florence tétier + johan besse: the kings & the queens.

This is cool shit. “The Kings & The Queens” is a series of haunting new work for “Magazine” created by Switzerland-based collaborators Florence Tétier and Johan Besse.

Via Today and Tomorrow

trollbäck + company: obama buttons.

I love the work from New York shop Trollbäck + Company. I love them even more for not being afraid to stand up for what they believe in. To show their support for Barack Obama, they created four series of campaign buttons with different Trollbäck designers contributing to each one.

Clean and modern (just like Obama himself…) each series of four buttons is available for free in limited edition sets of only 100 each. It’s probably too late – although I did try myself, I’ll keep you updated if I got in on time – Success! I got mine in early October. They’re now proudly adorning my windbreaker – but send your full name, mailing address, and your two fave sets to obamabuttons@trollback.com and if it’s your lucky day you’ll get some.

My fave is set one. Kudos to Trollbäck for finding such succinct and all-encompassing little quotes. There’s not a whole lot of room on a button, and these ones go point blank. “No one is pro-abortion”… no small statement when you’ve got a female Republican Vice-Presidential candidate who, and I still can’t get over this, wants to overturn Roe vs. Wade.

Via Stimulant

christian flindt: parts of a rainbow.

Danish furniture designer and chair expert Christian Flindt created a totally slick series of chairs called “Rainbow”. Named obviously for their colours, but also for the way each chair slots sideways into the next. I’m not sure how comfortable they’d be, but I can’t get over the seriously hot photography on Flindt’s website.

Via NOTCOT

greg lynn: recycled toy furniture.

While trolling the blogs today I found these re-used toy tables on Dezeen. Designed by California-based architect Greg Lynn, his series of recycled toy furniture won Golden Lion for the Best Installation Project in the International Exhibition at the Vienna Architecture Biennale.

While it’s pretty clear these aren’t recycled toys, I still think this works beautifully as a piece, almost more as an installation. And the idea is still true – you could use recycled toys in this fashion. I guess the line is a little grey, but I don’t care. They look hot. They’re big and shiny and plastic and colourful and have been melted together in a little toy-pyre and made into table. I likes.

dmitry maksimov.

I love beautifully shot landscape photography. I love cute little round-faced Kidrobot-esque alien characters. So, really, what’s not to double love about cute little round-faced Kidrobot-esque alien characters that  have been lovingly given a home inside beautifully shot landscape photography? It’s like a three way. Both are awesome on their own, but all together it’s a whole new experience. Yeah son.

Russian designer, painter, and illustrator Dmitry Maksimov takes photographs and inserts his own subject, creating a whole new world of experience and viewpoint. A field of grass is pretty, but once you notice the little aliens walking, almost tentatively, though it the story changes. His work is stellar. Each piece isn’t just an mixture of media and creators, but an enhancement. An elevation. He deftly gives a personality and mood to each altered photo, and each is imbued with a sense of discovery in the moment. Something is always being felt by these l’il creatures…

His site is entirely in Russian, but luckily for me, one of the designers in my office is from Russia. Spaceba Alina! Anyway – she read it over for me and apparently people send Maksimov photos they’ve taken for him to work on and when completed he posts them on his site. Sick looking results and an interactive experience with other artists. Done and done.

Via Design:Related via NOTCOT

nnss.

I found this hot-ass print on one of my fave sites (and everyone else’s), Swiss Miss. Swiss Miss knows her shit. Anyway, upon some further digging I found this was just one part of a completely amazing brand and identity suite created by Buenos Aires-based design shop NNSS for  digital development company Naturaleza Digital.

Organic and prismatic, the inspirational hook came from the idea of “a mere drop of water separates a beam of light into a million colours”. Give it up for Sir Isaac Newton. Anyway – the print idea above is just the beginning. It takes a lot to make CDs and folders look this crazy good, and they’ve completely killed it.

In addition to that, here’s some other identity and print work NNSS has turned out. Amazing stuff all.

mickey and johnny: procrastination.

Brothers Michael and Johny Kelly are designers, illustrators, and filmmakers from Dublin, Ireland. Working both independently and sometimes in collaboration, their site, Mickey and Johnny, is a grab bag of goodness. From short film to photography to illustration to tee shirt design, they’ve got a bright, colourful, minimalist style that they’ve translated beautifully across all the media they work in.

One of my faves is their short film procrastination. Visually kick ass with cut to the bone insights about just how lazy we get sometimes. The voiceover, by Bryan Quinn, is equally awesome. There’s something about frustrated yelling that just sounds so much better when it’s done with an Irish accent. Canadian yelling completely pales in comparison.

Johnny has a whole bunch of of varied works, including an animated short about a lobster named Shelly that falls in love with vinyl records, and this sweet tee, “Body Shirt”, that he did for Airside in 2006.

Michael has a few series of photgraphic works, mostly simple and straightforward crowd, outdoor, and people pics. They’re well composed and pleasing. My favourite is this one from the series “Abstract”. I can see their faces, but they just look so content:

Thanks to Five Husbands for the tip

jonathan haggard: roygbiv.

I love this piece from illustrator and designer Jonathan Haggard. It’s got that dusty 70s feel I enjoy, plus it’s called “Roygbiv”. It’s one of my favourite words. Well, it’s really an acronym. But if Milf can be a word, so can Roygbiv.

I want it on my wall, but he doesn’t have it produced for sale. So if you feel like writing him a harrassing encouraging email asking him to produce some, feel free.

Via Why Me?

design has no name: beck 8 bit variations.

If you want to see possibly the most bad ass throwback design ever, look no futher. This. Is. The. Shit.

A concept design by Argentinian designer Design Has No Name (aka DHNN), the box slides open to reveal a an old skool 8-bit Nintendo cartridge (hells yes!) which flips opens to reveal a disc with some Beck remixes. Righteous.

It’s colourful, it’s pixellated, it’s Beck, the font choice is perfect, it’s got a freakin’ Nintendo cartridge, and the whole thing wrapped up together is slick as fuck. It’s heaven. If every CD had a package this smoking, iTunes would go bust. Well… maybesortakinda.

Via the kick ass Kitsune Noir

joe davis: telescopic text.

Check out “Telescopic Text“, a slick little online and interactive story, from UK-based self-proclaimed “dreamer, designer, illustrator, animator, filmmaker, and musician” Joe Davis.