Mid-century 'Dexter' opening credits

Based on his awesome series of posters for the super clever Showtime series "Dexter", graphic designer Ty Mattson teamed up with some friends at Fashion Buddha to create his own alternative opening credits for the show. The mid-century vibe and Saul Bass inspired look is a natural for the show and it's macabre subject matter and dark humor.

– jb

Si Scott

Some amazing work by designer/typographer/illustrator Si Scott out of the UK. Check out his website for more of his incredible work.

– jb

Howling Monkey

This time around we're reviewing a label and package design by London & San Francisco based Turner Duckworth for an already defunct (too bad!) brand of beer. As the story goes the client allegedly briefed the design firm with the following... "Howling Monkey is the name. Have some fun with it"...

And have some fun they did. I love the mock-traditional engraving style of the design and the series of illustrated "portraits" that follow the monkey as he progresses(?) from an initial state of stoicism to his true howling state. The color palette of black and tan works great with an accent of red-orange to pop out the "howler" and the stout little bottles with tiny embossed nubs around the top are just super-cool.

All-in-all a great design that makes me want to head right over to the neighborhood pub for a nice porter myself.

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.

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.

Gigposters.com

If you haven't visited this site for designers to post their work done for musical acts and concerts, you need to. Boasting over 100,000 poster designs by more than 8,500 designers, the site has a stunning variety of contemporary examples of poster art. Sometimes raw, sometimes polished, sometimes something in-between... you could spend the better part of a day browsing these collections. Believe me, I've done it. Go ahead and check it out... I promise, you'll be glad you did. gigposters.com

New Zealand "Tiki Tour" Stamps

Wasn't planning on posting again today... fully intended to sit on my proverbial arse and while away the rest of this nice summer day. But then I saw these on the New Zealand Post website and had to share them with you all.

Having been lucky enough to visit New Zealand for 9 days back in 2003, seeing this beautifully designed collection of stamps took me back to many of the incredible spots we saw.

As the website explains...

"In other countries they might call it the ‘roundabout way’ to get somewhere. Or the ‘scenic route’. But in New Zealand it’s a ‘Tiki tour’, and it’s the only way to go. It involves getting from A to B via L&P®. Your classic Tiki tour is all about enjoying the journey as much as the destination, and checking out as many 'choice' national icons as you can along the way."

They're so well done that I'm going to go and order my set right now... 24 individual stamps of various locales from both the North and South islands. As an added bonus each book of stamps comes with an A1 size poster of the stamp sheet! Visit the New Zealand Post website to get yours.

Invasion of the Saucer Men Masterprint

"CREEPING HORROR from the depths of time and space!" Hmm, sounds like my last job, but anyways.....

The sheer campiness of this one is hard to beat. Classic 1950's sci-fi melodrama.

11" x 17". Available at AllPosters.com

House Industries - Neutraface Slab Blocks

If you're looking to curse your kid with the same designer's obsession with typography that you yourself have, well here you go. No, seriously... these are great and every future graphic design star should have them.

From House Industries:
"Children need to under-stand the important nuances that define fine alphabets long before they learn how to spell cat, dog, mom, dad or 529 college savings plan. To that end, we have developed this compact set of 12 Neutraface Slab alphabet blocks that will transmit subliminal stylistic messages to both young impressionable minds or the odd dolt whose narrow view of typography is defined by a partial screening of the Helvetica movie."

Now that's a sales pitch.

Vertigo Print

One of the greatest movies of all time, directed by the master Sir Alfred Hitchcock and released in 1958. This poster was designed by Saul Bass, one of the all-time greats in the world of graphic design. Great movies deserve great posters to publicize them, and this one delivered big time imho. Fifty-one years later, the film and the poster are both holding up quite well thank you. That's the definition of classic.

24" x 36". Available at AllPosters.com