Stop Talking Amongst Yourselves

Our Amazing Logos

2010-09-28T18:08:00.000-07:00

So Laura and I came up with some amazing logos. Guys be prepared.

These are copyrighted by the way

Smell the.. lavender?

2010-06-06T05:16:00.000-07:00

So apparently it was no fluke, I am the master macaroner :)
Lavender macarons with chocolate ganache. Bon Appetit!

Macaroon Mania... finally.

2010-06-05T01:18:00.000-07:00

Face!

BLOG UPDATE

2010-05-30T07:02:00.000-07:00

stuff.

Free Comic Book Day

2010-04-24T22:28:00.000-07:00

This has been an annual ritual for me for a couple years now so I thought I'd spread the love. This coming Saturday is Free Comic Book Day. Enough said! Comic book stores around the globe give away special comic books made just for the event. There are two stores in Melbourne participating this year:

CLASSIC COMICS
4/50 BOURKE STREET
MELBOURNE
3000
Phone:61396637210

COMICS 'R' US
114 CHAPEL ST., P.O. BOX 1295
WINDSOR
3181
Phone:61395101584

If anyone wants to come along with me, feel free to let me know. We can make a field trip out of it. ;)

Look, even Hugh Jackman wants you to go:

Supanova 2010

2010-04-19T05:23:00.000-07:00

For you Gene. ENVY ME!

It was a good thing I was too tongue-tied to say much at all, otherwise I might have blurted out how awfully weird I thought his English accent was in Buffy...

George Perez drew the Batman sketch for me (he's the guy on the left in the photo below). Marv Wolfman is on the right. They're probably best known for their work on The New Teen Titans and other DC/Marvel Comics franchises. I think their T-shirts are a perfect complement to my Honours project though! ;)

And look what I found! Let's all say "eeeek" in unison!

Also this guy was amazing:

I have more photos here.

99 rooms

2010-04-18T07:05:00.001-07:00

...and some videos (including ones I didn't show) from the quod pod.

Bon Appetit!

2010-04-17T05:39:00.000-07:00

This was my first attempt at flipping crêpes on Friday, and I must say I was a natural. And thanks to my culinary skills (and some chefs from Koko Black) I managed to make many successful paper decorating cones.

Thanks Julia, I feel as though I may turn into you one day, if I'm lucky.

Pixar vs. Dreamworks

2010-04-16T06:36:00.000-07:00

To those who have seen this...
Haha, you can see it again :)

Original source: Here!

I saved a life on tuesday, what did you do???

2010-04-15T17:47:00.001-07:00

Meow. Meow. Hey everyone! Meow.

This is Archie the little kitten I saved.

She had to have a 2 hour long surgery early tuesday morning to fix her wounds.

And now she has a million stitches on her tummy and this gross drainage tube hanging out.

Sorry I missed everyones Pecha Kucha, however you spell it.

Hope her cute face makes up for my absence.

Pamela this is for you

2010-04-14T04:37:00.001-07:00

Pamela, this weeks reading we had to do for our theory unit would be relevant to your project I think. It's Part 2 of Pallasmaa Eyes of the Skin, even though I only just started reading it, it's currently exploring the way our body interacts within spaces on a philosophical level. I can email it to you if you like.

Drawing Out, Drawing In

2010-04-08T23:30:00.001-07:00

Thought this would interest Andrew and anyone interested in literature, comics and graphic novels:

Drawing Out, Drawing In: A Spotlight on Graphic Novels at the Wheeler Centre Auditorium on Friday 23rd April.

"The graphic novel is a form that still attracts more than its share of stigma and snobbery, but its audiences are evangelical, its writers inspired and its sales enviable. And some of the most exciting developments in the form are coming out of Melbourne.

With panel discussions, workshops and talks, and the help of some of the leading artists and writers in the field (including Bernard Caleo, Queenie Chan, W. Chew Chan, Oslo Davis, George Dunford, Pat Grant, Nicki Greenberg, Bruce Mutard, Zoe Saokierski, Shaun Tan, Andrew Weldon and others) the Wheeler Centre is going to colour in the picture. Come and discover or celebrate the adult comic in all its forms.

It's a free event so it's well worth going. Plus, it'll be great to see local perspectives on the graphic novel from local talent. There are also workshops and a Day of Comics, but an entry fee applies.

The Wheeler Centre was just recently established in Melbourne as an outlet for discussion and practice of writing and ideas. There are heaps of other events so check out the calendar to see what's on. (Melbourne was recently designated as a UNESCO city of literature, so it's more fun for us writers, bibliophiles and bookworms!)

