Mxyplyzyk Sidewalk Sale

The Mxyplyzyk sidewalk sale is this weekend! Be sure to stop by for discounts on all sorts of cool design items. Check out their inventory (and also be sure to get directions) on the Mxyplyzyk site.

Nizlopi JCB Song

Fun for Friday: Nizlopi's JCB song was a huge hit last winter when I was in England, and I just stumbled across the video online. It made me recall how great it was back in February to turn on British TV and see an animated music video tucked in between the dueling boy bands and glossy pop starlets. The illustration and animation were done by artist Laith Bahrani. [trip down memory lane via Drawn!]

Lego Ads

I love these ads for Lego. With basic imagery and color, they capture the potential, imagination, spirit of architectural adventure and simple essence that is the little plastic building block. [via Kevin Church]

Organizing Books by Color

In 2004, a San Francisco artist named Chris Cobb did an installation in an independent bookstore called Adobe Books, rearranging every book in the 20,000-strong inventory by color (see photos and learn more here). Perhaps it took all this time for the Cobb effect to truly root itself in the design community, but lately it seems like everyone is buzzing about doing this. Many already have—there is an entire Rainbow of Books group on Flickr. [via How About Orange, Domino magazine, Flickr, and several other buzzing bees.]
Above: bookshelf by chotda on Flickr

Stylus on Band Logos

Stylus Magazine has an interesting article up about band logos and the "seep of branding into the music industry". It covers a quick history of music-related logo developments, from the trademark tongue of the Rolling Stones to Prince's attempt to represent himself solely as a graphic icon. [Rock on, Kevin!]

Knock Knock

I'm currently writing an article about Knock Knock, the California-based design company that turns out smart, witty and often downright irreverent gifts, books and stationery. If you've ever crossed the threshold of a paper and gift shop, you've probably seen their stuff, but what has surprised me is how much they do—or rather, how many popular products are their output. Those sleek magnets and clips that encourage you TO DO, TO FILE in a Rosewoody typeface... the checklist pads and sticky notes with snarky themes ("Things You Do That Really Piss Me Off", "Fashion Citation")... the Choose-Your-Relgion and Dial-an-Excuse wheels—all these things are coming from Knock Knock.

A look at their website lets you see the products that some retailers are too cautious to stock: the Hand Signals sticky notes (communicate via simple icons—give a thumbs up, thumbs down, a peace sign… or flip the recipient the bird), the Yo' Mama comeback list (my personal favorite), the slang flashcards. All good for a well-designed laugh.

Aeclectic Tarot

More fun for Friday: the Aeclectic Tarot site has hundreds of beautifully illustrated (and widely varied) Tarot decks available to view—great for a blast of graphic inspiration. Use the search engine to narrow things down, and be sure to check out some of the modern-themed decks (not a faerie or wispy maiden in sight). [again, via Drawn!]

Marc Johns

Fun for Friday: the jumbled, witty illustrations of Marc Johns will likely bring a smile to your face—I know that this is basically how I feel after a little caffeine. He admits to striving towards saying "as much as possible with as few elements as possible." And he's also got one of the nicer MySpace pages I've ever seen. [via Drawn!]

KU Type Protest

Uproar over logos, sure, but how often does a specific type protest make news? After an administrative decision to change the "curling, arc-serifed" typeface on the school's sports uniforms to "something that is close to what the Trajan font is", Kansas University fans have banded together in protest. The result: Trajan Sucks tees and merchandise.
[via Murketing]

New Photoshop Logo

People are ripping on the new Photoshop logo right and left. My favorite quote comes from Armin's post over at Brand New: "Introducing a completely new—and unfortunately cheesy, tacky and gooey—visual language that feels more eager to blend into the shiny world of vapid web graphics than in sustaining the brand equity of powerhouse Adobe..." John Nack's critique works in a nice Big Lebowski reference.

Hipkiss Old Maps

Jonathan at hipkiss.org maintains a rather vast collection of beautiful old maps, scanned in for your viewing pleasure. [via Coudal Partners]

Spreadshirt: Open Logo Project

The Open Logo Project is an international design contest being run by DIY T-shirt gurus Spreadshirt—they've recently changed their tagline and want a new logo to go with. Submit your design to win cash, computer equipment and possibly an interview in Computer Arts magazine. Shown are a few of the logos that have already been submitted (over 700 so far!). Enter by October 14th.

