Running around San Francisco this weekend, popped by a few of the old spots ~ and had to go by Magnolia Gastropub and Brewery on Haight. My other old neighborhood fav that we also went to this week, their sister spot up Haight, The Alembic. Food and drinks at both were spectacular as always ~ but what made me grab my camera was the menu redesigns… both the their interior and branding were done by Nothing Somthing: NY. The attention to detail ~ beautiful typography ~ the little type snippets hidden about ~ the images on the flip sides of the pages… also Magnolia had some delicious Devils on Horseback (goat cheese stuffed dates wrapped in bacon) and Pulled Pork Poutine. And we couldn’t help but try two cases of the 6 beer samplers to work our way through all of their latest brews. Take a peek at it all on the next page!

p.s. If at The Alembic - Slow Cooked Farm Egg (with quinoa, chorizo, fava beans, maitake mushroom, idiazabal) is a must try. Also the Bone Marrow. Mmmmm.

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Tags: beer - drinks - food - restaurants - san francisco - travel - typography

The Design Museum, London is celebrating Dutch graphic designer Wim Crouwel with his first UK retrospective. Crouwel is renowned for his bold typographic designs that captured the essence of emerging technologies during the 1960s. The exhibit opened on March 30th and runs until July 3rd. You can find out more about the exhibit at the Design Museum’s site for the exhibit: ‘Wim Crouwel - A graphic odyssey’ and see more images of the exhibit below.

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Tags: designers - exhibition - modernism - museum - typography

These ads will make you want to go on an adventure, learn a new language, explore new foods, make new friends, fall in love… with a city, a person, a whole new life… Absolutely stunning typographically happy advertisements set to fun music showing you how to LIVE THE LANGUAGE ~ EF Language School style. I haven’t been able to get them out of my head since i first found them on Wanken. These videos are Directed by Gustav Johansson, D.P: Niklas Johansson, fsf, Typography: Albin Holmqvist, Music: Magnus Lidehäll, and Produced at Camp David. Go get lost in Paris, Barcelona, London, and Beijing on the next page…

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Tags: advertising - travel - typography - video

Just checked into the Morgans Hotel Penthouse… 1,500 square feet of hide away overlooking midtown to bring some fun folks together from around the globe to brainstorm a bit together and relax… and the first thing to grab me are the quote postcards they leave on your pillow. Fun, inspiring, nice clean typography, and the type of quotes that are perfect for the trouble we’re about to get up to! And as you’ll see, i had a bit of fun shooting them off the penthouse patios with the stunning snowy, glistening NYC backdrop… See all the Oscar Wilde, Mae West, and Woody Allen quotes from the The School Of Life’s IDEAS TO LIVE BY… postcard series for Morgans Hotel on the next page.

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Tags: cards - hotels - inspiration - quotes - typography

Sometimes that Christmas Spirit, comes in a bottle. Apparently for 2010, that was true. And the spirit came in the form of the Green Fairy. And it is delicious, and beautifully packaged, courtesy of Stranger & Stranger… it’s not enough that they make some of the most beautiful alcohol packaging around, every year for the last 12 years, they have also sent out a special Christmas Spirit, and i sip this year’s absinthe as i write this post. It’s delicious. Absinthe handmade in a single batch, not available for purchase… It is deliciously beautiful! When a bottle says “After one glass, you see things as you wish they were.” how can you resist? “Nectar, bitter-sweet - like the last kiss on the lips of a discarded mistress, is the secret charm of my existence; green as the moon’s light on a forest pool it glimmers in my glass; eagerly i quaff it, and, as i drink, i dream.” Marie Corelli, 1890.

See the close ups on the next page, and a very merry christmas to you!

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Tags: drinks - gifts - liqurious - packaging - typography - unboxing

Masashi Kawamura has found a beautiful way to mix typography and couture with the ‘T’ Shirt line. As his site describes so well - ‘T’ shirts are T shirts that was designed to have the silhouette of 5 famous typefaces; Helvetica, Caslon, Baskerville, Courier, and Cooper Black.

In the designing process of these shirts, I aimed to capture the character of each typeface and tried to give them a unique look and presence once worn. By collaborating with Itaru Yonenaga, I feel we were able to produce a collection of shirts that is not only conceptual, but wearable as real clothes. I hope you will find your favorite shirt/typeface.

