Alexandre Farto aka Vhils

I really cant say all that much about the make up of this guy, i could rip something off Wiki but then that beside the point. From what iv seen of his work on his excellent website and other publications, i really like it. The stuff on walls and on metal appeal to me and like he says its about the process.

“In this act of excavating, it’s the process itself which is expressive, more than the final result. It’s a process of trying to reflect upon our own layers.” (Vhils)


Orelha Negra - M.I.R.I.A.M. X Vhils aka Alexandre Farto from Vhils on Vimeo.

Stop Dot Motion Animation

I like stop motion animation but what makes this a little more special is that its microscopic and yet what makes it even more special is that is filmed on a Nokia Mobile Phone. Its a great little film and goes to show you don't need mad expensive equipment just the know how.


Dont you just love the bumble bee.

Bend Desk

Microsoft have been playing around with a interactive desk for years now, i saw the first one 5 or 6 years ago but the beauty of open software is that people can have a go and get creative themselves instead of waiting around for it to be released or paying through the nose. The Bend Desk is project by a small media company.

BendDesk is a multi-touch desk environment that seamlessly combines a vertical and a horizontal surface with a curve into one large interactive workspace. This workspace can be used to display any digital content like documents, photos, or videos. Multi-touch technology allows the user to interact with the entire surface using direct manipulation and multi-touch gestures. We took special care for ergonomics

Watching the video its clear its a DIY job and yet i seems to work quite well and looks pretty good. Having the understanding of how things work and the knowledge of design obviously goes a long way whether its be with engines, biology or technology its all the same to me.

Waiting For The End

A new year starts for me in a week when I return to work, and looking at some of my regular site I found this music video by Linkin Park. I like Linkin Park anyway but their new video uses digital imagery of themselves in a way that reminds me of project last year by one of our students. Using Kinect technology to scan rooms, objects and even people gives you a rather crude but very effective digital 3D image. Viewed from different perspective you get a distorted/ alternative view that have been used well throughout the video. investing in this hardware last year is definitely going to create creative opportunities this year, we could do with two more though (hands rubbing together).

Scan Your Negatives

Working with film is great and a total different outcome than with digital no matter how many presets you use but it can also be very costly so scanning your negative is one way to cut down on your costs. Now most people have an old scanner knocking about so using this instead of buying a negative scanning is also an option. check out this link and have a go.

Alexey Titarenko

I have seen this technique used before by another photographer who captured the New York Streets, but this guys pictures are way more effective and erie to look at. he uses slow shutter speeds to gain the dark smokey effect of people moving through St Petersburg, but there are moments in each of the images where you can make out a face, a hand or an expression. This is a really good effect and captures the moment in time well and communicates it even better.

VAV Mirrors

I have seen a few students use Mirrors in the past for their work, whether it be for experimental use or for their Final Projects, And I'm in the belief that if you use mirrors it has to really well thought out and not rushed because there is a fine line between it looking awesome and looking absolute shite.

I do like however how VAV architects have experimented with a mirror in the tunnel cutting through a bridge.

the idea of exploring the mirror for the installation has grown from the desire to capture, explore and experiment with the landscape, rather than the built form. The project itself is not important on it's not, as much as is its relationship with the site. the mirrorlab is merely a tool to explore and capture the views of the existing and by doing so it becomes invisible, completely dissolving into the landscape. A simple insertion into the bridge, solely supported by the two points, mirrorlab adds a new dimension to the site, both inside the arc by doubling and inverting the space, and outside by capturing and framing the views. Pivoting through the centre, the door allows the visitors to interact with and become part of the installation, immersing themselves into and exploring both the real and the reflected landscapes. 

Molo Design

Molo Design have number of interesting projects on the go using recycled card and paper in more of a structural way. They have looked at housing and shelter in such times of natural disasters when its important to get temporary homes or shelter up fast and easy. Although these are not for outside use and are more for in larger indoor stadium or hall it would help bring back the dignity of those that have lost everything and need time to come to terms with their experiences.
When not in use, the rooms can be compressed and stored to create an enlarged common area. softhouse is a not-for-profit project under development, the challenges of material durability are high for this type of housing and finding an appropriate material solution remains a priority and aspiration for molo.

It's another example of of the diversity of paper and what great minds can do with simple resources.

Kam I Am

I found this guy on the Design web site Core77 when they raved for months about his Umbrella design, and being English living in Britain with all its rain, it kind of appealed to me. After looking further at his website he shows other great design ideas that he has put in to prototype stage a pre production but what i like is that he shows yet again the process he takes to get to that final point. Some great design sketches too, its obvious he has a passion for what he does and his website is pretty cool too.

Ideas On Paper #2

Another video of paper folding and again i prefer this with the sound off.

