The Blog
Welcome to the DESIGN.inc Blog, an ever changing collection of my picks from across the web, the art and design world or anything really that peaks my interest. I update my blog as often as possible, so remember to bookmark this page and check back from time to time.
Split Portraits
These wonderfully creative photographs are the brainchild of Ulric Collette, an art director out of Quebec city.
He combines the portraits of Two people who are related, to demonstrate the similarities between them. They are all from his series "Genetic Portraits". You can check out his other work over on his website here. An interesting spin on the family portrait, don't you think?
Mario's Enemies
Reimagined
Since 1983, the Mario games have been the cornerstone of Nintendo's line-up and a stalwart of the gaming world at large. For nearly 30 years, the mustachioed dynamic duo have rescued the princess from Bowser's fiery grasp countless times, feasted on incalculable mushrooms, of myriad power-up varieties and mercilessly stomped a near infinite amount of, in many cases, actually quite cute enemies...
Global Photography:
#004 Sydney
For this, the 4th edition of the Global Photography feature, I decided to focus the viewfinder on the beautiful city of Sydney, Australia.
Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales and home to 4.6 million "Sydneysiders," making it the most populous city in Australia.
Breathtaking
Illustrations by
Loopydave.
I'm always excited when I come across a great illustrator, but this guy simply took my breath away.
Loopydave is a professional illustrator out of Australia. Almost all of his works start out as pencil sketches and are then painted in Photoshop. You can view his portfolio on his DeviantArt account here.
Dirty Car Art
There's something deeply pleasing to me about seeing art created in a temporary, here today gone tomorrow medium and these incredible works by Scott Wade are a perfect example. He creates his masterpieces in the dirt on cars and no sooner are they finished and photographed, the rain comes and washes it all away.
Scott lives on a mile and a half of dirt road which is comprised of a blend of limestone dust, clay and gravel resulting in a fine, whit dust coating all the cars in his neighbourhood...
Creative LEGO Ads
I'm a big fan of LEGO, I played with it as a kid, I collect the LEGO Star Wars kits as an adult and I love the way it encourages imaginative astuteness in children. In fact, the only thing I'm not a fan of is accidently standing on a piece!
As one of the world's biggest creative companies, you'd expect a certain level of creativity in their advisements and LEGO don't disappoint. In this post we'll be taking a look at the, often ingenious, print ads of the Danish organisation.
Desktop Calendar
December
On the eve of each new month I produce a stylish desktop wallpaper with an integrated calendar for your convenience.
Here is the December instalment of the DESIGN.inc desktop calendar.
Mind-blowing Pencil
Sculptures
Using a pencil to create art is, of course nothing new, however carpenter, Dalton M. Ghetti has taken a slightly different approach.
The 49 year old said: "At school I would carve a friend's name into the wood of a pencil and then give it to them as a present. Later, when I got into sculpture, I would make these huge pieces from things like wood, but decided I wanted to challenge myself by trying to make things as small as possible...
Still Life
Comes Alive!
You'd be forgiven, at first for thinking these photographs were of canvas, skilfully adorned with acrylics to create some pretty nice still life portraits. They are, in fact, the unique works of Washington DC. Artist, Alexa Meade.
Alexa, skilfully and painstakingly applies her paint directly onto her subjects, transforming them into living works of art, to later be photographed.
Desktop Calendar
November
On the eve of each new month I produce a stylish desktop wallpaper with an integrated calendar for your convenience.
Here is the November instalment of the DESIGN.inc desktop calendar.
Extreme Pumpkin
Carving
With Halloween just a few days away, many of you will be thinking of picking up a pumpkin and carving yourself a Jack-o'-lantern.
Before you get out your knives and spoons though, I though you might benefit from a little creative inspiration. Here I've curated 10 fantastic examples of pumpkin carving taken to artistic extremes. Happy Halloween!
Photorealistic
Pictures
Drawn with a BIC Pen
At first glance these pictures might appear to be photographs with a moody blue filter applied.
They are in fact the incredible work of Spanish artist Juan Francisco Casas and are painstakingly created using your standard, disposable BIC ball point pen.
