Anamorphic.

These Anamorphic Cups by designer Ross McBride are really incredible. The stainless steel cup has a polished mirror finish. The porcelain saucer is printed with distorted images or words. These graphics can only be viewed correctly though the curved, reflective surface of the cup. The image is indecipherable when the cup and saucer are separate. The Anamorphic Cups are the first in the Anamorphic Series range of products. Future items will include a creamer and sugar dispenser, and drinking glasses. Salt and pepper shakers are already available.

I can't seem to locate a retailer for cups or shakers, though I know they are available for purchase. If I come across one in the future I'll make an update.

Abby Jean Press.

I love these wedding invitations by Abby Jean Press. Beautiful use of color combinations and type. Let's put it this way: if I received one of these in the mail for a rodeo, which I despise, it would make me want to go to even that.

No. 10 Letterbox.

I'm in love. With a mailbox. That may sound wrong, but it feels so, so right.

The No. 10 Letterbox mailbox by PureDesigner is gorgeous (especially the brushed aluminun which isn't pictures here). It's severely unfortunate that they've been sold out since February and the site only holds empty promises of remanufacturing them (they've been bought out by houseArt).

Sigh...

Falling Garden.

The site is in German and the three years of the language that I took in high school are failing me. So I can't tell you what it's for or about, but i can tell you the obvious: that is that it's beautiful.

Civilitea.

Pratt graduate Annie Lenon breaks into the product market with her Civilitea earthenware tea cups. The double-walled slipcast earthenware cups feature a cast silver boat hardware piece on the side. The tea drinker wraps the teabag string around the cleat, holding it in place. Genius. (Originally posted by core77)

Monday Goodness: Peanuts by Charles Bukowski.

This is incredibly hilarious. Enjoy.

Cupcake Bakeshop.

I came across a new blog today - Cupcake Bakeshop - written by a woman who tracks down cupcake recipes (as well as creates her own) and posts them all on her blog. Mmm...cupcakes.

Get Outta Here: Moleskine.

Lengendary notebook maker, Moleskine, has just introduced an incredible new line of City Notebooks. So far they exist for Boston, NYC, San Francisco, DC, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Dublin, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Prague, Rome and Vienna. They cover all possible information you could need in a city you're only visiting or already live in. The Key Map summarizes the overal layout, showing the metro system and listing stations. That's followed up by Zone Maps that show large-scale maps of the city's center and an alphabetical street index. Up to 76 blank pages give you space to write notes, while there's also a 96-page tabbed section to organize information and thoughts. As if that's not enough, there are 32 removable sheets and 12 translucent sticky sheets to overlay maps and route as you go. Oh, and did I mention they're only hardbacked, 3.5 x 5.5" and $16.95?

Illustrator Crush: Kate Quinby.

Kate Quinby is an amazing little illustrator out of Seattle/Providence, RI that I came across in Communication Arts. (Seriously, a great issue.) By day she's working for the Man at Starbucks Global Creative (their in-house ad/design department) and by night for herself under the name Croak and Hum.

Her philosophy is as fresh as her illustrations, "Don't get caught. I feel as though I've tricked the universe into letting me draw pictures for a living, and I don't have to make any secret deals or sell my soul...I'm hoping that if I keep busy and work hard, no one will notice that I'm actually doing what I wanted to do as a child."

Naked & Angry.

No, not me. Them.

Naked & Angry exists to create products from patterns submitted and chosen by the brand’s audience. Anyone can come and submit a pattern design to be voted on by other N&A users. The design will be scored for 7 days at which time it will be given a final score. The highest scoring designs will be manufactured and products will be created inspired by the patterns. The winners will receive a $500 cash prize and 5 free Naked & Angry items. Pretty awesome. N&A was created by a team of web designers and developers called skinnyCorp who also created the Threadless community of t-shirts.

Seventy-nine.

I'd love to get my hands of a copy of this book - Seventy-nine Short Essays in Design by Michael Bierut. Apparently each of the essays is printed in a different typeface. You can pick it up here at Amazon.

My Portfolio is Me.