Location Destination

Light drawings of the journey taken from the Napa Valley to Walnut Creek after the annual car show, the image are titled after the routes and highways used.

US Route 221

 US Route 29

 US Route 37

 US Highway 80

 US Highway 780

 US Highway 680

Industrial Revolutions

It amazes me how daring and fearless people can be and although this guy has practiced and practiced these moves there is no doubt that when he fell and must fallen at some point, it bloody hurt.
The Video is well shot and the music is not thrash metal like most of these type films, that's why it gets a post.

Snappy Cheat Sheet

This is kinda of useful to those starting and those who have been playing around with photography for a long time. Its also a really nice layout with its oldy 1950's style. i might print this out and stick on the wall.

Cool Packaging 1

To buddy up with the posters a series of cool packaging designs, ideas and concepts.

Cool Posters 1

A Little series to go along with the blog will be a cool posters for movies, album, books and generally cool shit.

Da Feng

Da Feng is a freelance designer who also writes a blog called Pretending and Pretentious ( which i think is a great name for a blog because most designers are pretentious tits). His blog is really interesting and he posts alot about his work and projects he is working on but what is interesting is that he doesn't leave out all the working out he dose within his projects so you get a clear journey of his process. His latest project is called Flake and is mega cool, he uses alot of CAD which i just love and also models in 3D which is a winner for me too. Check out the video below and his blog.



I buzz off the idea of this car, the fact that the idea came from cigarette ash, how the whole car body acts as its suspension, the idea the car auto change as soon as the ground gets rough. The wheels are cool they turn from all terrain to slicks and the doors are just evolution of gull wings. awesome.

Yosemite

 Check out my Ansel Adams inspired Photography from Yosemite Valley, of course they are no where near as good as the master him self and obviously done on digital but i did take my little Halina 35x with me so ill be processing those once i get back to work.
I would have liked to have done some thing different with the pics and i tried using a Holga preset on the images but it just didn't do them any justice. What an amazing place.

Nevada Museum of Art

Nevada has a special place in my life and i have been in it and through it a few times now, the dessert and the mountains being one of the most beautiful places i have been. Nevada has a great museum of Art and i wish knowing that id have visited it. Their website has some great articles and exhibitions on Architecture and landscape well worth a read and a mooch.

http://www.nevadaart.org/ 

Monopoly House

When walking about i like to look at the difference in houses, you can tell what era they came from like the Georgian houses with there large windows and the Edwardian houses with there mock Tudor esk, people seemed to care. But what i find is that even though we are in a progressive age where things have become advanced in the sense of materials and equipment the modern bog standard house is very much a bog standard house as if taken out of a monopoly box. In these visuals by Xavier Delroy it shows how out of place and awkward, regimented our homes look in rural locations, there is no sense of fitting in and no sense of happiness that comes out of them.

Ideas On Paper

We did a paper project last year with the foundation groups, its was a difficult project with not much exciting happening, i think it will be different this year as we know what to expect and where we don't want to go. I kind of wish id found this guy before. Its not so much what he does with the paper that i like but how he does it, i watched this without the sound and found it much more interesting.

A little Patience

Taking his inspiration from some photoshop poster photography this guy from reddit spent two hours, 150 plus shots and a 60mm macro lens to get these awesome shots. He didnt need fancy tripods or electronic sensors. just a eye drop thingy, some cd's, a flash and a shot of a MC Escher painting. i just love the set up and makes me want to go have a go. life before photoshop eh.

Anna Astvatsatryan

Came across Anna Astvatsatryan  on Coroflot and get a reall buz out of her work. The cigerette packs are worth a look.

How we make sense of what we see?

Perception refers to interpretation of what we take in through our senses.
The way we perceive our environment is what makes us different from other animals and different from each other.

The German word “Gestalt” roughly translates to “whole” or “form”.
Gestalt psychology believe that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
We percept the form first and then the content.

Films On fridges

Reusing anything for a creative purpose is always a good thing, i have learned this more than most the past few years and eventhough im kind of sceptical when it comes to the whole recycle industry i do like to see things that people take a "out of sight out of mind" stand with. Fridges are one of those things that once we dump them we forget totally and yet it costs an enormous amount of money to properly dispose of them and the gasses they contain. So Films on Fridges have come up with a creative way of using fridges to entertain, building an outdoor cinema showing classic films for the cost of a regular cinema ticket. I wonder if they do refreshments?   

Parallel Lines

I found this over on Petapixel and thought it worth a repost. A competition ran by Philips last year asked for a 3 minute film with only 6 lines of dialogue. The dialogue was given out and over 600 submitted shorts, ridley scott annouced this one to be the winner called porcelain Unicorn. check out the rest on Youtube.