, and versatility. Take a look and imagine what can be created! Puzzle is a collection of tiles that turn simple geometric shapes into an infinite array of puzzle-like patterns on your walls and floors. Depending on how theyre laid out and what colors are used, the results can be simple tone-on-tone or a more dramatic, graphic pattern. Solid tiles can be mixed in to produce moments of calm or the bolder, geometric ones can become what looks like abstracted maps. The collection includes eight chromatic families where neutral colours represent the Northern Isles of Faroe, Gotland, Aland, Anglesey and Skye and the warmer, brighter shades are associated with the Mediterranean Islands of Creta, Milos and Murano. Within each of these families, there is a composition of six graphic patterns in three colors, a set of two symmetrical patterns in two colors called Edge, and three solid color variations. The Mistral collection is a design based on terracotta tiles found on ancient Italian barns and farm buildings that are placed on their ends to help with natural ventilation. The louvre-like design both protects and reveals views, while also affecting light and shade through its three-dimensional shape. The tiles can be used in various ways to build walls or sunscreens that have a sculptural feel. Both collections debuted during Salone del Mobile 2016. /////////////////////////////////////////// 8 Gadgets Designed To Rebalance Our Relationship With Technology (Co.Design) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 09:00 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&gned-to-rebalance-our-relationship-with-technology?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Cult Swiss consumer electronics maker Punkt has been trying to elevate the standard of design in home gadgetry since its inception. As part of that mission, the Lugano-based firm has regularly teamed up with design schools and universities, such as the Royal College of Art in the U.K. or the University of Art and Design in Basel, to maintain links with new generations of designers, and keep itself open to fresh ideas. This year, Punkt partnered with cole cantonale d'art de Lausanne (ECAL) to give common home electronics more human-centric designs. Finished designs include an e-ink weather station, a printer you hang on your wall like a painting, a clock that is designed to fit in the corner of your room, and a hexagonal projector that can throw images anywhere. The thesis: Gadgets should be subservient to humans, not their masters. The partnership started in September, when Punkt founder Petter Neby addressed Lausanne's Master Product Design class. He challenged them to design new types of gadgets that could rebalance people's relationship with technology, by addressing problems such as gadgets with too many functions and the day-to-day stress of being too jacked into the Internet. But Neby's goal wasn't just to design pie-in-the-sky gadgets that could never be manufactured at scale; he also taught ECAL's students about the supply chain realities of creating new hardware. The eight products that came out of the year-long collaboration aren't Punkt products yet, but they very well could be included in future catalogs. In addition to the prototypes listed above, the collection includes a flashlight that can double as a table lamp; a digital camera that strips away the lens finders and screens of modern digital cameras to keep photographers focused on the here-and-now; an extension cord that automatically retracts so as to only give you as much cable as you need; and an Internet radio that allows users to tune to new stations as easily as turning the hands on a clock. According to Nebby, keeping an open mind to ideas from up-and-coming design students is part of what helps Punkt succeed as a niche electronics maker. "It's always good to maintain links with each new generation of designers," he says in a statement. "It keeps our business fresh, which is good for us, but I do also believe that companies have a duty to contribute to the education of people they will eventually be wanting to employ." You can read more about the ECAL designers who collaborated with Punkt and their prototypes here. /////////////////////////////////////////// Brad Troemel: Aluminum Ant Hills and Plantable Paper (Design Milk) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 08:00 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&edburner&utm_medium=email Artist Brad Troemel loves ants and internet tutorials. For his current exhibition at Feuer/Mesler Gallery in New York, Brad created sculptures using a variety of Pinterest-learned skills, including casting underground ant colonies from DIY forged aluminum, creating handmade paper that can grow a garden, baking gingerbread for a few thousand cockroaches (Ill spare you the detail shots of that one), and growing psychedelic mushrooms!!! The results are all on display, and its beautifully bizarre. Ethical No Kill Inactive Black Ant Mound Ethical No Kill Inactive Black Ant Mound Ethical No Kill Inactive Black Ant Mound Ethical No Kill Inactive Black Ant Mound My favorite sculptures are the aluminum castings of real abandoned ant colonies. Ive personally lost over two total hours watching molten metal poured into ant hills on YouTube (which is likely where Troemel learned the craft), but to see these upside-down insect-aided sculptures in person is incredible. As the titles suggest, no ants were harmed. Security Sliding Frame and Silk Road Mushrooms (Gentiana), 2016 Security Sliding Frame and Silk Road Mushrooms (Himalayan Cinquefoil), 2016 Security Sliding Frame and Silk Road Mushrooms (Himalayan Gloxinia), 2016 In a separate room, Troemel learned the craft of growing psilocybin mushrooms (aka "shrooms") and building "security frames" in which to hide them. Even before I knew what these dried fungi were, I loved the visual poetry of the calligraphic dried mushrooms juxtaposed with the colorful images of flowers, and the idea that this poetry would still work if the frames were closed after seeing them. The "silk road" reference in the title likely refers to the online black market where these could have been acquired, and is the only indication of what kind of mushrooms these actually are. The name in parenthesis is the flower that hides them. On a side note: In researching the legality of psilocybin mushrooms, it seems that shrooms are illegal to possess, sell, or transport in the US, but "most states" allow the cultivation, and purchase of spores/kits (Design Milk does not condone the purchase or cultivation of psychedelic mushrooms - please consult the laws in your home state). Handmade Plantable Paper (Pink, white, green, yellow, purple, blue) with Tulips, (Tag Floppity) Beanie Babies, and 25 Roll AOCS Copper, 2016 Handmade Plantable Paper (Purple, Pink, White) with Tulips, ( Tobasco, and Rare Error Tag Floppity) Beanie Babies, and 25 Roll AOCS Copper, 2016 Handmade Plantable Paper (Purple, Pink, White) with Tulips, ( Tobasco, and Rare Error Tag Floppity) Beanie Babies, and 25 