I'm still trying to figure out if Pinterest is going to take over from Facebook and Twitter as my primary waste of time or if it's going to end up being a damp squib like Google+ in the end. Time will tell, but it's got a good hit rate so far, this week introducing me to the inspirational site: goodfuckingdesignadvice.com
I love it's minimalistic styling and the clarity of the messages is just brilliant and clever. I might even order the mug and poster, but I will definitely be taking the GFDA Pledge.
For some God knows why reason this web site is getting tons of traffic for the search term 'Comic Sans Batman'. It links through to the article Andy wrote last year and whilst we are always grateful for a little exposure, I did wonder why this term in particular seems to yield results at the moment. I Googled it myself and whilst the answer to this puzzle is still a mystery to me, I did spy a link to an article highlighting DC comics have launched a new logo. I have never really been interested in comic books, but I do like Batman since he's teamed up with Michael Caine and so I thought I'd take a look in customary 49th Floor, low-fi style.
DC's existing Star, swooshy, shieldy thing was designed by Brainchild Studio's Josh Beatman in 2005, which wasn't that long ago and frankly hasn't aged that well in my opinion. In brief, I think it's impeccably put together and has obviously taken cues from the company heritage - but I think the conceptual post-modern approach suggests a company coming to terms with the end of the nineties rather than one marching proudly into modernity. I presume that this is why DC felt they wanted to revisit their logo, with a fundamental rethink and shift in creative objective. It could just be they didn't like blue or something, but you'd have to ask them.
I haven't read Creative Review or any logo blogs yet and therefore I don't really know whether I'm sUpPoSeD to like it or not yet, but I can tell you that I really do like the new logo. I don't think anyone could argue that it's not well drawn, but upon first glance the new DC logo is kinda grey and it does look VERY corporate when viewed out of situ. When DC title-specific colourways and characters are applied to the logo in situ, for me it really comes to life. The concept of peeling back the cover to find what's underneath isn't really new - but I think it's perfected here and the way in which it unifies DCs vast array of characters and stories whilst not compromising their own identities is really clever and refreshing.
Identities that integrate with brands and campaigns as a whole rather than concentrating on wowsers logos, gradient-meshed to the rafters sitting in arrogant defiance like it's the most important thing on the page are the way forward for me. I wonder what everyone else is saying about it?
So, Christmas is done and the New year hangover has faded and all we are left with is the unending bleakness of the UK January skyline and the irritating inevitability of having to deconstruct the plastic tree and assemble the component parts into the cupboard Tetris-style. Holiday seems a long way away (or non-existent if you are me or Andy) and now the wind has started howling through the empty pockets and wallets throughout the land it really must be about the right time for something to cheer us up.
We've posted about logo fails before and how not seeing the wood for the trees can lead to unfortunate results. As it never fails to put a smile back on my face, it's a pretty decent place to start and this year we have been fortunate enough to be blessed with a real high profile howler from Stumble.
One of my favourite films of all time is the 1983 classic Karate masterpiece: The Karate Kid directed by John G Avildsen. Since 1983 I have watched this film about 10,000 times and bored my friends to death in the process. I'm aware that in reality it is a fairly average take on well trodden narrative, but due in part to nostalgia and in part to just a magical x-factor which even it's own sequels struggled to match, I love it. Even today, like a true saddo whilst typing this I am wearing one of many Karate Kid inspired t-shirts whilst listening to 'You're the best' by Joe Esposito - a truly terrible 80s horror that in context makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
Why the heck am I bringing up the Karate Kid at this point, nearly 30 years later? This week some new footage of the original Karate Kid was brought to my attention and it's the 'thing that we love, not done by us of the week'. It appears that during the rehearsals of The Karate Kid, everything was filmed by the director and a rough cut of the movie put together to aid the actors going forward. Please see the first part below, followed by a series of links for where to watch the rest on Youtube. I can't believe that this hasn't made its way to DVD as an extra before this - but as a fan, it's made my day to watch it and offers an insight into the filming process.
I would like to thank Matt Powell for introducing me to the post (Please take a look at his site: BlockPunch) and to Germain Lussier for compiling it in the first place - http://www.slashfilm.com/watch-the-karate-kid-comprised-completely-rehearsal-footage.