Realistic Cartoon
Characters
Today I bring you some great (albeit insanely creepy) renditions of some world famous cartoon characters, all reinvented by some very talented people to give us an idea of how they would look if they were real.
So, ready your pitchforks, light your torches and check out these abominations!
The Evolution of
Apple Ads
With Apple vice president, Phil Schiller unveiling the much anticipated iPhone 4S yesterday, I thought it would be a great time to see how Apple has changed over the years by looking at the evolution of their adverts.
Well known for their great design team, Apple started advertising their products in late 1977 and have undergone countless re-brands in the decades since.
Desktop Calendar
October
On the eve of each new month I produce a stylish desktop wallpaper with an integrated calendar for your convenience.
Here is the October instalment of the DESIGN.inc desktop calendar.
Photography: Dogs
Combining Two of my greatest loves, dogs and great photography.
Any dog owner will tell you how difficult it can be to get man's best friend to pose for a snap, making these truly exceptional examples of dog photography, all the more special.
Desktop Calendar
September
On the eve of each new month I produce a stylish desktop wallpaper with an integrated calendar for your convenience.
Here is the September instalment of the DESIGN.inc desktop calendar.
Foodscapes
These extraordinary landscape photographs have been carefully constructed entirely from food and I think you'll agree, that the contrasting textures and the vibrancy of the colours, make for some truly beautiful and utterly ingenious works of art.
Created by the hugely creative photographer Carl Warner and his team in London. Give his wonderful portfolio a look over at his website.
Fun with 404
The 404 or Not Found error message is a HTTP standard response code indicating that the client was able to communicate with the server, but the server could not find what was requested... Pretty boring stuff, right? Well it doesn't need to be.
More and more, web designers are creating custom pages so that the dreaded 404 page is a little less frustrating. Here I've put together some clever and creative examples of custom 404 pages.
Sucker for Soccer
With the new football season now finally underway here in the UK, I thought it would be a great time to celebrate the beautiful game, by bringing you some beautiful design, dedicated to football.
These glorious vintage style posters were created by a hugely talented graphic designer out of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the name of Zoran Lucić.Global Photography:
#003 London
I had planned on saving the London Global Photography feature to coincide with the opening of next summers Olympic Games, however after the utterly abhorrent scenes of riots this week in London and some other cities here in Britain, I thought we could do with seeing some nice images of the UK capital city.
Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, it is the largest urban area in Europe and is called home by nearly 8 million people.More Imaginative
Package Designs
You guys seemed to enjoy the Imaginative Package Designs post I put together a couple of months ago and as a little token of my appreciation I thought I'd put together a second part - More Imaginative Package Designs.
As with the original I have compiled a selection of beautiful packaging designs, some conceptual and some that made it to the shelves but all great examples of the designer going the extra mile to ensure that all important first impression is a positive one.The Style of Music
These beautiful illustrations are from a collection called "The Style of Music" part of the "Ensemble" range created by Moxy Creative House and are available to buy as posters from their website.
Which is your favourite?Desktop Calendar
August
On the eve of each new month I produce a stylish desktop wallpaper with an integrated calendar for your convenience.
Here is the August instalment of the DESIGN.inc desktop calendar.
Tremendous
Typography
Typography is the art or process of setting and arranging type. Good typography skills are an essential part of any designer's repertoire, however, there are some who truly excel and take the art of typography to amazing new heights.
In this blog entry I've put together a collection of beautiful typography by some hugely talented artists for you to enjoy.Summer Streets by
Chris LaBrooy
This stunning series of illustrative typography was created by the extremely talented, UK based, designer Chris LaBrooy for Leaddog marketing NYC to promote the yearly Summer Streets event.
Summer Streets is an annual event held on three consecutive Saturdays in which a large area of New York city is closed to traffic and opened up to the people to "play, walk, bike, and breathe".Top 10 Most Expensive
Paintings Ever Sold
There are a few top 10 most expensive paintings lists out there, however, I've noticed they often fail to include both public and more importantly private sales. It's for that reason I've put together this DEFINITIVE top 10 list of the most expensive paintings ever sold.
