*NOTCOT in design - 12.24.06 -

Saks Mixes it Up

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Pentagram takes Saks Fifth Avenue’s branding to a new level - nearly a googol of possible logo iterations and STILL have people know its Saks? That’s the type of proposal that most designers would run, hide, and cry about.

Waking up and seeing the post at 30gms that pointed me to Michael Bierut’s Pentagram post has had me giddy all morning… the black and white, the mathematical shuffle, the balls to slice up a clients logo till nearly unrecognizable and still so perfect… i LOVE the boxes and and imagery it creates, and it scales endlessly. “A new identity designed by Pentagram for iconic New York retailer Saks Fifth Avenue launches on January 2, 2007. Partner Michael Bierut describes the process behind the development of an identity with more variations than there are electrons in the known universe.” The post (case study) itself is so beautifully written, it will leave you with more branding understanding than most intro courses.

TO PAGE 2 of "Saks Mixes it Up"! ----->

*NOTCOT in me - 12.23.06 -

It’s Practically 2007

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HAPPY nearly 2007!!! Or rather - wow we’ve all come a long way! And in our nostalgia driven week, Shade Elaine and i started digging through our college files… and found a bunch of old comics and characters she created over the last few years that few have seen. So here they are - in the tags - a comic digest of sorts - NOTCOT style… my suggestion? start in the gallery and flip your way through… click the images to view larger as always. Enjoy. And grazie mille for giving us such an amazing 2006, you know i kid not when i say it wouldn’t have been the same with out you all!

(oh, and no worries, while every other blog seems to be taking a few days for the holidays, looks like what i do when i have time to breathe a little, is wander around and find more design/innovation that gets me giddy.)

*NOTCOT in design -

WK12 - round 4.

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CLICK ON THE KEYS! Click on the keys. Says Jimm from WK12… So maybe i shouldn’t tell you more and will just let you go exploring this desk that is surprisingly more messy than mine (ok, so i just cleaned as you can see from the mimomas post) “Wieden+Kennedy Seeks 12: Ad Agency for Nike, etc., seeks 12 talented open curious collaborative optimistic candidates for the 4th year of experimental advertising school.”

Are you confused? Are you excited? B/c i’m ecstatic and want to go. So go grab your envelope… get creative… and get mailing. Video to get you fired up below.

TO PAGE 2 of "WK12 - round 4."! ----->

*NOTCOT in food+drink -

Merry Mimomas

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Surprise came in the mail today from Mimoco, and had to share their “Happy Winter” wishes with all of you… So see below for the unwrapping, etc to see what’s in the foil mimobots…

TO PAGE 2 of "Merry Mimomas"! ----->

*NOTCOT in wearable -

Bad Shannon

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Skulls and cross bones may be overdone for the last few seasons, but history certainly proves our obsessions with the core of our bodies will not be going away anytime soon. That being said, the unfortunate thing is the inundation of terrible skulls all over… so a good skull is hard to find!

Check out these skull and bone rings and cufflinks by Brooklyn designer, Bad Shannon. There’s something perfect about the curvature and faces thats kind of fun…. she also has a cheeky line of meat jewelry (yes, like T-bones on a chain), some great ants, and a fun Coral Rose ring i’m liking. More images below.

TO PAGE 2 of "Bad Shannon"! ----->

*NOTCOT in playful - 12.22.06 -

Insurgents Wilderness Gruppo 4

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Check out the latest 2007 series of the Insurgents Wilderness Gruppo set - Makutu the Yellow Eyed Penguin with torpedo belt - Oishi the Japanese Snow Monkey with Samuari sword and rock filled snowball - Candace the African Elephant with R.P.G. - Burnum the Platypus with titanium boomerang (LOVE the platypus). They also just launched a new set of pins. Pics of their furry hoodie and various badges below…

TO PAGE 2 of "Insurgents Wilderness Gruppo 4"! ----->

*NOTCOT in me - 12.21.06 -

NOTCOT.ORG #030

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Wow 30 weeks of .org, and xmas and 2007 around the corner. Happy Holidays! Here we have some goodies Shade Elaine and i wouldn’t mind under the tree… 2546 (Poltrona Frau Giftable Chair), 2537 (Handmade French Bird Calls), 2526 (Speaker’s in Granny Rollers), 2512 (Retro Japanese Airplane), 2541 (FLOCK shirt).

*NOTCOT in playful - 12.20.06 -

Wii Dissection

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Shade Elaine and I are extremely curious and easily amused at times… so when at Target, we could not resist getting a Wii Gift Card (if you’re feeling stocking stingy, get one of these for 5$ then use it to buy the stocking to put it in?) ~ the crazy target giftcard that lights up - and it is impressively well designed for something that is practically free. Nice glossy white plastic, and possibly the best purse light we’ve found - with 6 blue leds this card is insanely bright in every direction!

TO PAGE 2 of "Wii Dissection"! ----->

*NOTCOT in design -

The Alchemists

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If you watch one trailer this week - this is THE one to watch if you want to get your inspiration fix. Because after those few minutes i can’t wait for 2007, and i’m buzzing to shake things up with all my insane ideas. Brought to you by the One Club, The Alchemists is “about 5 people who hated the world so much…they changed yours”.

Who’s involved? “Lee Clow, who created the most-famous commercial in history by introducing Macintosh computers in “1984”; George Lois who single-handedly saved MTV from extinction with his trademark in-your-face celebrity campaign; Phyllis K. Robinson who helped define the entire “me generation” with her liberating spin on selling Clairol; Hal Riney who got President Reagan re-elected; and Dan Wieden who, inspired by the last words of executed murderer Gary Gilmore, came up with the little phrase “Just Do It” and revolutionized advertising forever. Sports, fashion, music, politics, technology-our culture-was deeply affected by these alchemists.”

