Design anywhere + digital culture NEWS archive

Design anywhere and digital culture NEWS // September 2008

Doug Alves aka Nacionale just launched his new website for graphic design and illustration. He is currently available for freelance assignments.

Maria Manuela is an extraordinary artist who is into portraying (japanese influenced) popicons (because there is always a person portrayed in a pop-art way) and often uses motifs symbolizing the four different seasons, and some have haiku-poems painted in calligraphy. To make a surface seem printed or associated with Japanese lacquer, she paints with vinyl on canvas with thin colour in many layers.

Recently released, a movie that takes you right into the heart of her world, how she is inspired and how she works her funky and unique paintings. Warning: this is not a fast paced clip, it's a journey (so it takes time to download) and I was moved and inspired by it. Enjoy!

LE:60 call for 1-minute film submissions. Seeking filmmakers who adore seconds, flourish in miniature, and consider a standard minute to be an infinite amount of space.

Event upcoming: September 27

Flash on the Beach conference is the premier Flash conference in Europe! It has grown quickly and gained fantastic status as one of the 'must go to' conferences around.

Upcoming: September 28 - Oct 1

One of the ring leader at the forefront of interactive media is AMOEBA Corp who after 4 years just relaunched a new website with again all the ingredients for success.

The website is another flash based goodness with the cutest thumbnails to navigate within projects. Don't miss the play section: they believe that experimentation is all part of growing your talent.

Since 2003, UNCHI leisure center label promotes and supports individual and collective projects, through all sorts of events, exhibitions, concerts. Based in France, with collaborators from several countries, they develop various brands all over the world.

Martin Sigal has been involved in advertising photography for the past 15 years and it shows. His projects transpire with refined accuracy and human touch both soft or edgy.

He has been chosen one of 200 best worldwide photographers by Luerzer Archive for the third year.

Marcel Eichner is a multi-talented individual who can be hired for web development, usability, illustration and life-visuals contracts, though I think his drawings are probably his forte since they have received most attention.

Laszlito Kovacs has restocked his illustration folio with new work!

Liz Lomax is a fantastically talented three dimensional illustrator who is recognized as one of the leading figure in her field. She sculpts the characters and then photograph them for illustration.

Must see!

.Gara di Nervi. has been restocked with fresh projects. Robert Rebotti is a unique mix media artist that is commissioned for editorial and culture events mostly.

Ted Holladay is owner of Studio Holladay, a design, motion and photo studio in Santa Cruz, California with nice corporate (mostly) work and editorial design.

Stunning! Michael Wandelmaier illustrations are vivid and a pure visual bounty as well as extremely well executed. The quality of the concepts are right on.

Everything is OK exists as a kind of social design experiment in subversive positivism. It explores the relationship between medium and message, challenges accepted modes of communication, and provides everyday citizens with tools for social commentary and is an initiative by Mine™ (a San Francisco design office).

A limited edition of the barricade tape is available for purchase.

UT Grand Prix calls for T-shirt designs from young and upcoming creators from all over the world. Read the regulation (brief) to familiarize with the competition. All submitted entries must be own by entrant and unpublished.

30,000$ for the winning grand prix entry!

Deadline: September 21

Catherine Denvir paints fantasmagorical characters that are both dreamy and somewhat outwordly, all this from a castle near Cortona Tuscany. Some of her clients include London Transport, the Sunday Times and Vogue.

Chris Woods photography is intense and alive, dramatic and real. He loves photographying people because each are unique and it does require this level of empathy to capture so.

Online magazine SHIFT presents DOTMOV Festival 2008, a digital film festival aiming to discover talented creators and provide them with an opportunity to show their works. Works submitted from all over the world will be screened throughout the world venues from November 2008.

This year's tour will be Sapporo, Sendai, Shizuoka, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka and Sao Paulo.

Deadline: September 21

L'amie de Zoé is a sweet animated short about friendship and Make (an animation and visual effects production company) turned Matthieu Roussel illustrated children book into moving images. HD version is available too.

Sara Huston grew up in her father wood shop and after earning multiple degrees, she now designs her own furniture. Gotta luv this table, how neat to stack 3 favorite magazines flat into it!

Don Dixon specializes in advertising photography and film. One of the most memorable is the one where people build a car, a mesmarizing choreography.

James Kachan is a young and upcoming photographer that has already nailed a unique style. Abruptly raw or sublty staged there is a dense moodiness and sophistication throughout is folio.

Recently updated portfolios and websites:

Gretchen Nash is 21 and a multi-talent designer from print to motion who has already garnered some high profile projects in her portfolio. On top of that, she was a finalist in the Adobe Design Achievement Awards with an original information design project turned into a book.

