It’s almost election time, and that means lots of cool, free, printable posters by professional designers!
AIGA (the professional organization for designers) sponsored an awesome contest where members created and submitted VOTE posters. While the organization picked 24 winners, I had tons of fun going through all the posters to find which ones I liked best.
The one above is a winner in my heart. So funny, and true. So true, that when I posted it in my cubicle a coworker became so obsessed that she printed out about 10 tabloid sized AIGA posters, envisioning specific ones being plastered everywhere from the kitchen to the men’s bathroom. Success!
Anyway, the poster was created by Rob Alexander, who works at visitoffice.com, a design agency which I’ve just come to discovered does work for the McSweeney’s-related Pirate Supply Store (you know, the store that supports those kids’ writing centers).
Who wouldn’t want a bottle of Captain Blackbeard’s Dye and Scurvy BeGone Capsules? (I am actually totally in love with this stuff. You can shop for it here.)
I digress.
Back to the vote posters. (All of the ones below are free except for VOTE! by Obey. We don’t blame them, it’s a high-quality print!)
So, go to AIGA, checkout the posters, and download your favorites. Print them at work on tabloid paper. Post them everywhere. A BONUS Palin-related poster, after the jump! (more…)
See all parts of the Luke Williams interview, as they are posted, here.
Last time I posted about these beautiful and funny Thanks for Nothing (ex. Thanks for nothing… you’re blocking my driveway) cards by Luke Williams for Gilah Press you guys (and I) loved them! So, when Luke offered up-close pictures (and an interview to-boot!), I was thrilled and decided I had to post again. I’ve also got info on where you can snag a set for yourself!
“To help suppress any potential drastic measures, these cards allow you to subtly deliver your true feelings towards a particular public service with minimal confrontation.” — Luke Williams
Check out all of the pictures that follow, & then get ready for my interview with Luke, coming tomorrow! (Hint: he actually makes more than just these beautiful cards!)
If you already know about these annual reports, scroll down to read about the new data-collecting web-site!
This may be old news to you, but as I was reviving my English major spirit by reading Penguin’s Blog (Penguin the book company), I learned about graphic designer Nicholas Felton’s personal “Annual Reports.” I became so obsessed, that I had to post about them here.
Felton records everything from how much he drinks and walks to where he eats to how many books he reads. At the end of the year, he compiles this data in an amazingly designed “Annual Report” (check them out on his web-page).
You can also order a printed copy of his reports, but they’re all sold out (that’s why everyday after January 1 I’ll probably check his web-page to be sure I get a copy!). (Is it weird that not only I, but other people as well, want the “Annual Report” of some man we don’t even know?)
I became so obsessed with the idea of graphs, data, and a corporate-like personal report, that I started recording my past year (which I decided, for various reasons, was July 9 to July 9). Luckily, I compiled and saved 169 lists over the past year (I’m an obsessive list-writer), so I have a lot of data. But I didn’t know how I was ever going to make such pretty graphs.
The Web-Site!
That’s why I’m so excited that is that Felton is creating a web-site, called daytum.com, just for the purpose of beautiful data-collection. It’s currently open by invite-only in beta, and I’m hoping, hoping, hoping someone will let me in!
(A couple of blogs lately have also mentioned mycrocosm, another resource for collecting and graphing daily life-data. It looks cool, but I do love that daytum is designed by Felton!)
So, yes, I’ve posted approximately seven times about Threadless, the t-shirt, and now print-making, company of great graphic design, and, having recently received my Spoilt print in the mail (yay!), I had to post again.
The prints are thrilling because I’m not an everyday T-shirt-wearer, but I just love all of the designs on the T-shirts. The only real problems with my print are: (1) I wish it were more giant, (2) I wish I could find a frame that works with it. Alas.
Anyway, one of the most fabulous parts about receiving my print was seeing which number print I was getting (they have runs of 250). I believe I was number 90-something, so that means over one-third have been sold. Secondly, the print came in a fabulously thick and huge tube.
Luckily, the people at Threadless knew that we lovers-of-graphic-design, having a general affinity for creativity, would wonder what to do with this monster-of-a-tube. Thus, they provided the above insert: “It’s Not Just a Tube! 12 tubular uses you might not have considered” (with art by Olly Moss, who recently posted this Wilde at Heart design, which I love, on his blog, and is the artist of my beloved Spoilt print!)
The tube-ideas include everything from “Ninja Sword” to “Huge Glass” (my personal favorites are “Robot Arms” and “Hamster Cannon”). Also, the bottom warning is spectacular: “Many of these uses are not safe or possible.” Though I would really like to give “Giant Spit Baller” a try…
Update 7/4/08 9:15AM: Threadless prints have been reduced to $19.
