creative inspiration

creative inspiration

| heather parlato

sneak peeks

Legacy of Letters from Luca Barcellona on Vimeo.

alissa walker shares a slideshow perfect for creative inspiration: a look inside the sketchbooks of 12 top designers.

want answers to all your design questions from a design master? logodesignlove.com brings you an interview with sagi haviv.

if you’re inspired by these sneak peeks and want to make some of your own great ideas happen, smashing magazine wants that for you too: how to make innovative ideas happen.

design industry

topographical art cards from crafterall
[image: crafterall]
the color palettes and textures in these custom-cut art cards by crafterall are so inviting!

keep your clients happy & committed to you [overlooking the cheesy champagne toast shot] with this guide from freelance switch: the components of a successful client relationship

have a presentation coming up? are you nervous about making sure everyone’s into it rather than bored—or worse yet, tweeting about boredom [because that doesn’t get anyone unfollowed]? run through this guide to captivating presentations on slideshare: steal this presentation

i’m loving all these “real stories of mad men” crawling out of the wood work, here’s another: the original mad man, from reason.com

beyond design

if you’ve ever wondered about how white wine is made, this is a great step-by-step from thekitchn.com: winemaking 101: how white wine is made.

i don’t know that i’ve ever experienced the feeling of apple overwhelm, but if you have “too many” and you want to try to hide them in places like salsa, serious eats has a suggestion for you: apple salsa fruits serious heat.

creative inspiration

| heather parlato

typography: halloween!

scary type cards
[image: will staehle]
this week, everyone is nuts about typography, so i’m going with it. first up, send your friends these cool b-movie typeset cards by will staehle for a tastefully retro spook during halloween week. thanks, how magazine for the link.

typography: in print!

ligature, loop & stem poster
[image: ligatureloopandstem.com]
this stunning typographic elements poster by ligature loop and stem was featured on the FPO blog this week. it’s already so clean and stylish, but then they even ran it as letterpress. bravo!

typography: wine packaging!

vina sios
[image: thedielinewine.com]
this packaging for viña siós uses a simple type treatment, but it’s bold, unique and elegant in its simplicity. nice work!

typography: make your own!

design sponge veer alphabet contest
[image: design sponge]
after a week of type-related design posts on design sponge, a contest was announced that i can really get behind. design sponge has challenged people everywhere to create a typeface, and veer has donated a cash & credit prize to the winner. the best part–this isn’t one of those crowdsourcing spec deals where veer takes rights, it’s really just to get everyone excited about creating stuff, sharing it and appreciating it. cool!

if you really want to get down and dirty, kernspiracy, cinema speakeasy, echo park film center and machine project present A TYPOGRAPHIC JOYRIDE, in which you can carve type into potatoes, create a group typeface, and then watch a typographic documentary. type-tastic!

beyond design

back to halloween: serious eats wants you to send them pics of the pumpkin you carve. it’s a contest!

speaking of pumpkins, you can use them like a terrine and bake soup right in them. neither i, nor saveur, would ever joke about something so delicious: pumpkin soup in a pumpkin.

and speaking of fall, and things like leaves, i hate leaf blowers. i guess i just thought everyone else loved them and invited them to my neighborhood every week, but i’m glad i’m wrong. the leaf blower wars, thanks utne reader.

and finally, we weren’t speaking of this, but i love it when LA natives rediscover our city and get all i ❤ LA about it: must see list, from los angeles magazine by anne taylor-fleming.

creative inspiration

| heather parlato

illusration

work life by darren booth
[image: darren booth]
this piece was a monday inspiration pic on fudgegraphics.com and it’s easy to see why. what a great combination of words, hand lettering and illustrative awesomeness!

i’m an undying fan of maira kalman, and as any undying fan should, i promise to post any article on her that crosses my rss reader. this week, she’s the focus of what’s in your toolbox, from designsponge. take a peek inside her studio!

