Festive Greetings from Chuck Norris (sort of)

Festive Greetings from Captain Picard

An animation made the old way (non digital) - Hard to believe.

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2013 - The Bear & The Hare

See how they made it -

Great Typography!

Go and have a look at these and several more great typographic examples here. 

Cafe Girl With Fake Superpowers Freaks New Yorkers Out

Carn - Jeff Le Bars

Carn - Jeff Le Bars from Jeff Le Bars on Vimeo.

Locks of Lettering: Human Hair Typography by Monique Goossens

In this clever series, designer Monique Goossens transforms those commonly overlooked hairballs into typography. She shapes the clumps of hair into letters and leaves stray hairs radiating off of each one so that its material is obvious. The Amsterdam based artist studied Interior Design and Styling at Academie Artemis and became interested in the relationship between photography and design, so she continued her studies at the Design Academy in Eindhoven.

See the other characters here courtesy of VISUAL NEWS

Legendary Mac Designer: The iWatch Isn't Enough To Save Apple

HARTMUT ESSLINGER IS THE FOUNDER OF FROG AND THE DESIGNER OF SOME OF APPLE’S ORIGINAL DESIGN LANGUAGE. IN AN INTERVIEW WITH CO.DESIGN, HE ARGUES THAT APPLE DESIGNERS SHOULD BE GIVEN MORE POWER.

If you pointed to one single company as being the absolute best in the world at giving design a voice in corporate direction, it would be Apple. Because it was design that led to a string of massive hits--the Macintosh, the iMac, the iPod, and the iPhone.

So it’s a bit surprising when Hartmut Esslinger, the founder of Frog who worked with Steve Jobs on both Apple’s iconic “Snow White” design language and the Next computer--and recent author of Keep It Simple--says Apple’s current problem with innovation is that designers don’t have enough power in the company, and that leadership is shifting Apple’s focus from innovation to marketing, adopting a defensive posture around the iPhone.

“I don’t want to trash Apple,” Esslinger cautions. “I don’t want a Samsung phone!”

Read on here

Mumford & Sons

Mumford & Sons combined the band's folky sound with our favorite comedians to create amusic video of massively entertaining proportions.

In the video, Jason Bateman, Will Forte, Ed Helms and Jason Sudeikis are transported to a dusty barn where they star as members of the band. Adorned with earth-toned clothing, hipster facial hair and instruments from the prairie house, the troupe of actors are almost unrecognizable at first. But after the closeup shots and sultry staring into each others' eyes, it's totally obvious the video is not the Mumford & Sons we all know.

Helena Noguerra - The end of the story (clip officiel)

The Wearable Movie Idea

The Wearable Movie from The Wearable Movie on Vimeo.

Posters With Optical Illusions Depict Plight Of Endangered Penguins

Collaborating with SANCOOB, a non-profit which aims to protect endangered animals, South African advertising agency Bittersuite has come up with a creative way to make people pay attention to the endangerment of African penguins. 

This ad campaign takes its cues from M.C. Escher and optometrists’ eye charts to create various optical illusions in the posters, making the viewer to take a closer look. 

The slogan, “See the reality before it’s too late” also complements the notion of foresight in these posters, sending an urgent message to the viewers to save these penguins before they are gone. 

While these posters are in black and white, just like penguins, the messages within them are too compelling to ignore. 

View more examples on design taxi

Maggs on Media

Been catching the Maggs on Media slot on eNCA channel on DSTV. There have been some great insights on media especially now around Cannes. Go and have a view at some of the previous episodes here and catch up on what is happening locally and overseas.

Watch 6 Wondrous Clouds Float Inside Museum Walls

Float away here...

Obama's Speechwriter/Stand-Up Comedian Gives A Graduation Speech. Not Surprisingly, It's Badass.

Debunking The Myth Of Apple’s “Golden Ratio”

 WE’VE ALL HEARD THAT APPLE’S LOGO AND PRODUCTS ADHERE TO THE GOLDEN RATIO. IT’S A LIE. OR IS IT? READ ON...

Are we asking our kids to collect dots or connect dots?

Bob Dylan Subterranean Homesick Blues - A HAND LETTERING EXPERIENCE

Bob Dylan Subterranean Homesick Blues - A HAND LETTERING EXPERIENCE from Leandro Senna on Vimeo.

From the Netherlands, wooden flatpack bike can be assembled by anyone

Sandwichbikes have eco-friendly wooden frames that can be assembled just like flatpack furniture.

Read on...

Designer Makes Books By Hand, Sketches Every Single Image With Pencil On Grid

As part of its new campaign, Pentagram has created a short but insightful video that features prolific designer Massimo Vignelli, who talks about his old-fashioned approach to book-making.