Sneakers for Flick

2010-04-08T20:24:00.000-07:00

I found these sneakers during a bit of research into Moods of Norway. Check out their catalog page 55 http://flipflashpages.uniflip.com/2/26247/50494/pub/index.html

RE: These are a few of my favourite things

2010-04-08T03:26:00.000-07:00

Gene, I found some Fornasetti at a bar on Bourke Street called High Society—it's above a fancy restaurant. Essentially they have a room that's covered in wallpaper of Fornasetti's plates. Amazing stuff.

Planning on going back there with a proper camera, rather than a dodgy old iPhone.

Superheroine Drag

2010-04-03T16:36:00.000-07:00

Look at this gem I found last night! It'll be featured in the April 12 episode in the States.

Also, the fifth series of Doctor Who, featuring the regenerated (Eleventh) Doctor, Matt Smith, premiered in the UK last night. (If anyone wants the first episode, you can grab it off me next week)

Webcomics

2010-04-03T16:31:00.000-07:00

Since we're talking about hipsters and webcomics lately (thanks Felicity, love pfsc) I thought I'd share some of my favourites. I mostly enjoy well-written comics over stylish ones, but a combination of the two can't hurt. Anyhow, something for all to pass the break with at the very least.

These ones are kind of hipster-y. The phenomena is new to me too Liz, and does make me feel my age

Octopus Pie
Anders Loves Maria
Cat and Girl

These ones are a bit geeky in a gaming/pop culture kind of way

Penny Arcade
PVP Online
Hijinks Ensure

These ones are a bit geeky in a brainy sort of way

xkcd
Hark, A Vagrant!
Dresden Codak

These ones are a little... bizzare, with a twist of dark humour. Do like

Where the Typos og
The Gunshow
Cat Rackham
The Perry Bible Fellowship
White Ninja Comics

Cute/parodies of cute. I thought you might like these ones Lil' Liz

Nedroid
Copper
Tiny Kitten Teeth

Counterculture

2010-04-02T22:55:00.000-07:00

'Hipster' is a new concept for me (certainly not something we discussed around the boardroom table in the corporate world). Anyhow, I've stumbled across this article today & thought it may interest those of you who aren't as familiar with the term. There were a couple of 'ah ha' moments reading this . . . but perhaps I'm just showing my age?

Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization

Cyber Reading

2010-03-31T04:12:00.000-07:00

When was the last time you picked up a book? I picked one up today. It was fun. Really. Then I put it down again and read the internet. And this is what I read—sorry if you already know of it.

Synaptic Stimuli

Updates about once a week with a host of visual material based around one artist or designer's work, often to do with various broader, philosophical concepts. Provides links to further reading—great stuff. Has the second best titles for posts on the internet today.

Tputh

To quote their tagline, Tputh is "Socially Generated, Machine Filtered, Hand Polished, Electronic Newspaper for Geeks, Designers & Venture Capitalists" (their emphasis). Currently holds the title for... best titles. How can you go past "Hot or not? (Mostly not)" or "Fat man in expensive suit lurches at be-speckeld crowd of design dorks"? It's also a great way to stay abreast of design and tech developments, as it updates a couple of times a day.

Buamai

This is the place to go for image based research—if a style exists, its probably on here. Essentially, Buamai allows you to select an image and then, based on some crazy algorithm that I don't understand, throws up images that relate to that one. They could be by the same artist, or by someone completely different. Either way, it's awesome.

Twitter combined with Echofon [Mac] or TweetDeck [PC & Mac]

So this one might seem obvious, but, in all seriousness, Twitter is your friend. The one thing that not many people know, or understand, about the service is that you only have to tweet once. Then you can start following whomever you like—for instance, Vin mentioned H&FJ in his previous post. They tweet. As does most every designer, design blog and news service. Twitter allows them to recommend content for you, and you don't even have to open your browser to get it.

The Age and ABC News

Because its nice to read something that isn't about design.

Hopefully you found something interesting to read—if not, there's always burgers.

Mixing Fonts

2010-03-30T16:45:00.000-07:00

For those of you who aren't signed up to the Hoefler & Frere-Jones mailing list this gives you some very practical advice about how to mix fonts (apologies if you've seen this before):

http://typography.com/ask/recentTopic.php?rtID=92

Pictures for Sad Children

2010-03-30T14:24:00.001-07:00

This is something that makes me very happy, a very funny and dark comic that I feel everyone should read. The one below is my favourite one, but they are all amazing.

Further reading can be found at Pictures for Sad Children. Enjoy.

These are few of my favorite things...

2010-03-30T02:36:00.001-07:00

Fornasetti is a god...(but the postcard is one from the V&A)

keyword posters

2010-03-30T02:22:00.000-07:00

Fan-a-rama

2010-03-23T04:37:00.000-07:00

Just listing the videos I showed yesterday, if you guys want to follow up:

The Twilight "Rifftrax" (www.rifftrax.com)
FYI: rifftrax are audio commentaries on usually cult films, led by American comedian Michael J Nelson

These are all done by ItsJustSomeRandomGuy on YouTube. You can see how passionate and informed the guy is about both the Marvel and DC-verses (And I do envy his action figure collection). Do watch all his videos!