typography

finishing touches by hoefler & frere-jones
[image: typography.com]
the people at hoefler & frere-jones have done it again with an outstanding post outlining the finishing touches of typeface design in which they show you how they mind your p’s & q’s.

if you’re looking for a good review of the latest web font embedding services, smashing magazine offers: review of popular web font embedding services so you can choose your tools wisely.

print techniques: letterpress

letterpress cards by lulu dee
[image: lulu dee]
one of the great letterpress artists i saw at the 2nd annual LA print fair recently was lulu dee, who’s work has just been featured on for print only. her work is so cute, pairing song lyrics with delicate illustrations.

design industry

if you do packaging design, HOW and thedieline.com have partnered to bring a conference just for you: the dieline package design conference, presented by HOW.

this week in the biz ladies column: biz ladies: how to create digital products, from design sponge. if you’re thinking of writing a white paper, an ebook or selling other digital assets online, they’ll help you get started.

if you’re looking to make sustainable choices in your future print projects, check this out: choosing sustainable paper made easy, from the living principles. find the most sustainable paper that’s appropriate for your project!

beyond design

did you just ask what’s going on in echo park? well… if you’ve known we’re going to drain the lake and update the plumbing system, and you have questions, the city is offering 3 rehabilitation pre-construction tours to anyone interested. we’ve also got the rock n roll los angeles half-marathon running right through our neighborhood this sunday!

in food news, this weekend is artisanal LA, where you can do home gardening & food prep workshops, learn about all kinds of neato techniques, and taste a selection of wonderful artisanal foods! from the seasonal eats corner, if this completely insane rundown of apple recipes isn’t enough for you, consider enflorinating your tastebuds with this lavender recipe rundown from thekitchn.com. and for the non-recipe food piece, the utne reader pointed me to this very interesting our meals, ourselves: a short history of food writing, from themillions.com.

creative inspiration

| heather parlato


check it out, fallen fruit has a video about mapping public fruit. they’re walking all over my neighborhood!

identity

de vine vineyards label
[image: de vine vineyards / thedielinewine.com]
this identity system for de vine vineyards by hired guns creative is absolutely beautiful. you can see a full photo shoot of all the pieces involved at thedielinewine.com.

another outstanding sample that caught my eye was arido by estudio amaya pulenta, also featured on the dieline wine.

typography & maps

axis type maps
[image: axis maps]
more map love, this time with typographic interpretation, from axis maps. check out the profile on fastcodesign.com. i love how the type is so well chosen for each area it represents.

speaking of maps, the cartography of bigotry, from utne reader has some interesting, humorous & un-pc maps according to different cultures & groups.

design industry

sayl chairs
[image: herman miller / fastcodesign.com]
WANT! want want want. this chair is so fantastic, and knowing it’s herman miller, i’m sure it’s supportive and comfortable too. love the white frame with red seat. it’s okay to surprise me with this as a gift, anytime you like.

in the spirit of insinuating myself everywhere, i am back on the creative freelancer blog again this week: one designer’s marketing mix, where i talk about what new things i’ve added to shake up my promotional funtimes.

beyond design

i’ll take a break from recipes this week to bring instead: the food lab’s top 6 food myths, from serious eats. bust those myths already!

seeing green: visions of LA’s new cleantech corridor, from fastcodesign.com. woah, wait–we have a cleantech corridor?! just outside downtown!?

creative inspiration

| heather parlato

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=15335684&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0

Genghis Kern – A Letterpress And Design Shop from Jesse R. Borrell on Vimeo.

identity

dig for fire identity
[image: kelli anderson]
since the pixies are near & dear to my heart, i’m doubly endeared to this identity system by kelli anderson for dig for fire. thanks to designworklife.com for the link.

packaging

yunyeen yong juice box packaging
[image: likecool.com]
check out this awesome juice box packaging by yunyeen yong. seems like an obvious choice, but i’ve mostly seen only square boxes and bottles in the past. thanks alltop for the link.

