modern art tattoos
While tattoos and body art aren’t for everyone, we’re pretty sure almost anyone can appreciate the artistic element that goes into the designs themselves, as well as the skill required to practice the art form itself.
When it comes to tattoo artists like Brooklyn-based Amanda Wachob, there’s no denying this girl is super talented at creating modern, abstract designs which are truly unforgettable.
[via Design Milk]
the designer’s alphabet
South African illustrator Emma Cook created a series of flash cards that will help designers and people in creative fields teach their kids the ABCs. Modern flash cards feature each letter of the alphabet paired with helpful image of Apple computer, DSLR camera, Email, Moleskine sketchbook, Wacom tablet, and other design related tools / products. Parents in creative professions can now easily teach the alphabet to their children and train the next generation of graphic designers.
[via Print Bench]
thumbs up: superhero style
facebook’s iconic ‘like’ symbol, re-imagined in superhero style
Have you ever come across something on Facebook that is so awesome, simply “liking” it would not suffice? In such cases, you would need a “super like” option.
Bogota-based graphic designer and illustrator Jaime Calderón has re-imagined the iconic thumbs-up symbol with the hands of well-known superheroes.
Dressing up the now ubiquitous Facebook icon with a variety of easily recognizable superhero garb—like the web-print glove of Spider Man—the graphic designer is able to give it an entertaining and refreshing spin.
One of the most amusing of the ‘Super Like’ icons is that of Flash—due to his super-speed, we only get to see half of the icon because the other half has already moved out of frame.
[via Design TAXI]
celebrating bike month: portability
In most cities, biking is a wonderful form of commuting. However, one minute you can be riding your beautiful vintage bicycle to the market and the next minute you’re schlepping the 35 lbs. of metal and rubber down an escalator, squeezing through an entry bar while swiping your card and finally begging forgiveness from your fellow passengers as you maneuver your way into the subway car. Quite the feat considering the bulging backpack of groceries you’re also carrying. At this moment you realize you need something more portable, collapsible and lightweight.
As part of our Bike Month Series, we’d like to introduce to you some collapsible bicycles. Although some of the concept designs are quite hilarious, we think you’ll agree they’re all practical for the urban dweller or even the adventure seeker.
photographer imagines what models of famous paintings looked like
In her Real Life Models series 19-year-old Hungarian photographer Flora Borsi imagines what the models of contorted and skewed paintings must have looked like if they were distorted in real life. Through some pretty hilarious photo manipulation Borsi enhances the models for paintings by Kees van Dongen, Rudolf Hausner, and Picasso among others. The series is somewhat similar to photographer Eugenio Recuenco who re-imagined Picasso’s paintings as modern day fashion models. Several of Borsi’s works are now available as prints over on Saatchi Online.
[via Colossal]
animal blueprints
We’re not scientists, but we do believe most animals are born and not assembled by hand. Still, we have to admit, these animal blueprints are mighty sharp. The Animal Blueprint Company has thrown a mid-century twist into the animal art world by producing a blueprint rendering of your breed! Styled like 1950′s architectural blueprints, each piece of art depicts a different dog, cat, or horse. Each comes with a bit of a distressed feel to lend the print a used and stored look, and they also display a bit of info about the breed selected. They have many breeds available and are willing to do a custom print of your pet with its lineage. It’s “signed” off with their own license stamp to make it official.
composite photography reveals a solar corona
Composite image of the moon taken from 47 photos reveals solar corona during a total solar eclipse. Shot by Czech photographer Miloslav Druckmüller from the Brno University of Technology, these amazing composite images capture the moon during a total solar eclipse revealing a vast solar corona. To achieve the crystal clear effect the shots are comprised from some 40+ photos taken with two different lenses. Additional clarity was achieved due to the incredibly remote location chosen to view the eclipse from, a pier just outside the Enewetak Radiological Observatory on the Marshall Islands, smack dab in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. You can see several more images from the project at Druckmüller’s website and don’t miss this much higher resolution version including some 209 stars. All images courtesy the photographer.
