Likes & Likes

Liking this visual exploration of “Procrastination”...

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:00:00 -0500

Liking this visual exploration of “Procrastination” by Johnny Kelly. His graduate piece from the Royal College of Art, is as he says, “an investigative and exploratory hands-on gloves-off study into the practice of putting things ‘off”.”

Factory 20

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:53:34 -0500

My apartment is a constant work in progress. Sites like Factory 20, have become a fixture in my constant browsing of vintage things, most of which I still can’t really afford or even have room for in my one bedroom place.

Factory 20 offers pieces not bound to a specific era in time or medium of art. The site boasts re-purposed and existing furnishings, architectural artifacts, art, fabric, etc. All pieces are seemingly unique because of their intrinsic quality, originality and their history.

It’s definitely worth a quick peek and a check back often. Click here for more.

Collecting Things

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 10:55:00 -0500

Here’s a big thing I like—collecting things. And it seems to be a growing trend to document on blogs too. Just this week I stumbled upon a site for old Matchbooks from restaurants and bars, Found photographs from the street, and the one pictured above, A Collection a Day.

Started by Lisa Congdon, the blog spans one year and documents a collection photographed or drawn by the professional illustrator. Her motivation she says, is simply, “… because I love my collections, and I want to document them in a way that makes sense to me, and share them with whoever might be interested in looking at them.”

Turn Signal Biking Jackets

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:04:31 -0500

This is pretty neat. The jackets shown above are made with sewable electronic components that let DIYers build interactive wearables and e-textiles. The Lilypad Arduino, developed by MIT Media Lab assistant professor Leah Buechley, is a microcontroller board that can be sewn to fabric and “connected” to power supplies, sensors, actuators and other stuff with conductive thread. Check out the video demo of the jacket here.

I’ve been attempting to document some of the boy and my...

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:59:00 -0500

I’ve been attempting to document some of the boy and my adventures in cooking. We’ve been doing a lot of it this winter, and will have some posts to share soon.

In the meantime, I thought I’d post this clever stop motion video called Adobe Photoshop Cook which begs to ask—how awesome would it be if there was a program to bake yummy cookies?

Check out this Masters degree in Packaging Design project...

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:52:00 -0500

Check out this Masters degree in Packaging Design project designed by José Luis García Eguiguren. It’s a new take on both the dated look and packaging for teh shaving cream brand Barbasol. for Not sure of the feasibility in terms of cost, but graphically, this is an astounding and energetic revamp or a seemingly tired brand. While still staying true to the original feel of the dispenser, the look has been given a jolt of modernism and sophistication to bring it upmarket without alienating previous customers.

Here’s some background information on the project:

This project’s objective was to re-style the popular American “Barbasol” shaving cream in order to introduced it into the European market. For this, I maintained the basic form that they have used for years: the barber shop pole (stripes). The aggressive diagonal line that divides the stripes suggest a mix between the shaving cream and the fragance. It also alludes to the razor blades on the surface of the skin cutting through the facial hair. The way the lines drive all the way up and down on the sides makes a perfect simulation of the shaving cream mixing and exiting the can. The form of the can (cap & bottom) are in harmony with the angle of the stripes, thus providing a fluid motion for the eye. The typography utilized provides a more industrial and tech appearance.

Fascinating, dramatic, surprising. Reminds me of another highly...

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:46:37 -0500

Fascinating, dramatic, surprising. Reminds me of another highly stylized animation I spied on Vimeo a few months back - equally as dark in subject matter but set in a more detailed world. I’m such a sucker for slow-motion! Definitely check out the making-of featurette as well…

Street banners to tote bags

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 10:00:00 -0500

What happens to the banners that hung from streetlamps in Center City, welcoming visitors to Philadelphia and promoting cultural events? They usually pile up in storage. But now, Philadelphia’s Center City District has found a way to recycle them as hand-made tote bags - no two are alike.

All manufacturing is done right here in Philadelphia by two nonprofit work rehabilitation programs: the banners are cleaned by Philacor, a vocational program in the Philadelphia Department of Corrections, and then another non-profit vocational program, Baker Industries, makes the cleaned banners into the totes.