Roll AOCS Copper, (detail) Also featured are large sheets of handmade paper embedded with seeds. Discovering the idea on Pinterest, Brad adapted the method to make plantable art. Dormant on the walls, each will grow a garden if placed on wet soil. A previous exhibition of his paper works at Loyal Gallery in Sweden included this demonstration of the paper in action, in the middle of the gallery. Two other series take a slightly more disturbing turn. A dozen "time out dolls" lean against a wall. The sculptures are cute, but I had NO idea that "time out dolls" were an actual thing, or that there is an entire community of makers/collectors. I do appreciate that these anonymous shamed children are in the same room with the shrooms. Installation at Feuer/Mesler Installation at Feuer/Mesler Finally visitors with a fear of roaches should not linger at the candy. Two facades of gingerbread houses are sealed in plexiglass boxes, that also contain 1500 roaches each. On display, the insects remain motionless until (so I was told) the gallery staff drops in a couple chunks of fruit. Having already visited the gallery twice now, its fun to check back on their "progress". I just hope the roaches dont escape to the other room to eat the paper. So far so good. My enjoyment of this show for me is similar to the experience of surfing Pinterest (except REAL beautiful things in REAL space). It is about things you could do, ideas you love but are not sure how you found, and the hope of repurposing: of metal, vacated ant hills, paper garbage, fabric scraps and ideas themselves. BONUS: Brad has requested that you follow him on Instagram. He explains the reason perfectly in the first paragraph of the exhibition press release which also ends with a full list of everything he learned on Pinterest to create the works in this show. Its worth a read. What: Brad Troemel: New and Handmade By Me Where: Feuer/Mesler Gallery, 319 Grand St, 2nd Floor, NYC When: April 3 - May 8, 2016 All images courtesy of Feuer/Mesler, New York Detail images of ant tunnels photographed by the author, David Behringer. /////////////////////////////////////////// It Turns Out It's Almost Impossible To Draw A Bicycle (Co.Design) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 08:00 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&ts-almost-impossible-to-draw-a-bicycle?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Quick. Draw a bike. Don't look at one first, just draw one. Done? Okay, now step back and look at your bike. It's total garbage, isn't it? It's not just you. Turns out that basically no human being on the planet can accurately draw a bicycle. At least, that's what the non-scientific evidence of Italian designer Gianluca Gimini suggests. For years, as part of his Velocipedia project, Gimini has been asking friends, acquaintances, and random strangers to draw a bike. Then he uses the drawings as blueprints for some truly comedic 3-D mockups. They hilariously emphasize just how poor our basic understanding of simple mechanics really is. Gimini, who has collected hundreds of bike drawings, says people tend to get the same things wrong every time. They'll get the general shape of a bike right-two wheels, some handlebars, a pair of pedals, and a crossbeam-but they usually whiff on the chain and gear assembly, the part of the bike that, you know, actually makes it work. "Some people attach the chain to the front wheel, or stretch it between the front and rear wheels," he says. Another common issue is that people tend to draw parts of the frame attached to the hub of the front wheel, making the bike they're drawing unsteerable. This is the sort of mistake that might not be obvious when making a 2-D drawing, but which people can see right away when it's turned into a 3-D model. The Velocipedia project started in 2009, when Gimini was reminiscing to a friend about a kid he knew in school who was asked by his teacher how a bike worked. "The poor kid panicked," Gimini remembers. "He couldn't even remember if the driving wheel was the front or the rear one." Gimini's friend laughed at the story, disbelieving that anyone who had ridden bikes could be ignorant of how they work. So Gimini challenged him to draw one on a napkin. Like Gimini's old school chum, his friend spectacularly failed. "That was when I collected bike drawings." Since then, Gimini has collected 376 bike drawings, mostly from friends but also from strangers as part of events like the Venice Biennale and Milan Design Week. He estimates that only about one out of four people can draw a bike that would actually be rideable on the first try. Although everyone is asked to draw a standard men's bicycle, Gimini observes that men and women tend to focus on different details. "Drawings by women are richer in mudguards, bells, and lights, while male subjects tend to over-complicate the frame," he says, while also noting: "I am perfectly aware that 376 drawings isn't a significant statistical sample size." So why can't people draw bikes? Gimini says he still doesn't know. "Anyone can spot the mistakes on other people's bicycles, but when asked to draw one, subjects usually end up making the exact same errors," he says. "It's like our brains shut down in panic." /////////////////////////////////////////// Shante?s Story: A Mother of 4 Empowering Herself to Become a WordPress Developer (Vitamin Master Feed) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 08:00 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&mother-4-empowering-become-wordpress-developer?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email A few months ago, Shante was a stay at home mom of four who decided she wanted more for herself and her family and to change their lives for the better. In the past Shante worked in customer service and marketing where shed been introduced to her love for technology. The experience encouraged Shante to pursue a career in tech so she began dedicating time each day to learning to code. Shantes hard work is already paying off as today she is coding with confidence and excelling towards her career goal of being a freelance WordPress developer. We asked Shante to share her experience and plans for the future with the community. "What made me pursue my education with Treehouse is the need for change in my life, I wanted more for myself and my family, I wanted to do something that would change our lives for the better." What first encouraged you to learn to code and pursue a career in the tech industry? Ive always had an interest in the internet, the tech industry and how it all works. I then became fascinated with websites and how they were created and after a while, I had the desire and need to learn more. What work were you doing when you first joined Treehouse and what encouraged you to learn with us? Before I began learning with Treehouse I was a stay at home mom and before that, I was a customer service representative and Ive also worked in the wireless communications industry. Ive also done a little marketing as well. What made me pursue my education