Watch the whole of The Karate Kid in rough cut below:
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=EZQkwpqFN2E
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CS3P8KaEamA
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MNTzA7QQvAM
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=7aaB3geliNM
5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=5Kwv0RQWb8M
6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=mtzv20OaGow
7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-c2NQMLsiMs
8. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=UfB6140Mxl4
9. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=yfVkWkfcdoo
10. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=mHdWarcK0hU
11. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=pLIiHFyHWVQ
12. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=BogMLXeYjPI
It's a week of firsts and today is the first post in the 'Stuff we love that wasn't done by us' weekly series.
I'd like to introduce you to The Surreal Paintings of Vladimir Kush. A really beautiful Dali-inspired selection of ethereal classics. If I had more time to look into the metaphysical nature of these and discuss the real meaning I would. Sadly I'm too busy, so just appreciate the damn picture, say ooh isn't it pretty and then assume he really liked eggs.
Surface art appreciation, naivety - it's the new black.
By the way the rest of this fabulous collection is available for view at Designer couch.
Please follow this link: designerscouch.org/view-log/the-surreal-paintings-of-vladimir-kush-687
49th Floor Design and Artworking have a can-do attitude which minimises the involvement of third parties throughout the creative process. This concept helps keep overheads at an absolute minimum and this cost-saving is passed on to each of our clients without impacting any area of delivery.
We realise that things don't always go to plan and sometimes things are needed in a hurry, but without a compromise on quality. We are dedicated to always being available to our clients and making ourselves flexible enough to accomodate the most demanding deadlines.
It's important to use the right software solution to achieve your goal and our clients can rest assured that whatever project comes our way, the 49th will utilise the most modern applications and techniques to guarantee a high quality level of finish.
Most evenings there's a constant struggle in my house between the socially, artistically and culturally worthy broadcasts that TV was made for and the entertainment vacuum that my beloved wife choses her evening viewing from (Hollyoaks, I'm looking in your direction here). The only reprieve is by means of a secret rite, that can be performed once a century when the Moon is in the eighth house of Aquarius OR when my wife has found a new book series featuring the exploits of a bunch of teenage, single parent, vegetarian vampires. I'd scoff some more, but seeing as the latest...
Print is dead and so is everyone else according to John Cusack... The John Cusack prophecy/future-documentary ‘2012’ promises us some kind of natural disaster related death this year. I haven’t managed to find three hours of my life I am happy to consign to the joy vacuum that ‘2012’ no doubt represents so unfortunately I am unable to furnish you with anyspecifics on the impending fate of the UK and what form that will take although you can glean some clues from the following sentence which I havehelpfully snatched from Wikipedia as part of your apocalypse early warning... ”President Wilson is later...
This week I decided to treat the mrs by ditching my usual value basics bright white bumper pack of toilet paper from our weekly shop. Instead I opted for the spectacularly pretty bright and bold series from the Andrex limited collection range which is printed on a material that honestly feels nicer than my actual duvet. I rushed home, quivering with excitement at the prospect of my wife's rapturous, beaming smile as she opened the day-glow orange Sainsburys bag and the joy she would undoubtably display for the next few days as she got a taste of the high life. I...
Geek alert. This is possibly the geekiest thing you've ever read/seen/done/enjoyed, so if all things bespectacled, pale and pathetic irritate your sensibilities then look away now.
To the uninitiated, Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used to fill the gaps in a design until the final approved copy has become available. It was specifically created to have no meaning and its passing resemblance to Latin was not intentional. It's also known as greeking deriving from the phrase 'it's all Greek to me'. It's also boooooorrrrrriiiinnnnnng if you use it often enough - even more so if you opt for the 'Placeholder text' from InDesign which doesn't even have familiarity to boost it's profile. So what's the solution to acute Lorem Syndrome leading to boring layouts? Courtesy of Ed...
Due to some negatively reported stories of genocide, I had felt that my brand was generally in need of some refreshment before moving on to phase 3 of my Cake business "I'll be Bake". 49th Floor held my hand through the process and offered real value for money. I was so pleased I gave them my clothes, my boots and my motorcycle to say thank you - highly recommended.
I've created worlds but it's really not as impressive as it sounds and what really was impressive was the speed and quality of the on-line promotions 49th Floor did for my wardrobe business. Great work lads.
My son had been dabbling with design for years using MS Word - but the Emperor and I felt that his destiny lay elsewhere and to really get the Dark Side out there to the rest of the Empire in a modern and professional way, we needed to source a supplier with some real force. We called 49th Floor and just a short time later we were overjoyed with some impressive, most impressive new advertising.
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