Watercolors

Watercolor paint, especially watercolor typography, has been lingering in the back of my mind for about a year and a half. While researching imagery for a campaign at work, I was inspired by the work of Jody Barton (above) and had the big idea that I would illustrate type using watercolor, or commission an illustrator to do so. Due to budget and time restraints I decided to shelf the idea and pursue an alternate course. Fast forward to November 2010 and I discovered more watercolor typography that still has me itching to experiment. Since I've decided 2011 shall be the year of the personal project I might add watercolor type onto my list of things I want to explore. My recent discovery was the work of Sasha Prood, an illustrator and designer living in Brooklyn. I was also excited to find out that she designs graphics for J.Crew, considering I've been drooling over their graphics, catalog design and photography since high school. It's always nice to know who the behind the scenes talent is.





Getting back to watercolor, I'm really fascinated by the precision these illustrators have achieved in their work. A few months ago I bought watercolor masking fluid, to help refine my method of application, but I was so turned off by the toxic fumes I put it away and haven't re-opened it in months. I was convinced that Jody Barton was using some tool, like masking fluid, to keep his paint from running. But after seeing this image below from his website, I'm not so sure! This is obviously a matter that requires further investigation and experimentation!

Feather Lust

I think what I like about these ornaments is that they don't scream Christmas and they can hang as a decoration year round; for that reason I can give them to friends who don't celebrate Christmas. The juxtaposition of feather on glass just enhances the delicate quality of the ornament.

Moodboards

I love the idea of a moodboard. The process, the visual aspect, I even love the word moodboard! It's really satisfying to land on a refined, finished design concept, but sometimes the preliminary moodboard gives greater insight into the depth and breath of the creative concept. The act of creating one is so free flowing and limitless. I came across these moodboard "tests" on the Ensuite blog and found them so inspiring and rich with detail.

Miss Fitzpatrick

This font, part of the Charles Bluemlein Script Collection, has been bookmarked under the design tab on my browser for ages now, and I'm still waiting for a project to use it! A font that harks back to the pre-digital glory days of good penmanship and calligraphy, the description of the font includes this interesting tidbit:

"The odd way in which the Bluemlein scripts were assembled and created - by collecting different signatures and then building complete alphabets from them - is a fascinating calligraphic adventure. Because the set of constructed designs looked nothing like the original signatures, fictitious names were assigned to the new script typefaces."

So cool! From the Sudtipos project.

The Chocolate Bar

We're living in a sort of culinary renaissance era. It seems like everyday there's a new way to redefine what is considered gourmet. Take the chocolate bar for instance. Aside from a handful of artfully designed wrappers, the chocolate bar itself has largely remained the iconic brown rectangle, sometimes divided into smaller rectangles, sometimes not. The availability of quality chocolate has vastly improved, and you no longer need to look as far as Belgium or Austria for artisan chocolate. Thankfully America has come a long way since the Hershey bar. But now it's taking a new direction, wherein the design of the bar itself is evolving and becoming more decorative, more reflective of the variety of ingredients and ingenuity of the chocolatier. These are certainly impressive looking treats, and seem as fun to make as they are to eat! I love the color block-ish Mary & Matt bar and the gold flecked Chocomize bar.

From the top: Byrne & Carlson Chocolate Bars, Mary & Matt Chocolate Editions, Chocomize

Sisters of the Moon

If ever there were a reason for me to be jealous of Courtney Love, this would be it. Late 90's Courtney borrowing from late 70's Stevie Nick's wardrobe....

"Madm and CLC in Stevie Nicks ‘s borrowed finery. Toasting a lovely world gone mad."

Images via Silk & Rayon via What Courtney Wore Today