Below is a review of the inspirational, idea-generating links I found in my travels of the Web in April 2007.
Enjoy!
Chuck Green
P.S. You can follow this month's picks at
http://www.pageplane.com/.
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1 > Photography > Let your product do the talkingAs I heard it, Tom Shortlidge worked at Young & Rubicam Advertising in the late 60's and moonlighted part-time at Crate & Barrel to make ends meet. The owner, Gordon Segal, asked him to take a look at some packaging designs he was considering. Mr. Shortlidge had a better idea.
Make no mistake about it, Crate & Barrel has a long track record of searching out, designing, and developing products that people want. But I doubt they would argue that Tom Shortlidge played a major role. He established a design palette that makes the product shot the center of interest-a palette so simple and insightful that it has survived, nearly intact, for over thirty years.
Crate and Barrel...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2 > Web Design > An alternative to the page-by-page web modelPlace all the information on one surface and to show the user how to navigate it.
The Samaritans of Singapore...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3 > Illustration > Showing what is saidKevin Cornell illustrates the often complex ideas addressed at A List Apart Magazine-an online publication that "explores the design, development, and meaning of web content, with a special focus on web standards and best practices." He does a wonderful job of revealing the key point.
Kevin Cornell's web...An example of his illustrations on A List Apart...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the ideabook.com store...
Creative Advertising, Ideas and Techniques from the World's Best Campaigns
http://www.ideabook.com/store_creative_advertising.html~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4 > Photography > Food nichePhotographing food is a true art. If you haven't watched an experienced photographer and stylist work, you may not appreciate the magic that goes into attaching emotion to food. Foodesign.com, home of veteran stylist Lisa Golden Schroeder, provides some interesting insights on the process and an extensive list of resources.
The Foodesigns.com site...Portfolio of master practioner Jim Scherer...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5 > Web Design > Seeing something elseEven more than the design, what strikes me about Jonathan Yuen's web is how differently he thinks. The color palette... how the images build sequentially... how clicking a link sets off an animation... how the parts and pieces move around the screen. For those who fear there are no new ideas-courage. (Suggested by Will Sherwood.)
Jonathan Yuen's web...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6 > Typography > Extraordinary word marksAmong the word marks created by lettering designer Holly Dickens, you will find more than a few familiar names: Intel, Kraft, Procter & Gamble. As with most work: if the end product looks simple, you can be certain an enourmous amount of work went into the research and execution. Love the cover page of her web-striking!
Her web...Her Workbook Portfolio...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you use InDesign, PageMaker, or QuarkXPress...
http://www.ideabook.com/ideabook_templates.html~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7 > Illustration > The Illustrative DesignerVon Glitschka says, "I got into design because of my fear of math." Most of what you will find on The Illustrative Designer is painted in that same spirit. Von shares interviews (via Podcast) with illustrators and designers such as Paul Howalt and Bill Gardner. As he explains it, "I thought it would be fun to interview other creative minds and talk shop. It seems like most artists tend to do this when they meet up anyway so why not do the same thing but in podcast form and let everyone have a listen in on the conversation." I agree.
For the math-challenged...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8 > Marketing PR > A writing game planDaphne Gray-Grant refers to herself as a "writing coach"-a specialist in "helping corporate writers work better and faster." If the craft of writing is a significant part of your job, I recommend subscribing to her free newsletter for a few weeks to see what she has to offer. Her clear, engaging style is testament to her skills.
Daphne's article archive...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
9 > Web Design > Virtual worldsI have long been fascinated by virtual, interactive environments-Myst comes to mind. It has got me thinking, how can I incorporate the concept of traversing the page into conventional business web design? Any thoughts? An interesting example of this idea is the fictional city of Zarovka (you click and hold the mouse button to zoom forward).
Zarovka...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Find out what competitors are charging...
http://www.ideabook.com/store_brenner_pricing.html~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
10 > Illustration > Marian Bantjesa's "Influence Map"It is difficult to categorize Marian a's work and she doesn't offer much help. In the section of her web titled "What I say about myself," she describes herself as a, "lapsed Graphic Designer" then denies it in the next sentence. My easy-out is to call it illustration and to describe her work as symmetrical asymmetry-in any case, I like it.
The Influence Map...More projects...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
11 > Print Design > Time for a makeoverA new clean, sharp design keeps Time looking young.
The Time makeover...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
12 > Web Design > Mirror what you sellDesign Within Reach sells classic modern furniture and associated products. The DWR site features a simple wire frame-a very effect foundation on which to present its products.
Design Within Reach...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
13 > Print Design > Hinrichs' homeKit Hinrichs is, in my never-to-be-humble opinion, is one of the top designers of the last 25 years. Here is a brief but interesting piece about his home and passion for collecting.
The pictures...The article...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About the briefing
I try to remain as objective as possible about the information I share here. Unless otherwise stated, I receive no compensation from the organizations and people mentioned except for occasional product samples.
Comments? Suggestions? Write me at chuckgreen@ideabook.com
> Chuck