So really, how much do YOU hate the world? via WK

*NOTCOT in design -

Design Sketching

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There are two reasons i fell in love with industrial design - the products - and the sketching. From the first time i did intro to ID and watching the RISD kids do marker renderings when we were bored, jetlagged, and a few bottles of wine into the night… i was mesmerized… and i found again when in the Nissan design studios that i could sit and watch those guys sketch on paper and cintiqs for hours like it was magic…

So whether you’re a designer, or a lover of the behind the scenes process of these objects we love… i just noticed Design Sketching over at IDGrid. What makes this book unique is that it is the product of 24 very talented design students of Sweden’s Umeå Institute of Design - with the goal to “inspire and teach sketching by displaying a broad collection of examples of all the large variety of sketches that are useful in the design process. ” The authors, Erik Olofsson and Klara Sjölen graduated in 2005, and founded this publishing group to get this book out there - so support your fellow design students! It looks like an inspiring one to add to the design library.

*NOTCOT in food+drink -

Nissin Cup Noodle

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On nostalgia - i am ok admitting that while i love high end food experiences… i am also down with late night internet driven diets which include CupNoodles. You know the one - not cup of noodles, but Nissin’s CupNoodle. And while they are no freedom fries… apparently their latest large scale japanese ad campaign is all about FREEDOM!

According to 30gms - “Commissioning Japanese anime artist Katsuhiro Otomo and titled the Freedom Project, the movie is a short animation with clever Cupnoodle product placement. ” But really since i don’t understand japanese, i’ve just amused myself watching the clip, and seeing the extent to which the ad placement has reached… from filling what appear to be underground tunnels, to the sides of escalators… all for freedom. *ahem* i mean CupNoodles. So view the Freedom Project. (screenshots below of my fav scenes)

TO PAGE 2 of "Nissin Cup Noodle"! ----->

*NOTCOT in playful -

Montessori

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Inspired by BLTD tonight ~ and while every site, magazine, etc is busy doing a roundup of either gift ideas or what happened this year… RUGenius and i took our reflection and went even further back than the end of 2005. Where did our design/aesthetic tastes come from…

Well one of our sources of inspiration - or what molded us at an early age, was Montessori schooling ~ especially the really fun woody “educational” toys we grew up with… from the sandpaper letters to learn to write, those heinous beads i loved/hated to learn about decimals, the multiplication board had those great little red beads, the satisfaction from tasks like pouring sand and pellets from one container to the other, the trinomial cube, the blue geometric solids (perspective drawing 101?), and that infamous pink tower… [to kris of BLTD - our tiniest pink cube was the most coveted too! we should make necklaces with that for other Montessori kids who grew up!] So now you know - we were Montessori kids, and i think the impact of Maria Montessori’s genius helped make us the obsessive design lovers we are today.

*NOTCOT in design - 12.17.06 -

Miss Bibi Does Colette

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Eyecandy warning - the images of Miss Bibi’s miniatures, which are some of the most stunning jewelry pieces to have graced the pages of NOTCOT this year, can be seen in all their glorious context below!

Brigitte Giraudi is “Miss Bibi ”, a young artist from Monte Carlo, with a fascinating background in 3D Illustration and Stop Frame Animation… and a specialty in miniature installations. So is it any surprise to go from edgy luxe miniatures to jewelry? ” Her first collection ‘INTRIG’ takes its inspiration from a famous detective game. Each piece of jewelery is an emblem to a luxurious but dark world, taking shape into miniature chandeliers, knives, tools, high heal shoes etc… So, thereupon, were born her killer earings, her sexy murder rings and her famous dangerous necklaces. They will please anyone with a sense of dark sarcastic humor and a Monte-Carlo’s luxurious fondness.”

And her latest adventure since we posted about the collection back in Feb 06, is an exhibition at Parisian Colette, as well as an updated website with more imagery to pull you into the dark mini world of “cleudo” and ‘intrig’…

TO PAGE 2 of "Miss Bibi Does Colette"! ----->

*NOTCOT in design -

The Light of Paris

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Fresh off the press is Jean-Michel Berts’ “The Light of Paris” with introduction by Pierre Assouline (and published by Assouline). While i have noticed i’ve been on a bit of a skate deck and photography kick the last few days, these are absolutely breathtaking, and a must see for any Paris lover… or cityscape lover even. Excerpts of some of my favorite images from their site below… Luxus mentions that these are taken with a camera obscura, the main site simply says “These pictures involved a highly sophisticated technique and more than twelve months of preparation. Jean-Michel was intent on revealing all the subtleties, all the richness of the destinations he had chosen for this project. The shots were taken in the early morning or late at night, to meet specific lighting requirements. The artist has intentionally focused on man-made constructions, devoid of human presence, in order to allow them to “live”, to exist, in their own right.” And either way, the effect is mesmerizing and timeless. You can digitally flip through an excerpt of the book here.

TO PAGE 2 of "The Light of Paris"! ----->

*NOTCOT in wearable - 12.15.06 -

String Republic

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Designer artsy panties and boxers? I must admit i never did fall for those espadrilles with the rest of the net when i first heard about The String Republic, but this new line… i want. Imagine how fun those skullz peeking out of the back of a low riding pair of jeans might be? So here’s a fun little something to drool over for a Friday post… and my other favorites below. via oO on the ThisNext/NOTCOT tags…

p.s. feeling creative? you can even have DIY undies….

TO PAGE 2 of "String Republic"! ----->

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