with Treehouse is the need for change in my life, I wanted more for myself and my family, I wanted to do something that would change our lives for the better. What has the value of a Treehouse education meant to you? Treehouse courses have helped me code with confidence and have more confidence in myself in this journey to pursue my career goals. It hasnt been easy and I knew that when I began. Im always up for a challenge, but Treehouse makes it fun. Whats up next on your learning path? Next, I will be learning PHP. Ive got major WordPress skills and Im ready to put them to use. I want to be a freelance WordPress developer and Im currently working on my portfolio. I cant wait till its finished! What are your go-to resources for coding inspiration or motivation? My go-to resources are everything. I use every resource that is available, blogs, courses, books, and ebooks. Google has been my BFF for a long time. Also, Facebook groups have helped me link up with others with the same career goals and interests. "To anyone that wants to learn to code, Id say go for it and dont let anything stand in your way. Click To Tweet Do you have any advice youd like to share with students who are just starting out? To anyone that wants to pursue learning how to code, Id say go for it and dont let anything stand in your way. Have fun, love what you do and be the best at it. The post Shantes Story: A Mother of 4 Empowering Herself to Become a WordPress Developer appeared first on Treehouse Blog. /////////////////////////////////////////// A Look Back At The Process Of Building One World Trade Center (Co.Design) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 07:30 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&-the-process-of-building-one-world-trade-center?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Author and architecture writer Judith Dupr has been writing about the World Trade Center since the early 1990s. She researched the Twin Towers for her 2013 book Skyscrapers and covered the 9/11 memorial in her subsequent book Monuments. Before that, she was a longtime resident of the surrounding neighborhood, and was part of the team that developed the nearby World Financial Center (now Brookfield Place). Which is why three years ago, Dupr felt it was the natural next step to embark on her new book, One World Trade Center: Biography of the Building, focusing on the colossal 1,776-foot-tall skyscraper and the embattled, decade-long planning and development process. A year and a half after the controversial building opened to tepid reviews, Dupr's book gathers 250 images and interviews with over 70 people who worked on the project in an attempt to tell the full story of how the building came to be. An "authorized biography" of the building written with the cooperation of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (the building's developer), One World Trade Center takes a decidedly pro-building approach. It's best read as a recap of everything that happened over the 12 years the building was being developed; a timeline in the front takes readers the full way through-from Mayor Giuliani's vow to rebuild the site to David Libeskind's original Freedom Tower design, to the final building built Skidmore Owings and Merrill partner David Childs. The book details the building's architectural and engineering challenges, as as well as the rigid safety regulations designed to protect it. For example, the reinforced concrete core in One World Trade-along with its neighbor Seven World Trade-changed the way New York unions erect skyscrapers today. "The core is the most significant technological leap forward in how buildings in New York City are designed today," Dupr writes in the book. "The thing that is singular about One World trade Center is it had almost an impossible obligation," Dupr tells Co.Design. "It had to stand tall and be a symbol of all that was lost and reclaimed after 9/11 but it had to do that without showing any arrogance or hubris." One World Trade Center by Judith Dupr goes on sale Tuesday, April 26. All Photos: courtesy Hachette Book Group /////////////////////////////////////////// This Fund Will Invest In Startups That Aren't Run By White Men In Big Cities (Co.Design) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 07:15 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&-invest-in-startups-that-arent-run-by-white-men-in-big-cities?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Between 2011 and 2013, companies with a female CEO got only 3% of the total venture capital dollars available. That's $1.5 billion out of the total $50.8 billion invested in that two year period-a tiny slice of the pie. This year's Crunchies, the Oscars for the tech community, had a new award category: the Diversity Include Award. Silicon Valley is as guilty as Hollywood for its lack of diversity. "This economic engine has been defined by white males, and mostly privileged white males." Jean Case, CEO of the Case Foundation, is keen to change that dynamic. That's why she's backing a new $10 million fund, the Focus Fund, for women and minority entrepreneurs, led by JumpStart Inc., an Ohio-based nonprofit that helps tech entrepreneurs find capital and resources to grow their businesses. The fund will make investments in approximately 20 tech startups that are led by either a woman or a minority of African-American or Latino descent. But this is not affirmative action for the startup world, Case says. Diversity comes in all shapes and sizes: race, gender, background, geography. Her husband, Steve Case, founder of AOL, has been running a program, Rise of the Rest, that hits at geographic inequalities by investing in startups beyond Silicon Valley and New York City. What many are lacking, Case says, is access to financial and social capital. Simply put: they need money and networks. "This economic engine has been defined by white males, and mostly privileged white males," she says. "We love Mark Zuckerberg, we love what he's done with Facebook but he happened to have rich friends across the hall at Harvard. We love Sergey and Larry, but they had Stanford." Talent may be evenly distributed, she explains, but opportunity is not, which is why funds such as this one are making a concerted effort to target specific demographics. The Focus Fund made its first call for business plans in January. They've been inundated with hundreds of applications, says Ray Leach, CEO of JumpStart Inc. "There's pretty significant demand. We weren't sure what the response would be." JumpStart will select about 20 companies and invest an average of $500,000 in each, ranging anywhere from $250,000 to $600,000 depending on the company's needs. Since this is a public-private fund, with the state of Ohio pumping money into it as well, JumpStart has committed to making all the investments in 36 months, starting this spring. The Focus Fund, however, is a drop in the bucket, given that $58.8 billion of venture capital was dispersed in 2015. Leach agrees: "Ten million dollars in the grand scheme of things should