Oh Chili, I know that you and T-Boz had to file for bankruptcy a few years back but is this the best they could give you for your new cd? Poor Chili has been hit with a photographer from Smooth and some faux-metallic type courtesy of Ford for her upcoming solo album. You’ve got to hope this isn’t really what it will look like but it seems as though it will be. Dumb, dumb, dumb, that summarizes it pretty well. Apologies to Beck for posting this before him.
My interest in Beck’s music is not only based on the music but also how he addresses the visual aspects of his music. For Guero Beck released a normal cd with traditional packaging, but he also released a hardbound book that featured a dvd featuring motion graphic interpretations of his music by D-Fuse. Then for The Information a cd was produced with normal packaging but it also included a set of stickers that you could use to create your own original cover and it was packaged with another dvd – this one was slightly disappointing when compared to the D-Fuse version.
Now Beck has re-released Odelay with a re-interpretation of the original packaging manipulated by Mat Maitland of Big Active, London, the team that also produced The Information. An additional set of 4 postcards come bundled in the gate-fold paperboard package. Damn the Brits for always doing better design than we do. The cd also comes bundled with a re-release of the original version of Odelay and a special disc that combines B-Sides and remixes by Unkle and others.
I picked up the cd about three weeks ago and though I thought it was a bit pricey at $30 when I saw that the back cover featured a scribbled message that said “Property of Michael” I knew it was meant to be. I suggest picking it up especially if your copy of Odelay looks like it has been cleaned like a brillo pad like mine.
Steven Heller writes an interesting blog posting for The New York Times about Obama’s use of Gotham for his campaign.
Brian Collins analyzes the brand building of Obama in the interview with Heller:
“I don’t think that Gotham adds any personality to Senator Obama’s brand. I think it just amplifies the personality that’s already there. In fact, the typeface would work just as well for John McCain or Hillary Clinton, for that matter.
With that said, though, there’s an oxymoronic quality to Gotham, which is why I think it’s become so popular. It has a blunt, geometric simplicity, which usually makes words feel cold and analytical (like Univers), but it also feels warm. It’s substantial yet friendly. Up-to-date yet familiar. That’s a tough hat trick. And Gotham has another quality that makes it succeed: it just looks matter-of-fact.”
I would certainly vote for Gotham as President, I just ask that it tracks itself a little bit. That’s some tightly Gotham in there. Personally I don’t know how well it works with the serif, I think the serif is applied better in applications and reads much more friendly and personable.
Thanks to DK Uva
Lella and Massimo Vignelli have teamed up with Acme Writing Products to produce a limited edition pen. Produced in a quantity of 500, the Zigrinato is available for purchase through Acme’s retailers.
It seems as though they have also produced a set of cufflinks titled “Alphabet”.
Found in Blackbook
I’m pretty much amazed by this project.
Available for pre-order from Amazon and I think it’s definitely worth $14.
Spotted at Core77.
I saw this bookshelf in I.D. this month and thought it was a great fusion of industrial, print, and interactive design.
Between Lines.
The work consists of seven mirror polished, stainless steel letter bands. The one-off edition piece marks the first set of a production line which will be launched in Milan 2008 and will be available in a rubber coated finish.
Each of the 2.70 meter letter bands can be coiled up to a small roll, unfolded and reshaped to an infinite array of configurations. Without additional brackets the letter bands are simply screwed to the wall. The typical means of a book shelf which to often gets covered in layers of dust is thrown out of centre movement is favoured over stability.
The shelf transforms into a sculpture and yet it reveals the beauty of the book covers and its content. When letters get mixed up, repeated, or when content gets confused and explanation fails an explosion of letters creates an unorganized support to hold our literature. Giving insight rather in closing its content which is to often covered with dust. Offering the possibilities to present them open rather having them closed and inviting to read ‘Between the Lines’.
Their logo is pretty kick-ass so I thought it was worth adding.
Colorful new names for eight crayons
Gone is wild watermelon. Now it will be called awesome. That’s just one of the name changes of eight colors in the Crayola 64 box that was announced earlier today at the Toys R Us in Times Square in New York City. The newly named colors are aimed at appealing to a new generation of children, more than 20,000 of whom picked the names in an online poll. The Crayola 64 box made its television debut in 1958 on the Captain Kangaroo Show.
Here are the other old names followed by the new names: laser lemon, super happy; wild tangerine, fun in the sun; screamin’ green, giving tree; beaver, bear hug; turquoise blue, happy ever after; hot magenta, famous; orchid, best friends. –Reporting by Melinda Rizzo, The Morning Call
I guess we should be happy that the kids didn’t choose super happy beaver or wild screamin’ happy ever after. Dumb. I’ve also never felt the need to comment on the Crayola logo but what the ‘ell is going on there? I don’t know what else to do, why don’t we make a rainbow smiley face but no eyes? Or a rainbow chili pepper maybe?
It kind of reminds me of something but I don’t feel the need to connect the dots.
Stolen from here, via Fark
Finally the music industry acknowledges what we’ve been saying for years, most music these days is recycled garbage.
The Ultimate ‘Green’ Album Package Sprouts Wildflowers! Universal Music Enterprises Teams With Wal-Mart for Special Album Packaging
The insert in more than 20 Universal Music Group (UMG) titles available now at Wal-Mart as a part of Wal-Mart’s “Earth Month” promotion is so earth-friendly that, when properly planted, the special seed paper will actually bloom into wildflowers. From the uniquely organic insert to environmentally sustainable packaging for new albums from Sheryl Crow, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Counting Crows, and the effort is further proof that green is growing fast in the music industry. All of the albums from Universal Music Enterprises (UMe), the U.S. catalog and special markets entity for UMG, will be offered in the new REPAK(R) CD package, an all paperboard option containing third-party certified, renewable recycled board and recyclable paper. The REPAK’s design features a unique recessed cavity to hold the disc snugly and safely in place, completely eliminating the need for a plastic hub or tray. It is part of the greenchoice(TM) Environmental Solutions program from Shorewood Packaging, a business of International Paper. For the previously released compilation albums, the new packaging will replace the jewel box version of each title. Those albums (see list below) will also include the wildflower insert offering three free digital downloads from a select number of UMe catalog tracks.
Interesting. Well the Janet Jackson cd packaging is currently printed with metallic ink. It would be great fun if they continue doing that, using toxic ink on recyclable packaging. Who knows, maybe they’ll even print with soy ink. Probably not. Too bad the packaging will go away but the cd itself will stick around for at least 100 years. I remember back in the day they used to make cardboard/plastic records that you got for free on cereal boxes and free with other products. I’m probably the only one that remembers that. They always sounded like crap, especially since they were always bent and wouldn’t stay flat on the record player. But it was a cool concept.
Filed under: Stuff that moves
I had never seen this typography-driven video for Herbert (Matthew Herbert). Though the set is exciting and reminiscent of Scher’s big yellow building with applied typography, the video is really uneventful no matter how much I like the song.
This is better Herbert for me.
The History Channel has a “new” logo. I don’t know what the hell is going on there. Couldn’t they have ditched the gradients at least?
old
new
