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March 23, 2009

Blue Horse Country

Lexington, Kentucky is Horse Country, and next year it becomes the first American city to host the World Equestrian Games. In anticipation of the equine influx, Lexington approached branding powerhouse Pentagram to develop a visual identity for the city.

The result is an iconographic horse that finds its design influence in an 1868 equestrian portrait of racing champion 'Lexington', by Kentucky artist Edward Troye. The designers at Pentagram treated the image with University of Kentucky blue and 'Big Lex' was born, complete with his own mythology of how he became blue, (by eating Kentucky Blue Grass, of course).

Giant oil paintings of Big Lex will soon appear throughout the city, as will a massive sculpture of the blue beast. Move over, 'I Heart New York'.

Read the Pentagram page about this very cool identity.

Posted by Haft2 at 08:08 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Heritage Sight

The Hudson's Bay Company recently unveiled their new corporate logo and thankfully, what's old is new again. The Bay blanket colours have become a handsome stripe, the corporate Coat of Arms has been reinstated (and simplified), and a smart and clear font has been chosen for the re-de-abridged name, all part of the visual attempt to reclaim (rightfully) their reputation as the company that "played a vital role in building Canada as a nation." Who knew it would take American ownership to exhibit such home-grown pride?

Hudson's Bay Company Website

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Old Faithful, here we come.

If you're not familiar with the word 'Lomography', you'll recognize what it is. The Lomo was Russia's answer to Kodak. The company invented the fish-eye lens, and Lomo cameras like the one shown, (designed in cahoots with sartor supreme Paul Smith), will create images with a definite nostalgic cast - perfect for your afternoon at Old Faithful, or your month of evenings in KOA campsites across the country.

There's even a whole online community devoted to Lomography, which by its very construction, insists on remaining in the world of 35mm film. Truly, if you are indeed going to stand over the Grand Canyon this summer, make sure you're capturing what you see with this.

Take a closer look at these very cool and nostalgic images.

Posted by Haft2 at 08:08 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By the way, a billion dollars looks like this.

Italian artist Michael Marcovici presents 100 million $100USD notes. Very telling for our times.

Check out some of his other installations here.

Posted by Haft2 at 08:08 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

March 09, 2009

Red and Blue States

The New York Times recently published this article, outlining a study conducted by researchers at the University of British Columbia. Doctors there tested the effects of colour on people's cognitive abilities, and as it turns out, those faced with the colour red performed better on detail-oriented tasks: proofreading, memory, accuracy, correctness, etc. Those stimulated by the presence of blue fared better in the imaginative sense: coming up with a new creative use for something, or developing a new product.

An explanation for this duality may come from the mood people are in at the time. A difficult, or problematic situation will make people inherently pay more attention to detail, assessing one's entire surroundings for the best way to get through a situation. Red does this.

Blue rooms however, calm people, making them a little more at ease, and happier. When we're not confronted with danger, or even mere concern, we're freer to let our imaginations take flight a little.

Is your office the colour it should be?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/science/06color.html

Posted by Haft2 at 11:08 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Romance On-the-Go

There's something really relevant about these little wax dolci. They're friendly and they're good looking and who wouldn't want to carry around a little pack of ambiance? Perfect for when you're spontaneously proposed to, the office birthday party which you 'of course remembered', or the next big blackout.

http://poketo.com/shop/archives/862

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Scaling Back in Tough Times

Well if you're finding times are tough, you may wish to rethink the way you're getting around and look at trading in your auto for a bike. This sweet ride is plated with 24 karat gold and adorned with over 600 Swarovski crystals. It's also entirely hand-built and hand-delivered anywhere in the world, (and for the $102,000 USD it will set you back, it should be). The company that makes it - they're making only ten in all - is named 'Aurumania'. They're a small firm that has self-commissioned to construct everyday objects out of gold. Their collection is so far limited to these 24 karat gold bikes and a corresponding bike rack, which is more beautiful.