My favourite is actually this one:

I forgot to show a clip yesterday—it's the second episode from series 3 of Doctor Who, called The Shakespeare Code. Bit of background info: The Doctor and his companion Martha arrive in Elizabethan England, where the Carrionites (essentially witches) use Shakespeare's plays as a device to open up a portal to let more witches in. It's up to Shakespeare to save the world from a wart-infested plague with his "words of power". There's a great pop culture reference slid in by the writer/s, and it just highlights my point re: a fandom informing and enriching other fandoms. (FYI David Tennant has now been replaced by Matt Smith who looks very promising. New series out in the UK in April!)

And some Big Bang Theory :D

Episode 2.20 — "The Hofstadter Isotope"

(makes you wonder how many takes they had to have to get this scene right)

Episode 2.11 – "The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis"

Episode 1.06 – "The Middle Earth Paradigm"

For you Flick: Barbie Porn 2004

2010-03-20T20:21:00.001-07:00

Online Lectures

2010-03-18T04:20:00.000-07:00

So Natasha Theoharous, some of you know her (graduate from last year) has introduced me to listening to lectures online. Usually I just go, but this has opened me up to lectures for classes I am not enrolled in. So I suggest you go have a look at what is available.

Ingvill I have found one that may interest you:

http://mulo.monash.edu/scy2041/

The link if you are interested is:

http://www.mulo.monash.edu.au/

I find the Arts ones to be of particular use but it's probably best to look in all faculties if it relates to your project.

Vomitface

2010-03-15T23:29:00.000-07:00

Design Discourse

Working or not working at all...

2010-03-15T18:22:00.000-07:00

Class:type2. Project:procrastination
Vintage Oklahoma postcard, cowboys and indians /// mid combat

Places of Use

2010-03-11T21:50:00.000-08:00

So I thought I would compile a list of printers and binders that are useful for any designers. This is for any international students who are new to the city or just anyone really.

Printers:

E-Plot – Close to uni, but double sided registration is iffy. Upside is they deal with a lot of students so they are used to us.
Kwik Kopy – Multiple locations, the one I like is in South Yarra around the corner from Soda Rocks on Chapel street. Sometimes colour can be iffy based on their toner cartridges but they make an effort to get good double sided registration.
Gorilla Print – In Richmond, nice friendly people, run by graphic designers but double sided registration is not so good.
Classic Colour Copy – Just near the Victoria Markets on Elizabeth St. It's expensive but great results, I trust them to take my file and print it if I leave it with them.
Bambra – I wouldn't be using these guys for say the printing of your proposal bc they do digital press printing, it's pricey like really pricey but results are awesome. Hard place to get to though by Public Transport. They will courier the end result to you though for free if you live in a metropolitan suburb. They will also order in stock for you if you specify but they have a good range on hand anyway.
Dinkums – Not that great but convenient for large format printing. Located near La Trobe Street.

Paper Suppliers:

Paper Point – Two locations, one in South Yarra and one in South Melbourne. Both are fairly easy to get to by public transport. 10 free A3 sheets for students and they will also order in paper if you need it bigger. Damien at the South Yarra store is also sometimes grumpy.
K.W Doggett – Located in Preston, so not really a convenient location but they will ship your order to you and they can cut any size you want. If you can get a copy of their samples you can see they have some nice stocks.

Binders:

Doncaster Book Binders – Located in Moorabbin, not the easiest place to get to, you need to catch a bus from the station and then walk, but they are friendly and reasonably priced. Quick turn around as well.
Irwin and McClarin – In Richmond, a short walk from the station, nice group of guys a but more pricey and results vary. Depends what time of year you approach them. If it's around folio time you can expect something to go wrong. However they are pretty good with fixing mistakes.

If anyone knows of any other good places just add them in a comment. Hopefully this is helpful.

Design And Cultural Relevancy

2010-03-11T04:31:00.000-08:00

Here's an infographic I drew during the Research Methods seminar today. I was trying to express all the various discussions that were occurring throughout the couple of hours we had today, although it's a little focused on what our particular group was talking about.

I'd argue that design is a distinct cultural practice—we can show it through the way in which it combines the various elements of culture, theory and practice. It contributes, not necessarily in a unique way but in an integrated way. It is this integration of a wide range of practices that grants it a special place—in theory, a designer should be able to turn themselves to almost any output and perform well. We return, then, to the idea of a designer as a generalised problem solver, similar to Aristotle, Da Vinci, et al.

Do you agree/disagree?

When it rains it hails

2010-03-07T16:19:00.000-08:00

Saturday, 6 March 2010
4th floor Caulfield library. Inspiration comes from all sources.