Some of the most amazingly intricate wood and metal art ever produced was for toys. To measure up to those amazing standards the catalog ads had to be of equal brilliance — and they were! There’s something truly brilliant about the intricate line-art and fascinating body copy from times gone by. Here are 10 awesome antique ads from the late 1800s – to early 1900s:
Archiving my past projects is something that I did not do well. It all somehow ends up in a box that I shove somewhere — and when I need it, I pray that it’s still in presentable shape. That’s quite pathetic on my part. However, I’ve changed my ways due to lack of space and anybody who has the same issues can learn from my recent archiving adventures. Here’s a simple five step guide to archiving your work reliably and efficiently:
Business cards, no matter what the print industry is going through these days will always survive. They are a simple, inexpensive and non-cumbersome physical extension of yourself that can continue to serve a functional purpose no matter what technology shifts occur. Here are 10 important elements designers should consider in their quest for business card nirvana:
For those of us who ~heart~ music and art — gig posters are sometimes more beautiful than any Mona Lisa or Picasso painting. It’s the combination of your favorite band with unbridled creative originality that usually does us in. “Flatstock” (as it’s called in the industry) is most often small run/limited edition silk screen art work to promote a musical gig. The designers/studios these days gather up at an event and sell prints (such as at the SXSW or Pitchfork Music Festival for instance). Here is a sampling of 50 from some of the best studios around:
Email marketing is as popular as ever in these economically turbulent times. It’s inexpensive but when done correctly can yield tremendous results. There are some tricky pitfalls such as spam filtering but what better way to directly connect your audience to what you’re trying to say? Here are ten simple tips that will help you understand the world of email marketing and how to hopefully turn out some successful campaigns.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, I grew up on the orange lines of the NYC MTA. I used to stare deeply into the huge maps at each station waiting for my train to show up and have always been in awe of how much detail is in each square inch. Here are some of the most beautiful metro/transit maps from around the world.
(I tried to focus on the most simplified “quick-view” versions meant for scanning on stations rather than intricate street combo versions. These versions have their own unique challenges like — readability, that I felt made them especially designerly.)
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have a new record out and I thought to myself as I picked up the new album (it’s Blitz!) what a great cover art they have. As I listened to the album, I thought what great matches they turned out to be for the actual music of their respective albums…
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