Yasmine, illustrator & owner of the blog A Print a Day (see previous post for more info), has, thus far, had an incredibly interesting life. Here’s the short version. (more…)
Read about Yasmine’s life here!
Read about her inspirations here!
If you’ve been reading Stickers & Donuts, you know I’ve got a thing for A Print A Day, a blog by a fantastic west coast illustrator named Yasmine. Yasmine posts prints (patterns & drawings, mostly created on the computer) daily-ish (you know how it is with blogging).
I get so excited and jealous every time I see that she’s posted (look at how different the prints can be!), which is why I was even MORE excited when she kindly agreed to sit down with me (um, over email) for an interview! (more…)
I think this was a good week in Stickers & Donuts land, with lots of fun posts (well, I had fun at least) and sets. How about a round of applause for Tricia who did two spectacular posts this week? I thought her posts were awesome and from the looks of things, so did you! Anyway, here is another small edition of “Currently Obsessed” for your Friday. Have a spectacular weekend!
I’m currently obsessed with the Olympics, among other things:
I love these “Thanks for Nothing” cards by Luke Williams for Gilah Press.
If you can’t read the detail on the card above, various things you might “thank” someone for include: (more…)
Obviously, I’m on a book-kick these days. If you’ve been at all enamored with the book world, especially at the end of 2007, you’ll know that The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz is getting some hardcore attention from book-lovers. I have a little Diaz-love myself, partially because the man got his MFA at my alma mater and I read a chunk of his work in the happy days I spent there.
There are two things I want to mention about this book besides it being fabulous to read:
“When I want to read a good book, I write one.” —Benjamin Disraeli
There are tons of options out there for making your own books, but a lot of “self-publishing” sites require a huge investment because they work on the theory that you want to sell your books to lots of people. But, alas, we little people are satisfied, sometimes, with just making a book or two — for ourselves, for our family, for presents, for a portfolio.
Here are a collection of a few of my favorite places where you can construct your very own book (from McDonald’s publishing to A list restaurant, so to speak) and none of these places force you to purchase more than a single copy of your book.
Espresso Book Machine
I posted about the Espresso Book Machine from On Demand Books a few weeks ago. I’m pretty obsessed with the fact that you can be standing in front of a machine, bookless, and ten minutes later have your self-written opus in your excited hands.
Lulu
I have no personal experience with lulu.com but I re-visit the page again and again, dreaming of the books I can create, sell (if you want you can set a price and sell your books online with no inventory costs), or give away. At Lulu, a paperback book with 100 pages can cost you less than $7, and you can order a new one anytime you want. A color comic book might cost you $15. You can also print cookbooks, textbooks, brochures, and there are even special software packages for children who want to create a book.
Lulu even has a Vintage Publishing service. This is more expensive ($150+ for the creation of the book, but regular prices apply to book purchases), but Lulu will scan in old books like scrapbooks, family heirlooms, or out-of-print books and turn them in to new, not-falling-apart books for your family to enjoy. They’ll also give you a high-quality pdf version.
Blurb
Blurb.com seems to be an artsier version of Lulu. Prices are a little steeper (for example, a 40 page 8×10 book is $20), but all include four color printing. There is also special, downloadable software if you need help building your book. You can flip through some already created books here. Book by Its Cover also did a very honest review of her blurb-created book, which I suggest you read before you take the plunge.
Good Stock
Good Stock is the cream of the book publication crop and is especially for those who want to make some kind of epic memory book probably for a momentous occasion like a birth, an anniversary, a wedding, etc. Yes, these books are expensive (maybe something like, say, $500), but I think they are amazing, beautiful, and incredibly professional, especially good for someone who knows he cannot quite create a fully-polished product on his own.
Kim at Good Stock has her own blog, and is one of the people who personally takes your shoebox full of pictures and memories and turns it into a visual story (with detailed input from you, of course). If you can’t afford your own book, you can look at some of the books already created here.
I love books. I love reading them. I love looking at them. I love stacking them. Sometimes, I love them without ever even reading them (*gasp* weren’t you an English major in college?!).
“Even when reading is impossible, the presence of books acquired[...] produces such an ecstasy that the buying of more books than one can[...] read is nothing less than the soul reaching towards infinity[…] we cherish books even if unread, their mere presence exudes comfort, their ready access, reassurance.” —Alfred Edward Newton (1863 - 1940)
Books can be pretty, and to enjoy the aesthetic pleasure of cover art, page layout, typography — that I do not think is a sin. Here are a few other people who agree with me, and some of my favorite places to travel for my aesthetic love of books.
Above: From a post about What it Is by Lynda Barry
This is my favorite book blog and I recommend an immediate RSS subscription. The author, an amazing illustrator in her own right, and provides scans from sketchbooks, children’s books, comic books, craft books, and any other kind of page turning instrument with pictures or gadgets.
