Smell the Blog

Turn Out the Lights

2009-03-26T21:32:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to turn out your lights this Saturday at 8:30 for an hour and be a part of the world wide Earth Hour. This years goal is for one billion people to turn off their lights. Local design firm, Hornall Anderson, created this microsite in an effort to get more people to participate.

If the Space Needle can do it, can't you?

Where the Wild Things Are

2009-03-26T21:25:00.001-07:00

When I was a kid I loved this:

And now I can't wait for this:

Maurice Sendak's classic comes to life in October.

Gary Hustwit is back...

2009-02-02T21:03:00.000-08:00

...and hopefully there will be a screening in Seattle!

Oddfellows Cafe and Bar

2009-01-06T14:09:00.000-08:00

On New Year's Eve I was able to make my way over to Oddfellows Cafe and Bar on Capitol Hill. Oddfellows is a new co-creation by Seattle's restaurateur Linda Derschang of Linda's Tavern, King's Hardware and Smith. Not knowing much about the place I was immediately impressed when we arrived at the restored cafe and bar. It's a larger place filled with long communal tables, full bar and menu, as well as simple and stylish details everywhere you look. Oddfellows has a very welcoming and comfortable appeal with its general store meets town hall meets french wine bar atmosphere. I can't wait to try out their breakfast.

(Red)WIRE

2008-12-13T10:07:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month, IDEO collaborated with (Red) to launch an online music subscription, (Red)WIRE, which helps fight AIDS in Africa. For $5 a month you get a new, exclusive song every week from artists such as Emmylou Harris, Bob Dylan, REM, Cat Power, Elvis Costello, among many others. 50% of the money goes to help fight AIDS in African countries. Join the fight against cancer one song at a time.

My Top 10 Albums of 2008

2008-12-08T14:48:00.000-08:00

10. Blitzen Trapper – Furr

Furr - Blitzen Trapper

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9. Hercules and Love Affair – Untitled

Blind (Full Album Version) - Hercules And Love Affair

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8. The Hold Steady – Stay Positive

Sequestered in Memphis - The Hold Steady

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7. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks – Real Emotional Trash

Cold Son - Stephen Malkmus

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6. No Age – Nouns

Eraser - No Age

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5. Fleet Foxes – Untitled

Blue Ridge Mountains - Fleet Foxes

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4. M83 – Saturdays=Youth

Graveyard Girl - M83

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3. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago

Flume - Bon Iver

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2. TV on the Radio – Dear Science

Crying - TV On The Radio

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1. Why? – Alopecia

The Hollows - WHY?

The Hatch Show Print at the EMP

2008-10-09T15:24:00.000-07:00

The EMP will be hosting an exhibit of American Letterpress: The Art of Hatch Show Print from October 11th through July 16th. The Hatch Show Print is one of the nations oldest printing shops that is still in operation today. The design shop was founded in 1879 in Nashville, Tennessee creating posters for Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley and currently designing for bands such as The White Strips and Beck.

I Reckon We Have A Winner!

2008-10-06T14:41:00.000-07:00

The In Rainbows animated video competition has come to an end with Radiohead choosing "Reckoner" by Clement Picon of France. This will now be the official video to accompany the song:

Radiohead - Reckoner - by Clement Picon

Congratulations.

TV On the Radio - Dear Science

2008-10-06T14:01:00.000-07:00

TV on the Radio are back with their latest full length, Dear Science. After gaining large praise from their previous albums, David Sitek and company are back with what could be their best yet. The album is full of electric hooks and sing-a-longs that may lend itself to attract an even broader audience. Although the album has a more approachable sound to its predecessor, it still has moment after moment of production wizardry from Sitek.

Listen

The E-Ink Magazine Cover

2008-09-08T10:17:00.000-07:00

David Granger, Editor in Chief of Esquire Magazine

During the past few years many magazines have been struggling to survive and gearing their focus towards a web market. David Granger, editor in chief of Esquire, plans to change this idea by bringing the digital world to his October cover. Esquire plans to unveil the very first digital magazine cover on newsstands next week. They will be celebrating there 75th anniversary with the most influential people of the year bound in one of the most innovative covers of the year. The magazine uses "e-Ink" the technology found in Amazon's book reader, Kindle. Along with the cover, the inside first page will be using the same technology for a Ford Motors ad. Since Esquire only plans to print a limited number of these be sure to keep your eye out for this flashy cover in weeks to come.