Incidentally, if the price is a tad too steep for you, consider the version that comes without the hand-laid crystals; it's a more palpable $30,000 USD.

http://www.aurumania.com

Posted by Haft2 at 11:08 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

March 23, 2009

Blue Horse Country

Lexington, Kentucky is Horse Country, and next year it becomes the first American city to host the World Equestrian Games. In anticipation of the equine influx, Lexington approached branding powerhouse Pentagram to develop a visual identity for the city.

The result is an iconographic horse that finds its design influence in an 1868 equestrian portrait of racing champion 'Lexington', by Kentucky artist Edward Troye. The designers at Pentagram treated the image with University of Kentucky blue and 'Big Lex' was born, complete with his own mythology of how he became blue, (by eating Kentucky Blue Grass, of course).

Giant oil paintings of Big Lex will soon appear throughout the city, as will a massive sculpture of the blue beast. Move over, 'I Heart New York'.

Read the Pentagram page about this very cool identity.

Posted by Haft2 at 08:08 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Heritage Sight

The Hudson's Bay Company recently unveiled their new corporate logo and thankfully, what's old is new again. The Bay blanket colours have become a handsome stripe, the corporate Coat of Arms has been reinstated (and simplified), and a smart and clear font has been chosen for the re-de-abridged name, all part of the visual attempt to reclaim (rightfully) their reputation as the company that "played a vital role in building Canada as a nation." Who knew it would take American ownership to exhibit such home-grown pride?

Hudson's Bay Company Website

Posted by Haft2 at 08:08 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Old Faithful, here we come.

If you're not familiar with the word 'Lomography', you'll recognize what it is. The Lomo was Russia's answer to Kodak. The company invented the fish-eye lens, and Lomo cameras like the one shown, (designed in cahoots with sartor supreme Paul Smith), will create images with a definite nostalgic cast - perfect for your afternoon at Old Faithful, or your month of evenings in KOA campsites across the country.

There's even a whole online community devoted to Lomography, which by its very construction, insists on remaining in the world of 35mm film. Truly, if you are indeed going to stand over the Grand Canyon this summer, make sure you're capturing what you see with this.

Take a closer look at these very cool and nostalgic images.

Posted by Haft2 at 08:08 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By the way, a billion dollars looks like this.

Italian artist Michael Marcovici presents 100 million $100USD notes. Very telling for our times.

Check out some of his other installations here.

Posted by Haft2 at 08:08 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

March 09, 2009

Red and Blue States

The New York Times recently published this article, outlining a study conducted by researchers at the University of British Columbia. Doctors there tested the effects of colour on people's cognitive abilities, and as it turns out, those faced with the colour red performed better on detail-oriented tasks: proofreading, memory, accuracy, correctness, etc. Those stimulated by the presence of blue fared better in the imaginative sense: coming up with a new creative use for something, or developing a new product.

An explanation for this duality may come from the mood people are in at the time. A difficult, or problematic situation will make people inherently pay more attention to detail, assessing one's entire surroundings for the best way to get through a situation. Red does this.

Blue rooms however, calm people, making them a little more at ease, and happier. When we're not confronted with danger, or even mere concern, we're freer to let our imaginations take flight a little.

Is your office the colour it should be?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/science/06color.html

Posted by Haft2 at 11:08 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Scaling Back in Tough Times

Well if you're finding times are tough, you may wish to rethink the way you're getting around and look at trading in your auto for a bike. This sweet ride is plated with 24 karat gold and adorned with over 600 Swarovski crystals. It's also entirely hand-built and hand-delivered anywhere in the world, (and for the $102,000 USD it will set you back, it should be). The company that makes it - they're making only ten in all - is named 'Aurumania'. They're a small firm that has self-commissioned to construct everyday objects out of gold. Their collection is so far limited to these 24 karat gold bikes and a corresponding bike rack, which is more beautiful.

Incidentally, if the price is a tad too steep for you, consider the version that comes without the hand-laid crystals; it's a more palpable $30,000 USD.

http://www.aurumania.com

Posted by Haft2 at 11:08 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)