Instead of doing all the layout on the computer like most designers these days, Vignelli still uses a pencil and grid to determine the placement of images and text on each and every page.
Explaining why the grid is the “underwear” of the book, the veteran designer reveals the fascinating process behind how he makes books, including how he sketches every single image in the book. 



Thanks to design taxi

Jump4Heroes Eiger Wingsuit Formation BASE Jump: Celebrating British Armed Forces

"To win without risk is to triumph without glory" - Pierre Corneille

Art Class Advertising Reinvented: A Stop Motion Video Using Stills Taken from a Life Drawing Course

Learn more here

AVA presents Holi One Cape Town 2013 Aftermovie

ROBERT DELONG - Global Concepts - Live Set (Live from Venice, CA) #JAMINTHEVAN

Join Kaospilot Cape Town

You are warmly invited for a networking event, a night of great ideas and inspiring connections on 8th of March at our homebase in Buitenkant 36! 

For a first meet'n greet with local partners and potential future opportunities we are hosting a networking evening. The event serves the purpose to grow our current and future community in Cape Town – and to give you a first possibility to connect with the students on a personal level. This may well result in the Kaospilots working to support your endeavors! 

For the time from March – May 2013 (and again in 2014) the Kaospilots will be working on a number of projects here in Cape Town. For many of them we will be partnering up with local organisations, initiatives and individuals. You find more information about who we're already connected with, and the projects that are emerging from that collaboration on http://kpcpt.org/

It is therefore that we cordially invite you so that we can get to know each other and to exchange first ideas and visions. Please join us for a night of casual mingling and mutual inspiring!

CPUT Graphic design presents Michael Wolff

Watch 600 Clock Arms Merge To Become A Single Digital Display

If you wish to read further then click here

On Gentrifying in Berlin and Cape Town

Gentrification. A seemingly uneasy word in the attempt to regenerate and build cities. It is a process commonly associated with the ‘transformation of a dilapidated neighbourhood into a trendy, middle-class and upgraded district which results in inevitably driving out poorer residents who are unable to afford or keep up with the standard of living’.

I have always felt that the topic is a rather mooted one, when urbanists are talking about urban renewal, with only a handful investigating this already salient phenomenon in parts of Woodstock, the Bo-Kaap and The Fringe.

Gentrification is seen but seldom heard on the streets of Cape Town with people witnessing change in their neighbourhood but are unsure what to make of it. So when I heard about the Berlin and Cape Town Gentrification Project Exhibition at The Bank, I could not resist going to see what the fuss was about.

The project started in October 2012 where eleven undergraduate students from the Köln International School of Design (KISD) embarked on an exploratory investigation into gentrification into the rapidly transforming Neukölln, a once-derelict suburb in the city of Berlin.

It is Tuesday afternoon and I am the first to arrive at The Bank. The item that catches my eye is a vivid display of multiple bigger-than-usual postcard-like cards dangling from the ceiling. Upon closer inspection, each card neatly inscribes the views of Neukölln residents. Every single viewpoint reflecting the unique circumstance and lived experiences of its residents and it is almost as though one gets the feel of having been in Neukölln even if that may not necessarily be the case.

Towards my right side, there is a poster containing colour-coded speech bubbles reflecting the opinions of the population living in the north and southern parts of the Neukölln area. A video documentary was also on display whereby in-depth conversations with Neukölln residents were documented and it also included a brief visual tour of the area in question. Initially, I thought it to be a tad disconcerting to be the only visitor but thankfully the room was greeted by a flood of visitors as soon as I sat down to watch the video. In addition, an interactive prototype tablet showing a comparative map of how Neukölln has spatially transformed between 2008 and 2012.

The research group collected their data by cognitively mapping the neighbourhood and drawing on the subjective, everyday experiences of residents on what it is like living in Neukölln. The research outcome in the exhibition demonstrates the complex views of Neukölln residents’ response to gentrification. I gathered from the overall responses that the residents were neither overwhelmingly ‘pro’ or ‘anti’ change in the area although the most notable quibble they had, was the rising rent prices and affordability issues.

My conversation with some of the students extended to observances on similar gentrified neighbourhoods in major cities such as Harlem in New York City, Columbia Heights in Washington D.C, parts of Shoreditch and Hackney in London, and the Maboneng Precinct in Johannesburg. We spent on what seemed an endless time chatting, and coming to a consensus that gentrification is a frequent occurrence manifesting predominantly in the bigger cities worldwide.

The exhibition further explores various forms of urban design initiatives created by neighbourhood residents as a means to counter the implication of displacement. These initiatives are driven by the Cooperative Idea based in Germany. It basically comprises a collective and self-managed conglomerate of individuals who mobilize funding for housing cooperatives for those in need of housing. Since these apartments are already pre-funded, the occupants need not pay a cent and the collective determine the ‘house rules’ of occupancy, leasing, etc.

