I recently collaborated with Canadian musician/band Aidan Knight on a new website. I say collaborated because Aidan was as much involved in the design process as I was. When Aidan contacted me 6 weeks ago asking if we could launch a new site for the end of March/beginning of April I thought he may be a little crazy. My schedule was pretty busy with a Habitat and a couple other side projects, but I also couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work with someone this talented.
It didn’t hurt knowing Aidan had an eye for design (he’s done typography and layout on albums for Maurice and We Are the City, as well as his own projects) — that and I’ve always loved geeking out about Futura — so with us both working together in our spare time we could definitely get something together. I’m thrilled to say we launched today after about 4 weeks of design/development time.
Aidan Knight released Small Reveal back in October and is about to head out on tour this Summer, catch the complete show if you get a chance.
In what is good news for literally the whole entire world, M83‘s Anthony Gonzalez provided the score for the Tom Cruise-starring sci-fi film Oblivion. The track “Oblivion”, features Norwegian singer Susanne Sundfør. Anythony himself has confirmed via Twitter that it’s from the films End Credits.
Excited to share this song featuring @susannesundfor, It’s called Oblivion and it’s the end credits song of the film: p4k.in/11EITqS
According to Rolling Stone, Gonzalez collaborated with Joseph Trapanese on the soundtrack; Trapanese previously collaborated with Daft Punk on the soundtrack to Tron: Legacy. The soundtrack arrives April 9 via Back Lot Records. The film, directed by Joseph Kosinski, apparently pays homage to the science fiction films of the 1970s, which is just peachy. It will be released on April 19.
Meet Maxim, the young inventor of a truly jaw-dropping new technology with limitless applications that will eliminate the need for screens and monitors — and all manner of electronic junk.
I get a lot of inspiration from vintage pulp cartoons and sci-fi films from the 30′s—60′s, it drives a lot of what of the design choices of films and print work I do. I also love the people who nod to this bygone era of hope for the future, like Sky Captain director Kerry Conran. I recently came across this old Superman animated short from 1941 and couldn’t believe the quality and smoothness of the animation in it, on-par with some of ’80s greats like Akira. I can definitely see the similarities in the 1990′s Batman Animated Series to this original comic. The colour, lighting and futuristic technologies in this are just fantastic.
I’ve always loved symmetry (to an almost OCD state of being) and found that’s often been on par with a love for geometry. It’s exciting to see it revisited in design these days with the help of newer computers, it’s all very beautiful. Seth Hardie has been taking some great Instagrams (@hallwood) using the iPad app Poly. I mean, I already want to buy an iPad, but this is enough to really push me over the edge.
I came upon these images about a month ago and bookmarked them but never got around to posting them. Or a lot of things really. My goal is to be more attentive to this blog, so with that, get excited about these roommates whose Freezer notes escalated into fantastic art. More after the jump.
Talented Illustration designer Jasper Goodall made this short film about Sanna Annukka and her new autumn/winter collection for Marimekko called Pohjolassa. I’m a huge fan of patterns and have always enjoyed symmetry but lately have been pushing myself in Illustrator. As far as the Adobe suite goes, Illustrator still isn’t my strongest and I’ve learned a lot in 2012 with it.
I’m currently working with a client on her brand refresh and going over bag designs these last couple weeks, been a great experiment in pattern making. I’d love a chance to make wallpaper or textiles like these down the road.
Filed under Too-Good-to-Be-True, artist Denis Medri has regularly shared with us alternate visions of my two favourite universes, Batman and Star Wars. I’m not kidding when I say, apart from the Buffy-verse, nothing compels me more than these mythologies. The only two video games for X-Box I play regularly are Arkham City (third or fourth time around at this point) and The Force Unleashed Series (twice through each). Here he’s shown us Batman if it took place in Grease territory (Greasers!) and Star Wars (original trilogy) if they were in an ’80s teen movie. FYI, he’s also introduced us to Western/Samurai Epic Star Wars, also worth a lookie-loo.
Incredible time lapse videos shot by Dustin Farrell. I’ve lost count of how many time lapse videos I’ve posted, and I’m okay with that. Here are the first two videos of his intended trilogy.
You can read more about the making of these videos here.
In what’s become an annual tradition the …By a Fire Mixtapes are an alternative—although not entirely disparate—Holiday Mixtape. An hour long, commercial-free Holiday Mixtape where only 1/3 of the tracks are actual Christmas songs. I’m happy to say I’m back with Volume 3 this year, a nice selection to throw on and forget about. No silence between tracks, no worrying about making a playlist.
Sleigh Ride by She & Him
Plateau Ramble by The Acorn
It Goes Deep by Debra-Jean & The Means
Christmas in the Room by Sufjan Stevens
The Gambler and His Bride by Daniel, Fred & Julie
Lover’s Spit by Chris Rubeo
Silver Screen by Beat Connection
Father Christmas by The Kinks
Bermuda by Kisses
The End of a Love Affair by Julie London
I Was There by The War on Drugs
Come on Santa by The Raveonettes
Bimini Bay by Tennis
Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee
Keep You by Class Actress
Santa Baby by Reverend Run & The Christmas All Stars
Pitter Patter Goes My Heart by Broken Social Scene
Hunger is that first moment of a potentially exhilarating interaction. A connection that completely electrifies you and a shock that echoes through your entire being. Call it love or lust at first sight, but all manner of thought floats through one’s mind in that first instance.
Hunger, filmed under the title In the Hearts of Wild Men — a name inspired by Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness — is the culmination of a four year process for me creatively. Born in 2008 out of two separate photo shoot concepts and a story with some potential (but limited-to-no visual appeal) this video was a passion project, a working vacation if you will. A way to recharge the creative batteries. December 2011 I found the spare time to take first steps towards pre-production for this short-film.
I mean, yeah… if you’re into that kinda thing (that thing being epic sound mixed with intensely hi-def footage of Iceland, a resplendent land bathed in grandeur).
A joint collaboration with rock / ambient / experimental band MONO (monoishere.com), Legend takes you on an epic journey through Iceland’s breathtaking landscapes during the time of the midnight sun.
Musician Dan Oig and I have crossed paths a few times over the years. He approached me 18 months ago about about doing his website and we chatted a little bit and decided to put things on hold until I had more free time and he was able to sort out some of plans on his end. Flash-forward to September 2012 and Dan’s working with Ryan Stewart (Carly Rae Jepsen) to produce a new single and take his music in a new direction.
Dan’s music used to hit notes of Acoustic Folk-Rock but his heart was always in Pop music so this was an entire re-brand from the ground. This is my passion and excited me a lot. The game was afoot.
We tackled it all. Dan needed a new logo, a single cover, a new website and a lyric video. We had a lot of fun going back and forth, coming up with the new Dan Oig brand. Dan is what you’d call a dream client. He basically gave my carte blanche and once I heard the demo of his new track “Don’t Know What To Do” everything came into full focus for me. We were on the same page right from the get-go which made the whole project enjoyable to work on.