I've tried to be as inclusive as possible with this list by converting the astronomical fees paid for these masterpieces into British Pounds and Euros as well as the usual U.S. Dollars. Exchange rates are correct as of the date of this post.Amazing Sand
Sculptures
You'll no doubt enjoy a visit to the beach in these summer months, you might even partake in building a sand castle, however there are some clever people who take this past time to creative extremes, crafting sand into elaborate and intricate sand sculptures.
In today's blog entry I've curated a select few examples of some incredible sand sculptures.Global Photography:
#002 Venice
I've decided to revisit the Global Photography feature I started a while ago. This time focusing on the breathtaking city of Venice.
Stretching across 117 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon, along the Adriatic Sea, Venice is Often called the most romantic place on earth and there's no denying it's one of the most beautiful, visually distinctive and really quite remarkable cities. It's for these reasons, I've decided to showcase the floating city by putting together this collection of stunning photographs.Cinemagraphs
The 256-color GIF format has been around since the early days of the Internet but these animated images have taken an interesting turn lately. Cinemagraphs look like still photos but actually feature a subtle area of movement designed to grab your eye and keep you looking. The effect is slightly eerie but quite captivating. Photographer, Fernando J Baez, describes the technique as "more than a photo, but not quite a video."
Here I've compiled a collection of, 25 or so, great examples of the cinemagraph technique for you to enjoy.Desktop Calendar
July
On the eve of each new month I produce a stylish desktop wallpaper with an integrated calendar for your convenience.
Here is the July instalment of the DESIGN.inc desktop calendar.
Fan Art: Angry Birds
"Fan Art" is a very popular practice across art & design websites and can be a veritable gold mine when it's comes to, high quality, inventive design. I've decided to showcase this point by creating, what will become a regular DESIGN.inc Blog feature.
If you own a smart phone, you'll no doubt have encountered the massively successful, Angry Birds. Since it's launch in December '09 the Finland-based Rovio Mobile, who make Angry Birds, can boast over 12 Million sales on iPhone alone. It's no surprise then, that increasing amounts of merchandise is beginning to appear, Wii and DS versions are in the pipeline and there's even talk of a film or TV series.Imaginative Package
Designs
Packaging is a very important marketing strategy to glamorize a product in order to attract the consumer's attention. Often however, packaging can be neglected by business.
Here I have compiled a selection of beautiful packaging designs, some conceptual and some that made it to the shelves but all great examples of the designer going the extra mile to ensure that all important first impression is a positive one.Creative Photography
Here I have compiled a collection of 20 or so great examples of creative photography for your viewing pleasure.
I've tried to avoid, as best I can, photographs where the creative element has been put together in Photoshop and instead I've tried to choose shots where the innovation came from the set-up. That being said I'm under no illusion that these photographs will have gone through some degree of post-processing in some kind of digital darkroom software. Enjoy.
Desktop Calendar
June
On the eve of each new month I produce a stylish desktop wallpaper with an integrated calendar for your convenience.
Here is the June instalment of the DESIGN.inc desktop calendar.
Desktop Calendar
May
On the eve of each new month I produce a stylish desktop wallpaper with an integrated calendar for your convenience.
Here is the May instalment of the DESIGN.inc desktop calendar.
Chocolate Art
Today is Good Friday, which can only mean one thing, chocolate day is just around the corner! In light of this, I've compiled a collection of some wonderfully creative art works and sculptures all constructed via the medium of chocolate!
Enjoy and I hope you all have a great Easter weekend.
Desktop Calendar
April
On the eve of each new month I produce a stylish desktop wallpaper with an integrated calendar for your convenience.
Here is the April instalment of the DESIGN.inc desktop calendar.
Anthony Mandler:
Photographer
to the Stars
Currently working as on of the worlds leading directors in the field of music videos and commercials, Anthony Mandler started his career as a photographer.
Mandler's work has been featured on the covers of major magazines such as Entertainment Weekly, Esquire, Men's Health, and ESPN The Magazine, and his celebrity portraits include Ryan Phillippe, Eva Mendes, Lebron James, Eminem, Colin Farrell, David Beckham, Heath Ledger, and Katie Holmes, among others.