I got the lateest Communication Arts the other day (Photography Annual 48) and found quite a few things of interest. I'll post about a few others later, but one of the things that really stood out was actually an ad for the Academy of Art University. The copy, which was a tad bit cheesy but believable in a Hell yeah! kind of way, was interesting.

"My portfolio is me, everything I am and it's everything I'm not. It's my weakness and my strengths. My self-confidence and -esteem. My past, my present, and most definitely my future. My portfolio is where I'm going, where I've been, places I shouldn't have been, gone and shouldn't go. It's everything and just a book. It's my inspiration. My generation and it's never finished, never done, always a work in progress. It's everything I've ever seen, heard, touched, smelled, sensed and believed, and my worst fears and all my hopes at the same time. It's the beginning of the beginning and the end of an era. And so much more than a phase. It's my portfolio, and describing it is describing me."

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting.

I made these cupcakes last week for my friend/co-worker Jenny's 30th birthday. They were amazing. And not very time consuming to make considering they were from scratch. The icing was totally the best part - it would be good even by itself - and really complimented the gingerbread nicely.

I found the recipe here at Epicurious.

Food Design.

Marti Guixe is crazy in the very best possible way. He's an artist who's been creating food design for the past ten years. And by food design I don't mean packaging or designing with food. He's actually been designing food with a practical purpose. Take for example, the following Guixe creations.


The Seven Step Cookie
A cookie with decoration that indicates how to bite it.


Flavored Stamps
Stamps with food images on one side and with the flavor of the imaged food on the other.


Hands Free Lollipop


Oranienbaum Lollipop
An orange candy lollipop with a seed inside. It is a way to activate sporadic and spontaneous reforestation just by splitting the seed once the candy is finished.

Thanks for the heads up J. May!

Matthew Mead Style.

I discovered a great new site this morning - Matthew Mead Style - which pins themselves as "fresh ideas for modern living." It's very Martha in a less passive-aggressive, anal kind of way. Mr. Mead covers Entertaining, Style, Collecting, as well as a rotating category that can be anything from pasta recipes to holiday ideas. There's also a section on downloads. The site is seasonally based, meaning it only changes once a season and is updated only that often. So far I love what's been done and will definitely be checking back.

Popoutz Birdfeeder.

And this isn't even related to my recent bird obsession. I love the modern-simplistic look and feel of these Popoutz birdfeeders. And get this: you can buy them here for only $1.80 each. Ridiculous. They're made out of 100% recyclable polypropylene plastic and come in six vibrant, bird-attracting colors.

M is For Modern.

I rarely post about childrens' products, but every once in a while something comes along that makes me stop and say (sometimes outloud) "why didn't I think of that" or "wish I had that when I was a kid." Besides that, I've got a couple of new(ish) munchkins in my life via my best friends.

The M is for Modern Alphabet flashcards by Jargon Boy are a pocketful of genius. Coolness in a box. A Mid-Century Modern education in 26 easy lessons. Or a way to keep your kids busy. Forget A is for Apple. B is for Bauhaus is where it's at. Check them out at Uncommon Goods.

P.O.S.H. Chicago

In 1997 P.O.S.H. opened its doors in Chicago, determined to offer something unique to the consumer that was tired of the "sameness" that had crept into the marketplace of home & table decor. P.O.S.H. searches high and low for the items that stock its shelves - an eclectic assortment of vintage hotel silver, restaurant china and fleamarket finds. Found in such places as old American china warehouses to the antique markets and auction houses of Europe, the items are often one-of-a-kind or limited in quantity.


Here are my picks. Clockwise left to right: French roll top sugar bowl ($40), 12" glass cake plate ($75), bedside carafe ($44), glass sugar pourer ($8), 6" flited pitcher ($18) and the brasserie salt and pepper set ($50).

Martha's Evil Empire Expands.

I'm torn. I'm torn between my love of all things designy and crafty and my immense dislike for Martha Stewart. She's got a new branch of her empire - Martha Stewart Crafts. The products are available online or at the Michael's store closest to you.

The Little Know-It-All.

It's a book, not a person. Not me (unforturnately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it and who you are). more specifically, it's a book for designers. It might as well be the new Design Bible actually.