design industry

another strike against the print is dead choir: a new design magazine 8 faces is out, a new print magazine for devotees of typography. profiled at underconsideration.com.

beyond design

sea scallops a la caprese
[image: serious eats]
add some delicious scallops to your heirloom tomatoes with sea scallops a la caprese from serious eats. or try a couple fun fall cocktails for the gin drinkers out there: an orange rosemary concoction sorbo serpico, or proserpina if you’re feeling more pomegranate / limoncello, both from lacucinaitalianamagazine.com.

for a fascinating take on creative ways to deal with invasive plants by finding uses for them, turn to one for the herbivores, from utne reader. want to rid your landscape of kudzu? eat it!

creative inspiration

| heather parlato

branding

michelle obama garden branding
[image: fastcodesign.com]
lovely packaging for specialty items from michelle obama’s vegetable garden, designed by cronan give home grown handmade items a classy look.

typography

hanging wall letters for home decor
[image: iron accents]
if you’ve been looking for more ways to bring the signage you see on the street into your home, re-nest.com has a great profile on a company that can bring them to you: hanging wall letters from iron accents. cute!

packaging

the tentacle wine packaging
[image: thedielinewine.com]
here’s my favorite for wine packaging this week from thedielinewine.com, the tentacle designed by john schall.

design industry

check out part 2 of my creative co-working adventures on the creative freelancer blog!

a really informative piece from rochelle fainstein of sterling brands on how wine packaging can become more sustainable in both materials and manufacturing: message in the bottle: repackaging wine, from thedielinewine.com

beyond design

you’ve probably noticed i write about food and diy projects, and i put up a fair amount of preservation projects. an interesting piece on this growing movement is home canners wield pickles against food giants, from utne reader. my interest is first to buy fresh food with as little interference in the farmer’s profit margin as possible, and second to replace commodified convenience foods with my own preservations from scratch. i find the assertion by rachel lauden that preservation projects are “…making too many women slaves to their stovepots and canning jars…” completely absurd and sexist. it’s a lifestyle choice and an activity that is hugely rewarding. i love my stovepots and canning jars!

speaking of food, i got myself 2 bunches of dandelion greens from the market this week and went looking some delicious things you can do with them at epicurious.com. i typically stay away from salads with added sugar or bacon [though there are some good ones out there], so here are my picks: dandelion greens with hot olive oil dressing which is a way to wilt the greens without cooking them, greek country salad which you can do with any combination of the listed greens in the recipe, and the standout for me, wilted greens with garlic and anchovies. i love anchovies, this is just what i’m looking for!

creative inspiration

| heather parlato

A Letterpress Legacy with Lucky Duck Press from Etsy on Vimeo.

identity

botanical bakery identity design
[image: david brier]
i am loving this fun identity and packaging for botanical bakery by dbd international. so colorful with a homemade twist. see more at identity designed.

packaging

killibinbin wine packaging
[image: thedielinewine.com]
this wine packaging for killibinbin wines is an amazing combination of wine and noir horror flicks done in a nostalgically tasteful way. see more at thedielinewine.com

for more from the dieline in wine packaging, check out: the dieline wine’s latest top 10 wine designs, or for a great selection of packaging of all types: the dieline’s latest top 10 packaging designs.

design industry

oh, hey, look who’s writing for the creative freelancer blog these days. more on creative co-working from yours truly!

beyond design

LACMA The Linda and Stewart Resnick Exhibition Pavilion
[image: fastcodesign.com]
LA welcomes one of the world’s largest naturally-lit spaces, The Linda and Stewart Resnick Exhibition Pavilion, profiled on fastcodesign.com.

i just got my fall garden planted, but in other places, cool-weather items like swiss chard are already ripe for picking. serious eats profiles some great recipes here: in season: swiss chard, and cucina italiana offers some delicious stuffed pasta: swiss chard and ricotta tortelli.

