Website; Type News

This site has many many topics on type, illustration, design basically everything in the communication world, but its main priority is typography. There are some excellent examples of work on here and many illusive type designs. It offers inspiration and other designers portfolios of work. If there s any new type out there thats hitting the world hard its guaranteed to be on here. Great for that all need inspiring spark, if your searching for that perfect logo font or 3d text with an impact. I also noticed it has a cool packaging section with great ways of displaying information design on the packaging certainly worth checking out.

Drawing; Jen Starks Felt tip drawings

Anyone feel high just looking at these? They are produced by Jen Starks and whats so cool about them is that there done using felt tip pens!!!! They look digitally illustrated but whats better than using a felt tip pen. I'm glad to see some one is keeping the old traditional ways strong!!

The drawings are original and amazing the way they incorporate space and colour and seem to endlessly flow into one another, you can pick out so much detail and little things from them. I love the creativeness behind them. It would be awsome to find out what inspired Jen to do them and how they initially started. The rest of her work is presented at www.jenstark.com. Check it out

Design, Innovation; Car Parking

In the New York Times online they have a great article on new car parking. This cool new innovate way takes up less space, is more eco friendly and saves time. They are popping up all over Europe and I reckon it wont be long until they hit our sunny island of England. Who could resist taking your car to be moved around and parked by robots its amazing!

Photography; Dave Hill

I have no Idea how Dave produces these photo's, I'm pretty sure they are photos digitally enhanced and placed on alternate backgrounds. I reckon he uses HDR to produce the hugely enhanced almost painted effects. Either way the results are cool. The dark photos emit a large sense of respect and urban feel whilst the picture of the dog and family enhance the excitement feel. Dave's website is at www.davehillphoto.com and I would recommend checking out his portfolio its very inspiring.

Motion; Lock Stock Typography

Finally I love this piece too (Its not fair just to have one). Ok this one is different because it uses the type in the way the actor is speaking it, for example he uses the word slap and the text slaps the other text he uses annihilate the text shakes, it just adds this little bit WOW factor which the other two don't utilize. The sans serif font used also gives a more solid rigid look compared with the serif, the colours agin are mainly yellow red and black. What I lso find impressive is how the screen conitnually moves and zooms in closer and closer as the actor get more and more aggrevated, its as if the viewr is getting closer to the shouting. Another must see !!!

Motion; Fight Club Typography

Along with pulp fiction is this title sequence which has been an inspiration to me, the echo used and on and off lighting puts you inside the building with them. The rust coloured yellow wall makes you feel like your leaning on it and the black and yellow type/background combination presents danger. The incorporation of the red type then suggests the blood that is going to be spilled. A must see.

Motion; Pupl Fiction Typography

The use of type is great in this motion sequence, there are loads of these motion movies out there quoting famous movie lines but this one is a true favorite of mine. The strong bold use of type for the main characters voice and the weaker choice for the defendants increases there tone of voice. I love the colour scheme to a strong bold tiled brown background is very pulp fiction and the powerful energetic yellow of Samuel L Jacksons Voice is impacting. Very inspiring and certaily worth a watch.

Photography; HDR

Tutorial; HDR photos

Ever Wondered how to achieve those en-hanced photos where the colours an extremely impacting. Well here's another awsome know how tutorial for it. I came across it when exploring through abuzeedos forums. Its simple and a very un used cool effect offered by photoshop.

Heres the link (http://abduzeedo.com/hdr-not-only-the-magic-effect)

Book; 100 Monsters

100 Monsters is the work of 344 artist. They have been his obsession for the past year, they began as an exercise of drawing something everyday and evolving everyday items as inspiration. "What better to blow a few drops of ink into a shape and make that shape a monster" Quoted from the artist himself. For one hundred days he filmed himself drawing a different monster everyday and posted it on the blog dailymonster.com, the site gathered people from all over the world who began to comment on the monsters and create stories for them and personality's. The monsters brought together a network of people and created huge online debates and funny scripts. Thus he decided to produce this book which is like a time capsule of the 100 days and includes the monters drawings, names and stories from all the people that left comments about them. The book features all 100 monsters and 257 stories about them. This this goes to show how some small drawings/doodles caught the attetion of the people and how from one innovational idea to another lead to the end book which I am sure will be a huge seller. A must see I think its brilliant, the creative monsters all stemed from ink are a classic.

Design; Paper cut outs

Granted from the title it doesn't sound to exciting but just look at the final creation. The work is by an artist called Jen Stark who is a big drawing inspiration of mine. She produces these fascinating sculptures by layering hundreds of pieces of card together and then precisely cutting out individual sections and crafting them. Talk about creativity from paper to this, in my opinion its awsome.