The Little Know-It-All: Common Sense for Designers by Silja Bilz is divided into sections explaining unique vocabulary used in design, printing, typography and photography and includes helpful tips and concise analysis in areas such as advertising, mulimedia, business, copyright and project management. It is structured thematically and equipped with a resourceful index that references numerous sources and links. It's complete with graphics that illustrate and supplement the texts, making it a reference book for students and newcomers while serving as a trusty companion for professional designers and media professionals alike in their everyday work.

A Kick in the Pants.

These are hilarious and I totally needed it this morning! You know how some people just suck? Really bad? Here are three things that can help you feel better about it. Even if it's just a little bit.


The first is from youparklikeanasshole.com (clever address, no?). Sick of a car taking up two spaces on the street? How about a car too close to yours? What about the car at the mall parked diagonally? Now you can do something about it. Simply download a notice and place it on the car’s windshield. The owner of the vehicle will be informed of their asshole status as well as the proper tips to improve their poor parking techniques. It’s time to put an end to asshole parking, or at least to make fun of it. The site is pretty clever, too, you can download the notices as well post and view notices in action.


The second is from Coudal's Cell Phone Etiquette campaign. We've all had that awkward moment when we overhear someone's personal cell phone conversation. Now we have the power to stop it. You can download them here.


The third is the all-encompassing Douche Card from Orange32. Stock up. 25 cards for $5.

Joey Ruiter.

I'm way into this metal-cut mirror by Michigan designer Joey Ruiter. I just can't decide if it would be something I would get tired of after a few years (not that it's remotely near my price range).

WhippetGrey.

I want to live inside one of these pop-ups on WhippetGrey's website. If you want to see, quite possibly, the most clever website design ever check it out asap. The online shop is filled with a lovely selection, but the website is really truly original, with each section illustrated by a 3-D pop-up book that represents each room of a house.

The Copper Bird.

It makes me feel like a senile old woman sometimes, but recently I've been somewhat addicted to birds. Not the real thing, but design-wise. Not sure where this whole things has come from. Maybe that's what happens when you turn 27 - you become Bird Lady.

Today I came across this great copper bird doorbell ($45) at Flopping Fish.

pare*umbrella.

I'm a day late (and a buck short) but think these umbrellas by pare*umbrella are incredible. If it were raining again today I can totally imagine dancing and swinging around streetlamps while swinging one around.

Because It's That Kind of Morning.

Monday Goodness: Found.

Today I totally had a Case of the Mondays.

Then I came across Found Magazine. They collect found stuff (duh): love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework, to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, doodles-- anything that gives a glimpse into someone else's life. Anything goes. I could literally spend hours digging through the archives (and probably will later on). Check it out because it's well worth your time.

Moo.

Moo dreams up new tools that help people turn their virtual content into beautiful print products. I'm loving their MiniCards and StickerBooks!

The StickerBooks are generated out of your Flickr stream or from your very own designs - 90 different, full color, glossy Stickers, printed on 15 different sheets and bound into a pocket-sized book ($9.99). There are also readymades available if your pictures suck and you want to use Moo's. There's free shipping on StickerBooks for July only, so hurry up and take advantage.

MiniCards are roughly half the size of a normal business card. Same deal - choose up to 100 of your own designs or pictures from your Flickr stream (or use Moos) and add up to six different lines of text on the back. The cards show up on your doorstep in a reusable plastic box ($19.99). And I figure you can probably do tons of different things with these besides using them as their intended purpose.

Illustrator Crush: Einat Peled.

Einat Peled is an incredible illustrator i only just discovered who specializes in images, drawings and editorial illustrations. I can't find a lot of information on her, but her illustrations are beautiful, especially the black and whites.

If You Could Do Anything Tomorrow - What Would It Be?

I love this idea. 'If You Could' is an annual publication set up by designers Will Hudson and Alex Bec. Aiming to showcase the best in design and illustration, contributions are welcomed from both established and up and coming artists on the theme, If you could do anything tomorrow, what would it be? Each publication is launched alongside an exhibition, showing every single contribution received, meaning nobody's work goes unseen. Looks like Issue 2 (the most current) costs $25 plus shipping and handling from the UK. Check out more information here.

