scary, the NYC health department just issued a ‘drinking water advisory’. Read it here!
NYPL Digital Gallery
The New York Public Library Gallery is a visual paradise… I could browse it all day – so much to be discovered. This image below just caught my attention: A color combination chart for layered clothing. Published in 1908
colorcell
Whenever I am in need of some ‘color-inspiration’ I go and visit Colorcell. Colorcell is my friend Ueli’s thesis project; a site that lets you create your own color-combinations that will be added to the living space, if people like it and vote for it, it will stay there, otherwise it will end up at the colorcell-cemetery. Some of my formerly created cells are there, may they rest in peace.
momomoogie
Check out the wonderful illustrations over at Momomoogie.
Yummy! Personal PDF Library
Oh my, I just spent half an hour browsing this impressive personalPDF Library. My desktop is covered in pdf’s now… Very resourceful. Thanks for the great find BB!
german – english
I wish we had these expressions in german:
“Cross the bridge once you get there!”
“You’re barking up the wrong tree!”
“My plate is full!”
“Let’s go dutch!”
“I had a card up my sleeve!”
“It was a typical catch 22!”
“He stopped cold turkey!”
They’ve become such an active part of my (english) vocabulary that I want to use them in german. Often times, when I hang out with my friend Vivien (a german chica living in NYC), we crack each other up by pointing out these “word by word english to german” translations. They can be *very* entertaining…
aesthetic apparatus
If you’re into silk-screen printing and cool designs, check out “Aesthetic Apparatus”. I’ve ordered many of their posters. Lov’ them!
‘mighty flirt’ find
“Zebrano wood cuff, hand crafted using a vacuum-forming technique common in furniture manufacturing, has a smooth surface and curved ends that gently wrap the wrist. Measuring 2.5″ wide and 6″ in length, the bracelet has a durable, clear non-toxic finish. Each selection from the bells&whistles collection is expertly crafted by designer Jason St. John.”
Found on ever fabulous Mighty Flirt!
genevieve gauckler
Genevieve Gauckler has been in my ‘inspirations bookmarks-folder’ for a looooong time. I am truly fascinated by her aesthetics and overall creativity. She’s on my list of people I’d love to have a coffee with one day. I’d even bake her a cake.
eames molded plastic rocker
I *love* this rocker from Charles Eames, available at the MoMA Store
“Designed in 1948 and first presented at The Museum of Modern Art in the International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture, the molded plastic chair was the first plastic chair to be mass-produced. The current models are an exact reproduction of the originals, with a clean, simple form that is sculpted to fit the body. The shell is manufactured using an environmentally friendly, high-impact plastic.”
sorry, we’re out of them!
SCENE: Me, standing at the register of the bridal gown place, about to take home my wedding gown (YAY!) asking the sales rep to hand me a garment bag so the alterations lady can wrap up my dress.
Me:
“I’d like to purchase a garment bag for my wedding gown!”
Sales Rep::
Looks at me and goes:
“Sorry we’re out of them!”
Turns around and walks away.
Me:
Huh? That’s VERY funny! Seriously now, I need a garment bag!”
Sales Rep
On her knees behind the counter, doing something, mumbling:
“I am not kidding, we’re out of them!”
Me:
Laughing out loud!
On a sidenote: this happened after I was initially told that I’ve already picked up my gown on June 13. HA HA! What else can you expect when shopping for a wedding gown out in Queens! Vivien and I got a good laugh out of it.
more than donuts
A blog I can’t stop reading: ‘More than donuts‘ – Her posts make me smile and I usually end up digging through her archives wanting to read more. Thank god KDUNK has been blogging since November 2001!
salvor fauna kids t-shirts
I *love* these kids T-Shirts from Salvor Fauna, you can purchase them throughVelocity! Now, if only I had a little junior to put it on… hmmm
(via design*sponge)
ragdoll
This is just plain weird (yet intruiging): RAGDOLL. Why in the world is she wearing a bikini? She should be wearing a helmet!
brainstore : the idea machine
Are you in an industry where you need to constantly generate ideas? Ever wondered if there is a specific process that will guarantee a good idea in the end? According to my fabulous friend Nadja Schnetzler, there is, and she’s written a book about it: “The Idea Machine: How ideas can be produced industrially” I’ve just finished reading it and it gave many clues.
Nadja Schnetzer and her husband Markus Mettler are well respected and known “Brains” in Switzerland.They’ve founded a buzzling idea-shop called Brainstore about 12 years ago, and now, see for yourself, their client list is impressive. You’ve might have heard of them as they have been written up in many of the big magazines here in the States.
I’ve worked with them on their ‘creative teams’ back when I was still residing in Europe. Their approach to generating ideas is absolutely refreshing and actually works!! They’ve come up with a thorough process of idea finding which is described here.