New forms of housing are however emerging such as the LoHaS establishment that shies away from the traditional model of cooperative housing to accommodate a more appealing type of accommodation for the younger generation – typically ‘green’ carbon emission free apartments and industrially converted urban lofts and studios not far from organic health shops and yoga studios.

The KISD Research Group argue that while housing cooperatives and similar initiatives based thereon may not be a soluble solution strategy in resisting gentrification, it remains nevertheless a cushion with plenty potential for those affected by displacement as a result of the high rental costs.

I left the exhibition with having to pause for a brief moment picking my urban brainbox looking aroundThe Fringe district with so many questions. What could have happened to the former occupants in the area? Have there been recent proactive strategies in place as mean of resisting or redressing gentrification measures? How do urban citizens who utilize The Fringe perceive the current status of the area? I don’t know but I think it would be a worthy introspective empirical gaze into understanding gentrification in particular.

The students are currently in the process of extending their study on recently gentrified areas of Cape Town particularly the suburb of Woodstock and The Fringe Central Business District. “We are looking to have the results out by the end of the week” says KISD student, Coralie Schneeweis. The project has been possible due collaborative efforts between KISD, the Design Research Lab in Berlin, Formula D Interactive and the Cape Town Peninsula of Technology (CPUT).

Gentrification to my mind, may be the first exhibition of its kind in addressing gentrification as a neglected aspect of urban renewal in Cape Town itself. The exhibition is not only about showcasing insight into the challenges and complexities highlighted, but also demonstrate the means by which residents are able to deal with and react to change in their neighbourhood.

With Cape Town and Berlin being both cities who in similar respects share painful social histories of spatial exclusion, this comparative perspective is likely a necessary means to mobilize citizens of Cape Town to start thinking, learn, engage and foster debate about urban renewal. All too often it seems the discourse of urban renewal is ideally portrayed through ‘rose-tinted glasses’ – in other words, it is less synonymous with the process of gentrification in this city.

This exhibition can be seen as one way of bridging the gap between urban renewal and gentrification and that change may not always be congruent with communities initially planned for. Instead of challenging the seemingly inevitable process of gentrification in the wake of urban renewal initiatives, affected urban communities need to mobilize and adopt alternative models much like the Cooperative Idea in Germany.

One way or another, it is crucial that we react proactively to urban change.

Article courtesy of SustainableCitiesCollective

'Back in 5 Minutes' - An Exhibition of Typography

'Back in 5 Minutes' - An Exhibition of Typography from Nicholas James on Vimeo.

'BACK IN FIVE MINUTES' 
AN EXHIBITION OF TYPOGRAPHY 

During February & March Salon91 celebrates design and typography with ‘Back in 5 minutes’ an exhibition featuring an award winning set of local designers, typographers and illustrators, including Ben Johnston, Clinton Campbell of Studio Muti, Clement de Bruin, Justin Southey, & Dani Loureiro.

Each artist has approached the discipline of typography in a fresh & unique style, playing with scale, materials, surface quality, form, colour, dimensionality & of course, words.

The show will open on the 27th of February 2013 at Salon91 in Cape Town. Join us for the opening at 18h30, 91 Kloof Street, Cape Town. Please RSVP for this event.

The Exhibition will conclude on the 23rd of March at 2pm & is not to be missed!

https://www.facebook.com/events/159100694241776/

Chat Sandwich: Episode 1 ( feat. Caspar Lee)

Exhibition: International Design Project on Gentrification

EXHIBITION:

Tuesday 19/02/13 – Saturday 23/02/13

10.00 – 18.00

The Bank

73 Harrington St

Cape Town

ABOUT

A UN report predicts that 4.9 billion world citizens will be living in cities by 2030. As an immediate effect of this massive growth, cities are changing rapidly. But urban renewal and innovation is not always in favor of its residents. Upgrades of suburbs and neighborhoods often lead to higher rents forcing residents and entire communities to leave their homes, a development which irreversibly transforms the socio-economical and cultural fabric of an area. This negative impact is called Gentrification.

GENTRIFICATION is also the name and topic of an international cooperation project that aims to develop and display different perspectives of urban development. Initiated by the Köln International School of Design, the first field research investigated gentrification in Berlin, Germany. The outcome has been on display in Cologne and has now arrived at its second destination Cape Town.

While showing different design-related perspectives on GENTRIFICATION the german project group simultaneously runs several one week workshops with local students that aim at expanding the exhibition with yet another layer…

The project then travels back to Germany, taking several students from Cape Town with it. There, additional research will be conducted, and the concepts will be further developed in preparation for the project‘s next location, which is yet to be announced and hopefully coming back to future World Design Capital in 2014…

 COOPERATION PARTNERS

Koeln International School of Design (KISD)

CPUT – Faculty for Informatics and Design

Vega – School of Brand Leadership

SUPPORTED BY

Design Research Lab

Formula D interactive

The Bank