February 21, 2003

Here by Design II
I both love and hate the StarTribune online, when they post an article like, Goldstein gathers Twin Cities designers in gallery show, by Linda Mack. I love it for publishing an article that highlights the Twin Cities design community - it's artists, institutions, and companies, and I hate it for not linking to those artists, institutions, and companies mentioned within the article. After actually tracking down the Exhibition at The Goldstien Museum of Design, I am again disappointed to see the artists and company's listed again without links. So for my own sanity, here are the links:

Baltix. Ecobuzz office furniture.

An article in IDonline on Bamboo's Kathy Soranno package design work for Schroeder milk.

Blinc Publishing. A design company that specializes in letterpress printing. Bill Moran, owner, was my typography instructor.

blu dot design. Furniture designers. I also hold these guys singlehandedly responsible for the current trend in restaurant names incorporating the word "blu" in their name.

Blue Fish Furniture. A "design studio offering our clients custom artistic lighting fixtures ."

Caldrea "devoted to helping you make your household chores more enjoyable. This linnk ommission is especially disconcerting as Caldrea have a very beautiful website.

Larson. Design and interactive agency.

Some Works by Lisa Elias.

Redlurered(coming soon). This place has the dopest furniture in town.

Richard Helgeson, "has been building things for 25 years, first as a carpenter and home builder, and for the last decade as a furniture maker".

Spunk Nation. Branding, Typography, Playful designs.

Thomas Oliphant Studios. Furniture design. I almost bought his bottle opener the other day. Great design.

Wink graphic design. Some of their book cover designs can be seen here.

February 20, 2003

Missy, Ween & Weirdness
Did anybody else watch Missy Elliot on MTV Cribs last night? Hot Damn, that was quite a pad. I wish I was friends with Missy. My favorite was after showing off her all green lamborghini, she made some comment about going back to the house to "fix myself a twinkie".

I read in Rolling Stone last night that Ween had been hired by Pizza Hut's advertising agency to record a jingle of sorts for their overstuffed cheesy pizza. The results of which can be heard on Ween's website here. I have no idea why the advertising agency rejected the jingle. I mean, you can't get anymore catchy then a call and response lyric that asks, "Bitch, where the motherfucking cheese at? - I don't know." That's just brilliant. I am bummed that ad will never be made.

Also decently weird is the illegal art project that features Packard Jennings prototype Pez dispensers with dead rappers like 2pac and Biggie. I think a Jam-Master-Jay modified pez dispenser that dispenses little records would be tight if the proceeds went to the right place. I also really like Hiedi Cody's "American Alphabet". You can see more of her work with cut up logos light-boxes and advertisements here.

For anyone looking for a catchy URL for their website and/or weblog may I please suggest streetblimp.org. It really roles off the tongue, don't you think?

February 19, 2003

TypeCon 2003
The good folks at The Society of Typographic Aficionados are bringing the Typograraphy Conference TypeCon 2003 to Minneapolis this summer. Already a good roster of speakers are lined up.

I've been using a great pixel type called minimono for various clients as of late and the response has been very positive. It's a sharp screen font. It's cheap too at only $8.00. Get yourself some. If you enjoyed playing with those small colored alphabet blocks as a kid, then minimono is for you.

In looking for some information on the web about the brilliant title sequence at the beginning of Catch Me If You Can, I stumbled upon Shill's video movie page, which offers an extensive collection of movie titles to browse through. I could waste a whole day on that site. This title is pretty topical.

Morning Photos
This looks like fun. This looks like it would be illegal in some states.

February 18, 2003

G.I. Joe Millionaire
I came in about an hour late on the Joe Millionaire finale. I have to say the funniest part of that show was not Joe's (Evan's) sweet bulldog confessional dialog approach and general amazement and distraction by all things tractor or tool like, nor was it Bondage Sarah's oddly marionette mouth twitch that happened every time Joe said something of consequence to her polly prissy-pants fantasy of their love ever after, nor was it Zora's stoned out quizzical I-want-you-to think-i'm-thinking-but-I-ain't hazy gaze. In fact, the funniest part of the show was host Alex McCloud (ex-host of Trading Spaces - do you think people will talk about reality T.V. hosts like rock stars? Ex-host..., formerly of...). Or should I say un-host? Did anybody else notice that she wasn't even in at least the last hour of the show. How the heck can you host a show and never appear on the television. During the course of the Joe Millionaire show, she's probably had about about 3 minutes total of air time. And of course, the butler got stuck doing all the heavy lifting. Typical. I guess that's a good gig if you can get it. Anyway, way to go Joe! Thanks for the mind numbing entertainment during these dire times.

We All Jump for Julius
Over the weekend I found myself at Marshall Fields shopping for pants. I bought myself a nice pair of Paul Frank cords and then headed up to the women's department where the misses was going to see what Paul Frank made for the ladies. At first, the Paul Frank section eluded us. Then from out of nowhere came four young girls sprinting down the halls of Marshall Fields followed by their older chaperon who was trying to keep up. These girls rounded a corner and descended like jackals onto the P. Frank merchandise. There was pushing and shoving, young elbows were employed to get at the goods. The cute aesthetic put forth by Paul and his jungle of animated friends was being assaulted by the fashion desperate grabbing of a handful of forth graders. It was an ugly scene, and one we wanted no part of. A firm reminder of the benefits of shopping online.

P.S. at the Paul Frank site you can download lots of cute little animal icons for use on your machine. My favorite is "pufak" the racoon and "steve" the crab.

February 16, 2003

Soccer Mom's Take to the Streets
Yesterday's march/rally went down smooth. Very peaceful. I think I saw about five cops the entire time. Great turnout. From what I hear and read, somewhere between 8,000 and 12,000 people came out. The vibe was very positive and the message was clear. It felt great to be apart of something so strong.

Here are a few photos of the march that I snapped along the way.

Best sign that I saw: "Iraq is my Valentine"
Best chant: "Duct Tape Bush!"
Best costume or outfit: A reflective silver fire-chemical-retardant suit.
Most interesting attendees: Minneapolis Fireman.