Jeff Kleinsmith & Patent Pending

A few months back I posted about the awesome poster site GigPosters. I find myself going back to check out this site pretty regularly as the amount of cool stuff is kind of staggering. The other thing I've found is when I discover a poster design I really like, it turns out that chances are pretty good it was done by Jeff Kleinsmith, a Seattle designer and long-time art director at Sub Pop Records.

Along with fellow designer Jesse LeDoux, Kleinsmith is also a partner in Patent Pending Industries where you can get ahold of posters and shirts designed by the pair. Bands they've designed posters for include The Shins, the Melvins, Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth, Jesus Lizard and many, many more.

No Spec 4 You!

Yes, it's true... spec work is the devil. Unfortunately with today's economic conditions being what they are, there are more than a few unsavory types lying in wait for desperate creatives to come along. The best advice I can give you is to look the other way and just keep walking... then run away! As fast as your feets can take you.

Illustrative designer Von Glitschka, a fellow Upper Deck alum, creative powerhouse and all-around good guy says it best with the 2 poster designs above for the website No!Spec. Visit this excellent resource to learn more about the important issue of speculative, or 'spec' work.

Nike "Juice Plus" Packaging

Like many golfers these days, the sorry state of the economy has put a major crimp in my ability to get out on the golf course. My involvement with the sport has been reduced to hanging out on the practice putting green every once in awhile and checking out the new clubs and products down at the local Sports Authority. That is where I came across this packaging for the Nike "Juice Plus" line of golf balls.

The design is super clean and simple, yet pretty striking in it's execution. Given that Nike, along with Apple and Method, has some of the best product and packaging design going on these days, it's still amazing to me when designers can actually get something through that doesn't have a proliferation of bursts, violaters, or exclamation points. This design actually has that rare something known as white space, along with some nice purple and gold foil stamping, silver and gun-metal metallic inks, and a blind-deboss clear foil stamping.

Add to that some clever spot-on copywriting calling out it's "pharmaceutical grade distance" and "prescription strength formula" and you've got the whole package, so to speak. Nicely done... can we get a golf clap here?

TEDTalks: David Carson (2003)

Graphic designer David Carson on design & discovery. A tad lengthy but definitely worth it if you can carve out the time.

High on Adler?

Now I wouldn't consider myself a huge fan of Jonathan Adler stuff, but hey, that's just me. Lord knows he's got legions of fans and is making some pretty serious bank, so what do I know anyway? I do have to say I find this particular product kind of interesting though.

As the website explains...

"Scandalously scented with black currant, green apple, wormwood, patchouli and moss. Earthy but couture – it's a tempting taboo to inhale! And when the candle burns out...the porcelain vessel makes the perfect stash box."

Anybody else here getting a serious case of the munchies?

pilotdesign

Keith Moore of pilotdesign, is a Minneapolis-based graphic designer who also produces some very unique and inspired furniture and clock designs with a distinctly modern sensibility and regard for sustainability.

After graduating from Colorado State University with a BFA in Graphic Design, Keith headed for Minneapolis to start his career in that field. In his spare time, he started creating basic furniture pieces in his apartment with found objects, and eventually rented space at a pottery studio since his first design, a lamp, had a ceramic base. He was encouraged by the inclusion of this floor lamp in the international design publication, Graphis. He continued working in ceramics up until he took a course in furniture design at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD), and immediately took to woodworking and the problem solving it required.

After working for a number of interactive design firms and agencies (including Duffy, Fallon, and Popular Front), he went out on his own in 2002 to design websites and furniture. Since then he's joined the 4th Street Guild, a woodworking cooperative, where his shop is today, after outgrowing the basement of his house.

Keith continues to work in both interactive and furniture design, often using bamboo and other sustainable materials… you can see some of his products for sale at his etsy shop.