I’m saddened to see that Britain’s Daily Mail just published an investigative piece that has likely turned up the true identity of street art phenom Banksy. I know it’s human nature to kill your heroes, but isn’t there anyone left in the world that values mystique over sordid detail? The headline is the worst. I don’t know anybody that cares whether he’s a middle-class suburbanite or a council-estate hoodlum, only what his latest work is. And it’s not like he’s tromping around the media making claims to some kind of troubled, ghetto past. Thomas Pynchon is damn lucky he wasn’t born 40 years later.
Let’s get the full disclosure ickyness out of the way: I’ve got work in Rockport’s recently released Really Good Logos, Explained. But there are plenty of other good reasons to pick up this book in addition to the siren song of seeing Tokyo Farm’s goodness in print. Really Good Logos, Explained isn’t the standard grid-after-grid of logos in isolation that make up most of the logo reference genre. Instead, Rockport has asked design luminaries Margo Chase, Rian Hughes, Ron Miriello and Alex White to review 500-plus logos and explain exactly why, in their opinion, they’re so good. “In their opinion” is the key phrase here, and exactly what makes the title so interesting. Chase, et al. don’t always agree, and you certainly won’t always agree with them, but getting a peek into the thought processes of some very accomplished designers as they chew apart a logo is an all-too-rare treat that shouldn’t be missed. There are a couple of small things to nitpick. The amount of feedback from each author is a little too brief, and the bonus chapter, “Not-So-Good Logos, Explained,” doesn’t feature as productive feedback as I’d hoped. Still, those are tiny niggles and neither is a deal-breaker for this unique book.
And stay tuned for the next installment of “Buy This Book or Die” because I’m always getting asked for recommendations on books about pricing and selling your services, and I’ve got just the thing on deck.
Aussie surf brand Billabong announced last week that it had acquired longboard makers Sector 9 and, subsequently, Sector 9’s truck brand, Gullwing. I’m stoked on this otherwise standard industry news because I designed the baseplate type for Gullwing’s Charger model. The Charger itself was designed by Neil from Carver Skateboards.
It’s not something I have occasion to talk about frequently, but I’m a total coffee cup nerd. I wouldn’t call myself a collector as I’m not the type to hoard just any and every mug I come across, but I probably have more mugs than your average joe-drinking Joe. So, you can imagine my delight when I discovered this line of Pantone mugs by W2. Coffee cup obsession, meet my passion for design. Somebody, please, wipe me up off the floor.
Unfortunately, the only place I can find them to order domestically is the MoMA store, and it looks like they only stock the 2007 line. But since I’m on the hunt for last season’s Orange 012C anyway, I suppose I should count my blessings and get a-orderin’.
I first came across Alex Trochut via Sleevage’s entry on the Rolling Stone’s Rolled Gold+ cover, for which Trochut did the lip-smackingly fantastic illustration. Needless to say, a brief tour through his site and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that he’s the newest certified member of the Bastard List.
Coop has scanned and uploaded a huge set of Ed “Big Daddy” Roth stuff to Flickr. It’s chock full of awesome stuff, and probably worth bookmarking for all of the 60’s hot rod kustom kar kulture reference.
I don’t know what exactly to say about these laser-cut type-themed scarves by Little Factory except, “Please, please, baby jesus, in the name of all that is good and holy allow one of these to magically appear in my scarf drawer unexpectedly.” At $52, they’re a little spendy, but if you’ve got a graphic designer on your Christmas list your work is done.
Green Works cleaning products, makers of “natural cleaners,” put together this short about English artist Paul “Moose” Curtis, whom you may know as the guy that creates “reverse graffiti” by cleaning away parts of dirty dirty surfaces. Interesting to see he uses power washers and stencils. It’s directed by Doug Pray, well known for pop culture docs like Scratch, Hype! and Infamy.
Paula Scher has updated her very well known identity for The Public Theater, and Pentegram has a very interesting look at how the identity has evolved over the last 14 years.
At only 5-megapixels this replica of the vintage Rolleiflex 6×6 camera by Minox probably isn’t powerful enough to meet the demanding needs of today’s camera-savvy graphic designer, but it sure is cool as hell. Unfortunately, I can’t find any information on pricing or availability.
Let’s get the full disclosure ickyness out of the way: I’ve got work in Rockport’s recently released Really Good Logos, Explained. But there are plenty of other good reasons to pick up this book in addition to the siren song of seeing Tokyo Farm’s goodness in print. Really Good Logos, Explained isn’t the standard grid-after-grid of logos in isolation that make up most of the logo reference genre. Instead, Rockport has asked design luminaries Margo Chase, Rian Hughes, Ron Miriello and Alex White to review 500-plus logos and explain exactly why, in their opinion, they’re so good. “In their opinion” is the key phrase here, and exactly what makes the title so interesting. Chase, et al. don’t always agree, and you certainly won’t always agree with them, but getting a peek into the thought processes of some very accomplished designers as they chew apart a logo is an all-too-rare treat that shouldn’t be missed. There are a couple of small things to nitpick. The amount of feedback from each author is a little too brief, and the bonus chapter, “Not-So-Good Logos, Explained,” doesn’t feature as productive feedback as I’d hoped. Still, those are tiny niggles and neither is a deal-breaker for this unique book. 