Rolling Stones original logo sold....

2008-09-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

...for a little more than £50,000 to the V&A Museum. The logo was originally designed by John Pasche in 1970. Pasche was commissioned £50 by the Stones to do the project. They later gave him an additional £200 since they were so pleased with how it turned out.

What is Graphic Design?

2008-09-04T11:32:00.001-07:00

Over at the Design Observer there is a wonderful article entitled "A Layperson's Guide to Graphic Design". I am sure most graphic designers have found it extremely difficult when trying to describe what it is you do to someone that doesn't work in the field. This gives a brief description of what graphic design is and what a graphic designer does to a non-professional audience.

Here is a portion of the article:

Considering graphic design’s ubiquity in modern life, I’m not sure that many people (non-designers that is) understand much about it. It’s something that people encounter every day — perhaps every minute of their waking lives — yet they hardly bother to consider the impact, either for good or bad, that it has on their lives. It’s a subject that means a great deal to the people who do it for a living, but rarely means much to the people it’s aimed at.

Graphic design has been likened to a wine glass. When we drink wine we barely notice the glass it’s served in. It wouldn’t be true to say that we don’t care what glass we drink out of — we wouldn’t choose to drink a rare vintage out of a Tupperware mug, for example — but it’s the wine that matters, not the vessel it comes in.

It’s the same with graphic design: people absorb the messages that graphic designers use their skill, training and ingenuity to make, yet rarely stop to think how the message is constructed or how it affects the viewer. This seems odd considering graphic design’s ubiquity in the modern world.

You can read it in it's entirety here.

PDL at OSP

2008-08-06T21:41:00.001-07:00

Last weekend I was down at the Olympic Sculpture Park and witnessed a good ol' fashioned "art prank" by Seattle artists Greg Lundgren and friends. Located in the center of the park near the big red, eagle thingy, this was set up in the grass.

It was a chained in construction area for a new sculpture to be built in the park. On the front of the fence was this sign.

This of course is a farce and by no means is Seattle planning to build a series of large, wavy latte cups where you could purchase a cup of coffee. It is in fact the second of 5 public installations by the guerrilla artist trio PDL. Their public art is not only humorous but it also brings out a wide variety of human response. I recall one girl who curiously and casually strolled up to the sign, read it, then furiously walked away bewildered by what seemed like a horrible mistake for the Sculpture Park. Here is the first one that was up on Queen Anne's Kerry Park a couple weeks earlier.

This one reads, "Downtown at your doorstep" and illustrates a new development for a tram that would run from downtown to Kerry Park in a way mocking the constant battle for public transportation in Seattle. Apparently there were a lot of upset neighbors on Highland Drive that day.

Fleet Foxes on Letterman

2008-08-06T20:25:00.000-07:00

The Fleet Foxes recently made their network television debut on David Letterman. With their debut album making well deserved, incredible reviews, the Fleet Foxes are quickly becoming one of the biggest buzz bands in the country. Although, I think these guys are bound to make a bigger impact than just a "buzz". I'm pretty sure Dave agrees...

The Obama Art Report

2008-08-06T20:56:00.001-07:00

By now most people have probably seen Shepard Fairey's "Hope" poster. Well, Shepard Fairey isn't the only one being creatively inspired by this political figure. The Obama Art Report reports daily on the world of Barack Obama artwork. Be sure and scroll through the archives on this blog and you will be amazed by the amount of great work being done. It's incredible how much positive influence this man has in order to evoke this much passion and inspiration from people.

For example:

Abraham Obama by Ron English as seen here on display in downtown Boston and scheduled to come to Seattle soon.