[via This is Colossal]
amazing double exposure portraits by sara k byrne
Do you find yourself staring at your new camera with a ton of buttons on it, not knowing which one does what exactly? That’s pretty much what happened to local Boise photographer Sara K. Byrne who discovered her year-old Canon 5D Mark III had the ability to do in-camera double exposures. So, she started experimenting and the result are these amazingly spectacular portraits.
Ever since we posted this image (above), we’ve been getting messages asking: “How do you do this!?”
In response to the same question, Sara decided to create a tutorial on her website on how to do this! Check it out here.
[via Francesco Mugnai]
celebrating bike month: carry-ons
May is the official “Bike Month” across the US and over the next few weeks we’ll be celebrating by sharing some cool, innovative, practical ideas for your bicycle. In hopes of encouraging more bike riding (less cars), we’re here to scour the interwebs to find you the most hip designs to fancy up your rig.
Today, we’re focusing on carry-ons (or additions) because, let’s be honest, bikes are great until you need to carry something.
Don’t be fooled by its quaint appearance: Bloon’s “Springtime” basket is much more than a mode of conveyance for picnickers. A portable, all-in-one solution for dining alfresco, the multitasking carryall not only carts food, cutlery, cups, and plates, but it also transforms into a picnic table for two, complete with cushioned seating.
The Springtime is the brainchild of Bloon founder Jeriël Bobbe, a Dutch designer whose passion for “pure and honest materials and the magic of simplicity” manifests itself in the basket’s clean and uncluttered appearance.
[via ecouterre]
If trail riding and camping is more your style, this tug-along camper is meant for you = a lightweight bike trailer built for uneven terrain. The Midget BUSHTREKKA features three main storage compartments with over 41 gallons of storage space and fully adjustable leveling jacks. The trailer pairs with the ‘TentCot‘ to create the camper setup pictured.
[via design-dautore]
The Donky Bike by British industrial designer Ben Wilson, is an urban cargo bike. An innovative bicycle that can carry heavy loads on front and rear platforms. “Bicycle use in London was growing rapidly, but many of the bikes on the street seemed unsuitable for urban use,” Wilson says as he explained the need to create this model of strength and simplicity. The result is a design consisting of 20” wheels, a steel beam that distributes the weight of the cargo, and BMX style that makes it easy to weave through traffic in low speeds.
Ben Wilson’s innovation comes at a time when cities are reinventing their transportation systems to provide citizens with alternate means of transportation to satisfy desires to lessen carbon footprints and the burden on pocketbooks. Wilson tested the bike to accommodate a various number of items and weights that can be carried.
[via inhabitat]
Love your bike? Love the park? Love the bar? Luckily, you can now have all three in one! This custom bike bar seems perfect for those leisurely rides on a hot summer day to your favorite park! And it seems like all you need is some decent carpentry skills and a little imagination to make one of your own.
With this sweet custom bike there’s even a handy flip-out table for more sophisticated dining than your usual picnic blanket. Add a cooler bag to the luggage rack behind your seat and a chilled drink to the cup holder on the handlebars and you’re good to go.
[via Facebook]
crazily lined notebook inspires creativity
Looking for inspiration? Staring at a blank notebook won’t help—but looking into ‘The Inspiration Pad’ by Brussels-based designer Marc Thomasset might help you get a few “outside-the-lines” ideas.
With its 32 pages of warped blue lines—unlike Moleskines or other plain strait-laced lined notebooks—the softcover Inspiration Pad gives your brain a twist as you free your imagination to think of ways to fill in the blank pages.
“I was drawing projects in a notebook, and suddenly it hit me how a classic notebook, however beautiful, is always very rigid and grid-like,” he told My Modern Met. “So I wanted to turn the conventional upside-down with curves, angles and twisted lines in order to create one which could inspire people to unleash their own creativity.”
[via Design TAXI]
