Rock, Paper, Scissors: Our BU Workshop

This week, we spent a couple of mornings at Boston University's College of Fine Arts (Pinkergreen's Alma Mater) administering a workshop on collage for the Junior Class. At BU, the graphic design students begin with a 2-year fine arts program, investing hours and hours into painting, drawing and sculpture. Come Junior year, they switch gears, toss the paint brushes and gesso and dive onto laptops. Having had a tough a go at this transition, I thought this would be a good time in the semester to have the students get back to using their hands to create their imagery, rather than clicking a mouse.
On Monday, we announced the workshop assignment, each team of roughly 4-6 students had to generate a poster of a selected green-line accessible neighborhood and create it using found items, Project Runway style. They set off to their respective neighborhoods to gather whatever materials they could find, under the watchful eye of their team Art Director.
What happened on Wednesday was kind of awesome. When we arrived fashionably late, the tables were COVERED with all kinds of crazy finds, from straws, paper bags, caution tape and magazines to coffee sleeves and cigarette butts. For the next 2 1/2 hours they worked feverishly to design and create a poster reflective of the character of Copley Square, Coolidge Corner, Kenmore Square, Allston, and Downtown Crossing. The resulting designs, teamwork and presentation skills we're pretty awesome. This is one class of designers to watch out for.

Thanks, guys, for being willing and eager participants. We left feeling inspired and tired.

Pastry Friday.

A few months ago we were selected to rebrand Greenhills Bakery & Cafe, a staple to Dorchester's Adam's Circle. This Irish hot-spot is a neighborhood favorite and Pinkergreen took the challenge very seriously. We knew how important the bakery was to the owners and locals, but wanted to provide them with a sweet and hip logo and storefront that would appeal to potential newcomers.
Melissa delved deep into her Irish roots and designed a claddagh ring inspired logo, that translated to a storefront loaded with chalkboard-esque vinyl graphics to be started in the next few months. It's sweet and charming, cozy and warm and totally reflective of the owners who supplied us with weekends worth of fresh scones, soda bread and bagels as well as a hot cup of joe every time we visited.

Honestly, even if you're not a Dot-local, you still have to make your way out to this bakery.

Note: Architectural elevations courtesy of Forte Architecture

Love Your Logo?

Enter it in the newest competition from HOW Magazine.
Deadline's coming up on December 1st!

matches making a comeback

There seems to be a resurgence of matchbook marketing going on right now. According to an article in today's New York Times, part of the charm of matches is that they "have the edge as ambassadors that convey distinction in their very physicality." Regardless of the Smoking Ban, we still need matches. Recently, I've noticed a large amount of local boutiques giving away matches. They sell candles, so why not? There are some interesting box shapes,and you can even choose from like 17 match tip colors. You keep your brand on the customer's mind, they get a free memento of their experience. Win-win, don't you think?

spell with Flickr

Type any word into Spell with Flickr, and voilá!
via coochicoos

Sacred Monsters

Looking for something to do this weekend? In the spirit of Halloween in a few weeks, head to Medfa to check out Sacred Monsters: Everyday Animism in Contemporary Japanese Art and Anime at Tufts University at the Tisch Gallery.
"This exhibition examines representations of mythical spirits, gods, monsters, and other mutant, sentient beings in contemporary Japanese art and film as expressions of animist belief through the work of eight emerging and mid-career artists. The theme is also explored through a complementary program of continuous anime screenings presented in the Gallery."

I'll let you know how it is…

Lovely Lára

Here's a sneak peek of some of the photographs from this year's Epiphany School Annual Report. We worked with one of our favorite Boston photographers, Lára Vukson on this year's book–where we took the AR to an entirely new place. Look for the AR on our site soon.

mexican color

Good Morning! Here's some color to brighten your day: Folklorico, G60Pulse

Print Magazine announces new competition

Print gets moving with a new competition dedicated to motion graphics, check it out!

pops of glee

These Glee character headshots are just a fun use of color. It's so hard to find saturated hues that compliment the complexion. (Colored backdrops can sometimes cast a glow on the subjects in the picture.) Good stuff.

man shops globe

A little end of day inspiration... Great use of collage in this promo for Man Shops Globe. The show follows Anthropologie's buyer-at-large Keith Johnson as he lives our dream life.

One of my very own…

A few weeks ago I posted about Catstudio, who have designed a collection of state, city even country pillows. I've dreamed about owning one for years, and thanks to my observant Mom, who is a diligent Pinkergreen Insidesign reader, I HAVE ONE OF MY VERY OWN!

Just call me Miss Massachusetts.

Thanks M&D!

Vers iPod Speakers

Last month I celebrated a BIG birthday, with a very big birthday gift– a Vers iPod speaker system. I've had a crush on this beauty ever since I laid eyes on her a year or so ago. The molded wood is reminiscent of danish mid-century furniture, but has modern features like a booming system that makes my house rock.
I think their iPhone cases are stunning too, but can't imagine it would be that easy to get it in and out of the wooden sleeve. That design might need a little upgrade before I'm willing to invest.
Sprout Creative the mastermind behind Vers is out of Wayland, MA too, a local company taking major green intiatives. Might want to put it on your Christmas list.