Wild Beasts Video

This is the crazy video for Wild Beasts new single. It was directed by OneInThree and is a kaleidoscope of imagery. The never ending maze like effect is hypnotic, but will leave you a bit cross eyed at the end. Here's a bit about it:

"It pioneers an amazing mind bending visual technique called the 'Droste Effect' which is based on an uncompleted lithograph that Escher made in 1956. The maths behind the lithograph was so complicated that Escher was unable to finish the centre of the picture and so left it blank. OneInThree developed the technique from Josh Sommers code so that it could be applied to moving images and apart from a grade & online at The Mill did all the VFX themselves."

What clever chaps they are!

Typographic Artworks

Here's a collection of impressive images created from typography. I'm in awe of the time and precision it must have taken to create each one. To see the rest, click the link below:

http://www.designflavr.com/resources/21-Inspirational-Typography-Artworks--from-DeviantArt-i116/

Four Letter Word

This book is an inspiring collection of 21st century love letters. Joshua Knelman and Rosalind Porter have given forty of today's most celebrated writers a simple brief: to write a fictional love letter. This form of communication seems to have been neglected in modern society. But I think it's one of the most powerful and honest pieces of communication there is.

When I first picked this up, I looked at the phrase "love letter" and my first thoughts were: soppy, romantic, gush. But after reading the back, I thought I'd give it a go. I'm so glad I did as it's brilliant. It's fascinating to see how the writer's have given these love letters a modern twist. Each letter is unique: there's a set of emails from an obsessive stalker, a letter from Bigfoot to Santa, a missing persons ad... Each writer has tackled the brief in their own way; it's a great example of seeing how these creatives think outside the box. Some are so far out of the box, it looks like a dot to them. Reading this book will make you laugh, touch, feel pity, cringe, and shock you. It's well worth a read.

Kapitaal

As you're taken on a journey through this branded city, you open your eyes to the amount of messages that are forced upon us in the urban environment. This animated film highlights the typography and signs in a typical city, yet this alone is visually overwhelming. It makes you wonder how much you're actually taking in, and how much rushes past you. The execution of white type on black is simple, sexy and powerful. It's a good example of how simplicity is what really makes you take notice.

It was created by Ton Meijdam, Thom Snels and Bela Zsigmond and was financed by De Beyerd Museum of Graphic Design, in Breda, Holland. It's won a load of awards which I'm not surprised about- I think it's fantastic.

Cool Calendar

I thought this was an interesting take on calendar design. It was used as a self promotional piece for the designer Jonathan Davies. Each month is represented by the colour associated with it- January being blue, July being orange etc. It's a shame this summer hasn't quite lived up to his positive cover descriptions...

Foot Pedalled Mini Coopers

OK, so the Olympics might be over, but I came across this great little piece of branding used in Beijing. As one of its sponsors, Mini Cooper transformed traditional Chinese rickshaws into

contemporary bike powered Minis. I love the golden dragon embellishment and dangling ornaments. These little touches have kept the vehicle in tune with the culture. The brand doesn't over dominate the tradition, but works with it in a light hearted tone.

Photography Takes On Art

I came across this extraordinary fashion shoot by the photographer Michael Thompson for Italian Vogue. He's incorporated photography with 2D painting, using the style of Matisse as his inspiration. I was looking through Matisse's work and came across his piece, Odalisque's, 1928. The image below, must have been inspired by this piece as the resemblance is striking.

Odalisque's, 1928

I'm not quite sure whether these were created using Photoshop or if they were cut out and hand painted. Whatever the method, the bold colours and brush strokes of the paint combined with the detail in the photography creates a surreal and striking effect.

Odalisque In Red Trousers, 1924-1925

You can see more of Michael Thompson's work at: http://http://www.jedroot.com/