Currently, the bags are available at Open House at 107 South 13th Street, the Pennsylvania General Store at the Reading Terminal Market, and the PAFA online and retail store at 128 North Broad Street.

The ads coming from Porsche lately have been nothing short of...

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:53:09 -0500

The ads coming from Porsche lately have been nothing short of fantastic. I’ve watched the Panamera intro spot about a zillion times, squinting to make out each and every model and livery. Here’s another video from their YouTube channel that continues to push their racing heritage. Not sure if this is in response to some other manufacturer’s claims or a retaliation of sorts, but the message is clear - racing, not posing. Strongly liked.

My City vs. Your City

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:39:00 -0500

If you watched the Grammy’s last night, it might have left you feeling a bit like it did for us. Seemingly most of America is listening to the same three artists: Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Beyonce.

Last night’s pop culture awakening might contribute to why I found this site My City vs. Your City so interesting. The website enables visitors to compare listening patterns of respective cities, based on data from Last.fm. The website was developed by German creative coder Michael Schieben.

Truth be told, it seems Lady Gaga is popular everywhere.

Also, become friends with Likes and Likes on Last.fm here and here.

John Langdon at the TDC

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:00:00 -0500

John Langon, professor of typography and corporate identity at Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media Arts and Design, will have several paintings hanging at the Type Directors Club in New York in February and through March. On Thursday, February 4th 6-8 pm, there will be a reception and Professor Langdon will be giving a brief talk about his work. More information at the TDC website.

Letterheady

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:55:51 -0500

Letterheady is an online collection of letterhead design. An initiative of freelance writer Shaun Usher, the site is simple, straightforward, and instantly addicting. A must for anyone interested in typography, vintage ephemera, or just curious as to what a letter from Luke Skywalker might look like.

In Linas Philips’ new film “Bass Ackwards”, a man,...

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:19:45 -0500

In Linas Philips’ new film “Bass Ackwards”, a man, recently kicked off of his friend’s couch and dumped by his lover, finds a chopped up 1976 VW van on a farm and decides to head east. Official selection at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the movie hits theaters February 1st. However, bypassing theatrical and other traditional distribution avenues, the film was made available for purchase nationwide even before it’s Sundance premiere on January 23rd. It can now be viewed in it’s entirety through YouTube Rentals.

Font Aid IV

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:42:00 -0500

The Society of Typographic Aficionados has announced a call for entries for Font Aid IV, a collaborative typographical project to raise raise money for relief efforts in Haiti:

Type designers, graphic designers and other artists from around the world are invited to contribute artwork to be included in a typeface created exclusively for the Font Aid IV effort. The theme of Font Aid IV is “Coming Together” which we will represented though a font consisting entirely of ampersands. Coming Together will be made available for sale through several type distributors, with all proceeds going to Doctors Without Borders. SOTA, a US-based non-profit, is acting as a non-partisan organizing body to help coordinate the effort and ensure all funds are distributed appropriately.

To participate, submit a black and white vector format ampersand as an EPS file to fontaid@typesociety.org. But hurry! Submissions accepted up to this Friday the 29th.

UPDATE: The font will be sold for $20US, and is now available through font distributors Veer and Ascender Fonts. It will be available on FontShop and MyFonts later in the week.

Philagrafika 2010

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:28:00 -0500

Philagrafika is Philadelphia’s city-wide international festival created to celebrate printmaking in contemporary art. It was conceived by a consortium of print curators and artists to build audience and visibility for the area’s print community. Opening weekend starts this Friday the 29th, and the festival extends all the way into May (see the calendar of events).

The events planned for the festival will explore the role of printmaking in shaping contemporary visual culture around the world. Almost every major Philadelphia art institution is participating - the exhibition now involves more than 300 artists for events and exhibitions to be held at more than 80 venues throughout the city. Philagrafika is being billed as one of the largest art events in the US and “the world’s most important print-related exposition”.

For more information and events, see the official website.