Behance.

Imagine productive brainstorms and efficient meetings. (Who, me? Yes, you!) Behance's Action Pad was the first product designed for the creative work environment. I'm really hip on the Action Book ($15), Action Cards ($5) and Action Stickies ($6). Give me a good sticky note and I will definitely put it to use.

Paint Chip Card Holders.

I've mentioned my affinity for paint chips - and my inability to not collect piles of them - before.

This morning I found this genius idea on designverb: paint chip business card holders. It seems it may only work with Behr chips since they are the widest, but there's a template available that you can download to your desktop for a standard 3.5 x 2" business card. It's not mentioned in the post, but I think it might be a good idea to laminate the chip before doing anything else. It doesn't seem like it would be very durable otherwise.

Woohoo! Looks like it doesn't take too much to make me happy today.

Happy Birthday Helvetica.

Not everyone's a graphic designer, so not everyone knows that the popular typeface Helvetica is celebrating its 50th birthday this month. Veer has created an awesome sketchbook ($22) just in time. Choose sides in the design world’s love/hate relationship with Helvetica, or have it both ways. This two-sided notebook features a loving quote in Helvetica Std on one cover, then flips to reveal a darker intent. Favor one side or work from both, toward the middle. A center divider keeps the peace.

Can of Peas Bed.

At least that's what I used to call my single wood-frame canopy bed when I was little. This Italian Campaign Canopy from Anthropologie is considerably more grown up and I've been seeing it everywhere from Domino to Design*Sponge. I adore metal-framed beds and this one is no exception. I am thinking that you would need a considerably sized room though to pull it off and a higher ceiling.I would deck it out in white bedding with a big, fluffy down comforter. Makes me want a nap right now!

Improve Your Creative Life. Today. No, Really.

I've been reading a couple of incredible blogs lately - one of which is American Copywriter (and yes, it even pertains to us graphic designer/art director-types).

This post is from a few months back, but really stuck out to me. Especially this part: Don’t blame the creatives for not caring after round of revisions 13. Are you kidding? If your spouse asked you – no demanded – that you rearrange the living room furniture 13 times over the course of two days, stopping whatever else you were doing each and every time to do so because it “had to be done right now!” you would quickly stop giving a shit about where the couch and overstuffed chair were. In fact, you’d probably throw him/her and your cadre of Pottery Barn tchotchkes out the freaking window. So don’t blame the creatives when this happens. Man, it’s human nature to stop caring.

I Am Not a Graphic Designer.

Defined: Graphic Design involves effective visualization of communication concepts, primarily in print and electronic media (including interface design), in the context of business and technology, socio-political, cultural and educational environments, in transmitting government and institutional aims and services, and in visually explaining and exploring medical and scientific data and processes. Clients usually determine project aims. Graphic Designers help to achieve communication goals by analyzing, structuring, planning and creating images and text to enhance visual communication for specific purposes. They often act as consultants.


Here's a really interesting article I came across by Mark Busse of Industrial Brand Creative, Inc. that speaks to the ever-changing roll of a designer in today's world of communications.

Illustrator Crush: Madeleine Stamer and Little Circus Design

I'm keen on all things swoopy and swishy. That said, I'm in love with Madeleine Stamer's Little Circus Design illustrations. I prefer the all black pieces, but all are truly amazing. Madeleine is out of Melbourne, Australia and has been creating art since childhood. Throughout the years she's worked as an artist in residence, gallery assistant, art technician, exhibited in numerous solo and group shows, created public and privately commissioned art works and design promo posters and CD art for the band The Blackeyed Susans.

Vera June.

Yet another great Etsy find. Vera June (not the designer's real name) studied at the Art Academy in San Francisco first as a Photography major, then after one visit to the Fine Art building was hooked on Graphic Design and changed her major. Very cool. I love people who go after what they want. No regrets, right?

Besides creating and selling her wares on Etsy, she also will create a web banner for you for only $14.99 - a great deal for all of those who aren't design-program savvy.