*notcot - , 03:15 -

Justin Young - The Journey

thejourney.jpgOn more fun 3am discoveries, Art Director, Justin Young’s PSA, The Journey, is a beautiful little video worth checking out that takes you on a little adventure about where your water comes from, and how much can be saved by simply turning off the water when you brush your teeth! (and he’s looking for work, if you want to help him out…) I’m loving the style and the pacing… see some of my favorite screenshots after the jump. View the video here.

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*notcot - 03.04.08 , 19:09 -

Polite In Public - The Photobooth

politeinpublic.jpgPolite In Public. The standard for photobooth/party photography has just been raised dramatically. Imagine this ~ you show up at a party, and in one section you see a crazy well lit open closet of sorts with people lined up… as you get closer you see that the “closet” is lined with white fur and has gold port holes in it, as well as a rack of clothes… and people are trying them on and striking poses within it! That was the scene at the Dussault party i went to back in November 07, and combined with having half of melrose closed off and covered in astroturf, with fake “snow” fluttering down on us, a wooden hottub and girls in leaderhosen dancing about, i didn’t think twice about this set up at first. Until i got home and noticed the “Polite In Public” sticker in my purse with a url on it. That “closet” was apparently the new generation of photobooths, and the images were unlike any i’d seen. Flash forward a few months, and when my friend’s pics from the Obama Rally for Super Tuesday had some more great Polite In Public shots, i had to take note.

Well, playing with ideas for perhaps the next blogfest or maybe a NOTCOT party, i finally gave them an email, and was surprised to find that Polite In Public is the brainchild of Joe Rubenstein and Joe Miller, two SCAD graduates. Joe R, 31, is a painting and film double major, and Joe M, 29, is a Graphic Design major and Computer Artist… and with backgrounds in lighting/cinematography and photography, it’s no surprise that after trying out their photobooth concept at their own myspace publicized house party (early 2007), the idea spread fast throughout LA and before they knew it they were flying around the country going on tour and doing jobs for PlayBoy, Verizon, Svedka, Dussault, Mercedes, Burton Snowboards, The Obama Campaign, Universal Home Entertainment, 944 Magazine, and GenArt among others…. More info about how these are set up, and pictures behind the scenes after the jump!

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*notcot - , 11:59 -

If Saul Bass did Star Wars?

saulbassstar.jpg36 year old bhilmers of youtube has created a star wars movie intro channeling his inner Saul Bass, using “Machine” by the Buddy Rich Band off the album Big Swing Face (1967)… and it’s pretty sweet for any Saul Bass lovers out there (who’s not?). Embedded after the jump!

Also apologies for the quietness yesterday ~ my macbook pro is seriously freaking out (perhaps since its nearing its 1 year bday?) and also lost one of its feet ~ and firefox has been a ram suck… so trying out Firefox 3 beta 3 now… *fingers crossed*… and then tried Arctic Root pills yesterday which also totally threw my whole day off in a not at all good way. So basically, its been a very odd beginning of the week… watch the video below!

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*notcot - 03.02.08 , 20:41 -

Capetown Design Indaba Expo

Front_Image.jpgNOTCOT Note: Where would i be without incredible readers like Gillian Benjamin, who emailed in an incredible post submission covering the Capetown Design Indaba that ran from Saturday 23 February to Friday 29 February? (I am extremely impressed, she even created all these beautiful images to go with the post without any prompting!) Read on to see what design finds she discovered…

Last week Cape Town was brimming with creative energy as the 5th annual Design Indaba Expo took place. Featuring everything from industrial design to quirky ceramic pieces and reinterpreted African curio kitsch, the Expo showcased the best homegrown talent to both local and international audiences. Each year the event seems to grow a little bigger - a sure sign of South Africa’s blossoming creative talent. Following global trends, the focus on craft and the hand-made was definitely visible.

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*notcot - 03.01.08 , 02:09 -

Doonesbury - Poetry of Obama

doonesbury08.jpgOn random things i’ve found myself following lately, its been fascinating to watch so many creatives (from street art to comics to hollywood) finding different ways to express their support for Obama, as well as his impressively nicely designed visual campaign (come on, you know you noticed that his infamous CHANGE font looks nearly identical to Chanel’s signature font)… So on the latest creative outlet visually voicing an opinion, Doonesbury’s “Poetry of Barack Obama” and “The Prose of Hillary Clinton” classes causing a stir on the fictitious Walden campus have been quite an amusing thread… Check out the strips so far in order below!

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*Sub-Studio - 02.29.08 , 22:24 -

Nendo

0227nendo1.jpgNOTCOT Note: Here’s another article from Anna Corpron of Sub-Studio!

nendo is a Japanese design firm run by Oki Sato. I’m loving his work, especially the products in his 1% project (only 100 pieces of each product were made - “to give owners the chance to experience the joy of owning 1%” - nice!).

The Fruit-Template (from the 1% project) puts the fruit on display, and moves away from the idea of a bowl by having the fruit plug into its similar shape. Tile Plants is an attempt to move us away from the negative association of grout lines (dirt/mold) and to make associations with growth and plant life.