I guess you could call it modern day art or sculpture but the time and patients it must take to produce these is impressive and I dont think there ll be much room for the error of an over cut. Her website is www.jenstark.com its a must see to views these amazing pieces.

Motion; Mark Coleran

www.coleran.com

Probably one of the best show reels Ive ever seen! Ever wondered who does all those cool looking effects on the computer screens of films such as the minority report, blade, Star wars etc. Well this is one of the main guys for it. Working along side pixar, New Line and other hugely branded film production companies, his skills in motion and film production are amazing. I don't know the software that is used for such films but I imagine it incorporates the use of 3D production software along side the likes of final cut or after effects. His portfolio is certainly worth checking out to see the standard in the film company industry.

Tutorial; Abuzzedo

This tutorial (http://abduzeedo.com/super-cool-frilly-bits-typography) is awsome. I came across it when searching for positive typography for my 1 week brief. Basically it shows you how to create this fancy swirly text as seen in the pic, you can then broaden and expand on the text and re production side adding any symbols or textures you want to different font styles. Just a cool little know how.

Motion; MGBD

MGBD are a school of students in America and this you tube site hosts their work. The reason I find it cool is the way in which they choose to represent their chosen topic in motion. The videos on their site are all re vamped opening movie title sequences, their fun, cool, quick and quircky and different take on what were origianlly used to for our cinema screens. Great use of typography also.

Website; Dont click on it.com

Think you need a mouse to use a computer? Thin again!
Dontclickonit.com has created a powerful interactive website investigating the need or no need, for the click i.e selecting icons, buttons and generally interacting. They have harnessed clever original ways of selecting links on their site and thus removing the need for the click! The interactive possibilities generated by the site are amazing and spawns a whole new potential for how we engage ourselves on the net and with software. They have an interesting pole on the site of how many people couldn t resist the urge to click, myself inluded. Its certainly a one to check out.

Illustration; Jason Brooks

Jason Brooks otherwise known as HedKandi, produces these fantastic illustrations. I find them to be powerful, energetic and motivating. The girls obviously look amazing and for a lad they kinda represent what your perfect girl would look like, they also create the buzz which I imagine is why HedKandi choose them for there advertisiments. They are unique and have great branding power instantly recognizable to the HedKandi Name for there target audience.

website; antmacari.net

just as interesting as his work.

Museum; The National Glass Centre

The National Glass Centre is a unique venue situated in Sunderland thats allows people to see how how glass works from all over the world are produced. It also lets them explore there own visual creative ideas with glass by allowing them to mould and sculpt pieces from themselves.
The building is made from steel and glass the entire roof is created from glass allowing people to go up and look down 'Not good if your scared of heights trust me!'
The Centre provides local exhibitions and National exhibitions for the general public and also education facilities for schools.
There aim; 'Our aim is to be a centre of national excellence supporting the production, exploration, presentation and enjoyment of contemporary glass.' You certainly learn alot about glass when you visit more than I ever thought went into the production of glass and also the endless possibilities you can achieve with it.

Website; Neave.com

Neave .com is avery impressive website created using flash.It is the interactive playground of 'interactive designer' Paul Neave. The pieces of work that allowusers to test,play and exxperiment in 3d worlds and even interacts with your built in camera and microphone. The site is a great example of how to keep your audience interested with simple navigation, sounds and by challengeing the user. The site works across all size pixel screens and even has the option of enlargeing to full screen.It is similar to the lynx efect website with its use of coding and interaction.

What makes this site extremely powerful is its use of 3D interaction it is allowing new possibilities in the way the internet can be viewed and interacted with. The use of powerful colour schemes makes it fresh and gives it a new technology feel.

This site is must view and a very impressive use of flash and interactive design.

Book; The Angels Weep

by Wilbur Smith

The Angels weep is a story based on war and how people sow there seeds of hatred in battles all around issues of race and land. I found it an exciting tale, very moving and colourful.
I believe it is the third of the Ballantynes sequence of novels. The author creates a time older than ours with many the same problems as ours. The story portrays the violence and war fought between pioneers such as Ralph Ballantyne, a man who's ambition and sense of destiny made him the greatest leader and betrayer to his leader. The Rhodesia pioneers claim the land they sow their crops in, however far in the hills the Matabele indunas are preparing for a bloody assault to claim it for themselves.
The book is a great read for anyone and gives true depth to the characters and world they live in.

Museum; HMS Belfast

Although it is not on land the boat is still a facinating museum to look around, its just on water!! Being from a family where my Grandad served in the navy, on vesels similar to Belfast, during the war he always talked about them through my child hood and it became an interest to me to know about them and learn about them.

