information is beautiful

this is a recommendation from our own very special head of words, sylvie saunders. it explores various ways to translate daily information in an engaging and often comical way. check out the guys site too as this is the second book he's produced on the subject.

http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/

studentshowcase.net

we often flag up student work as being difficult to reference as they have the true freedom of complete creativity without limit or hindrance. occasionally (thankfully rarely) a stifling client with 40 points of feedback which are totally unrealistic will seriously challenge our creativity (and patience) while the students don't know it how good they have it. so inevitably their work can be hugely inspirational, so kudos to the founders of this showcase for all student related design.

Above is the work of rachael kalagher, jacob gilbreath

http://www.studentshowcase.net/

sopeso restaurant

this is the result of a redesign of a traditional portuguese restaurant with several years of service under their belt but wanted to still be recognisable.

http://enviromeant.com

cheltenham design festival

the cheltenham design fest was born from a foundation founded by a group of design professionals all based in gloucestershire. made up of three active parts the foundation comprises of the festival itself, the academy and master classes for business. the festival will take place over three days in april so watch this space.

http://cheltenhamdesignfestival.com/

licor cafe

licor cafe is a design by tomas alonso. the licor itself is based on a traditional recipe from galicia in the north west of spain and is made from orujo, coffee beans & sugar. orujo, also known as aguardiente (literally ‘burning water’) is still made locally in many villages of the region and it is obtained from the distillation of the pomace of grapes – over 50% alcohol.

the set comprises of one bottle and five glasses to serve five friends. each friend can pick the glass of their choice, but none of them have to worry: each glass holds the same quantity of licor. whether this is something that is truly purchasable we have no idea but we love it's simplistic aesthetic.

http://www.tomas-alonso.com

nobrow

nobrow was an initiative founded in 2008 to 'provide an independent publishing platform for illustration and the graphic arts' of both new graduates and established creators. they won't break the bank and they're taking over the haywood gallery shop until the end of january.

http://www.nobrow.net/

wink magazine

launched in 2009, wink is a fashion magazine with a difference. starting out as a purely digital venture, it's now has funding to be published and features some incredible art photography. have a look for yourself as all back issues can be viewed online.....

http://www.wink-mag.com

la société parisienne de savons

continuing on the slight vintage french feel, here is a lovely story of a revival project. stéphane ouaknine, part of the french pharmacy market, made it a personal project to re-create and re-invent lost classic beauty and cosmetic graphics of yesteryear.

'(they spent a great deal of time) seeking out heirs to now defunct companies and obtaining permission to revive stunning vintage designs that had all but ceased to exist. working from faded scraps of ancient labels, I expanded upon the designs and created typography to extend them over complete suites of products.'

design, illustration & typography by daniel pelavin.

http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2012/1/4/la-societe-parisienne-de-savons-collection.html