I found these posters by Hybrid Home quite awhile ago, but as soon as I started to pick out the posters I wanted to feature I went searching through my archives for it. They are titled Visible Robot and Visible Ghost and are both by Brian Flynn.

The great thing about the Visible Ghost print is it is printed with glow in the dark ink.

The robot print reminds me a lot of The Gigantic Robot  book I posted about a little while ago (and received more recently) and just like that one also makes me think about the move The Incredibles.

Above is the "Thing I like" Poster from Richard Perez at Skinny Ships.

Richard and I have some similar likes, since I am a big fan of all of them listed, except VHS tapes, can't really say I like those. Not only is the list fantastic but the illustration style works so well with it. It could work well in my office or in a child's room, very versatile.

Check out some of his other work at his website. I also included a screenshot of his site because I just love the huge HELLO THERE. It feels really personal and works with his clean and simple design.

This poster is on my "BUY" list for sure, and hopefully I can make that happen before it is sold out. 18x24 4-color screenprint, Edition of 100, $35 + Shipping . Go check it out.

I am going to kickoff Poster Week with this great triptych called Starry Nights by Sean Tubridy.

Unfortunately, it looks like he is sold out of them and therefore I can't find some of the better photos he used to have on his site of it.

I own this set and it is one of my favorite pieces I have up (which is makes it a favorite if it actually makes it on to the wall, so many still in storage). The color on these is fantastic in person and they look great in a natural colored wood frame (they fit ikea frames).  They remind me of a warm summers night, both because of the color and the imagery. I don't think they will be coming off of my office wall anytime soon.

POSTER WEEK

So, lately I have been coming across a lot of great posters out there, and I also have a huge repository of links with posters that I already wanted to post... It only makes sense to devote an entire week to posters and get them all in front of your eyes.

I'l be featuring posters and prints from famous artists, little known places, posters I want, and posters that I have.

Stay tuned all week for an extra large dose of posts!

I was off camping this weekend so I thought this would be an appropriate post. This is the campfire pillow from Gama-Go . The only sad part is this pillow is not available anymore and I don't know where else you can fine it (just searched for a bit with no luck). I should have bought it when it was in the Target Red Hot Shop, but I was too slow.

Anyone know where to locate it, let me know. I might have to try and make my own, but I think I need to learn how to sew first...

Flickr Friday

These great photos were created balakov. He recreates some of the world's greatest art/photographs all in Legos. Not only does he recreate them but he does an amazing job at at!

Plus, he has a thing for the star wars Legos, and you can't argue with that. So a few of this images here and there, like the shot from American Beauty above, have a nice little addition of a storm trooper. 

Check out his photostream to see the rest of the photos and he puts up shots of his setups for the photos too. A behind the scenes look. Plus, you can buy prints of a lot of his classic shots. These would look great hung on any wall...

I have had Legos on the brain lately, so it was time for this to get posted. I can't wait until the next time I go to my parent's house, I am getting my old Legos out for sure.

I still have video games on the brain lately, and I don't think it is going anywhere. It could be my daily playing of the Original Super Mario for the NES, or working on painting my guitar hero guitar to match my I Am 8-Bit strap. Not all video game material is design related, so sometimes it is just what is on my mind, but sometimes you've got to think of design as a whole. To me Mario is the design of the future of video games, the design of history, and the design of creative thinking (a leaf that turns you into a raccoon, sort of, but gives you the ability to fly...come on! Nothing like that out there right now)

This is a very detailed chart of various Mario Power Ups as it progressed through the different video games. The small text in the black areas also goes into detail why certain power ups are important to the game's development as a series. You can click on the image to enlarge it and read it a bit easier.

I originally found this as CPLUV and I think it is from Go Nintendo, it was really hard to source the original document.

So, question time. It's a two Parter, and I know a lot of people that read this blog aren't active commenters (and I know a video game question isn't going to appeal to everyone)...BUT

1 What is your favorite Mario Power Up, and why?
2. If you could have one for yourself, what would it be?

What could be happening next week?

I think I am going to do a set of themed posts for next week, stay tuned for more information.

Above are some great illustrations from Scott Balmer . He is a freelance illustrator from the UK.

My favorite image is the Masked Avengers at the top. The texture he uses in the image really makes it stand out compared to if he had just drawn the characters with simple shapes.

The answer to the last one? Yes, I do think bears poop in the woods. Your thoughts? Nothing like a little chest hair typography to make you think.

