This takes me back...

Stumbled on this resource the other day: Color Chart for Crayola Crayons. Includes crayon names and color codes for 120 distinct hues. Very useful for design, or just curiosity. Check it out!

:: Unnecessary Process :: Hand Dryer

I see this image all the time. The first graphic may be semi-useful, if the person's finger wasn't chopped off, and if the hand was near the actual button. The other graphic shows what to do with the device, because if you didn't know what the device was you could look at the graphic and know red death rays will attack your dismembered hands.

I also found this diaper graphic online. Not sure if it real, but as a parent I can tell you you don't need instructions to know how to check a diaper...

New American Gothic

Saw this online today. Fits with this weeks reading...

:: Narrative :: Stacy's pita chips

I was surprised how long the search was to find a package with narrative. The best I could find was the story/history of Stacy's pita chip company:

"I've always had a passion for good food and healthy living, even back in the days of owning a sandwich cart in downtown Boston. Back then, my partner and I made all the natural pita roll-up sandwiches and, as an incentive for customers to wait in line, we baked pita bread into different flavored chips. The chips because remarkably popular and before we knew it, Stacy's Pita Chip Company was born...."

Most items I found in my search started out telling a story, but quickly changed after the first sentence into a product description.

New British Coins

Unveiled a few weeks ago, the new British Coins of the Pound Sterling present a cohesive design to the seven coins. The design ingeniously divides the British Royal Shield into six sections on the back of six coins, and uses the pound coin as a reference to the shield's entirety. Design details can be found at the Royal Mint.

Post-It Notes as Wall Art

Maria's mention of Post-It Notes as wall art reminded me of the above image. Students from UCSC obviously have way too much time on their hands. It is an awesome display of dedication, planning, and perseverance to construct a monumental tribute to a video game icon. More images and a time lapsed video can be found at this site. 

:: Narrative :: Information Graphics

As you can probably tell, I have a love of information graphics. My favorite piece from Edward Tufte's book Envisioning Information is a hospital receipt documenting the slow death of Mrs. K. First published in Harper's in 1984, this graphic tells the story of 26 days in the hospital for one patient, the procedures that she underwent, and the mounting cost to save her life. In the end Mrs. K died and the information presented tells a different story: the staggering cost of health care and the expense incurred when trying to live. (The prices depicted are from the 1980s, today's figures would be much, much higher.)

Octavo Digital Rare Books

Octavo Digital Rare Books scans historical texts and preserves them for future generations. Each book can be purchased and viewed on a hi-def DVD or browsed online. The topics range from Graphic Arts (Bodoni's Manuale Tipografico displayed above), to Mathematics, to Religion, and to Art.  

:: Narrative :: Robot Chicken

Stop motion animation--hands down, the hardest form of animation, but when done right it can be used to tell awesome stories. The key is to have original stories to tell. Robot Chicken on the Cartoon Network uses action figures and pop-culture references. Showcasing hilarious takes on popular films/television from the 1980s-1990s, Robot Chicken grafts original narratives to already popular lore. Recently, Robot Chicken ran an entire episode dedicated to Star Wars. Re-imagining and telling new stories in that universe inspired me when thinking about how to craft the narrative to my film. What if I took a popular story and retold it through a different, original angle?

Rob Sheridan, Photographer, Designer, Illustrator

Rob Sheridan is currently the art director for Nine Inch Nails. His work ranges from photography for album covers, and typography for posters, to design of everything. His illustrations can be found at sketchblog, and more photography at flickr. 

He also produces a blog at demonbaby.com. 

Images above are from flickr, depicting an old, worn tourist trap in Roswell, NM.

Kris Sowersby, typographer

Kris Sowersby is a typographer based in New Zealand. I stumbled across his Feijoa typeface in Nick Felton's 2007 annual report. KLIMis an independent type foundry run by Kris, in conjunction with a few other well known type designers. He has only released a select few typefaces for public purchase. National is another outstanding face (based on pre-akzidenz grotesks--precursors to Helvetica). National, Feijoa, and his other commercial typefaces can be purchased at village. (Feijoa does have some problems with its kerning pairs, in large display sizes some letter spacing appears generous.)

The images above are from Kris's sketchbook, published here. 

My most precious collection

Since I was 3 or 4, I have been collecting Precious Moments figurines. Each porcelain sculpture is exquisitely crafted to depict the timeless moments of life. Its hard to say which is my favorite, but perhaps the figurine dedicated to my one year anniversary. (Unfortunately, I can't find an image.)

Originally created by Sam Butcher in the 1970s, these figures live on today as a classic reminder of a simpler time. I can spend several hours in my precious moments room basking in the tranquil peace it provides.