Hold onto your Swedish meatballs and lingonberry jam—the marketing team at IKEA is at it again. And no, they didn’t create self-assembling furniture…yet. If you’re a fan of the GRÖNLID, the LIDHULT, or the SÖDERHAMN sofas, designing your next setup can now be done sans CAD via your trusty laptop keyboard. Yes—the same keyboard you…
It’s not always easy to juggle multiple hats in the design and engineering worlds—but if there is a common language that will likely end up saving you a lot of time and frustration down the road, it’s having basic knowledge of visual communication. While few could ever become an Aaron Draplin overnight, having a strong…
It’s not always easy to juggle multiple hats in the design and engineering worlds—but if there is a common language that will likely end up saving you a lot of time and frustration down the road, it’s having basic knowledge of visual communication. While nobody can become an Aaron Draplin overnight, having a strong grasp…
In the history of graphic design, only a few players hold the keys to the golden gates—players responsible for shaping the identities and aesthetic of many of the brands surrounding us today. It would be impossible to have that conversation without bringing up graphic designers Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar of Chermayeff & Geismar (now…
It’s not always easy to juggle multiple hats in the design and engineering worlds—but if there is a common language that will likely end up saving you a lot of time and frustration down the road, it’s having g basic knowledge of visual communication. While nobody can become an Aaron Draplin overnight, having a strong…
It’s not always easy to juggle multiple hats in the design and engineering worlds—but if there is a common language that will likely end up saving you a lot of time and frustration down the road, it’s having g basic knowledge of visual communication. While nobody can become an Aaron Draplin overnight, having a strong…
It’s not always easy to juggle multiple hats in the design and engineering worlds—but if there is a common language that will likely end up saving you a lot of time and frustration down the road, it’s having g basic knowledge of visual communication. While nobody can become an Aaron Draplin overnight, having a strong…
It’s not always easy to juggle multiple hats in the design and engineering worlds—but if there is a common language that will likely end up saving you a lot of time and frustration down the road, it’s having g basic knowledge of visual communication. While nobody can become an Aaron Draplin overnight, having a strong…
Long gone are the days when every banner and sign required the specialized touch of a sign writer—yet, even with today’s billboard-sized digital prints created from Photoshop files, the art of good old-fashioned hand lettering is still just as popular as it ever was. And while it does take some practice to cross your t’s…
Although 3D printers have been hogging the bulk of the “printing” limelight within the past few years, 2D printing technologies have been quietly seeing their fair share of technological breakthroughs, too. That said, you’d likely have to be involved in the print industry to catch wind of them. Among others is the new Xerox Direct…
In the history of industrial design and engineering, perhaps no other industry is as storied and colorful as the automobile. While we may be on the cusp of a future consisting of self-driving cars that we can experience through virtual reality before purchasing, it’s the marketing and sales tactics that reflected consumer needs and buying…
After raising nearly $1 million from their Kickstarter campaign last October, graphic designers Jesse Reed and Hamish Smyth successfully brought the original 1975 NASA Graphics Standards Manual to thousands of space and design geeks – a piece of exploration history that was previously thought to have been lost. Designed in 1974 by Richard Danne and Bruce…
Designed in 1974 by Richard Danne and Bruce Blackburn, the 1975 NASA graphics standards manual – which includes the famous NASA “Worm” logo and other graphics to be used on spacecraft, suits and the like – has been a source of inspiration for everything from some of today’s most popular design trends to hollywood film…
While some of us may pride ourselves on successfully crossing our t’s and dotting our i’s with any sort of consistent grace – both figuratively and literally – professional artist and certified Master Penman Jake Weidmann lives for it. The Denver-based ink master, who is the world’s youngest certified Master Penman by three decades, has…
Walls. Love ’em or hate ’em, they just look better with something on them. Unless you’re still 15 years old, that Pearl Jam poster just isn’t going to cut it anymore. For those who’ve been wondering what the heck to put on their walls, we just might have the solution – and best of all,…
Regardless of which stage of your career you’re in, having recent and relevant documentation of your work can oftentimes be just as important as the work itself – whether you’re using the proof of your abilities to level-up in a new job search or simply just want to keep a clean record of where you’ve…
Known primarily for being one of the best typographers of all time, German typographer Erik Spiekermann has created dozens of iconic typefaces for both commercial and corporate clients that many have come to recognize; he was also among those interviewed in Gary Hustwit’s 2007 documentary Helvetica. The designer, who Monocle Magazine has called the “world’s…
Usually when it comes to recreating logos with pixel-by-pixel perfection, a high-resolution reference image of said logo(s) is needed to trace – with careful precision – using a bezier curve tool such as Adobe Illustrator’s Pen Tool. The process – depending on the level of one’s OCD tendencies – can take up to an hour…
Before the ‘How it Works’ Discovery Channel and YouTube explosion, Neil Ardley and David Macaulay’s The Way Things Work book was oftentimes the go-to source for satisfying the natural itch of wondering how things do what they do. The book, which was first released in 1988, provided (and still does) hours of brain-fertilizing goodness for…
Of all of the great skills that product designers and engineers are blessed with, graphic design isn’t necessarily known for being high up on that list. While talent and skill will obviously vary from person to person, there’s more than one reason why design studios have different departments for different disciplines for general day-to-day work.…
For over 25 years, paper engineer Peter Dahmen has been creating every last type of pop-up book or 3D paper structure imaginable. From the more traditional pop-up greeting cards to large-scale set designs for automakers such as MINI, the German graphic designer’s story of how he got started in paper engineering is just as fascinating…
Over in freelance land, sometimes clients want an entire ‘package-deal’ with their product idea and brand ready to go at the flip of a switch. For those who don’t want to play creative director but need a placeholder logo, consider the new Squarespace Logo Generator that combines the simplicity of Squarespace with the massive icon…
Founded in 2010 by book editor Patrick Mulligan and graphic designer Ben Gibson, the mission of Brooklyn-based Pop Chart Lab was to do one thing and do it very well: render all of human experience in chart form. Three years later, the two have found themselves with new titles (Patrick as Editorial Director and Ben…
Just one month fresh out of college, graphic designer Jeff Sheldon of Downington, PA found himself moving through quite a few life milestones: he married his high school sweetheart, relocated to a different state (Vermont), and started a full-time job. Soon after, the young designer found himself continually daydreaming about launching his own brand centered…
Each lens dropped the slates of yellow hard against the floor, blurred vertical by the acceleration and increased afterburn of the jump jets. If there were any charred remnants, crispins of fur or chattered casings, it would lay beneath the protective coating of these links. Duarte Pires – Thick lines, bright color in a range…
We don’t even know where or how to start to explain how awesome our guest Steven Heller is. He is currently the co-chair of the MFA “Designer as Author” Department at New York’s School of the Visual Arts, is a former art director for the New York Times Book Review, a contributing editor for many…
Between those who may be presenting reasons for a particular color or feature on a logo, or those who consider themselves branding experts, there are quite a few questionable design jargon statements made in the design world. The Design Jargon Bull$#!& Tumblr is your humorous archive of ridiculous design statements that just might make you…