Big Monsters on Tiny Post-Its

Donn Kenn draws monsters on Post-Its with a ball-point pen in his unique, twisted style. Gorey meets Miyazaki.

Orphea Billboard Trap

To advertise their new 4D insect spray in the run up to summer, Orphea and Publicis Italy made a billboard which not only advertises the product, but actually traps insects.

Heineken Ignite

Heineken have created an interactive beer bottle that parties with you.The base of the Heineken Ignite is studded with LEDs and motion & sound detectors, which cause the bottle to illuminate each time you drink and can also be remotely synchronised to react to surrounding music, creating your own beer-filled, mobile light show.

 

News Briefly

A range of postage stamps from a campaign that aims to help businessmen find the news they need amongst the sea of information. The result is short snapshots in the format of a stamp, published and encouraged to be used on post. The irony.

Have a break...have No WiFi

Kit Kat: Free No-WiFi Zone from Fethi Uluak on Vimeo.

The Underground Library

The Underground Library from Keri Tan on Vimeo. A community project based on a research campaign by students at Miami Ad School that aims to solve the dwindling numbers of visitors to New York’s free public libraries. Interactive virtual bookshelves allow commuters to choose the opening chapter of a free digital book to read on their smartphone while on the subway. On leaving the subway, a map appears on their handset, directing them to the nearest public library so they are able to pick up a copy of the book and finish their book.

Made Men

Check out this exclusive peek at an upcoming graphic novel about the RFK assassination. Showcasing the stunning, atmospheric art of Daniel J. Zollinger. Published by McFarland.

Movie Posters Viewed from Behind

A series of images created by photographer, Lúcio Cunha to promote a new surround sound home theatre system by LG.

Improbabilita

Excellent example of lateral thinking in Swiss-born artist, Giuseppe Colarusso's Improbabilita series that manipulates conventional objects.

Kilian Eng

Check out the inspirational work of Stockholm-based Illustrator, Kilian Eng who specialises in retro/sci-fi futurism reminiscent of Moebius' distinctive line work.

Superheroes as Popsicles

Heroes on ice, courtesy of Chungkong.

Lee Hasler

Dive in to the playful, parallel, perspective world of Mr. Lee Hasler.

Hedof

The beautiful, retro style of Illustrator and Designer, Hedof.

Make it Famous: Creative Illustrations for Boring Objects

How do you make mundane objects appear exciting? This year's ‘Make it Famous’ challenge has randomly assigned everyday objects for Illustrators to use their strategic thinking and creativity. Visit the Pinterest page for more designs.

P for Pizza: Drawings by Kimiaki Yaegashi

East meets West. Tokyo-based Illustrator and Graphic Designer, Kimiaki Yaegashi aka, Okimi seems to be a huge fan of the world-famous Italian dish. okimi.com

Jim'll Paint It

Jim'll make your wildest dreams a reality using nothing but Microsoft Paint. The results are complete nonsense akin to The Mighty Boosh. jimllpaintit.tumblr.com

Stoker Cinemagraph

Fox Searchlight has made a short trailer for Chan-wook Park's Stoker. Inspired by a series of cinemagraphs from the film's microsite, the result is a creepy snapshot of events. Check it out over at letterstoindia.com.

Real-Life Tetris

michaeljohansson.com

Happy Eggs' Pancake-omatic

Happy eggs has linked up with a team of designers to create a Wallace & Gromit-style device that makes pancakes from eggs laid just minutes before. The cracking contraption takes its cue from a free range hen laying an egg to set in motion a chain reaction that makes the world's freshest pancake. The Pancake-omatic took a team of four design engineers more than 200 hours to construct and a further 100 to test. The device uses a wide selection of household objects including an old-style gramophone and an electric whisk and features a luxury nest throne for the hen to lay her egg in.

The Tokyo Shimbun - Share the Newspaper with Children

The Tokyo Shimbun (Newspaper) created a new service where a smartphone changes articles for adults into ones for children. By placing ads and articles containing augmented reality markers, the Tokyo Shimbun is able to unlock entertaining, helpful and educational content which animates when viewed with a smartphone reader.

Shugo Tokumaru - Katachi

Shugo Tokumaru's single, Katachi (Shape) makes use of over 2000 shapes laser-cut from PVC, positioned by hand and shot by a moving camera. A painstaking process to say the least but the result is a stunning multilayered piece of work that draws you in.

A Manifesto for Higher Learning

Andrew Howard, MA course director in Communication Design at ESAD (Escola Superior de Artes e Design in Matosinhos), Portugal — shares this with his incoming graduate students each year.
1. No amount of ingenuity or creativity can create strong, clear, memorable design solutions from confused thought. This is why design is first and foremost a means of organising ideas. Design is thinking made visible. 2. Opinion is welcomed but is not enough. Your ideas must be substantiated through facts and testing, through research and evaluation. 3. Solutions will always vary according to context, interpretation and objectives. There are no absolute answers. Learn instead to ask the right questions. 4. Regardless of any specific design interest or preference that you may have, in today’s world all designers need to develop a multi-form understanding that is able to respond to multiple communication needs and platforms. Thus multimedia is not a component of contemporary design, it is its definition. 5. Beware of fashion – it encourages the idea that nothing is lasting and that you always have to be on the move. If you are never still you will never encounter profundity. Learn to stay in the same place and dig deeper. 6. Take nothing for granted. Learn to question what you think you know. Remember that the extraordinary is as likely to reside in the ground beneath our feet as in the stars above our heads. Your ability will not simply be measured by your willingness to explore new ideas and new territory but also through the ways that you are able to apply new ideas to familiar territory. 7. Critical thought being central to design does not make technical and craft skills secondary. Visual communication is not simply dependent on the power of thought. It is a process of making – of transforming ideas into tangible expressions. Thinking and making are not alternatives to each other. They are forces of reciprocal power within the design process. One cannot take place without the other. 8. Every tool has its own characteristics, every visual technique its own expressiveness, and every form its own possibilities and limitations. Your success is dependent on your ability to manipulate that knowledge with skill and sensibility. You must learn your craft. 9. Design does not exist solely in the realm of the intellect. The power to enlighten, to celebrate, to inform and to disturb expectations also lies in the capacity to make emotional connections. Always use your head but never forget your heart. 10. You cannot succeed without commitment. You cannot thrive without passion. You cannot survive without pleasure. All these things, or their absence, will be reflected in your work. The resonance of design as a collective social project is in your hands.
Design Observer

Scribble Portraits

Wonderful, kinetic linework from the pencil of Vince Low.

The Price of Being Superheroes

Fun set of illustrations based on the budgets for famous superheroes' wardrobes.

Hollywood Star Charts

Neat use of infographics based on the Hollywood film industry from the design collective, Dorothy.