String Gardens

Let's stick with the flowers for a while. Especially the hanging ones. This is probably the most interesting and best looking way to keep plants inside a house. They look like little planets and there is something magical in the way they suspended in the air.

Definitely go over to www.stringgardens.com to see even more beautiful pictures.

Eppur Si Muove vases

There is something intriguing about hanging flowers instead of just simply putting them on the window or the table. If you manage to make it even more interesting by introducing scale-like design, that's even better.

Good people from 4P1B design studio have this to say about their creation:

'Eppur Si Muove' vases are originated from the theme of the Nature's balance.Our relationship with the environment is often forced and violent, but in this case the user has to try to preserve the delicate balance with it.

check this and more designs at: 4p1b.com

Le droit de suite

Aaahh French language - I could not stand it, thanks to my amazing French teacher in middle school. Fast forward couple of years and I start to find it more and more appealing again. It's even better when You have some nice animation with absolutely gorgeous typography created by Pierre-Emmanuel Lyet. No subtitles, but the story is pretty much self-explanatory.

Chasing Distractions

Ok, ok, ok - it was a crazy month since I came back from Norway. Lots of small design works that basically kept me occupied most of my time while adding nothing interesting to my portfolio (and also preventing me from keeping things updated). Now I'm doing two different identities and it seems like things might be under control. That said, I promise to go back to posting at least one entry a day - gotta keep some kind of regime.

Javier Artadi's House in La Encantada

La Encantada is a suburb of Lima where Javier Artadi designed this visually interesting family house. It features a simple core with 2 floors. On the ground floor we get a living room, bureau and service areas. Upstairs we find 4 bedrooms and one additional space ready to be adapted into our liking. 

To break the monotony as well as seamlessly transition between the house and the garden, the terrace creates a shaded walkway on the ground level. The house is bright with a lot of openings and big spaces - overall everything looks pretty neat. Especially by night when properly lit - as presented in those magnificent pictures by Elsa Ramirez.

Mombasa Club Gin

Gin is not really my thing. I don't really like it - I don't really know much about it either, my knowledge ends somewhere around Gordon's Gin which you can see in every drinking establishment around Europe. But from now on there's another brand that I will surely remember for a long time. I'm talking about Mombasa Gin with it's awesome packaging designed by Luis Vázquez. I absolutely love the bottle with it's handle, it's also interesting to see brown glass instead of  more traditional transparent (or green) one. This along with a label containing beautiful typography gives Mombasa a classical and interesting look.


see more work of Luis Vázquez at typeface

Cement Factory by Ricardo Bofill

There is something special about old adapted building. Big concrete surfaces and usually overall industrial look make them appear like something taken out of the context but the best part is the amount of free space which can be turned into anything the interior designer wants. Lofts are somewhat a sandbox of interior design where no idea is too bold.

In 1973 Ricardo Bofill decided to turn and old Cement Factory into an amazing coplex of architectural offices, archives, model laboratory, exhibition space and finally Bofill's-apartment along with guest rooms. The project was completed in 2 years and it's result was an amazing architectural and interior design work:

Makiko Nakamura's cups

Makiko Nakamura created these cups which look like they cannot really be used to hold any type of liquid. But in fact are not only perfectly leak-proof, they also protect the user from grabbing too hot cup. You see they are made out of two layers. One transparent that contains the liquid and one white with holes. Thanks to that the hand is never in contact with the inner layer and the air in the holes helps disperse the heat. Great design!

check out more goodies at: nakamuramakiko.com

Packaging for Publican Brewing Company

Check out this amazing packaging and identity by Daniel Rodriguez made for Publican Brewing Company. Everything about this design is flawless. From the 2-colour labels, through lettering, all the way to the wooden boxes with beautiful old illustrations on the lid and a detailed emblem on the side. There is a feeling of tradition, experience and exclusivity. Definitely something worth serving at a dinner party.

