design meets film

This is a pretty cool blending of design elements, 3D animation and film:

The Ambassadors Design & Animation Showreel 2011 from The Ambassadors on Vimeo.

the water and the blood

I love the look and feel of this video by Mark Cowart. The attention to the details of the room and not just a static shot on the person talking is super well done. Also? I’ve wanted to do this to my walls forever!

step-saving kitchen demonstration from 1949

I’m always so fascinated with stuff from the first half of the 20th century. This video demonstrates the step-saving “U” kitchen design, a revolution in farm kitchen design. It’s small, but not cramped and has zero wasted space. It’s a great example of where form and function meet. I really like how much research and thought went into this design. Update the hardware and I’ll take it.

Target: Kaleidoscopic Fashion Spectacular

What do you call 20 sensory-overloaded minutes fashioned out of 60+ dancers, an original visual program created by Daft Punk’s light designers, a new pop symphony from one-half of N.A.S.A., and over 155 rooms of New York’s Standard Hotel? You could start with “Spectacular,” but even that seems limiting.

This one-time-only show for Target’s 2010 fall apparel collection is just about the coolest and most unique event Mother’s ever produced!

design inspiration

I came across these posters as I was researching ideas for The Park. They’re incredible!

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creative suite pillows (!!)

Oook. I just saw these and really want them. You can buy them each separately for $15 each or the whole Creative Suite for $80. I’m not sure if that includes shipping and handling, but they’d sure make a good conversation piece.

Apparently the geeks (and when I say geeks I mean geniuses) behind these pillows weren’t able to keep up with the demand. A good problem if you ask me. So they’ve currently closed their store down to catch up and release new designs and incorporate a more efficient order fulfillment strategery.

Keep up with them here at My Suite Stuff.

Make my logo bigger…

If I’ve heard this once, I’ve heard it a thousand times, “make the logo bigger.” Well, FINALLY there’s a host of products that will completely eliminate your need for a designer. Say goodbye to that wasteful white space and say hello to “Starbust Dust!”

Designers, you’ll appreciate this:

Trajan… the movie font

This is so true! Hollywood needs to dig a little deeper. I would put Trajan on the “Endangered Fonts” list. Endangered of being overused and becoming, dare I say, the next Papyrus. That’s a grim forecast I realize, so let’s use Trajan sparingly.

icon finder, hello new friend

Linking out to social networks is a core element of social web design. Having a Twitter or Facebook icon front and center gives visitors a recognizable channel through which they can connect.

Wonderfully creative social media icon sets abound on the web, and many of them are free for commercial use. But finding the one that perfectly compliments your design (or perhaps inspires a theme in its own right) can be a tiresome process of searching and browsing resource blogs.

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Web2.0 Stripe Generator

This is a great site for anyone wanting to generate striped patterns, a la web2.0. Plus, it’s free. Bonus.