there’s all kinds of exciting wine news. this winery isn’t exactly new, but it’s new to me, we have a local winery right here in echo park: d’augustine vinyard! serious eats brings us what are your wine discoveries which includes a list of 100 wines to drink now. and if you’ve ever wondered what the definition of meritage is, goosecross is happy to explain it for you: what is a meritage wine?

creative inspiration

| heather parlato

branding


one of a few commercials in the effort to rebrand baby carrots.

while carrots try to appeal to kids by looking more unhealthy, high fructose corn syrup attempts to win its way back onto the table with a simplified name change and ad campaign: the sticky, tricky rebranding of corn syrup as corn sugar, from good.

found objects

B&B diaries
[image: brian mcmullen, imprint]
i knew i wasn’t the only one who reads B&B diaries and museum exhibit & nature center guest books! loving this post i love bed and breakfast diaries, from imprint

design industry


is there even a category for this curiosity? a drawing machine that parses the language of stories into a string of words, cross references them with the archive of patent illustrations as provided by the US patent & trademark office, and draws them into a string of visual narrative. you might call it a perpetual storytelling apparatus: drawing machine tells the story of innovation via patent drawings, from good

another point against the print is dead battle cry: a new design publication anthology magazine.

what’s a dream come true for a designer who loves wine & wine packaging? this new blog from the dieline: the dieline wine, a blog dedicated to wine packaging design. thanks how design for the link.

beyond design

spaghetti carbonara
[image: lacucinaitlaianamagazine.com]

spaghetti carbonara is the perfect comfort food for any season. if you want to learn to make it “the right way,” look no further than my favorite italian food resource spaghetti carbonara, from la cucina italiana.

delicious, simple, healthy, and another seasonally-independent dish white bean salad (salatet fassoulia), from saveur.

i’m a fan of rick bayless’ recipes, so i was happy to see this nice round up: authentic mexican: five recipes from rick bayless, from thekitchn, all of which are seasonal for the summer-fall changeover.

looking for some natural, preventative allergy treatments? design sponge has these answers for you: small measures: diy seasonal allergy treatments.

a humorous look at language: when is it okay to use the F word, from penelope trunk, another person who often-says but seldom-writes this glorious expletive.

creative inspiration

| heather parlato

identity

landfit logo
[image: designedbygoodpeople.com]
this logo for a gardening matchmaking service is really appealing to those of us who love gardening. and i love the concept, a service that pairs people who want to garden but have no land with those who have land & want a garden, but don’t want to do it. brilliant!

publications

ferocious quarterly
[image: ferocious quarterly]
announcements of a new publication, ferocious quarterly, have been posted in a few design communities. from their site: Ferocious is a curated, quarterly publication that collects illustrators, graphic artists, short fiction authors and written text. indeed! thanks how magazine for the link.

parse is a new blog project from how magazine, aiming to make sense of issues and information relevant to design practitioners. check it out!

this just in from the design review of books, a review of jost hochuli, detail in typography.

design industry

take a spin through the annals of design history: graphic design through the decades series: the 70s, from inspiredology.com

if you’re a creative professional in need of some marketing mentoring, ilise benun’s marketing groups are about to kick off for fall. join the track that’s right for you and get one-on-one help from a creative industry marketing pro: marketing mentor’s advanced marketing groups.

another great installment from design*sponge: biz ladies: using a blog to grow your business.

culture

some interesting looks at labor day, what it’s not currently, and what it could be. labor day is almost meaningless now. we can change that, by steve mccallion for fastcodesign.com: With an increasing belief that socioeconomic mobility is now less possible in the US than in other countries, Labor Day has the potential to reclaim some of its initial promise — a celebration of American labor and an inspiration to the American worker.

another look includes what ever happened to labor, by seth godin: In a world where labor does exactly what it’s told to do, it will be devalued. Obedience is easily replaced, and thus one worker is as good as another. And devalued labor will be replaced by machines or cheaper alternatives. We say we want insightful and brilliant teachers, but then we insist they do their labor precisely according to a manual invented by a committee…