Yusuke Suzuki.

Photographer Yusuke Suzuki has designed the childhood dream bed in the form of an oversized book. “At night it is opened up for sleepy heads…during the day it is shut closed to create enough space for children to play in their room” Holy smokes- I may be pronouncing the name incorrectly, but it's rhyming and that makes it pretty super cool.

Currently Reading : Secretariat.

I first saw the Disney version of the story, Secretariat, about a month or so ago and loved it. Granted, I hadn't done my research before the movie because I wanted to be open-minded about how close it was to the facts. I've just started reading the book by William Nack and have reached the part in the story where Secretariat (also known as "Big Red") will first begin his real training as a race horse. I would DEFINITELY recommend becoming familiar with the story. Even going back to how Secretariat was chosen before birth (an offspring of Bold Ruler and Somethingroyal) to officially be owned by Penny Chenery through a coin toss between the Phipps (owners of Bold Ruler) and Chenerys (owners of Somethingroyal). A coin toss for rights to a horse still known as the number one race horse with records he still holds at the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes...

This is Service Design : Book Trailer.

This is Service Design - Book Trailer from Nick Lievendag on Vimeo.

I'm quite interested in checking this out now... This is Service Design Thinking.

Heather Smith Jones.

Here are some images from Water Paper Paint, "Botanical Painting: Drawing from Nature" by Heather Smith Jones.

Neo-Luddism.

Ben Jennings has created these booklets for the project: Neo-Luddism. "Neo-Luddism is a research-driven manifesto intended to act as a catalyst between the widening gap separating design education from the printing industry. The goal was to highlight the importance of continuing practical teaching methods alongside theoretical education at a tertiary level." -Jennings. Ok, so I'll be honest, the last sentence completely threw me off. I thought I was getting what it was about and then it got way to wordy for me and kind of just went in one ear and out the other. Sorry guys. Anyways, I still like the design and especially the sewn spine.

Velvet Raptor.

Beautiful velvet photo albums from Velvet Raptor.

World of Geekcraft.

The guys over at Public School recently had the opportunity to produce World of Geekcraft, a new publication from Chronicle Books. It is a collection of 25 handmade geeky themed projects. It took about 6 months of production time for the photography, illustration and design and last week we finally got an advance copy of the finished product. You can now pre-order it on Amazon!

Going West.

I have no words for how cool and yet creepy this is. Bringing Maurice Gee's book Going West to life with this stop motion film by Anderson M Studio. I can only imagine the immense amount of work that went into this little gem.

Currently Reading.

I'm about a third of the way through and so far so good. I'm usually pretty wary about the books I read. I like a happy ending, but mostly a good (fast pace) story. I cannot stand books that drag on.

Never Let Me Go is narrated by Kathy as an adult looking back on her childhood and days at Hailsham where she and the other students are cut off from the rest of the world because they serve another purpose and are 'special'. Although often poignant, Kathy's matter-of-fact narration blunts the sharper emotional effects you might expect in a novel that deals with illness, self-sacrifice, and the severe restriction of personal freedoms. The book has currently been made into a movie with Carey Mulligan playing Kathy. (Keira Knightley as her friend Ruth and Andrew Garfield as their friend Tommy). It won't be released for a couple of months so you still have time to read the book before it comes out. The copy I'm reading is 288 pgs.

Future of the Book.

The Future of the Book. from IDEO on Vimeo.

The folks at IDEO are taking a look at the future of books, coming up with some exciting, though possibly confusing ideas. They’ve created three different book interfaces that would work with a tablet computer, Nelson, Coupland and Alice, each having their own strengths and unique primary task.

Graphic Artist's Guild.

For years, the Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing and Ethical Guidelines has been the industry bible for graphic designers and illustrators. This, the 13th edition, continues the tradition with new information, listings and pricing information based on surveys of working designers. It addresses legal rights and issues such as how copyright laws affect the income and work of graphic artists. It also provides tips on how to negotiate the best deals and how and what to charge for work, and includes sample contracts. For design and illustration professionals, there is no more comprehensive and informative resource.

Applique.

Applique Your Way just came in for me at the library. Yes, I depend on the public library for everything, books, music, movies...etc. And yes, I preach the word, it's an awesome FREE resource, go there! I don't know about your library, but ours will order anything for you if they don't already have it and we borrow from other libraries. And yes, I'm in love.

A Good Read.

I've been reading this on and off for the last month and it is definitely worth picking up. It goes through the lives of each of the original members of the Bauhaus, their art, childhoods, love lives, families, how they were chosen by Walter Gropius to be a part of the Bauhaus and the struggles within the school. It's not exactly a short read, but totally worth it.

The Bauhaus Group