Jen Bekman: 20x200

Jen Bekman's latest endeavor is 20x200, a site where art lovers can be art collectors, even on minuscule budgets. "As we see it, there are a lot of people out there who want to sell their art and a lot of people who'd like to buy it. They just have a hard time finding each other." One photo and one work on paper are introduced each week—at the starter small size, 200 batches are printed and sold for just $20 each. This is a great opportunity to start building your own collection or just acquire original art at affordable prices—check it out! Shown: Brooklyn Morning by Younga Park

Free Rhombic Desk Calendar

After spotting this free fold-your-own rhombic calendar in Blueprint magazine, I headed over to trusty How About Orange for more info (I knew she'd have it! Thanks, Jess!). Just download, print and fold for a cool and unusual little paper item. Enjoy!

War of the Worlds e-comic

Fun for Friday: Dark Horse has put their strangely beautiful (and free) e-comic version of H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds online. The art is by comic artist D’Israeli. Better than any movie version you'll see—such is the power of illustration. [via Drawn!]

Dan Tobin Smith

I'm researching photographer Dan Tobin Smith for an article and finding myself drawn into his rich, unusual work—especially the editorial and landscape images. For additional views, visit the site of his rep, Katy Barker.

Design Matters: Logos 01

I'm really enjoying Capsule's new book Design Matters: Logos 01. In the same vein as the popular Logo Lounge series, the book presents case studies of individual logos and thoughtfully takes apart the strategies and processes involved. Often these books can be more of the same, but I'm finding that almost every chapter brings a fresh perspective on old hat territories. Definitely worth a read. For more on what Capsule is up to, check out their blog. [Thanks, Ellie]

Helvetica Mug

As you gear up to watch the Helvetica documentary, why not put something deliciously drinkable in the very cool Helvetica mug, available from Veer merchandise. [via HOW]

Helvetica Film at IFC this week

Gary Hustwit's industry smash Helvetica documentary has a limited cinema run at the IFC this week. Shows are Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, with Huswit and special guests like Tobias Frere-Jones and Michael Bierut (who steals the film) on hand for Q&A. These shows will very likely sell out quickly, so get your tickets now!

FontShop September Calendar

The latest in FontShop's free monthly calendar is available. Each month features a different typeface—September features Jean François Porchez’s Ambroise and Parisine.

ArchiveType

Foundry ArchiveType has been "selling fonts and stuff" since 2005, and specializes in "new old fonts" like Archive Thermo, shown above. They also dabble and deal in illustration. Worth a look.

Oddpodz

Getting buzz as MySpace for designers and creatives, OddPodz aims to "build a global nation of creatives, a place where optimistic, independent thinkers and change agents unite and make things happen..." The site was founded by Savannah entrepreneurs Jocelyn Ring and Karen Post, and will hopefully grow and thrive into a fun, useful resource.

Copperplate Rant

Over at Speak Up, Armin has a good rant about the Jeckyll-and-Hyde characteristics of Copperplate Gothic. "The characteristics that make Copperplate Gothic such a nuisance can turn it into a strong, sophisticated and enigmatic typographic statement..." Having recently found myself confronted on-site with a gigantic client logo emblazed on the side of a building in blood-red Copperplate Gothic, I have to say that many of Armin's points hit home. (Complete with video!)

A Brief Message

"Somewhere between critiques and manifestos, between wordy and skimpy, Brief Messages are viewpoints on design in the real world." Brought to you by Khoi Vinh (of the NYTimes and Subtraction) and Liz Danzico (of Happy Cog), A Brief Message is a weekly online publication that solicits 200 words or less from design-minded individuals—Steven Heller does the inaugural honors.

Edward Gorey Star Trek Tribute

Fans of illustrator Edward Gorey are buzzing over Shaenon K. Garrity's Gorey-style take on the famous 'Trouble with Tribbles' episode of Star Trek. Some are delighted, some are appalled—whether you personally consider it genius or blasphemy, I'd say this it qualifies as an admirable mashup of tribute, pop culture and illustrated nerdery. [via Drawn!]

Serendipity

The design word for September over at Speak up is serendipity.