This quirky stop-motion animation is a segment from artist Rob Carter’s video Metropolis which chronicles the evolution of the city of Charlotte in North Carolina.  The full version is being screened at New York’s Museum of Art and Design.

(via PSFK)

Spotted on visual culture publisher: Gestalten, this video features the illustrator Niemann, who has done illustration blog work for the New York Times and a number of nice covers for the New Yorker.  I just like listening to his accent as he chats sincerely and articulately about data visualisation.

Nanami Cowdroy is an Australian artist, with Japanese and European roots.  She has created these beautifully detailed and expressive drawings in mixed media, and is now exhibiting around the world.  For me, the inky style adds depth and movement to her subjects, and many of her creations provide a fresh take on traditional Japanese imagery.

Diesel have a way with catchy, controversial taglines.  Global Warming Ready back in 2007 sticks in the mind.  This latest campaign: Be Stupid by London agency Anomaly overlays the familiar bold text comments on photos of beautiful people engaged in inadvisable situations.  The photos are less glossy and airbrushed than in the past, with a bit of a Vice magazine or Lastnightsparty (website seems to be down at the mo) hipster vibe.  The images are like a psychological Rorschach test (those inkblots that look like angry clowns killing puppies), they provoke an emotional response to each situation: are you a free-living funmeister or a disapproving consequence-driven square…?

There haven’t been enough genitals on SSZ lately.  Anti AIDS spot by TBWA Paris - lads!

**Warning product design bias!!**

The open-ended student project brief can lead to incredible innovations.  The unconstrained mind can come up with quirky ideas like the screw-in coffin or the moneypad, but getting there can be the most stressful and time consuming process.  Also, each project you take on is an investment in your own future, your portfolio has to stand out if you want to get your paws on an ever-more-elusive job, so you can’t mess it up!  This is why many students use competitions as a source for ideas.  Clued-up lecturers often use the briefs set by our mates at D&AD as part of their teaching.  Mine did not, but a friend recommended it, and it made a really fresh, relevant, well-rounded final year project: you have to set some of your own boundaries, read up on the area, establish your target market and so on, and you can make it as technical as you like.  It beats those tired ”pill dispenser for the elderly” briefs, and if you are a finalist then that looks great on the CV.

I’m probably preaching to the choir here, but for those who are not aware of this excellent source of creative briefs and inspiration (as well as prestige and prizes for the winners), here are some interesting links:

• Contest Watchers (those tie-wearing shapes above) is a blog that aggregates professional and student design, visual arts and music competitions from around the world, keeps an eye on entry deadlines, and bigs up the winners to a growing audience (via psfk)
• The Design Council’s events and competitions directory is quite good, despite the baffling and hideous website.
• Dexigner is an awesome design industry news resource, and also has a feed of competitions with deadline info.
• Core77 is another design resource, good for news as well as job hunting and portfolio hosting.  They often run 1-hour design challenges which are a great way to show off your skills to the design community in a short time period.

There’s a huge product design bias in these links, if you have a moment, please comment with other resources from your field.

Good luck in those competitions!

Spotted this parkour video on voice of youf, threebillion.com, it’s by Singaporese graphic design student saggyarmpit and it took 4 weeks to plan and create.  She doesn’t even think it’s that good!  I think it’s great that in this era of CGI where any reality seems possible, people are still creating dynamic, engaging lofi work by hand.

You’ve got to love it when an advertising scheme makes total use of its location or the surface on which it is printed.  Fubiz featured a fantastic example of this in Danish agency Bates Y&R’s campaign for Copenhagen Zoo.

Tis the season for “top ten” lists, falalalalala lala la la.  Brand New’s best and worst identies of 2009 is one such list which critiques some of the year’s most prominent rebrands.  A very subjective topic, perhaps what is most interesting about this article are the comments and discussion of each entry, often showing disagreement on different levels from colour and typography to imagery and symbolism.  It’s quite US-themed, so I’d be interested to see a review of more global or UK-based rebrands (please suggest links).

Via PSFK

Watching this showreel from Stargate Studios it feels like the power of special effects has reached a point where anything is possible.  But it’s not just explosions and spaceships, they seem to be enhancing everything!  Surely it’s cheaper to have Ugly Betty walking into a real bus shelter?

Edit 19/12/09: the video seems to have stopped working, so check out the site for their work on shows such as Heroes, Ugly Betty and Knight Rider.

Edit 08/1/10: it’s back. See below

Stargate Studios Virtual Backlot Demo from Stargate Studios on Vimeo.

Brian Ulrich (www.melodramaticwebaddress.com) is an eminent Chicago photographer whose photos capture aspects of very American, suburban life.  His studies of Retail and Thrift are an interesting combination of beautifully composed, colourful still life images with some very dynamic portraits of shoppers and staff.  However, for me his most striking work is his study of abandoned malls and stores from around America, the ghostly buildings are in various states of decay: from very recently closed to post-apocalyptic.  For more background info on this work, there is an interview with Ulrich here.

Via Core77

Fascinating daily facts with lo-fi illustrations, from design consultancy Young.

Simple, cute idea by Duffy London - the thick-pile rug has grooves cut into it for the sledge coffee table to sit in.  If you need this in your life, buy it at the Hidden Art Shop.

Via SwissMiss

Edit: Actually don’t buy it from Hidden Art Shop - it’s cheaper direct from Duffy

http://www.twoyoutubevideosandamotherfuckingcrossfader.com/

Please comment with your own suggestions!!

Edit:

http://3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592.com/

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/

http://www.hotchickswithdouchebags.com/

http://www.ratemypoo.com/

Sometimes a product comes along that is so revolutionary, so iconic, that it irreversibly changes the way we behave and redefines an entire category of artefacts.  While we wait for that product to come along, I suggest you have a cup of tea from one of these awesome mugs, designed by Peter Ibruegger for London Design Week.

Via the awesome Fubiz