not be all that meaningful, but the fact that it is says something. Hopefully this will get other folks focused on this market segment." There is one caveat: Entrepreneurs who receive funding will have to relocate to Ohio to participate in the program. JumpStart is based in Cleveland but entrepreneurs can relocate to any city in the state. Could that be a deal-killer? "We don't want people to move to Ohio for $500k," Leach says. "People don't realize that there's great resources for tech entrepreneurs in Ohio. We want them to move because there's an entrepreneurial ecosystem here that can help their tech company." JumpStart itself has provided nearly $33 million in capital-from foundations, corporations, and state government money earmarked for helping entrepreneurs-to 82 startups in the state. These ventures, reportedly, have gone on to raise more than $680 million. And Jumpstart, Leach says, has been at the forefront of inclusivity: Their original portfolio had nearly one-third investments in minority or female-owned companies. CardioInsight is a perfect example. The medical device company received $600,000 from JumpStart in 2005. Ten years later, medtech giant Medtronic acquired it in a deal estimated at $90 million. CardioInsight is a woman-led company, founded by Charu Ramanathan, a biomedical engineer. "Ten million dollars in the grand scheme of things should not be all that meaningful, but the fact that it is says something." Leach himself has become an activist on diversity in tech and he chairs a task force at the National Venture Capital Association on the topic. He first met Steve Case when the two worked together on the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, early in the Obama Administration. The two kept in touch and Steve visited Cleveland and JumpStart in 2011. "We've been looking at this issue for a long time," Leach says. "Now people are beginning to pay attention to it. But it may take another three years, or even 10 years, for diversity to become a part of the game." Data on the demographics of the venture capital industry is still limited and difficult to navigate. A three-month study conducted by The Information and VC firm Social Capital found that the investment community is quite lopsided: "less than one percent of senior VCs involved in investment decision are Black-four of 552 people. And only 1.3% are Hispanic." The study goes on to note that 92% of senior investment teams at the top venture capital firms are male, and furthermore, 78% are white. How does this impact their investments? Diversity in the makeup of a company can breed a more successful venture, Leach says. He cites a McKinsey study that found that companies with high racial and ethnic diversity "are 35% more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry means." Yet, the general theory in the venture world, Leach notes, is that any limitation of geographic, or demographic, has a negative impact on returns. "We don't believe that's the case. But in three or four years, we'll have a better answer when we can point to an example. Hence, the fund." /////////////////////////////////////////// Sculpted, Mixed Material Bags Inspired By Dreams (Design Milk) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 07:00 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&edburner&utm_medium=email Angela Sum, an engineer turned Project Runway alum, recently launched her namesake line, sum. Focusing on slow, timeless fashion rather than trends, she believes in functional objects that are still stylish and unexpected. sums debut collection consists of luxurious, draped bags made of soft, washed cottons and linens mixed with velvety, full grain leathers. Both casual yet sculptural at the same time, the accessories are distinct pieces that go with your everyday outfits. Their effortless style, inspired by the free-spirited nature of dreams, maintains that theyll look classic season after season, with styles relevant despite the passage of trends. With a long family history in apparel manufacturing, Angela grew up working along them. As a result, she seeks to partner only with manufacturers that maintain the same ethical and quality practices she herself embodies. Support the collection on Kickstarter here. /////////////////////////////////////////// Fatboy Launches a Charming, Wireless Indoor/Outdoor Lamp (Design Milk) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 06:00 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&edburner&utm_medium=email Part of the latest round of new products from Fatboy, Lampie-on is a charming little lantern designed to work both indoors and out with the benefit of it being completely wireless. A hook at the top lets you hang it up for nights out on the patio without the inconvenience of needing to be plugged in. It comes with a charging base for when it needs to be charged. The regular version of Lampie-on is solid white, but they also make deluxe versions that feature shiny copper-colored details and decorative sleeves. /////////////////////////////////////////// Mike Davis Exhibits Surrealistic New Paintings in ?Ghosts of the Future? (Hi-Fructose Magazine) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 06:00 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&edburner&utm_medium=email Mike Davis has become well known for his brand of modern Surrealism with one foot in the past. Featured in Hi-Fructose Vol. 36 and here on our blog, Davis' works echo the style of the Northern Renaissance combined with his own personal symbolism; a blend of fantastical imagery, detailed landscapes, and illustrations of religious concepts and fairytale narratives. He uses obscure images of demons, half-human animals, Humpty Dumpty, and machines that evoke feelings of bliss, fear and even confusion.More /////////////////////////////////////////// See you soon NY Illustration by @ryotakemasa (The Fox Is Black) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 05:45 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&edburner&utm_medium=email via Instagram /////////////////////////////////////////// Sfrido Peeler (swissmiss) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 05:23 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email The shape of Sfrido is quite ap-peel-ing. No? /////////////////////////////////////////// The 6 Brands That Got It Right At Milan Design Week (Co.Design) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 04:00 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&hat-got-it-right-at-milan-design-week?