HMS Belfast played its part during the second world war and helped in the destruction of Germanys biggest battlecruiser the Scharnhorst. It is amazing to see the 9 deck ship right from the sleeping and eating quarters up to the huge gun terruts and head naval offices. Whilst wondering around the sleeping decks it was easy to relate to my Grandads storys of the struggles of sea sickness and his emotional story of being torpedoed and looseing many friends in the lower decks.My self personally and I think many others take the wars for granted and do not realize the lengths and imense struggles people went through so the likes ofmyself and my generation are free to live and carry on with our lives. The HMS Belfast really allows you to appreciate how they worked and the conditions they faced as well as appreciate the amazing technology and skill it takes to build a vessel like this. I will always take away a sense of pride when I have the oppertunity to see things like this and be thankful to my Grandad and all those that gave there lives in the War so we could live how we do today.

Book; Dawn

by Elie Wiesel

I found the book haunting, disturbing, and thought provoking. The book is based on the final hours of two men one is the executioner and the other is the victimof the executioner, the doop is very deep and quite emotional from time to time. As the main character comes to gripes with how things will be once the execution has took place is really moving. You tend to want the main character to realise the right thing and stop what he is about to do, I found myself almost trying to tell the character what to do,he then is effected by his reflections in his earlier experiences in a concentration camp, and holding cells on both sides of the war. The English have provoked the Jews, and each will assassinate their opponent to make a point. David will be hung by the English, and Elisha will shoot John Dawson. You wonder how such brutality ever took place. You then follow how themain character must come to grips with what he has to do and face .“A man hates his enemy because he hates his own hate. He says to himself: This fellow, my enemy, has made me capable of hate. I hate him not because he’s my enemy, not because he hates me, but because he arouses me to hate.” quoted from the book. The book is a great refelction of war by focusing on specific people and the roles they play toinfluence and effect it.

Museum; Guggenheim New York

I was lucky enough to visit this museum when I went to New York with 25 friends and our design teacher on an expedition to to view design, innovation, architecture and design within Manhattan.

The building itself is a tribute to architecture and was created by Frank Loyd Wright. Quoted from the museum entrance "I need a fighter, a lover of space, an agitator, a tester and a wise man. . . . I want a temple of spirit, a monument!"
—Hilla Rebay to Frank Lloyd Wright, 1943

The museum itself has a mission to promote an understanding and appreciation of art, architecture, and other manifestations of visual culture, primarily of the modern and contemporary periods, and to collect, conserve, and study the art of our time. The one thing I noticed about the museum was its international diversity. Obviously being in New York it see s visitors from all over the world and yet the museum had exhibitions catered from all over the world, some places I had not even heard of. The meuseum also embraces dancers, writers, composers, poets and musicians and exhibits regular audiences to them. The museum was a huge inspiration to me and the cultural diversity and art it choose to show to me really broadened my mind to what can be art and how different cultures show it and express it.

Book; Flanimals

I think the creativity behind Flanimals is awsome!! The way each Flanimal has its own personality, some are complex and some are just so simple and the way they are all linked like a true animal kingdom gives it that almost non fictional sense. Ricky Jervais has always been a favorite of mine and the book really expels his sense of humor, the book isn't only designed for children, there is a lot of thinking behind the animals and the story's and descriptions of them are quite intellectual.

From that the graphic illustrations of each Flanimal is really interesting they look fascinating, right down to the little details such as the eyes, hair and body parts. Its a great short book to get lost in and slip away from everyday stresses. I sometimes find myself evening comparing the struggles in my life to theres and I soon realize mine aren't as bad, especially for the unlucky Flanimals that are born inside out or who get eating by all the other Falnimals. The book inspired me to dig out all my old math books and lecture pads with all my own personal animal drawings on from being young right up to current day lectures and I begin digitally illustrating them with my graphics tablet in illustrator. The characters so far are on my website in my portfolio. This book is a defnit for the shelf in the easy reading funny pile for when your feeling a bit down or stressed, I haven' t yet seen the second book but i'm sure it'll be just as good.

Website; Drupal

http://drupal.org/

The site itself is not of interest unless you are focusing on what it offers. Drupal is a content management system that is completely free and the site is a huge constantly expanding user guide and module download for the content management system. For the website I produced for the river canteen www.rivercanteen.com.au I used Drupal and also for my own. It has very powerful back end features so staff and outside users can log in and change/ incorporate things into a company's website. The drupal site offers a huge diversity of help to people who use Drupal to build and produce websites, modules that can be easily downloaded and then uploaded to your personal site along with endless instructional help and forums dedicated to problems and solutions of HTML CSS PHP XHTML relating to Drupal. The best thing about it though is that everything on Drupal is changeable, you can edit every single bit of HTML and CSS to style your website how you would like if you are not satisfied with the templates that are included free.