Beer Camp SXSW website

I won't post website designs too often. Mainly because the 'industry' is kind of static, and gems like bio-bak.nl or super innovations happen rarely. Still, from time to time we get examples of smart use of the existing web design techniques (and let me just say this right here: flash is not worth supporting as a website format). This time we get an Iception-style website where your usual scroll functionality works as a zoom feature instead of just moving the page up and down. Not much to add - You just HAVE to check the site itself, and please please please 'scroll-in' all the way to the end.

hit it up!: 2011.beercamp.com
you might also want to check out bio-bak's website: bio-bak.nl

Joe Fenton's Soltitude [work in progress]

I'm a sucker for illustrations and drawings in general. I hate doing them myself because of my short attention span (still trying to get used to non-disturbed workflow) but I just simply love examining different techniques and styles. When I saw photos of Joe Fenton working on his piece called Soltitude I knew that only thing that could describe it is 'epic awesomeness'.

Drawn entirely with graphite (at this point), Soltitude amazes with the depth and amount of detail that Fenton was able to achieve. It's also worth noting that the entire thing is trippy as hell.

Check out more pics at Behance

Chromebook introduction video

Finally I'm able to log in again!
Google unveiled their Chromebook last week. Let's skip the entire cloud-based-computing argument and go straight to promotion. Google is known for their tutorial or introductory videos, but this is something I would not expect even from the search-giant. In a perfect mix of beautiful typography, illustration and motion, Google introduces us to it's new concept of personal computer. No matter if you're sold on the idea or not, the video will impress you.

Space Invader Couch

Back from Norway! DokFilm was awesome, but as you could see, consumed most of my time.

Retro is IN whether You like it or not. What once was a symbol of true geekiness now becomes just a part of popculture. I for one have no problem with popularization of comic books, retro games and geek culture being widely consumed. As long as it's not just for show and You can actually put some actual knowledge behind it I will higly encourage the use of geek symbols in everyday life.
Enter the Space Invader Couch - forget about wallpapers, posters, tote bags and t-shirts, this is the closest you can get to being a hardcore Space Invaders fan without actually owning the arcade machine.

You can preorder the couch at www.igorchak.com/store/

A bit of chicken

I'm leaving to Norway tomorrow morning for a Documentary Festival. I'll try to update the blog daily but who knows what crazy things will distract me from doing so.
While in Norway I'll definitely try 'Litt av en kylling' which rougly translates to 'A bit of chicken'. This pre-marinated chicken has the loveliest packaging I have ever seen in a poultry product. It was made by Dinamo design studio. The use of bright colours on the black background makes it look tasty and fresh. I'll let You know how it actually tastes - I'm not the biggest fan of Norwegian food (and it seems like Norwegians aren't either as they mostly eat frozen pizza).

check out more design goodies at: www.dinamo.no

Sagaform's Black Knives

I'm not a big fan of cooking but whenever I can prepare a meal using awesomely looking utensils it somehow tastes much better. That's why my knives are going to be replaced by those all black (how stylish!) models from swedish store Sagaform.

www.sagaform.com/

Blackstone Camera Bag

Returning after technical issues (machines will rule as someday, I tell you)

If You're a photographer You probably know how big of an issue is carrying all of Your equipment. Camera bags are huge, and that's mainly because of the amount of stuff You need to fit inside. And if You ever had one of them on your arm you probably got slapped in the face while bending over to tie your shoe. All in all - as much as they are practical they are not the most comfortable storage option out there. That's why I like a new proposition by Blackstone Bags. You get a strong, compact storage that can fit your camera and two additional lenses (that's 3 lenses total!) and while doing so it rests on Your bag. I like the tight fit which assures that it's not gonna slide on the sides and allows for using Your hands for shooting.

In addition it provides space for your tripod on the sides and some storage for all those little gadgets You always carry around.