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email The Milan Furniture Fair, Salone del Mobile, started 55 years ago as an industry trade show. It has since morphed into a citywide design festival about consumer products and experimental design. It is also a place for companies to flaunt their design cred-sometimes to their own peril. The great design journalist Alice Rawsthorn wrote last year that some installations have "unintentionally reinforced the popular stereotype of design as a superficial, stylistic tool steeped in consumerism." This year, however, many companies hit their stride and staged installations that did what good design does: told thoughtful stories. These were the best ones we visited. Lexus This year marks the fourth annual Lexus Design Awards. To complement the awards' experimental design projects, Japanese automaker enlisted Formafantasma, an Italian design duo based in Amsterdam, to orchestrate installations that spoke to Lexus's technical and stylistic innovations. Under the theme of "Anticipation," Formafantasma rigged a machine with colored thread to reveal the silhouette of Lexus's new concept car as it ascends. The idea brings viewers into the moment a design is conceived. In another section of the installation, the designers built kinetic sculptures powered by the automaker's hydrogen fuel cell technology. What the brand didn't do was force-feed statements about being committed to design or show car after car after car. The big-budget execution was elegant, informative, and more about experience than being told a pre-canned design story. Toyota For design week, Toyota played up the emotional attachment people have to their cars rather than an innovation angle. The company commissioned an all-wood roadster dubbed the Setsuna and wanted to convey the idea that cars-to some-are heirlooms. (Though let's be honest: The reality of getting a hand-me-down car from your grandparents probably means a clunker, not a vintage classic.) The material was unexpected and judging from the long wait to see it, a crowdpleaser. COS There wasn't a single garment of clothing in apparel brand COS's installation-its fourth annual project for Milan Design Week-but the space communicated what the architecturally inspired brand is all about. Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, a personal inspiration to COS's designers, built an interactive light forest. "When we approach the collaborators, we always look to who we admire and who inspires our work but also who we share some values and aesthetics with," Martin Andersson, head of menswear at COS, says. "It's easy to give them carte blanche to be themselves and to create." The gorgeous installation was composed of motion-activated spotlights that responded to people flowing through a mirrored room. "We talk a lot about how things feel in our collection," Karin Gustafsson, COS's head of womenswear, says. "How they feel to wear, how the fabric is to touch, the sound it makes. We really think so much more about the experience and the function of things than just the garment [itself]. That's also why we like these types of installations-they really make you feel something." Nike A fair celebrating furniture and interior design isn't the most obvious place for an athletic brand, but Nike managed to pull it off under the theme of "Nature in Motion." Paying homage to its history of innovation, the brand displayed some of its early 3-D printed shoe prototypes. Nike also invited six designers and design studios to explore the theme of movement. Some of the designers incorporated Nike's Flyknit material into their pieces, such as Martino Gamper's drumset and Bertjan Pot's seating series. Jotun Watching paint dry is boring as hell, so what's a paint company to do to engage people? Simple: create the perfect backdrop for designers. Jotun, a Norwegian paint company, sponsored Structure, an exhibition of contemporary Norwegian design that included furniture, utensils, lighting, and decorative objects set atop prismatic pedestals painted, naturally, in their product. Yoox.com Yoox, a luxury fashion e-commerce brand, invited contemporary designers to create works using traditional artisanal techniques such as enameled copper, alabaster carving, and lost-wax bronze casting. In addition to exhibiting the completed work, Yoox also filmed the laborious process behind each one. Does a papercraft house by Michele De Lucchi have much to do with selling a dress? Not directly. But the brands Yoox sells-Givenchy, Chlo, Dolce & Gabbana-are descended from couture fashion houses that are all about delicate handiwork and a sense that something was made by an individual. /////////////////////////////////////////// How Designers Are Helping HIV Researchers Find A Vaccine (Co.Design) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 04:00 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&are-helping-hiv-researchers-find-a-vaccine?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email The Collaboration for AIDS Vaccine Discovery (CAVD) consists of a group of labs across the world, all pooling their data with one goal in mind: to create an AIDS vaccine as fast as possible. But the theory of sharing vast amounts of data is easier than the practice. "The data sharing policy has been in place for a very long time . . . but it's hard to actually do that in a way that's not randomly sharing Excel files," says Nicole Frahm, CAVD member and associate professor at the University of Washington's department of global health. "Even though we all work together, sometimes were a little bit siloed." In response to the problem, the statistical analysis firm SCHARP-which crunches data for the group-developed a new platform called DataSpace, working with the design firm Artefact and with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. DataSpace is sort of like using one of those really nicely polished interactive data visualizations, but instead of just mining one big source of data, researchers can actually compare the results of many different scientific studies at once, rearranging patients from different trials into one simulated study. In turn, they can instantly chart how patients across studies responded to the same drug-with all the data rendered on a perfectly articulated graph with the same timelines. "We've already harmonized the data . . . we've lined everything up, put it in the space, made it so you could ask questions you didn't set out to ask," says Dave McColgin, UX design director at Artefact. "You can sort of stumble into additional questions, if that makes sense." Frahm, who worked with Artefact in the early rollout of DataSpace, refers to the platform as a hypothesis engine. While it's hard to see in these screens, everything is linked, as if you're surfing Wikipedia and can continually do a deeper and deeper dive on a subject. The secret sauce is that aforementioned data harmonization. Artefact learned which sorts of data points were most helpful in HIV research from scientists, and, working with LabKey and SCHARP, hand-coded that data into the back-end of DataSpace so they could be easily correlated and compared. Basically, the graphs are nice-but the real magic of the platform is thanks to the invisible labor ensuring all study results were presented in the same apples-to-apples figures. DataSpace's primary goal is to surface the data hiding in published papers, making it more accessible and comparable at the same time. But what about all the papers that don't make it to journals for whatever reason? DataSpace's even greater