Above is a great Xylene transfer/print created by the Etsy seller beauchamping. It's a bit of a twist on the alphabet poster and there is a bit more to the joke, and you can click through to Gregory's page to see the rest of it and purchase it for $75.

I am really into this poster because of the fact that it is an update on an old classic. So tired of the A is for Apple, and Z is for Zebra. Time to give some love to Arrow, Georgia, Jupiter, Xbox, and some others.

Yeti and Zeppelin are by far my favorites

If you haven't seen this before, right now, click here and watch Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. I watched it a few months ago, but passed the link on to a friend and started watching it again. Hands down, one of the best videos on the internet.

Here is the description that Hulu gives, but you just need to go and watch it, so many little things to pick up on, and just ridiculously funny.

Aspiring super-villain Dr. Horrible (Neil Patrick Harris) wants to join the Evil League of Evil and win the girl of his dreams, but his nemesis, Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion), stops him at every turn in this three-part musical.

I found this clock over on Design Milk today, it was created by the company QLOCKTWO.

Such a sexy clock, with my favorite color being the green. It is offered in 5 other colors and in 6 languages total. 

I haver seen a lot of clocks out there that are trying to tell you the time in an unconventional way, and that was even one of my projects back in school, clock design. BUT, I haven't seen one that does it in such an elegant way. If it wasn't so expensive I would have this on my wall in a second.

These are some photos of Conran & Partners that I found on Noisy Descent Graphics awhile back.

I really enjoyed the blue with the knock out, see through type. Plus the first one really speaks to me, might be why I used it on my very first post in the blog. Nothing like really driving a point home...

Not a bad idea to surround yourself with words of inspiration. Although I do despise those vinyl words on a wall in the home decorating trend like "eat" and "family", I wonder if I should play around with the vinyl cutter and see what I could do with my office here. I still have the giant visualize from my senior show waiting for a place. Might just help my office to look better if I just cleaned my desk.

This is a poster I found in Change The Thought and it was for Art Crank Denver.

Artcrank was a poster show that took place in Denver in April and is all about bicycle inspired art from local artists in the host city.

I really enjoy the layering the use of 2 colors in this. I always feel that screen printing brings out some great techniques when it comes to printing. It's not like when you send something out to be printed and you are just paying for an extra color, you actually have to take the time to print it all over again with a second, or third, etc color if you want another. When I printed the poster in my etsy store, it was 3 colors, but the silver took a double pass, so it was printed 4 times, and that is a lot of work and time.

The show is coming up in St. Louis and San Francisco. If you're in those cities, check it out. The posters are only sold at the shows, so you gotta be there to get the art.

A friend of mine passed this link along to me today. Not only cool shirts, but they actually mean something and can help do something.

These shirts from StatAttak are based on life expectancies from various countries. The creators of the shirt line came across these statistics, were appalled by some of the low numbers like Mozambique: 31, then found a way to make people aware of them. Plus, 20% of the sales of the shirts is going to go towards building an orphanage in Mozambique. Not only are they donating the money but they plan to go there and help build it.

So, buy one of these shirts, then when someone asks you about it, tell them why you bought it, and maybe they will help too.

This table has been on my wish list for quite awhile now, and it will probably be on there for a bit longer. My idea is to have it in my future studio/workspace, and it will be awhile until I have one of those. Although it would look good with our furniture in our current living room too, but it is a bit out of my price range right now. A boy can dream though, can't he?

This is the Offi Scando coffee table and is made from bent plywood. The entire shape of it is fantastic and has a really nice sized work area. You just need to have low furniture, since it is a lower table. It comes in a multitude of colors and is priced from $499-$599.

Bent plywood has really been on my mind lately, and I am thinking of redoing my desktop with plywood. The industrial steel isn't doing it for me anymore. Next time I make my way to my parent place, it might be a weekend project for my dad and I.

The top two photos are from Design Public where you can purchase the table. The bottom one is of Tina's Apartment (better known as Swiss Miss) and the post about her coffee table from Apartment Therapy.

I have been eyeballing these shirts for a little while and finally decided to put them up here. I found these awhile ago by forgotten means but they are t-shirts created in tribute to famous designers by Paul Nini.

He has added quite a few new shirts since I looked at his store the last time. Some I liked, and some I didn't. These are a few of my favorites though.

