commands

These "Command" prints from Atmostheory are flippin' awesome. You can buy the set of 3 for $12.
via notcot

pink, green & indian

Went out for Indian the other day at lunch. Check out the cutest pink/green sighting ever... on a napkin! I don't quite get the fifth appendages on these ladies, but I love em anyway.

Dylan's Brain

Here's a nod to Milton Glaser's Dylan poster from the May issue of Vanity Fair. Fun typography. (Check out the full Vanity Fair spread here)

Our friend the Gradient.

With my dear partner away on vacation enjoying the west coast, I thought I'd pay a tribute to her favorite design technique, the gradient. I'm kidding. Melissa generally hates the effect of gradients (and drop shadows) and it can take a lot of effort to convince her otherwise. Coming from a very Swiss design background at BU, we were both advised against using the technique, but I've come to find there is a time and a place for the gradient in certain applications and here are a few of my favorites.

1. Blendo Glassware: I bought four mid-century Blendo dessert bowls last summer at a yard sale for a buck! I'm going to see if I can't build my gorgeous gradient glassware collection a little more this summer.

2. Martha's got her color on. She's also all about the gradients. In fashion and home decor we obviously refer to the technique as ombre, but regardless, it's gradientastic!! Check out her ombre story in this month's Living.

3. Of course Adobe's CS3's packaging incorporates some gradient. We would never be able to create all our magical techniques if it weren't for them.

4. Interestingly enough, one of Melissa's favorite firms, Tank, has a gradient background... and... it's animated. These two screen shots capture the same page a few minutes apart.

Maybe after Melissa's spent a few days gawking over the sunsets on the west coast she'll return with a new appreciation for gradients.

Frames stickers

I love these IKEA wall graphics! At $15.99, they're so much easier than having to spackle the walls after all those nails make em into swiss cheese.

Spoon Studios

I've seen Courtney Wotherspoon's illustration work here and there. I like how tightly drawn they are. On the flip-side of that, I enjoy how some elements are left sketchy.

Help.

I love Daily Candy. Its the one e-newsletter I look forward to receiving everyday and often refer back for to my archive for great shopping tips and new Boston restaurants. I loved this clever little company they featured today called Help. They designed and manufacture simple, eco-friendly health-care products like bandaids and aspirin. They also offer custom t-shirt designs starting with the word "help" and you fill in the rest. I could think of one for every day of the week.
Best part, you can feel good about your purchase. All of their products are assembled by at a factory that helps learning disabled adults in upstate New York … AND… 5% of their profits are returned to charities that help people who don't have health-care.
Go ahead, help them out. Thanks for the tip, Daily Candy!

PS: They also have a pretty gorgeous navigation system on their site.

royal mint

For the first time in 40 years, The Royal Mint is giving Britain's coinage a face-lift. They opened the task up to the public in the form of a design competition, and 26 year old graphic designer Matthew Dent's concept was selected from a group of 4,000 submissions. 26!!!
Dent's design uses the Royal Arms in a totally new way. On their own, the coins are modern and graphic. As a system they ROCK. He says, "I found the idea that members of the public could interact with the coins the most exciting aspect of this concept. It's easy to imagine the coins pushed around a school classroom table or fumbled around with on a bar - being pieced together as a jigsaw and just having fun with them."
via notcot

jonathan's menagerie

I found Jonathan Adler's whale pitcher on The Shopper. He has a whole menagerie, but the turtle box and whale pitcher are my favorites.

Hanna Werning

Hanna Werning has a new wallpaper design called Tiles. The format is great because it comes in poster form. You can either frame it, or hang it in a repeat as wallpaper. We think it would make a cute backsplash in a kitchen.
As for Hanna, you might have seen her card lines in boutiques. OR you might have seen her work at IKEA. Hanna is everywhere! After a visit to her site, you can see that she really likes to mix it up: wallpaper, fashion textiles, cards, gift wrap, illustration... Is there anything she doesn't do?