contribution could be as a venue to share raw data that, just because it lacks an earth-shattering discovery or conclusion, wouldn't be published and made public. "Our currency in science is publications, so you have to get publications out," Frahm says. The problem is that to publish something in a journal, you need results-in this case, proof that a potential HIV vaccine made some measurable impact on the virus's spread. Because they aren't published, all of those failed studies-the funded research in which scientists spent valuable time and money learning some vaccines didn't work-may be duplicated by another lab making the same mistakes. "People won't publish things with negative results," Frahm says, referring to the long-standing phenomenon known as publication bias. "People won't publish that information, and that's data that could be uploaded into the system." DataSpace, specifically because it's not a platform for scientific papers but for data itself, could be a collection point for all of the studies generating null results. For now, DataSpace is built only with a select set of CAVD data. In the future, however, Artefact imagines it could serve researchers across medical disciplines. "We've learned from people working on tuberculosis or malaria, you want to be able to compare those studies or tests," McColgin says. "We think the basic patterns of how data is organized . . . are all in common with other diseases." /////////////////////////////////////////// The True Story Of Milton Glaser's Best Client (Co.Design) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 04:00 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&-of-milton-glasers-greatest-client?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Enter The 2016 Innovation By Design Awards now through May 5! In 1986, Brooklyn Brewery founder Steve Hindy was on the hunt for the right designer to create an identity for his startup brewery. He interviewed dozens of firms, but none of them clicked-until he met Milton Glaser, the impresario behind the "I NY" logo and slogan, New York magazine's identity, and that Bob Dylan poster. "Why sell a bird when you've got the whole borough?" Glaser told Hindy about the proposed name, Brooklyn Eagle Beer, in honor of the famous newspaper once edited by Walt Whitman. That frank talk started a nearly three-decades-long business relationship that has made Glaser a rich man. Unable to pay Glaser's design fee, Brooklyn Brewery offered the designer a stake in the company. Today, that stake is "worth millions," Hindy says, though the brewery declined to state its valuation. ("Investors are paying very high prices for craft breweries smaller than Brooklyn Brewery-hundreds of millions of dollars," Hindy told Co.Design, "but the only way to get those kind of valuations is to sell, and my partners and I have no interest in selling Brooklyn.") And the designer-client partnership continues as Brooklyn Brewery releases a packaging redesign that balances fidelity to the brand with a bolder look. The struggle for companies to stay relevant is more difficult than ever. To keep up with the pace of new product and brand launches, the unforgiving news cycle, and ever-changing consumer trends, companies hire of-the-moment creative agencies to refresh their visual identities. That Brooklyn Brewery and Milton Glaser have been collaborating for longer than many brands have been around-let alone have worked with a single agency-is a rarity these days. We spoke to Glaser and Hindy at Glaser's Manhattan studio about the beer and branding business, how their partnership began, how it's grown and evolved over the years, and the value of collaborating with a friend. The Start Of A Long Friendship Before Hindy opened Brooklyn Brewery in 1987 with cofounder Tom Potter (who retired and sold his shares in 2003), he was an AP correspondent stationed in the Middle East. In the 1980s, craft beer wasn't the $22 billion business that it is today. It was still mostly independent brewers for whom brewing was a hobby that turned into a business. The beer labels and logos were, similarly, homespun and often drawn up by a friend. Hindy wasn't a designer or artist and decided to enlist the services of a professional agency to create an identity for his product. Hindy set up calls and meetings with more than 30 different firms. "Most of them were trying to sell me on their view of the world and they were flattering me," Hindy says. "They were telling me, 'This is a brilliant idea, we want to do it.'" One designer that Hindy hadn't spoken with at this point was Glaser, who wouldn't take his calls. After repeatedly contacting the office, Hindy finally wore down Glaser's secretary and got him on the line. The designer agreed to a meeting. "Milton was the first designer I talked to who had a very firm idea of where to go with this [brand]," Hindy says. "I knew I wasn't a genius. I had no experience in the beer business, but it just rang true to me when he said forget the bird, you've got Brooklyn here. That was not a very popular view 30 years ago." Brooklyn Brewery's logo was informed by classic German beer labels-a conscious move by Glaser to give the upstart brand authority and credibility by linking it to the history of beer making. The bold script used to render the "B" at the logo's center was meant to evoke a swirl of foam and give it a friendly persona. "Things should be clear enough to be understandable and, in the end, slightly deviant enough to be different than everybody else-that's kind of a funny line to walk," Glaser says. "The ornamental quality made it look like you were paying attention to what you were doing and the fact that it was controlled complexity made it look as if it's a quality element that wasn't just made in the cellar, but it was made by people who knew what they were doing . . . We didn't want it to look like any of the other craft beer or for it to look amateurish, like, 'We did it in the basement and designed it in the basement and that's why it tastes authentic.'" In the initial consultation, Hindy had a couple ideas of what he wanted the brand to evoke. "I said Milton, I want the Brooklyn Bridge, I want the Dodgers, I want every guy in Brooklyn to want to get this tattooed on his arm," Hindy says. "And Milton said, 'Save something for me to do!'" Glaser unveiled the logo two or three days after their first meeting. "I looked at it and said, 'That's it?!'" Hindy recalls. Glaser told him to take the logo home, show it to his wife, live with it for a bit, and then come back to his office. "Eventually I thought, yeah, it kind of evokes the Dodgers, but it's not some smarmy nostalgic thing," Hindy says. "I recognized this as really cool and fresh-a whole new image for Brooklyn. Thanks in part Glaser's design work, Hindy and Potter were able to establish legitimacy for their business and raise $500,000 to get their operation up and running. "[The identity] has turned out to be an incredible winner for us, and overseas too," Hindy says. "Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, all