- I actually had the pleasure to meet Wolfgang and hangout out with him my first year in our design program. I wish I would have realized his true significance to the design world at that time. No autographs, no books signed. So stupid.

- One of my projects was on Saul Bass, and I cam to love his work. The poster I did featured this same image which was from his film title work for The Man with the Golden Arm.

- Love Brockmann all together. I own so many of his books, studied his work, just love it. A huge influence on my development as a designer

- Can't leave out Josef and can't forget studying him and painting color swatches by hand for months my first year. Where did I put that color studies book?

So those are my favorites. Wouldn't mind picking up a couple of them one day. Go and check out the rest for sure. I kind of wish their names were not so huge on the shirt, because it could make for a fun guess the designer quiz.

Really cool poster from Almost Modern for Confetti. It's all coming together really nicely for me. The color, large bike image, ampersand usage, all of it. Plus, it is really inviting when folded up and makes me want to open it.

The new Frostic School of Art website from Western Michigan University (my alma mater) is being featured on NotCot right now. Congratulations to Chris Jones and Max Millermaier on the site and being featured on NotCot. I know both of these guys and it is great to see their work out in the real world and getting noticed on a popular design blog.

Go and check out the site, it is going with the current trend of websites using large scalable video playing behind the menus and information of the site. I have seen a few others out there right now working with this same idea, and I'd say we are guilty too since we just launched a site for a client with the same technology.

Good job guys!

Cool Pixel Pendant Lamp by Meninos. Comes in a pendant and a table lamp version. I know I say this as lot, but could be a good DIY. $70

Unfortunately, I do not remember where I found this photo, but I e-mailed it to myself awhile ago. I think it was originally featuring the desk, but I grew fond of the calendar.

Nice, big type, perpetual, what more could you ask for? 

A DIY might be in order.

The Illustrated Guide to the Amazing Feats of the Night Sky is a pocket guide by the great illustrator Jez Burrows. It opens matchbook style and on the inside is a guide to the great celestial events that occurred or will occur in 2009. I know the year is a bit over half done, but that doesn't mean you can't see what is coming up for the fall and winter (fall is one of the best times to lay out and watch the stars).

The last two images are of the Gocco print he created to go along with the guide and sadly those are all sold out. A fantastic print that I'll have to keep my eye out to obtain by other means. The guide itself can be purchased from the Tiny Showcase for $5

Jez has a huge amount of other great work as well so I can't say this is the last time his art is going to show up here.

Now, I will try and keeping my stars/space/sky/etc posts to a minimum because even though this blog is named after a constellation, I don't want it to become too themed. However, when print looks that good, it is going to show up for sure.

The first Student Spotlight at TLB is going to be featuring Andrew Le. He is currently a student at Mississippi State University and will be graduating this Winter with a BFA in Graphic Design.  

The first piece of his work that grabbed my attention were his Casual Reports at the top. They grabbed my eye since it reminded me of Feltron's Annual reports, and what would you know, that is where Andrew's inspiration came from. Great minds do think alike. I think he did a great job working on his own reports and the typography, colors, and charting all came together really nicely. This really makes me want to take my own try and monitoring every piece of my life for awhile.

The other two images jumped out at me from his work. The first is a business system for 925, a furniture manufacture and the other image is of some really cool type inspired wood boxes that he is working on. I found the wood boxes on his Flickr page and if I have a workshop someday would love to attempt something like this. It would be great to have them up on a wall as an art piece but then be able to open them up and store things inside them.

So that is just a quick look at Andrew Le, make sure to check out the rest of his portfolio and work on his website, andrewle.com.

I often doodle on post it notes and send the photos to friends and have people doodle back to me. The internet is an amazing tool that allows us to do this. We could always do it the hard way and involve the USPS, but I am more about instant gratification. Plus, I really enjoy seeing what people coming up with right on the spot.

The other day a friend mentioned to me she was bored, so I randomly said "draw me a picture involving a campfire, a bear, and a caesar salad." This is what I got back a few minutes later. A big win in my book. So true, lettuce IS for losers!

A quick post on a letterpress shop I cam across: Elum.

Really nice work all around but what really caught my eye was the Desk set featured at the top. The grey and yellow together just pops so well. I wish I had people I wrote letters to so I could get something that nice to write them on.

Elum also does invitations, announcements, bags, journals, stationary sets, editioned prints, calendars and other various custom letterpress items.

One day I will get something letterpressed...one day.