And they are beautifully wearable and actually for purchase from No Control Air in January. With halloween being tomorrow ~ i wish i could have this as my costume! See the rest of the collection on the next page…

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Tags: fashion - gifts - shirts - shopping - typography

New sponsored content series ~ this time Las Vegas is letting me rant and share some vegas awesomeness NOTCOT style! As usual, my pics, my story, they just give me an excuse to talk Vegas.. and share some of my favorite bits!

Who doesn’t find the “Truisms” of text artist, Jenny Holzer, intriguing… especially when paired with a huge Las Vegas drive way… like at the Aria at CityCenter? The Las Vegas Sun highlighted a few good ones (out of around 200 programed into the LED display art) - “It’s important to stay clean on all levels.” “Overeating should be criminal.” “If you live simply, there is nothing to worry about.” “It’s not good to operate on credit.” - also love the logic they highlighted here - “Holzer was tapped by Michele Quinn, whom MGM Mirage tasked with overseeing its ambitious public art effort. Quinn describes herself as “kind of a groupie” of Holzer’s, and says she thought such an LED installation could be the best use of such an awkward, dark space as this lower-level valet area. People would be waiting around anyway, so why not give them something to look at — and think about — as they departed?” So true! And as i stood there plastered against the glass window, a herd of frat boys behind me lining up for the club, i just couldn’t stop reading them…if only i’d known there were 200 at the time, i wouldn’t have felt so bad leaving in the midst of trying to read them all! I may have been there forever! Take a peek at a few closeups and some youtube videos i found on the next page!

P.S. Apparently the very fun Twitter handle @JennyHolzer is a fake! But the real Jenny Holzer has been quoted not to mind…

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Tags: art - las vegas - typography

New sponsored content series ~ this time Las Vegas is letting me rant and share some vegas awesomeness NOTCOT style! As usual, my pics, my story, they just give me an excuse to talk Vegas.. and share some of my favorite bits!

There’s something so nostalgic and beautiful about the early days of Las Vegas and the incredible neon signage that was unmissable. Sadly as more and more of these come down, they tend to end up in the Neon Graveyard! Which is only a PART of the Neon Museum which is trying to save this critical part of Las Vegas history. Graphically they are absolutely stunning ~ i’m particularly a sucker for those which move… They Neon Museum has even been reviving some of these signs and have them up around vegas, with 10 amazing ones from the 50s and 60s up on Fremont Street ~ in what they are calling their gallery… but they are basically on the main street 24/7 for your viewing pleasure! So on the next page you can take a peek at some of my favorite neon signs spotted around Las Vegas from a few trips ago…

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Tags: las vegas - sign - travel - typography

Flipping through the last issue of V magazine, and as fun as the issue itself was, i couldn’t help but fixate on this recurring object filled font! So, naturally i snapped a bunch of pics to share it with you… it’s filled with iphones and purses and masks and champagne glasses and mittens and snow flakes and trees and sunglasses and rings and shoes and airplanes and more! See more close ups of this font and its various instances on the next page…

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Tags: font - magazines - typography

Worth: The Evolution of Financial Intelligence. There are two aspects to this article. Firstly the design - which was actually enticing enough to make me not only grab a copy and flip through it, but to then purchase it at its pricey 20$ price tag to further dive into its Monocle sized uncoated/matte velum glossy covered magazine and take pictures to share its interesting layout/design choices with you. So on the next page you’ll find many examples of some of my favorite visual details of this recently updated magazine.

The second aspect is the business of it ~ as you’ll see in the video and press releases from just a few months ago, this 18 year old magazine title was acquired by Sandow Media (of LUXE and New Beauty) in 2008 ~ and only 2 issues ago completely redesigned. Not only in look and feel, but also focus and revenue model. In a time where we are watching magazines close monthly, print dinosaurs falter, and online advertising still finding its legs (at least conceptually!) ~ Worth magazine has taken on an interesting concept lead by publisher Patrick Williams (from the Economist and Conde Nast’s Portfolio - which while also beautiful and infographic heavy, didn’t last long): “The Worth Leading Wealth Advisor Program” where essentially they have wealth advisors underwriting the profits of the magazine by having them thoroughly vetted, and if accepted they pay for an opportunity to write articles for the magazine and have 100 copies to distribute (to their clients and potential Worth future readers?). This is in addition to their advertisements as a revenue stream… and their bold move not to allow subscriptions (unless you are considered a high net worth reader and happen upon a free subscription), the only way to acquire Worth is to pay their $18.95 cover price. And Patrick even says in the Bloomberg interview that “We want to be known as the 20 buck magazine, which makes us the most expensive magazine in America.” Funny thing is when i first landed on their site, the most surprising usability issue i encountered was not being able to find a subscribe button, usually they are huge, flashing, or begging you to click them on magazine sites. I guess not being allowed to subscribe will make some want it even more…?