The thing I like the best about their shop is the fact, that everyone can walk in and ‘buy an idea’. Their ideas range from $10 up to a million. Every time I see Nadja I ask her about new Idea-Purchase stories and believe me, she has many. There’s the baker down the street that walked in and wanted an idea for a new croissant like pastry. Or there is the father who wanted to get an idea on how to get his daughters to spend less time on the phone and therefore lower his phone bill. Or, there are companies like Novartis walking in and asking for an idea for a new ‘functional food product’. The stories are endless. Read through their client list and what ideas they approached Brainstore for.
In her book, Nadja illustrates her idea-generating theory with numerous examples from her experiences as a co-founder and CEO of Brainstore. If you’re in an industry that demands fresh ideas, pick it up, it’s an interesting read. And if you’re ever in Biel (Switzerland), make sure to pop in at the Brainstore, these guys are fabulous. (Read the bios of the “Brains” who work there, you get a sense of what an unique company the Brainstore is!)
Yep, I am a huge fan of the Brainstore.
the rasterbator
Anyone tried the Rasterbator yet? It’s a nifty webapplication that creates huge, rasterized images from any picture. The rasterized images can be printed and assembled into posters up to 20 meters in size. The image you’re seeing is a screenshot of one of the 41pages pdf that Rasterbator created out of a portrait I uploaded.
Yay to Rasterbator!
robert adams
“Why do most great pictures look uncontrived? Why do photographers bother with the deception, especially since it so often requires the hardest work of all? The answer is, I think, that the deception is necessary if the goal of art is to be reached: only pictures that look as if they had been easily made can convincingly suggest that Beauty is commonplace.”
Robert Adams, ‘Beauty in Photography, Essays in Defence of Traditional Values’
(via s2art)
Is Not Magazine
Big. Even bigger than TV hits when you unfold the Home and Away fold-out, says John Safran. Is Not Magazine is a magazine in the form of a 1.5m x 2m bill poster. From April 9, 2005, it has been on display at 50 outdoor poster sites in inner-city Melbourne, and will soon appear at a café, bar, bookstore or laundromat near you. It’s a design challenge and a reading experiment; a paper saving device; a bastion of editorial complexity and a grey area for the discerning communal reader. It enriches public space and brings reading to life. Approach it from any angle; bend down curiously; lean in for a closer look; embark on a treasure hunt to find a story that ends in another location.
Wish I could see this. Wonderful idea!
(via Anarchitect)
shift of perspective
On the F train this morning:
Father to his little girl:
“We’re on the F train, the F stands for FFFFFFFun!
This is the FUN train! This is FUN!”
(me, and all the other dazed commuters were smirking, we’ll never look at the F train the same way again. Thanks “Dad!”)
what it was like as a kid
Last night, in the subway, a gentleman across from me, was reading a chinese newspaper. I sat there for the longest time, looking at it. (See picture below) The only non-chinese characters on the entire page were the letters “FBI”, in one of the big headlines, and the number “15”, in a smaller one. I tried to pay attention to what path my eyes were taking when screening the page. They constantly locked themselves onto the “FBI”. My eyes couldn’t make sense of all the strange chinese symbols and would always go back to the familiar. Interesting, how it was actually ‘exhausting’ to try to look at this page, make sense of it. I think my mind realized it was a newspaper, yet it wasn’t able to draw any information. It was fascinating for me, to look at the layout/design/color scheme from an entirely neutral perspective, I was not distracted by the content but looked at the page as ‘one big picture’. And I remdinded myself, that this must have been what it felt like, sitting across from my parents, when they were reading the newspaper. Once you learn how to read, you can not not read, it’s automatic. I sometimes wish I could turn it off, and just look at my designs as I am looking at this chinese newspaper.
This scene reminded me of a fairly humourus moment I experienced in Chinatown, about 5 years ago. I stumbled upon a little chinese pharmacy, where I ended up spending an hour looking at all the amazingly foreign drug designs. I fell in love with a little red box, featuring a portrait of a fairly important looking male. I grabbed 5 of them and walked up to the register. The lady briefly glanced at my selection, rose an eybrow, looked at me, and with a charming chinese accent she said: “You have no idea what you are buying, right!?” I nodded. “It’s laxative, he he he he!” I guffawed.
I brought the 5 wonderfully designed laxative packagings back to Switzerland, as a gift to my designer friends. Yep, they all got a kick out of it.
(my apologies for the blurry picture)
polaroid-o-nizer
My new addiction: Polaroid-o-nizer
(Thank you Michael!)
flickr : laliste
I’ve said it many times, and I will say it again: I LOVE FLICKR. It enabled me to connect with so many talented, visual people all around the globe. My latest find: Laliste (aka Angela). Her aesthetics resonnate with me and often times her photos generate a chuckle. For example this one. One of my latest additions to my favorites: 
Check out her Flickr Photo Blog
And her Personal Blog
(The tagline on her personal blog is just priceless: “Wenn man bloed genug ist, ist alles wie eine Wiese!” (Not sure if it will translate: “If you’re dumb enough, everything seems like a meadow.”
Keep it up Angela!
dévastée
Am fascinated by Dévastée’s Illustrations.
Here’s an example:
(via 990000)