Big Green Earth Store

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:20:00 -0500

A friend forwarded this to my attention. It’s a new shop called Big Green Earth Store on Philadelphia’s South Street where you can bring your own empty bottles and refill them with locally-produced Sun & Earth (of Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen fame) natural cleaners. You pay by the ounce. So far the list includes laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid and packs, all-purpose cleaner, glass cleaner, fabric softener and hand soap. For more information. check out their website.

Likes and Likes Mixtape - Volume 3 - Wintry Mix Click the...

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:00:00 -0500

Likes and Likes Mixtape - Volume 3 - Wintry Mix

Click the player above the image to stream the mix online. To download this mix, click the above image, or press the download button to the right of the player, then select “Page” or “File” from your browser’s toolbar, then select “Save As…” and save the file to your desktop.

Tracklist:

Impossible (Possible Version) - Shout Out Louds
Plain Material - Memory Tapes
Talamak - Toro y Moi
Oh Naoko - Sun Airway
Walkabout (feat. Noah Lennox) - Atlas Sound
Golden Phone - Micachu and the Shapes
You’ve Got the Love (Florence and the Machine cover) - The XX
A Horse Is Not A Home - Miike Snow
Poison Lips - Vitalic
Sky Ghosts - The Depreciation Guild
In Your Heart - A Place to Bury Strangers
Swim - Surfer Blood
The Zookeeper’s Boy - Mew
Dominos - The Big Pink
Who Makes Your Money - Spoon
Watch The Waves - Taken by Trees
Paradise Circus (feat. Hope Sandoval) - Massive Attack
Norway - Beach House
No Need to Cry - British Sea Power
Change of Heart - El Perro del Mar

Previous Likes and Likes mixes:
Volume 2 - Fall into Winter
Volume 1 - Summer

We’ve all had to deal with those flimsy plastic headphones...

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:22:00 -0500

We’ve all had to deal with those flimsy plastic headphones that came with some CD player or other device. We hated them for their cheap tiny sound and instant break-ability. We’ve also used ear-buds, which are fine for a quick listen when commuting or working out at the gym. But sometimes, you really want to hear your music. Fully appreciate it. Take in every nuance. Thankfully there’s a way to do it without breaking the bank on a roomful of equipment and having your neighbors calling the police on your high-volume escapades. Enter Grado Labs headphones.

Billing themselves as the world’s finest headphones (and phonograph cartridges), this Brooklyn-based company has been making audio accessories for over 50 years. They are one of the oldest family-owned companies in the audio industry, and (according to their website) still make every product by hand.

I really dislike the Apple ear-buds, and I wanted to pair a more substantial set of cans to my iPod (and now iPhone). After doing some research, I decided to test-drive the Prestige Series of headphones, winners of more awards than any other headphone line in the world. Amazingly, despite the accolades, these SRs are entry-level cans, and so were relatively inexpensive at about $100.

I compared both the SR60 and SR80 models (they’ve recently upgraded them and added an “i” to their names), and while the SR60 sounded fantastic, I was really blown away by the warmth, vibrancy and size of the sound produced by the SR80s. It’s really like nothing you’ve ever heard from chintzy headphones that usually come with most consumer electronics.

By the way - I bought these headphones well over 5 years ago. So far I’ve only had to replace the foam earpads - they got a little torn from toting them everywhere. And once, when I got tangled up in the cans’ seemingly never-ending cable, I yanked the wiring out of one of the cups. I sent them back to Grado for repair, and had them back in a week. Who repairs stuff like this anymore, let alone the original manufacturer?

So, what next? I’m sure I could really get some great sound out of my iPod/iPhone and draw less battery power by using an amplifier. I also might try my hand at a few modifications. But for now they’re still going strong. It’s pretty much a perfect setup, and one I can’t recommend enough.

Sticky Candy

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:25:00 -0500

My friend Lisa gave me this jar of Sticky Candy. Each piece is handmade in Australia and super adorable (tasty too).

How F*cking Romantic: Illustrating The Magnetic Fields’ 69 Love Songs

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 10:58:42 -0500

How F*cking Romantic, is a project by an ever-growing group of (mostly) London-based artists who have taken on illustrating every song on the Magnetic Fields’ epic 3-disc 69 Love Songs.

See the completed favorites on the How F*cking Romantic blog while listening to your favorite tracks.