Check out more pics and peorder at: Blackstone Bags

Theo Jansen's Animaris Ordis Parvus

Theo Janses is a crazy person - fortunately the good type. The one that comes up with an idea and then no matter what just makes it into a reality inventing lots of stuff on the way. Theo's idea was simple - he wanted to create walking creatures that he could race along  the beaches of Netherlands. Why? Because he can, that's why. Or something along those lines anyway.
What's important is that his creatures actially work and look simply amazing. The downside? They are huge and although You could probably build one Yourself wouldn't it be easier to just order a smaller version off the internet? Yup, it would - that's why now You can buy this gem:

It's a fully functional miniature model of one of Theo Jansens kinetic sculptures. You can assemble it Yourself and then the only thing left to do is to hit the beach and stare at the poetry in motion for hours - seriously it's that amazing.

Theo Jansen's Store

EDIT: already sold out!

Good Omens title sequence

Good Omens is one of my favorite books ever written by both Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchet. They managed to create a surreal story about the end of the world full of british humour and popculture references. That's why I would love to see a movie adaptation. I'm pretty sure that both Gaiman and Pratchett would make sure it doesn't get the hollywood dumbing-down treatment.
Unfortunately there is no talks about the movie at this moment. This doesn't stop people like Steven Wood from making amazing fake intros. This one in particular stands out due to kick ass soundtrack and a really nice theme. The title sequence skips around an old book full of pictures and verses regarding the apocalypse. Credits are made into figure descriptions and really nicely blend with the overall look. I also absolutely love the made up cast with (among other great names) Simon Pegg, Peter Serafinowicz and most importantly Christina Hendricks as War.

All in all, great title design.

Charles Campbell Bespoke Tailoring identity

TeaCake Design studio created this identity for Charles Campbell Bespoke Tailoring.
Not a lot of people use tailoring services any more. But when they do I guess what they look for is experience and tradition. No better way to communicate both of those with some old school vibe packing identity!

An engraving illustration is used as a logo along with additional symbol that is a straight line (underlining the importance of precision in tailoring). To make it even more unique, special stamps were produced. This means that every business card is actually hand-stamped. This of course cuts the print-shop out of the equation (and no one likes to deal with printers [and I mean both people and machines]) and also makes the initial communication to the client more personal.

Check out more pictures on TeaCake's website: www.teacakedesign.com

Andrea Giorgi's chocolate packaging

Let's stick to the packaging for some time.

Andrea Giorgi designed this chocolate packaging which recieved a mention in "Choco&Pack" contest.
In addition to really clean design this little gem features some really neat solutions.  Choco Shock packaging enables visually-impaired to recognize varieties of chocolate by touch - You see those dots at the bottom, yeah that's braille. 'Ok, but what when You're on a chocolate tasting party and the bars are already out of packaging' - you ask. Well no one wants a chocolate tasting party ruined by that! That's why the braille is also incorporated into individual 'segments' of the chocolate, so that every time you reach for another piece You're 100% sure it's the type You wanted.
Another great idea are three 'bars' that let you enjoy the aroma of the chocolate before even opening the box (adding yet another sense that can be used while deciding on the flavour). I'm a little bit confused about the colour coding but that could be easily changed. All in all - great job!

Looking forward to big companies implementing this design so that blind people don't buy the dark chocolate by mistake anymore (seriously, dark chocolate - bleh!).

check out other Andrea Giorgi's designs at her carbonmade portfolio: www.giorgiandrea.carbonmade.com

Red Milk wine

TACN studio designed this amazing identity for Red Milk wine. It sure does differ from what we're used to expect from wine bottles. Clean and simple design makes it feel special. I absolutely love the skull artwork. Putting this symbol on a bottle is a risky move (due to obvious connotations with poison) but they somehow managed to pull it off.
Though I never heard about the Red Milk wine from Canada (wine from Canada what gives?) after seeing this branding I'm pretty sure I'll at least give it a try.

check out other projects by TACN studio at http://www.tacnstudio.com

H-57 USB(omb)

Design agency H-57 created this awesome hydrogen-bomb-themed USB stick. The details are quite nice but what stands out is the infographic illustration used as a part of a simple packaging. You have to agree - it has that old school, cold war feeling your parents always talk about.

Check more pics and the agency itself at www.h-57.com