Desktop Calendar
March
On the eve of each new month I produce a stylish desktop wallpaper with an integrated calendar for your convenience.
Here is the March instalment of the DESIGN.inc desktop calendar.
Logos with Hidden
Messages
Designing logos can be a very difficult process. When designing a logo you want it to be unique, yet it has to be as simple as possible to ensure that it is memorable. Sometimes the designer goes a step further and incorporates a hidden message within the logo that has deeper meaning. In this article I've compiled a collection of logos with hidden messages, some of which you will have heard of before and some maybe new to you but hopefully you will enjoy them all.
Can Movie Posters
Be Considered Art?
Some of the most iconic and recognizable examples of design come in the form of movie posters. Here I have compiled a selection of what I consider to be some of the greatest movie posters of all time and prime examples of how the art world has, on occasion been infiltrated by inspired box office promotional advertising.
What do you think? Can a truly iconic movie poster be considered as art or are they forever condemned as simply a capitalist tool that can have no place in a gallery?
Desktop Calendar
February
On the eve of each new month I produce a stylish desktop wallpaper with an integrated calendar for your convenience.
Here is the February instalment of the DESIGN.inc desktop calendar. New this month, The Desktop Calendar is now available for iPhone.
Portraits by
Sebastian Kruger
Some of the oldest and most famous examples of art throughout history are portraits. Originally conceived as a way to immortalize noteworthy historical figures, kings, emperors, religious figureheads etc.
Here I have assembled some breathtaking examples of portraits by German artist Sebastian Krüger, who has taken the original concept and chosen subjects of more modern notoriety and immortalized them in his own inimitable style. Enjoy.
Sex Sells
There's no doubt about it, sex sells. Advertisers and marketing executives love to capitalize on the fact that our physical desires can have a profound effect on our emotional wants and needs.
Here I have assembled some great examples of risqué, attention grabbing ad campaigns. Enjoy.
Incredible Tattoos
Tattoos. Love them or loathe them, there's no denying that when done well, tattoo artistry is an amazingly skilful talent. With the precision and non-existent margin for error coupled with the often ingenious creativity a properly wielded tattoo gun, it is, I feel, rightfully considered a true art form. It's for these reasons I've decided to create this post, dedicated to some of the most breathtaking examples of body art I've seen.
Global Photography:
#001 New York
There's no doubt that New York is one of the most charismatic and distinctive looking cities on earth and it's because of these qualities, I've decided to kick off, what I hope will be a regular feature here on DESIGN.inc - depicting the worlds greatest cities with some breathtaking photography, with The Big Apple.
As I touched on above, I'm hoping that photographic depictions of the worlds greatest cities can become a regular feature of the DESIGN.inc blog but your feedback is key, let me know by commenting inside or by Email if you would like to see future instilments in this series.
Witty Illustrations
One of my favorite forms of art is illustration, I love the way an often simple image can have the creative power to say so much.
Here I have decided to compile a selection of work by the extremely talented, Illustrative artist Glenn Jones. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, Glenn has spent 15 years working in the design industry focusing on packaging, corporate identity and illustration before moving into T-shirt design. Not only are these designs very well drawn they are very clever and humorous, which is what makes these designs so unique and appealing. His beautifully drawn designs are very popular and have received massive attention. Glenn now runs his own website called Glennz Tees creating his own range of T-shirts, Laptop Skins, Calendars and Free iPhone Wallpapers.
Desktop Calendar
January
On the eve of each new month I produce a stylish desktop wallpaper with an integrated calendar for your convenience.
Here is the January instalment of the DESIGN.inc desktop calendar. As the site only went live on the 6th, it's a little later in coming than future editions, which will be launched on the last day of each month. Enjoy.
Amazing Photography
We all love taking photographs and it can be quite a joyous moment when we manage to take that truly great shot. Here I have compiled a collection of some of the most breathtaking examples of photography from around the web and provided a brief paragraph of annotation below each one to share my views and opinions.
I hope you enjoy them as much as I did and that they inspire you the next time you take out your camera to capture the moment.