Documentary Photography from the US and Europe, Nic Nichols is now celebrating its 10th year online. He shoots 100% film, no digital, no effects, just straight film. Holgas, Mamiya 6mf's and Yashika 124g Twin Lens.

There we are, one of the first evidence that Netdiver10 is well on its way is the fact that we now have a very new-new-new logo and favicon. To see favicon, empty your cache, delete your bookmark(s) and bookmark again... I know painful but we think we look prettier!

Showing a make-my-logo-bigger thumbnail! Can you tell we like it?

Netdiver10 logo — is ready for download.

After months of work and scheming, Miligram is finally released. Inside you'll find artworks from one of the most talented people in Poland. Nice curated projects!

Well done Marcin!

Eric Hu aka eatsomemeat is 19, still a student and already his portfolio is well stocked with beautifully executed and well thought out projects. His work is engaging and engaged!

This is exactly the kind of talent discovery that excites me most about the future of our profession and industry.

Alex & Cocco are photographers specialising in commercial, advertising, lifestyle and fine arts productions via their London and New York CIty dual home base.

Gaston Caba just released a special (and playful) underware collection and lovely accessories for Blablabla. We the powagirrrls - like it!

Maria Vittoria Backhaus is one of the most talented italian photographer and her book is an assemblage of different topics.

Mutabor opening flash sequence and typography based White & Black version is a visual jewel of 3D animation and users induced interactivity packed within an erratic square that needs to reposition itself as if there was a real person missing the cue.

Unfortunately, the inside website versions are lacking the whoopa of initial screen. But if the goal was to get me playing. Success.

K2 a marketing oriented services agency represents a true web 2.0 reference as to how a corporate website looks like and selective useage of flash. Clean, lots of white space, non-verbose and nice visuals. You can access deeper levels of content by using the white thumbnails appearing over the large banner.

Gotta luv this one! House of Dang is the miniature (yepp all furniture are photographed miniatures with drawn cutout dolls of Doug Voisin and Andrew Bayer) version of the brick and mortar store in Dallas that also hosts their creation office.

This venture of theirs is in reaction to interning and witnessing fashion designs that 'hurt their stomach' as they say. They retaliated with their own funky style.

Put your head right here on the Life is Beautiful pillow by one of my fav illustrator of whimsical. Nate Williams who has a formal training in sculpture, worked many years at Microsoft in the marketing department before pursuing art and illustration.

One thing to remember, never give up the dream that drives you. If you never work at doing it - nobody will ever know it even existed.

Gwen Lee is a London based designer who mostly does illustrations as a mean to give book covers and other editorial assigments an almost spur of the moment style in a minimalist way. Don't be fooled, you need to really know how to draw to make it look so simple.

This is where we are at now — enjoying a vaca by the sea.. now bracing for tropical storm Hanna to hit in a couple of hours.

Returning in Montreal, September 16. We're back!

Stan Chow is another talented illustrator who is more vested in lifestyle and character creation assignments. Beautifully executed in vibrant colors and technically outstanding!

Another flashy way of showing news? Spectra is in beta with a visual news reader. A technical feat but at 7 in the morning that's a bit too much animated stuff for me.

Art Trek 5 unites young and international graphic talent in Anwerp - Belgium. The Fifth Generation offers a venue for fourteen young graphic and illustrative artists from all over the world.

Upcoming: August 2 - September 13

MadInSpain 08 will take place in sunny Madrid. During two days enjoy a conference, roundtables and an exclusive art expo from professionals in design and interactive communications and artists.

I've got 5 tickets to give away! Contact me for info.

Upcoming: September 12-13

Marcin Kuligowski is using a tag cloud as navigation on werke which is an assaemblage of outstanding illustrations stemming from somekind of either existantial statements or societal point of views by incorporating doodlings and collages to add dimension and sense of chaos.

Update your bookmarks if you are a fan of Wear Palettes!

Aleksandra Woldanska aka slimaq just blew me away! I remember a mentor stating that drawing in black in white is often times not permitting color to distract or hide flaws.

Well she has mastered perspective and light and how wonderful creatures, in particular one that is all black as you may have guessed it, is staged in awesome story-telling projects. She's done other works as well and her drawing skills are exceptional.

Dson't miss the little story called The Bun.

Hats off to a powagirrrl!

It has been awhile since I discovered a totally off the grid looking like anything you would expect and Da WEBSITE b4 is just that. Experimental flash, with unique loading sequence, text animation and projects viewing. You will need to hold down the mouse to remove most of the background and see how selected project pans around.

Not really a usability award but a little techno gem.

As we work on the Netdiver10 website, numerous updates are implemented on the backend/code side. Most have had no impact on the interface but as you can see this morning, the navigation in all the directories has changed to < next | previous > links only.

