Granted there are a ton of websites out there giving creatives the opportunity to share their inspiration with many, I stumbled over these guys on the weekend and quite enjoyed the random beauty submitted by it’s members.

The site is very easy and simple to use – and they have this neat ability to capture any image you decide to “Love”. All you have to do is add their handy dandy widget to your browser (I use Firefox 3 so I’m not sure if it’s compatible with other browsers). I’m going to try and dig deeper into what they’re using to do this because honestly I think it’s so intuitive that everybody should share in it’s brilliance.

However aside from their cool technology for such a simple site – it’s still fun!

Website: weheartit.com

, originally uploaded by i.anton.

The perspective of this photo is beautiful to me. To me it injects fun, carefree, sweet candy, the smell of the ocean and the smell of vanilla sun tan lotion as it catches the wind.

Do yourself a favor; get some Nina Simone (personally I was listening to Feeling Good), and stare at this photo. If you get the chance, then do ME the favor and let me know what exactly came to your mind.

From April 20-30, 2009, the graduates of Langara’s arts programs are displaying their final projects to the public.  This includes students of Display+Design, Film, Photo-Imaging, Fine Arts, Theatre, Art History, Publishing and Journalism 

The events are all free of charge and are located in various venues around Vancouver.

For more information check out the website: artsfest.ca

This year has been a year of great challenges and great obstacles – all of which have instilled a great sense of purpose, ambition and direction for me. Technology has been cited as the single fastest growing phenomenon in the shortest time span this century (want more incite check out “The Next 5000 days of the WEB“), however even with all these technological advancements the world still managed to fall into another economic dark age.

I could go into a 2008 retrospective but I think there have been more dark moments that shining moments – so all I have to say is this:

WE all have the power and ability to steer our own course in this life. It might be small compared to schematics of the universe. But the beauty of this world is not what we accomplish as individuals but what we’re able to change together. Sounds pretty tacky I know – but take a step back for once and see the world for what it is – just one big bubble. A bubble we’re all inside of, a bubble that is fragile, but also a bubble that is majestic and everlasting, giving us life. A bubble that surely can live without us if it were sentient enough to just wipe us all out tomorrow, but a bubble WE can’t live without.

May 2009 bring you all joy, peace and power. Power to live life. Power to live it well!

Working in technology is competitive – especially in a town where they seem to spring up on every street corner. I’m not sure which are more abundant, Starbucks or interactive companies.

FCV however, has been around since 2005 and in those short 4 years, it has grown at an alarmingly successful rate. I work as Lead Designer for them- and I might be accused of having a slight bias in terms of singing its praises – but if you sum up the talent, drive and passion we all share with technology, couple that with the fact we’re all under the age of 40, I’d say we have enough endurance to outlast even the big guns.

Don’t believe me, then check us out!

I stumbled on a couple of these brilliant and effective postcards and tried to find who’s responsible for creating them. I found more images following the same theme and quite possibly the creator – Wilhelm Staehle. They’re quite cheeky – which I love, so enjoy them.

If you’re really crafty you could always just print one out and use it as a great birthday card. (more…)

I was going through my Google Analytics report to notice that a good portion of my traffic was coming from The Best of 604 – so I decided to investigate. Aparantly Mediakik was submitted in the category of Best Personal Site/Blog – whether or not I had won is an entirely different story, one of which I don’t know. So – thankyou to whom ever submitted Mediakik.

I have been a little slow on the post lately – but for good reason. New direction! 2009 will see some changes, some major some minor, but all we be in the good interest of sharing, collaborating and showcasing art and design globally.

With the holiday season in full swing I do wish everyone a safe holiday where ever you may be!

The deciding factor in watching any movie we know nothing about will always be the poster hanging behind the glass showcase outside the theater. It’s an art that goes beyond just creating something to market the movie, you have to consider that you’re creating a narrative all to its own.

Movie poster art has always been something that fascinated me. I even had my own ragged poster collection as a teenager, that I took from the theater I worked at. Over the years though, especially in the independent film world – that art has been brought to new light. For reasons that are many, the ones that stand paramount are the fact that they don’t have the big studio backing them up, and they’re relying on the “emotional pull” that poster will evoke on the audience and how that’s going to carry with them as they go in to see the film.

In the 70’s through to the 80’s and early 90’s, artists  Drew Struzan and John Alvin created created some of the most iconic posters of our time. These guys forged the path for where movie poster art is today. Without them – who knows where it would have ended up?

Online design shop Mary and Matt has just stared selling a unique and delicious product.  Their Chocolate Pie Chart is made of 70% milk, 20% dark and 10% white chocolate.  It costs $20 US. 

I realize I have been falling behind in posts – however I that does not mean I haven’t been searching for something exciting to show you all. Well I think goes beyond anything I thought to expect. Patricia Piccinini is a artist and sculture born out of West Africa, she immigrated to Australia to emerge in the late 90’s as one of Australia’s most prominent artists. (more…)

On Main street, between 23rd and 24th Ave, across the street from Crave restaurant, sits a small stationery store full of surprizes.  The Regional Assembly of Text sells all sorts of artwork, clothing and stationery which use emphasize text in the design.

Particularly interesting was a collection of tiny books in the “lowercase reading room“.  Also of interest is their letter writing club where people get together to practice the art of writing letters.  This store is definitely worth a look.

The Regional Assembly of Text 
3934 Main Street 
Vancouver BC

MTV created a global warming media campaign called Switch, which looked into getting people actively involved in the environmental issues at hand. Now – I’ve always trusted MTV ad campaigns to always be unique in its approach and voice. Stumbling on this just reaffirmed that notion.

Enjoy!

(more…)

Stumbled on this Ad of the Day and thought i’d just post the print ad that was release – since there really isn’t much else information other than it was created by CLM BBDO, Paris, France. (more…)

Even though this has no affiliation with Pantone, I have to say that Ignacio Pilotto has a done a great job putting some fun into an iconic toy.

Not much out there about the Argentinian designer – other than this puzzle making its rounds.

Justin is an artist out of Spokane, Washington – with a very twisted mind. I remember being a kid and mutilating most of the He-Man figurines I had (including my cousins Barbie doll), but Justin seems to edge a line that makes this almost horrific.

Good thing it’s Halloween!! (more…)

What would you say to rechargeable and wireless stereo speaker docking station for digital audio players? Well designer Victor Vetterlein got stuck into the idea and came out with Yo. (more…)

Jeremy Prasatik, of Dallas TX has got a really great approach to design and seems to navigate with enough sense to not get too carried away with fads or “what’s hot” in the design scene. His site jp33 has a pretty eclectic and large body of work, which is definitely worth taking note.

Although, he does seem to pull some flavour from designer Scott Hansen. Come to think of it, the whole grunge-seventies-eighties-art deco style seems to becoming more and more prevalent. But who cares! It looks good, and is appealing to most descerning tastes. So take a look at Jeremy’s work – you might even find a couple of awesome christmas presents by way of some awesome t-shirt prints.

Ever wondered what on the inside of some of “characters” you’ve encountered in life. Perhaps you’ve always wondered what the life cycle and skeletal system of a Gummi Bear is. Well Jason Freeny of MoistProduction.com has a somewhat odd intepretation of things – which serves him well enough to gain some notoriety.

“..armed with a youthful, overactive imagination Jason create smart, intricate illustrations that tickle the deviant intellect through a mix of hard graphics, pop iconagraphy and wit.”

Enough said – just check out the damn site!!

Weblink: Jason Freeny

A combination of stellar special effects – Munich based design firm Velvet Mediendesign and Black Mountain Studios VFX teamed up to create this spot for Mattoni Spring Water. (more…)