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.