The site also provides you with very clear and easy to use instructions on setting up Drupal on your server and FTP files in and out. It regularly has new downloads of Drupal that solve problems of the ever changing HTML internet. You can also create themes for Drupal that anyone can download and use, or you yourself can download someone else's. There is very few other content management systems that come with all these benefits for free and I would defiantly recommend Drupal and the website to anyone .

Film; The Deer Hunter

A film based on a group of friends and there service in the Vietnam war, the picture on the left is probably one of the most recognizable images from the movie. The red head scarf is symbolic of Russian Roulette and is used in adverts like the revels marketing ad.The film itself won 5 academy awards.

To me it shows the struggles of war, honour and patriotism between a close group of friends and community. I love the way the film goes into before and after circumstances showing a normal group of friends, there local pub, family, hobbies and then there lives and personality's after the Vietnam War. Many people are scared from wars and obviously find it hard to fit back into social circumstances after having been in one, this film portrays this and really grabs the audience and brings them in and close to the friends and the struggles they have during there times of capture, blood shed and coming home. The movie shows real depth into the characters not so much the story of the war but the actual people in it such as this group of friends, virtue, self mastery, the idea of broken bodies, memory and the self, and the role of religion and the afterlife have a huge influence on the characters.

Website; Logopond

http://logopond.com/all/

You might think that most logos are not very 'cool' or inspiring especially when your trying to design the perfect logo for a client and there doesn't seem to be anything out there giving you the edge or motivation. This site proves otherwise, its full of some fantastic and very clever identity designs, great for inspiration and motivation. The site allows you to leave comments and upload Logos/Identity's yourself and have discussions on the Identity's commenting on what you think of them. The site is simple to use and really cleanly laid out with HTML that works across all browsers. It also has a really interesting and relevant forum all dedicated to logos in many types of industry i.e, car, book, film etc. It features individual designers who show there logo portfolios and allows new users to sign up and gain a user name and password to start uploading the same.

Fun; End of the Internet

http://www.shibumi.org/eoti.htm

Film; Sleepers

The Book is fantastic and I think the film lived up to it. The reason I love the film is simply because its about revenge and no matter how hard we try, we all feel it and want it over someone. The acting is awsome by the whole cast with Robert De Niro playing his usual brilliance. I've always believed that what comes around goes around and your past will always catch up with you and thats exactly what this film portrays. I also felt a slight sense of how I felt after reading of mice and men, because the boys plans were only to have fun and a little joke but they end up killing someone thus 'the best laid plans of mice and men often go wrong'. Although the film and book is supposed to be based on truth there has still not been any underlying evidence to prove it is correct.

Film; The Blue Planet (Documentary)

I know its not technically a film but I really wanted to share my thoughts on the amazing and truly fascinating documentary of our blue world. Being a BSAC sports diver and having dived in England, Asia, Turkey, Spain and Australia whilst living there for a year, surfing on a regular basis, I ve developed a huge interest and respect for our seas. The life in the sea, the power of the sea and the physical effect that the sea has on us and the world we live in is often overlooked. The Blue Planet goes where people didn't even know existed and the marine life and animals the documentary uncovered, some, had never before been seen by man. The fact that more people have been to the moon than the places they investigated, to me shows how ignorant we are of our own planet. Very rarely do you see documentary's uncovering the mysteries of the deep blue ocean and this one is defiantly one of the those special rarities that was aired over our televisions. Films can have amazing special effects fantastic acting, historical quotes that last for years and years, but there all planned. When you stumble upon and new species in a place on our planet that has never been explored before and see it in its natural place unplanned, unpredicted, then I think that can be better film than any perfectly scripted movie and thats exactly what the Blue Planet series delivered.

Book; Of mice and men

The best laid plans of mice and men dont always work out as planned. The book follows the storyof two men in the industrial revolution age travelling across America seeking work with a final dream in hand. One of the men is a smart man who has worked all his life, the other has a disability and is not as you would say very switched on. Regardless of this they stay together seeking work where they can find it with one looking after the other. There dream is to one day settle down in a nice quiet cottga ein the mountains with vegetable patches and easy living. But the best laid plans of men do not always work out right, when lenny the one with a disability screws it all up. It is referenced along side mice becausethey are just like us they collect food and build a home trying to make it in the world travelling where neds be, but lenny has an obsession with them for a pet, but keeps killing them becasue of his sheer size and his disability, he doesnt know how hard to hold them. Thus it goes hand in hand and follows the story of all the trouble lenny gets them both into and the final action his friend must take to rectify the situation and maybe fulfill there dream. It is a book that you personally can relate to as we all have plans that dont seem to work out just as how we want them too.