JThree Concepts

Recently I discovered this amazing artist, Jared Nickerson, a 26 year old illustrator based out of Seattle, WA. His digital work is sublime and each piece he's created could easily be converted to a canvas and hung on a wall. Love it all day long, and being one quite familiar with all things vector - I know how much work he's put into creating his art. I'm sure Jared has had his fair share of late nighters and hot pockets...

Please, call me Pascal...

Pascal Colrat. Artist? Designer? Photographer? I'm not really sure because the site is entirely in french. All I know is that I am fiercely jealous of his talent and his first name. I always wanted to be called Pascal. His work is arresting and interesting. Check out the site here.

This tip came from my esteemed colleague Aaron Onsurez.

Aloha Saturn

GM announced today that it had 16 buyers interested in purchasing Saturn and were aggressively trying to reach an agreement soon. After spending the last two years working hard to try and get the word out about “a different kind of car company”, I am happy to hear that there may indeed be a tomorrow for Saturn. The company really tried to tell a new story about being forward thinking, innovative and human. The products recently released (Outlook, Vue, Aura, Sky and Astra) have been remarkably well received and have been gaining a stronger position in the marketplace. The people at Saturn are smart, funny and passionate about what they are doing. Who knows what the future holds for GM and how it’ll all shake out in the end, but I really felt like Saturn was headed in the right direction. Maybe GM will learn something and offer us a new car company that indeed thinks differently, act responsibly and offers products that are well built and lust-worthy. Maybe...

The Raven

One of my favorite poems "The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe is celebrated with a commemorative edition book to commemorate the 2009 release of the Edgar Allen Poe stamp. Charlottesville, Virginia-based Journey Group created this booklet for the United States Postal Service. The book is largely a graphic representation and features the stamp artwork (oil painting) and commentary by stamp artist Michael J. Deas and a block of four Edgar Allan Poe stamps. The artwork for the book was created by French artist Emmanuel Polanco. Quite a beautiful example of design and illustration coming together to create something special.

2012 Olympic Posters

Spotted these posters online for the London 2012 Olympics depicting tennis, fencing, cycling and diving. I'm not sure if they are actual posters in production or proposed - all I know is that I really like them and applaud Alan Clarke for designing them.

The Olympics is a great venue that draws international interest and is ripe with opportunities for brilliant design. These posters are a step in the right direction and take the events to a higher level.

On the other hand, this logo for the 2012 Olympics (designed by Wolff Olins and costing some $400,000) is not well designed and feels trapped in a time-zone in some mall in Sherman Oaks circa 1983, sandwiched between an "Esprit" store and a "Hotdog on a Stick" stand.

Ouch.

Diz Chair

Wha...? Posting twice in the same month? Crazy.

Anyway, do you love furniture? Well I do! And this chair is what it's all about. The Diz chair designed by Sergio Rodrigues is hand-built from solid eucalyptus and the stuff of dreams. I discovered it in the products section of Design Hotels. It's $7500.00 a piece but well worth it if only to have your body ensconced euphorically in this work of art.

Musica Bonita

Came across this promotional site for creative director Sebastien Agneessens. A highly educated and ambitious cat that goes by the name of Seb Leon when promoting his musical offerings. I'm a big fan of how well his promotional site is designed. It's clean, rich with information about the artist and gives you a clear understanding of what Seb is puttin' down.

Currently the music industry is in a death spiral and one way to create a much needed following is by taking the fight out of the empty Best Buy music aisles and onto the internet. More and more, artists are stretching opportunities online to tell the story, provide downloadable assets such as free music and artwork and allow for fans to congregate. Radiohead, Brian Eno + David Byrne and Wilco are all there at the front and leading a pretty solid charge.