Business aside. Its a gorgeous magazine, and i am quite intrigued by their layouts and typographic decisions. The paper also feels stunning to hold in your hand, and it’s quite an interesting read… awaiting future issues to see if it holds up. Oh, and i’m smitten by the fact that they have lovely Object of Desire pages. See pics on the next page ~ as well as the Bloomberg video.

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Tags: business - infographics - magazines - paper - print - typography

So after doing the beach thing, i realized i really needed to sit down and do some work between all the running around i've been doing in NY! And i guess the Ace Hotel New York really must feel pretty homey, because i ended up calling up and booking a few nights there to nurse my sunburn and curl up with my laptop to catch up. Of course while here, as the soft opening evolves, i noticed even more awesome typographic details (i also didn't have a chance to show you other rooms i poked around in last time as well!). In addition to what you saw of my room last time... here is a focus on the typographic details i'm obsessing on... instead of a smeg fridge i have one of the mini-fridges in a roadie case... and i LOVE the NOW/NOT NOW magnet (yes! the doors are magnetic!)... and this DESK is fabulous. I want one at home, so nice how it overlooks the bed too so i can still look out the window and work here all day long... so go see the pics on the next page already!

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Tags: ace hotel - hotels - new york - travel - typography

Where bad letters go when they die? Ok so they aren't bad ~ but the awesome photography of finnish company, Characters, certainly makes it seem like these are the ones that fell off Sesame Street's letters of the day... only to end up drunk and in an alley all alone? Basically these are recycled - "saved" letters - orphaned when old signage is neglected or discarded... when i saw these over at designboom, i couldn't resist seeing if they had NOTCOT available ~ and then debating whether to get some... it'd look pretty crazy to have your own ex-neon sign graveyard... mis matched reincarnated letters all LED'd out?

So what happens? "When company signs and logos are taken down, they get demolished. We recycle the characters into individual design objects. We dismantle the letters, clean them up, add a new transformer, LED lights and the power cord, and put them back together." See some of the stunning photography on the next page!

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Tags: gifts - lighting - recycled - shopping - technology - typography

People are always asking me what ads i wish i had on NOTCOT ~ well... this latest campaign from Puma and Foot Locker: "Foot Locker Unlocked - Puma Archive" TOTALLY fits! I was so jealous of Gizmodo when i saw these! The typography is just so so awesome! See more screenshots on the next page ~ including the fun giz placements ~ and if you know who made these, leave a comment!

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Tags: advertising - typography

Here's another one from the plethora of pics that have been waiting to become posts ~ while traveling with Veuve Clicquot in Reims, we had a special tour in the VCP Maison de Patrimoine (think: amazing archives of the history of Veuve since the 1800's in one room) by Fabienne Huttaux, the Historical Resource Manager. And amongst the many things she showed us (like the originals of the first shipment ever made, which was to Venice, and the first invoice to the USA, including some as movie props...) ~ i was most fascinated by the evolution of the labels! With full white glove treatment, we were shown this little book that housed every label variation since the beginning, long before the signature yellow label was even yellow... personally my favorites are the oldest ones, with elephants from the trading company logos distributing them. In addition to label imagery, you can also get a peek at the shelves and shelves of resources, as well as closer looks at some of the documents i mentioned, the typography not only on the documents but the spines of the archives were stunning, and make me wish we were still trained as thoroughly to have perfect cursive handwriting.

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Tags: france - luxury - typography - veuve clicquot

I can't help myself, i'm so in love with the wallpapers you can unlock with the riddles from the membership booklet of The Very Secret Order of Creatives Understanding - that they needed a post of their own. It has been a VERY long time since i've had anything but a solid black or white desktop wallpaper, but tonight the Very Secret Order of Creatives Understanding octopus crest is up! (You can see it after the jump...)

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Tags: typography - veer

I got this mysterious envelope today, and it contained the membership booklet of The Very Secret Order of Creatives Understanding. Seriously, as great as the internet and email are... snail mail has some perks, especially when it's in the form of surprises with incredibly well designed typography, stock art, riddles, and a secret society membership card. I felt like i was a little kid as i read through the secret handshakes and riddles in this booklet over breakfast.

This... is the latest mailer from Veer! See more shots of it below!

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Tags: print - secret - society - stock - typography - veer