Today's Inspiration

[Illustration by Ken Riley from Today's Inspiration]

In many of our posts, we talk about our love for vintage book covers, matchbooks and record albums but an endless source for really great in-depth information about American illustrators of the past is Today's Inspiration. In lengthy posts, topics range from a specific genre of illustrations to a particular illustrator or to a studio or school that trained illustrators. On occasion, I've considered posting one or two images from a particular post but its seemed to provide such a narrow representation and my writing couldn't possibly give the full breadth of the original. So, if you have an interest in the history of illustration in America as a curiosity or as a career ambition, visit Today's Inspiration. Bookmark it. Add it to your RSS. read it regularly. You'll be glad you did.

Design Feed: Mainlining Design Blogs

Finally, an aggregator for designers – Design Feed. The site features about 100 blog sites ranging from the familiar like Speak Up to the more obscure like The Daily Max. Design Feed is definitely worth adding (opml format) to your favorite RSS reader or visiting daily.

Pledge Handmade

Take the oath.

Big News for Pica and Pixel

First, Kirsten (the "Pixel" in Pica + Pixel) just got engaged last night! Send your congrats and recommendations for venues, dresses and djs to pixel(at)pica-n-pixel.com.

and...

Pica + Pixel have been asked to be guest editors for Coudal's Fresh Signals for the month of November so be sure to look for lots of tidbits from us there.

Designer Social Networking?

Design Related is an online design community where users can post inspirations (in the form of blog-like posts), a portfolio of work and create a network of contacts. The site utilizes a clean design and seems simple enough to navigate. Its worth checking out, especially if you're looking for inspiration or freelance talent but I have to wonder if the world really needs another social networking site?

Link: Font Development Software

I Love Typography has pulled together a pretty comprehensive list of font software currently available as well as the steps necessary for creating a font. He's planning to continue the series in coming posts so I recommend checking back regularly for more info. Just bookmark the site or add it to your feeds. You'll thank me later.

Obsessions

Patric + Su's Obsessions column from Print is now available online. Go there for your monthly link-a-thon. I'm not typing them in again!

Blog Alert: The Dieline

[Image from the DieLine Chanel post]

P+P have spotted a super cool blog about package design called The DieLine. The post that sold me on the blog was about how the Chanel perfume bottle was designed in the shape of the Place Vendome in Paris. Sweet!

Mid-Century Inspiration

Flickr is a great resource for mid-century illustration stylings. There are lots of grups collecting particular stylings. The range of material is incredibly vast -- from matchbook designs, magazine illustrations, cookbook illustrations, and vintage signage.

Here's a short list of vintage image resources:
My favorite: Mid-Century Illustration
Vintage Christmas
Retro Kid
Vintage Illustration
Vintage Advertising
And He Was
And She Was
The Retro Teen
Vintage Type
Floridiana
Vintage Supermarkets, Grocery & Convenience Stores
Sugar Frosted Cereal Museum

Enjoy!

[PS I chose the astronaut book cover from the Mid-Century illustration pool in an attempt to make-up for not crediting Bob at Skylab Letterpress for the Lucky Disasters book tip yesterday. All forgiven?]

Cool links

Pictogram of coffee beverages.



Flip Clock screen saver from 9031.



Vintage logos and packaging from Allen of Roadside Pictures on Flickr

[Thanks to Swiss Miss for the links.]

Crap, the client sent me a lousy logo...

Ever been in this spot: you are designing a poster or flyer with about a dozen logos and inevitably someone will send you a crappy logo or give you a newspaper printed ad and say "just scan this"? Did it make you want to tear your hair out?

I've been there too. That's why I was so thrilled to find the All Free Vector Logo archive. It might not have the logo you need but there's a chance.

You can also submit logos to the archive so that some other poor schmuck won't be stuck pixel-diddling the background out of a car ad for a stinking logo. Do your duty for the design community, submit those logos today!

Here's just a few of the logos I found that might come in useful for that next 5K charity run poster or opera program -- all in Adobe Illustrator format!

Typebase: Typographic Resource Directory

Typebase is a nicely designed collection of typographic links. It's super handy for locating a specific artist, foundry or additional information about typography and type design. Typebase accepts submissions to its list as well. Bookmark it, you'll be glad you did.

Illustration Friday? Nope, Illustration Everyday!

{ artwork by Brian Cronin}


{ artwork by Anne Wilson}


{ artwork by Vivienne Flesher}

Most people are familiar with the concepts behind Illustration Friday. Each week, a theme is posted that participants can use to challenge themselves to create a piece in a week's time. Its a great exercise to help develop a portfolio of work, a chance to play or develop a new style.

Illustration Friday also features interviews with some really interesting artists. There is also chat forums, lists of resources for illustrators and a well-maintained blog. I seldom find the time or the energy to actually do the weekly assignment but I always find a reason to go back to their site again and again. (link)

Agents of Timbre Print Exhibition

{print by Tim Gough}


{print by YeeHaw Industries}

Agents of Timbre is an exhibition of gig posters currently being featured at delta axis in Memphis, TN. The show features the works of such well-recognized artists as YeeHaw Industries, Aesthetic Apparatus and Little Friends of Printmaking. If you happen to be zipping through Memphis anytime soon, definitely stop by. (link)

Stuff I Learned By Actually Reading This Month's Print Magazine

{subtitle: Instead of just looking at the pretty pictures}

• The New Yorker Magazine is redesigning their web site. (link)

• I'm not the only person who can be swayed (or dissuaded from) buying a book, just by its cover.
• James Harvey, an abstract expressionist painter and reluctant graphic designer, created the pacakging for Brillo pads that were later immortalized by Andy Warhol. (link)
• Steven Heller reads Today's Inspiration. Both seem to be enamored with Cold War Era hygiene ads at the moment. (link)




• Obsessions (on page 97) is the best little column in Print. It's a straight-to-the-point list of useful nuggets and not-to-be-missed tidbits by the venerable House of Pretty tagteam.

Here are the must-have links culled from the Obsessions column:

1. Font Shop's Worn Type Technique
2. 12 Breeds of Client and How to Work with Them
3. Painter's Picker
4. Chromatic Bytes: Shades
5. Mac Color Picker Palette Tools by Code Poetry
6. Chris Messina's Interface Design Inspiration
7. CSS Type