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*notcot - 02.26.08 , 12:27 -

Inflate

inflater1.jpgMy latest obsession discovered at IDS08… Inflate’s airy structures! I fell in love with the white Luna cave/igloo that was set up in the corner of the show floor. There was also a black one, but with a silver exterior (i guess less likely to melt down in the sun if outside?) it wasn’t nearly as appealing. But the white one you can see images of below, it’s the perfect size for a playful rooftop studio space, or even in a backyard… it would probably be incredibly fun to have projections on the interior when its dark out… Anyhow, this prompted me to do much reading on the Inflate site, and this UK design and production studio was established in 1995 when founder, Nick Crosbie, was fresh out of RCA creating smaller scale products like fruitbowls, egg cups, ashtrays, etc…. with the first collection launched at 100% Design London it snowballed, and now they have 2 production facilities in the UK and an HK office! Naturally with a need for booths at competitions, the inflatables scaled up, and now they have moved into semi-permanent and permanent architectural structures as well! See many images below of why i’m smitten, and toying with whether 7,000$ for a pop up Luna is a worthwhile expense…

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*notcot - 02.25.08 , 14:03 -

Pop Ink’s Decor-a-Boards

decoraboard.jpg
Decor-a-Boards from Pop Ink caught my eye because of this Little Red Samurai! So cute on the wood, so sweet, so innocent, so definitely has blood dripping from her sword. What are these? “Pop Ink’s Decor-a-Boards are the real wood wall art you need. Printed directly onto unfinished birch veneer over MDF board, Décor-a-Boards are a natural fit for any green (or any other color) home. The 11.25”x14” ready-to-hang Pop Ink Decor-a-Boards are manufactured with recycled wood scraps and unused parts of lumbered trees.” See more images after the jump!

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*notcot - 02.24.08 , 14:24 -

Obay - WhyBecauseISaidSo

torontoad1.jpgI stopped suddenly while walking and HAD to photograph this ad… i kind of hoped it was a random subversive urban hack… but then i saw it in the buses, and throughout the city. This one still has the best (ok, by best i meant worst) stock photo image… and caption… “My son has ideas of his own. Obay put a stop to that… from the makers of WhyBecauseISaidSo.” And the packaging design of the bottle could certainly have been done up a bit more to make it more convincing! But thanks to a submission over to NOTCOT.org on that same night about how Torontoist discovered what it was really about, the mystery was solved! See more images, the culprit behind the viral, etc after the jump!

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*Sub-Studio - 02.23.08 , 20:42 -

&Larry

0221larry1.jpgNOTCOT Note: Here’s another article from Anna Corpron of Sub-Studio!

&Larry is a Singaporean designer whose work very much references the local culture. We’ve all heard about the more infamous rules and regulations (no chewing gum other than therapeutic kinds), and &Larry’s Anything but Red project is a direct response to what he calls “the stifling creative atmosphere that leads to the easy dismissal of potentially great ideas”. The lamp base is made of stacked rolls of tapes of all kind - with the exclusion of red tape.

Another great project after the jump!

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*notcot - 02.21.08 , 21:59 -

IDS08 Opening Night Gala

ids081.jpg Freshly back from the IDS08 Opening Night Gala ~ and although i’m totally passing out, just wanted to give you guys a peek at some of the pics… there were singers, quartets, acrobats, women dressed up in crazy flowered dresses, the incredible Vertical Limit Veuve Clicquot/Porsche Design collab (1 of 15!), Dysons, Audis… and so much more… anyhow, see after the jump for a quick look!

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*notcot - 02.20.08 , 11:53 -

Arkitip Highmath No. 0044

viewmaster1.jpgIt’s here! My Arkitip issue #0044 just showed up! And i’m in love with this glossy black viewmaster that came with the issue… so much that i even have pics of it for you as if you were looking through it! (See after the jump for the woody mac within)… Since i was a bit excited, here’s a quick reverse unboxing in images for you after the jump!

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*notcot - 02.16.08 , 12:03 -

GE Ecomagination Fishing Ad

desalination.jpgAlso part of the GE Ecomagination ad campaign is ‘Fishing’, an adorably sweet desalination advert where “Chaos breaks out aboard a Norwegian boat when its fishermen start harvesting bottles of fresh water straight from the sea.” The music is really a nice touch on this ad spot. Embedded after the jump!

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*notcot - , 11:48 -

GE Ecomagination Blueprint Ads

ecomain.jpgBeautiful print ad campaign for GE’s Ecomagination… view the full set of the Blueprint Series after the jump. They are “all part of our blueprint for a better world”, covering water, solar power, home, wind power, and cleaner coal. What i like in particular with this campaign are the infographics overlayed on beautiful scenic national geographic-esque shots… with clear bold statements, they let you simultaneously appreciate the natural settings, why thinking about how to execute the diagrams. “Two-thirds of the world is covered in water. Shouldn’t three-thirds of the world’s population be able to drink it?” Yes.

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*notcot - 02.15.08 , 23:26 -

XKCD use of title

xkcdalt.jpgNot to geek out on you, but just had to point out how perfect XKCD’s use of title is in #383 ‘Helping’. And also another reason why people really should check out content in its original/intended form (as well as on RSS readers, splogs, etc!). And oh how i wish someone would make a magical ‘make everything better button’… perhaps shaped like a Staples’ EASY button? And i suppose this will make me rollover pictures to see the title text more often now?

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