our competitors sell overseas, and we outsell them and I think it's got to do with the name and the branding." For Love-And Money Hindy respected Glaser and his work from the outset. Likewise, Glaser believed in what Hindy and Potter were doing strongly enough that he waived his regular fee and agreed to take a 5% stake in the business instead. Before modern companies like Apple and Airbnb preached the virtues of a design-led business, Brooklyn Brewery had one of the most respected designers as part owner. Glaser's relationship with the brand was far beyond a hired gun. He became a trusted advisor and friend to Hindy over the years. To this day, the two have lunch together almost weekly. "The great secret that can't be overlooked is the personal relationship you have with whomever you're working with-a sense of commonality and affection," Glaser says. "The work that would be most significant in my life came from this sense of mutuality, being in the same boat, trying to achieve the same results. If it's not based on a personal affinity, it doesn't go so far. In my life, every accomplishment I have has been based on some kind of personal relationship that went beyond business practice." While Glaser says financial gain hasn't been his motivation, he's proud of Brooklyn Brewery's success over the years and shaping its strategy during a time when the borough's reputation wasn't the marketing machine that it is today. "From the beginning, I had great respect for Milton and for his point of view-he saved us many times from detours in our focus on design," Hindy says. "It wasn't easy in the beginning, we had difficulty selling the beer. People didn't understand this hoppy beer, this dark beer. Everyone said, 'Why aren't you making beer like Heineken or Budweiser?' I remember once I came to Milton and said, 'I think we need to develop another brand. I used to make this beer at home called Chocolate Stout so what if we did 'Hindy's Chocolate Stout?' Milton said, 'No, no, no-you gotta stick with Brooklyn here." Keeping The Faith Brooklyn Brewery was far from an overnight success. "Our brand did not take off in the beginning," Hindy says. "It took off on our backs. We pushed it up the hill and it rolled back, we pushed it up again. It was very difficult." Still, he kept with the identity and branding, which took hold with international consumers before locals. Importers from Japan, Italy, and Sweden loved the Brooklyn branding and persuaded Hindy to sell to them. His only condition was to pay upfront-not a traditional wholesale model. "What I was thinking was, 'I can't sell this shit in Brooklyn! You want to sell this in Japan?!'" Hindy recalls. Now the company has full-time employees overseas. Over the years, pressures to refresh or change have creeped into the business, but Hindy has maintained faith in Glaser's expertise. "We've had so many people who came on staff and wanted to design brands for us," Hindy says. "They had 'ideas.' When you go to your doctor and your doctor tells you what you need to do, you don't say, 'No, no, I think we should do something different.' We trust our designer the way you trust your doctor and that's hard for people on staff to accept. Everyone thinks they're a designer. Everyone has ideas, but I think it's been so important to have a guiding intelligence in our brand. Milton has spent his whole life doing this and he's pretty good at it. He's kept us on the straight and narrow over many years." Traditional advertising isn't part of Brooklyn Brewery's business model. Rather, it relies on word of mouth. In the early days, the company didn't have the budget for television commercials or radio spots so they decided to donate beer to nonprofits and art organizations around Brooklyn for openings and fundraisers. "People would have the beer in their hands and they knew the connection with Milton," Hindy says. "That was not a fast way to sell beer, but a very sure way and a way that I think built a tremendous amount of good will." In some ways, maintaining a consistent brand identity has helped its equity since it's so dependent on instant recognition. Today, the company has the budget for advertising but still relies on a similar strategy, though now the word-of-mouth angle is amplified through social media. Growing With The Brand Over the years, Glaser has designed every single label and identity for Brooklyn Brewery's new beers. Hindy and brewmaster Garrett Oliver make a beer, come up with a name, and head to Glaser to come up with a graphic concept. Every year the brewery debuts at least 10 new beers-some limited edition, some that make it into the perennial offerings-and 2016 marks its 29th year selling beers. That's amounted to hundreds of labels by Glaser. Recently, the brewery decided it was time to do a packaging refresh to help boost sales. (Business is still healthy, Hindy says, and in the past five years profits have been growing by at least 15% annually.) "The problem with an old product is when you have to revive it, when it becomes invisible because you've seen it so often," Glaser says. "What you basically have to do to make people pay attention again and that time arrived." The original boxes were extensions of the beer's label. Now, the boxes riff on the brewery's logo, which wraps around the boxes' corners and features the beer type in sans-serif capital letters smack dab in the center. One of the challenges with merchandising is the brewery has no control over how an individual store stocks its shelves-they could place the beer with the long or short side facing out or group individual types separately from the rest, which isn't impactful visually. "All brewers are looking for what you call the billboard effect," Hindy says. "You want your beers in one place taking up as much eye space as you can." When two boxes are placed next to each other, the logo "completes" itself. Moreover, the change in packaging reflects the brand's growth. It's making more beers every year and the new packaging's consistency works on every type of beer. It's simplifying the packaging's language and making it easier to build upon. Each of the beers has a different colorway-black and green for Brooklyn Lager, red and gold for Sorachi Ace, red and blue for American Ale-and when the boxes are placed next to each other, they looks vibrant from a color perspective but still legible since the graphics on each box are the same. "He wanted to have a stronger presence in the market itself," Glaser says. "It's no longer thinking about a single six-pack in a little specialty shop. It's now thinking about major displays and the opportunity you might have to see if you could develop something that could reflect the expansion of the brand and its new position. It's in a very different position in the world of beer than it ever has been," Glaser says. "Milton will be 87 this year. I swear, the work he's done for us in the last seven years is some of the most amazing work, and the refresh really caps it off," Hindy says. "It's really quite incredible-he's pretty good at this." "The neurons are still connected," Glaser adds without missing a beat. All Images: courtesy Brooklyn Brewery /////////////////////////////////////////// Illustrator in 60 Seconds: How to Use the Appearance Panel (Psdtuts+) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 03:12 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&-60-seconds-how-to-use-the-appearance-panel--cms-26212?