Objectified

2008-07-29T15:01:00.000-07:00

If you saw Gary Hustwit's documentary film Helvetica and liked it, get ready for his second film entitled Objectified in 2009. The film will be about industrial design and discuss some of the worlds greatest consumer products and their designers. Here is a list of people intended to be in the film:

Paola Antonelli (Museum of Modern Art, New York)
Chris Bangle (BMW Group, Munich)
Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec (Paris)
Andrew Blauvelt (Walker Art Center, Minneapolis)
Anthony Dunne (London)
Naoto Fukasawa (Tokyo)
IDEO (Palo Alto)
Jonathan Ive (Apple, California)
Hella Jongerius (Rotterdam)
Marc Newson (London/Paris)
Fiona Raby (London)
Dieter Rams (Kronberg, Germany)
Karim Rashid (New York)
Alice Rawsthorn (International Herald Tribune)
Rob Walker (New York Times Magazine)

Here is an old interview with Jonathan Ive of Apple, who will be in Objectified.

Heima, Sweet Heima

2008-07-14T15:26:00.000-07:00

I had a chance to watch Heima over the weekend, a concert documentary of Sigur Ros back home in Iceland playing in various small towns. The movie is beautifully filmed, directed and edited. The music is played alongside video of various landscapes and the people of Iceland. Sigur Ros' music has always painted pictures in mind of what Iceland might look like and now those images have come to life on screen. I'm looking forward to seeing them live at Benaroya Hall later this summer.

Sub Pop at the Needle

2008-07-14T15:51:00.000-07:00

If you were in Seattle last weekend you may have noticed the Space Needle flying a new flag. In celebration of Sub Pop's 20th anniversary as a record label the Needle flew the Sub Pop logo high above the city:

In addition to the flag the top was painted like a giant record, similar to this:

Cool!

Lost and FFFFound!

2008-06-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

I recently ran across a image bookmarking web site for creatives called FFFFound!. It's easy to get lost on the site while clicking through various users recommendations and interests. So if you're in need of some visual stimulation or inspiration go get lost for a little while at FFFFound!

Girl Talk: "Feed the Animals"

2008-06-20T10:40:00.000-07:00

Girl Talk has released his latest mix tape of music nostalgia via his web site, Illegal Art, entitled Feed the Animals. You have the option to pay what you want to receive the download followed by selecting a reason why you chose to pay this amount. For example...

I have opted to pay $78,563.86 because:

• I may donate later
• I can't afford to pay
• I don't really like Girl Talk
• I don't believe in paying for music
• I have already purchased this album
• I don't value music made from sampling
• I am part of the press, radio, or music industry
• Other reasons

Have fun.

Sitka and Spruce, Matthew Dillon and Fugazi

2008-06-04T14:23:00.000-07:00

If you haven't been to Matthew Dillon's small restaurant on Eastlake called Sitka and Spruce, I would strongly recommend it. If you have, then you probably know what I am talking about and will most likely want to check out his new restaurant scheduled to open in Georgetown. You can read all about the place he refuses to call a restaurant and how the band Fugazi plays a major role in his culinary creativity, here.
While you read the article here is a little dinner music, enjoy.
Promises - Fugazi

(thanks Melissa for the tip)

McFetridge at Patagonia

2008-05-29T23:34:00.000-07:00

I was walking home from work the other day and as I passed the Patagonia store on 1st I noticed Geoff McFetridge contributed some of his illustrations for some of their t-shirt designs. Geoff's minimalist, whimsical illustration style seems to match Patagonia's style very well. Now you can wear your McFetridge shirt down to the Olympic Sculpture park and view more of his illustrations as previously mentioned here.

Animated Walls

2008-05-29T22:14:00.000-07:00

A short film made on walls in Buenos Aires by Blu. The amount of time that must of went into this project is unbelievable.

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.
Creepy.

(Thanks for the tip Joe)

Happy 125th Walter Gropius...

2008-05-18T20:14:00.000-07:00

...Google loves you.

This morning I was on Google and noticed this in place of their traditional logo:

If you frequently go to Google you've probably noticed that they redesign their logo for different holidays through out the year. Well apparently today would have been the German Architect, Walter Gropius, 125th birthday and in tribute they made the logo into what I suppose is meant to resemble buildings. As well as being an Architect Walter started Bauhaus, a design school in the early 1900s that was a large contributor to modern design. The school focused on many different things including graphic design and typography and I am sure that if Walter was alive today he would send the poorly designed Google back to school for a redesign.

Procrastination

2008-05-12T15:31:00.000-07:00

Having a hard time getting started at work today? This visually entertaining animation by Johnny Kelly of Nexus Productions should buy you some time.