I love this site because it reveals (1) the artistic innards of books, (2) books not on best seller’s lists. She clearly spends time selecting pretty pages to preview, proving that the title of her site should be something more like Book By Its Cover and Great Examples of Inside Pages Too (can you tell I’m a writer? I thought so.)
2.
Covers
I love this site most because the main page’s grid layout gets me all excited about book covers every time I see it. You can click on each cover to see a larger version and commentary. They update every week, and it’s another book blog I wouldn’t hesitate to subscribe to.
3.
Flickr Sets
Above: Image from the Old-Timey Paperback Book Covers group pool on Flickr.
Veer recently posted about a flickr collection featuring scans from mid-20th century books. This got me scouting around for more flickr sets. Here are some of my favorite finds from group pools: Mother Goose Illustrations, The Retro Kid Pool, and Old-Timey Paperback Book Covers.
4.
McSweeney’s
Above: Image from NY Magazine
According to me, McSweeney’s consistently publishes some of the best-looking books on the planet. You’ve already seen my review of Maps & Legends, printed by McSweeney’s, and you can browse around for even more on the McSweeny’s site, either in the Books section or in the McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern section (the McS’s lit mag). These books are all better in 3-D, though, a lot of them have secret openings, layered covers, or some other graphical gimmick that I can’t get enough of.
5.
The Book Design Review
Above: Image from The Book Design Review
Ironically, you should not judge this page by its header because it’s full of cool book covers and book cover discussions (ironically my friend Marmalade pointed me to this at almost the exact same time I was posting it, and now I’m trying to think of a pun about being “on the same page” but it isn’t going well).
In summary, you should judge book covers by their book covers. In order to do so, you should visit the following places (right click, open in new window):
We all know and love moo.com for its mini-cards (which, incidentally, lots of people were using as business cards at the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn this year), but I just found out (from Etsy’s blog The Storque) that Moo.com now prints full-sized business cards.
Like the mini-cards, the full-sized cards can contain a different image or different text on each card. The images can be pulled directly from sites where you might already have them uploaded (like facebook, flickr, and etsy). You can use moo.com templates or upload the front and back of your card from a file you’ve already made. If you order 50 cards ($22), you also get a cute little free holder for them.
I love this sample of business cards from Spreadshirt (top of page). There are also a bunch of other examples of crafty business cards on moo.com. And, as always, I wouldn’t recommend only using them for business. I’m sure there are tons of crafty things to do with 50 rectangular cards (I smell scrapbooking, mini-christmas cards, mini-photo albums, etc)!
I recently discovered the new “got milk?” web-site while surfing NotCot.org. I love the white paper cut-out look, very milky. There are also lots of fun moving parts and colorful characters. An excellent example of corporate web-design (for those of us with fast enough connections to keep up with it).
My favorite part of the site? DIY projects for the crafty milk-drinker-recyclers among us. The downloadable pdf instructions are availible for both milk cartons and milk jugs. I know, it’s all a little kindergarten, but the youthful part of me can’t help but get excited.
Chocolate (my favorite, btw)! In beta (what?!)! With cute packaging (yeah, I’m a sucker for that, too)!
I can’t wait to get my tongue all over this piece of crafty genius I saw at trendwatching.com. While Tollhouse or Hershey’s pride themselves on using really old recipes that have been around the block, Tcho has chosen a different route wfor creating their specialty chocolates (read: not the same as the stuff you by for 85 cents at Rite Aid).
Tcho crafts and re-crafts their chocolate with all the feedback they get along the way. They’ve been releasing “beta” versions of their chocolate bars (available for purchase online only) and eventually they’ll release the chocolate in version 1.0.
“From our first batch, we’ve improved every aspect of “Chocolatey” again and again, including the progression of taste over time (attack, sustain, and decay), the sweetness, and the mouthfeel” (Tcho).
They’re in version .99 right now, so the chocolate has got to be pretty awesome, plus you can send Tacho your feedback right away to help create version 1.0.
The chocolate is a little price-y ($10 for a two pack), but you’ve to remember this is specialty chocolate, and from all the reviews I’ve read online, it’s delicious.
Bonus: look at that pretty packaging! The earthy brown suggests natural flavors and the simple typography with a single splash of color indicates an elevated design-sense above and beyond that lowly pop chocolate I’ve been buying at the supermarket.
Oh-la-la! Hungry now?
Threadless T-Shirts - Spoilt Print by Oliver Moss
I have always loved this T-shirt print from threadless, which spoils the ending of about every movie and book with a surprise finish.
I’m super-excited because today Threadless made the T-shirt availible as a large poster/print! This is a pretty amazing graphic, and a great example of typographic success. The artist uses each film’s special font, yet all of the different fonts come together to form a cohesive whole.
Out of all of the things I post and covet, I might actually purcahse this one!