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Welcome to our Illustrator in 60 Seconds series, in which you can learn an Illustrator skill, feature, or technique in just a minute! The Appearance Panel Keeping track of your artwork's appearance can sometimes prove to be a tedious task, especially if you have a lot of visual effects. Luckily for us, Illustrator comes with a central hub from where we can easily edit and adjust all of these effects on the fly. If you've never used the feature before, I strongly advise you give this little video a go since it will show you all the basics that you need to be aware of in order to start using the Appearance panel. A Bit More Detail Learn more about Adobe Illustrator on Envato Tuts+:10 Illustrator Tools Every Designer Should Be UsingHow to Scale Icons Correctly in Adobe IllustratorComparing Two Methods for Creating Line Icons: Offset Paths vs. Strokes60 Seconds?! This is part of a series of quick video tutorials on Envato Tuts+ in which we introduce a range of subjects, all in 60 seconds-just enough to whet your appetite. Let us know in the comments what you thought of this video and what else you'd like to see explained in 60 seconds! /////////////////////////////////////////// "I go from analogue, to digital, then back to analogue" - Irma Boom on creating unique books (It's Nice That) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 02:00 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&wiggins-tooled-up-200416?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email To mark the launch of the digital version of Arjowiggins Paper Book we have partnered with the creative papers manufacturer for a series of features on designers and the tools that are essential to their practice. From the technical to the unexpected, classic to cutting-edge, their toolkits include everything from French curves and rolling-rulers to 3D printers. Over the this series weve been sharing insight into the work of photographer and image-maker Carl Kleiner, renowned graphic designer George Hardie and Prague-based collective Studio Mtanta. The project is a celebration of the tools behind diverse approaches to design and photography. Read more /////////////////////////////////////////// Moderation (swissmiss) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 01:57 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&l?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email "Having small touches of colour makes it more colourful than having the whole thing in colour." - Dieter Rams /////////////////////////////////////////// Scented Tattly ? The Perennial Set (swissmiss) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 01:50 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&-the-perennial-set.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email I can barely contain my excitement over the launch of Tattlys first scented tattoos. The Perennial Set launched yesterday, featuring sumptuous florals by French watercolor artist Vincent Jeannerot. Their unique fragrance was created in collaboration with Agilex Fragrances, and includes notes of Dewy Fuchsia Petals, Pink Poppies, Ylang Ylang, and Poplar Wood. Next time, instead of a bouquet of flowers for that special someone, bring a Perennial Set instead. Work at a fragrance house or beauty company? We also do custom tattoos with fragrance. /////////////////////////////////////////// East London Comics Art Festival to span three days in Hackney with Jean Jullien-designed identity (It's Nice That) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 12:00 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&n-jullien-hackney-200416?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email This years East London Comics Art Festival (ELCAF) will take place over three days for the first time, and will boast an identity created by ELCAF 2016 artist-in-residence Jean Jullien. Read more /////////////////////////////////////////// Rome-based Andrea Chronopoulos? illustrations are quirky and a little bit cheeky (It's Nice That) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 12:00 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&oulos-200416?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Greece-born, Italy-based Andrea Chronopoulos portfolio is full of personal work and editorial illustrations for various Italian magazines. Andreas still finding his signature style and his work is reminiscent of other illustrators like Kyle Platts and Martina Paukova, yet the quirky and unusual situations he places his characters in offers something a little different. Read more /////////////////////////////////////////// Ad-busting, Bowie and controversial typefaces: a look at Jonathan Barnbrook's graphic design activism (It's Nice That) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 12:00 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&rook-adbusters-protest-anonymous-200416?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Jonathan Barnbrook needs little in the way of introduction. Since startlingly early in his career hes been one of the most well-known and revered graphic designers and typographers of the past three decades. One of his most recent design works, and undoubtedly most poignant, was creating the visual identity for David Bowies 2016 album (pronounced Blackstar). Read more /////////////////////////////////////////// Paul Smith?s Cycling Scrapbook is an ode to pedal power (It's Nice That) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 12:00 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&ling-scrapbook-200416?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Designer Paul Smiths love of cycling is no secret. His earliest dream was to become a professional cyclist, but an injury at the age of 17 curtailed his aspiration. Paul Smiths Cycling Scrapbook brings together the memorabilia and projects Paul has collected and worked on throughout his life. Read more /////////////////////////////////////////// Never design for yourself: Ken Kirton on how to co-design with a community (It's Nice That) Posted: 20 Apr 2016 12:00 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/&o-press-opinion-on-community-190416?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Ken Kirton, co-founder of Hato Press, thinks community is power when it comes to design. For Liverpool Biennial the agency will run workshops with secondary school children to design a public bus, and at this weeks Pick Me Up graphic arts festival - for which it co-designed the identity with members of the public - Ken will talk about the importance of community values in the creative world. Read more