Much more is in preparation, like cool call for submissions and your chance to celebrate with us 10 years publishing online. If you want to keep up with what we're cookin' — please join our Netdiver10 facebook group.

SHIFT 2009 calendar competition

Shift has been trying to offer artists many platforms to showcase their works online. The Shift calendar competition pushes the boundaries between online and off line using a calendar as its medium. Entries are invited from all over the world and selected works will be distributed throughout the world in the format of a physical calendar.

Deadline: September 10

Making room for the new. Maurice Wright and I go back to when he had initially launched Moluv and we had the pleasure to do a panel at SXSWi a couple of years later. After years of publishing - he went on hiatus due to professional obligations.

But now, it is time for rebirth! Sporting still the beautiful logo and grayscale palette - the grid has been completely redesigned!

Contrabute is a magazine about the extracurricular activities of people in the creative industries. You all know the art director who also wants to be an artist, the copywriter that dreams of a novel and the designer that tries to be an architect. The magazine is a podium to show others what you're working on besides your professional occupation.

Deadline: September 8

Sub88 is another flash website with loads of 45 degree angle mix 3D designs as well as a little collectionm of CD designs and nice apparel in the shop which serves as playground for art director, David Vineïs.

ADC YOUNG GUNS 6: THE FINAL FIFTY

Find out who will claim the newly minted ADC Young Guns Cube! ADC reveals Young Guns 6 sign up now for the opening party and exhibition. Food, Drinks, DJ (Mr. Randy Watson of WSDIA)

Upcoming: September 4

Fresh out a multidisiciplinarian studio portfolio by Anna and Nate operating as Makepretend. I'm reconciling with one pager web sites that scroll right since you can get an (almost) instant grasp of the what they can do.

In their particular case, easthetics and presentation matter most and is predominant throughout.

Wanna win an all expenses paid trip to New York City to see YOUR animation in Times Square? Check MyToons call for submissions.

Deadline: September 4

LPM MEX 2008 - Live performers meeting is an international meeting of live video performers, visual artists and vjs is ready to launch its first edition in America Latina!

Upcoming: September 4-6

Who's Next 08 is an international fashion show that will take place in Paris. A nouvelle fashion community blog has launched and you can create a profile and garner some exposure for your designs.

Upcoming: September 4-7

Pictoplasma (NYC) is bringing together a growing international community of designers, artists, critics, producers and fans at their annual conferences. Don't miss Tim Biskup!

Upcoming: September 5-6

dConstruct is the affordable one day conference for people designing and building the latest generation of social web applications.

Upcoming: September 5

Somebody just made my day! Singing about AS3? Long preloader? iPhonelicious? If I had an Arrow and I gotta get in C.A? Matt Maxwell aka designminstrel just created an hilarious and smart way of getting some attention towards both the our industry back scene irks and aspirations of those working in it.

Oh and did I mention he will be performing at the closing ceremony of Flashforward (the one that gives out orange arrow awards)!? The lyrics are outstanding:

“And how can it be that I never breakout
From the rut that imprisons me (yeah)
Plus-no matter the project
Clients wont give
me-the-freedom to be me

My skills theyre on fire
IhaveHunger and desire
What-is-it thats-required
To get in CA”

Eclectic doodling meets psychedelia meets popping colors meets graphic design portfolio for Lorin Brown arranged in a visually stimulating way, again on a one-pager.

Flash on warp - eee this is a fast loading and in your face new website for Ian Wharton, an art director. Minimalist and nice 3D and graphic treatment.

Don't know about you, but behind the scenes footage is always increasing the value of a project. Your appreciation level is definitely increased when hearing and seeing some of the desired objectives meeting unprepared for obstacles and overcoming and delivering.

Have a look at this Hillman Curtis movie about the Sprint in focus photo shoot and see how it turns out as in-store displays.

LE:60 call for 1-minute film submissions. Seeking filmmakers who adore seconds, flourish in miniature, and consider a standard minute to be an infinite amount of space.

Deadline: September 2

En Bloc is Ben Atkins who luvs graphic design and currently is looking for freelance gigs in London. Nice and varied portfolio; really like the buck's antlers built from his logo.

FL@33 book Made and Sold call for entries.

This book will present the most exciting self-initiated projects created by a new generation of multi-disciplinary practitioners. Eligible for possible inclusion are products that are produced as part of a one-off series or in editions of three or more AND are self-initiated, commercial and entrepreneurial AND produced/manufactured by the interdisciplinary practitioners (and their direct suppliers) AND by designers who sell their products either directly (i.e. online) and/or work with selected stockists of their choice.

Deadline: September 1