Week 5: with a K—Viva La France

Not having access to rural yard sales or “cheap” flea markets the canny shopper is left to sift through piles of web auctions in order to find treasures worthy of entering a athenaeum. On a recent Ebay binge I came across a book called, “Effets Graphiques Dans Les Plans De Construction / Graphic Effects in the Plans of Construction” by Gerd Zimmerschied. Not knowing what the contents of the book looked like. I took a gamble based off the sellers photograph of the front cover. Thankfully, this 10 dollar purchase was worth the high price tag. The book is a visual compendium of architectural drawings that include: trees, people, animals and automobiles. The variation of illustration styles and techniques are endless. A real find for anyone looking for illustration inspiration. Offrir heureux!

week 6: becca—Barcodes?

With the release of the iPhone, it is becoming easier and easier to access information, especailly on-the-go. If only there were a way to visually link what we are seeing to the information accessible. For example, let's say you visit the Brooklyn Bridge and want to know how long it is , is there a way to visually link you to this information?

Well actually there is. Barcodes, yes, barcodes. A coding technology has been developed that turns a URL address into a barcode, or in the case above a "Semacode". So, if you were to take a photo of the barcode with your camera phone, it would be able to decode it and link you to that website. There are a lot more possibilities for this technology and I'm sure they are just beginning to be tapped.

Oh and the Brooklyn Bridge is 5,989 feet long, just in case
you were curious.

Week Six: Scott—The Filth

The Filth is a comic book series by Grant Morrison, Chris Weston and Gary Erskine that was released thru DC Comics. A number of covers were designed by a fine studio in Chicago called Segura, Inc.

I became aware of these designs after a studio visit in 2006. Carlos Segura mentioned they were no longer being produced and were extremely hard to find. Fortunately for designers looking to collect hard to find design pieces, eBay becomes a good friend.

I found the lot the following day—mint condition, all but one in, what appears to be, the original plastic packaging.

Check out the site for other fine design work by Segura, Inc. and to see all 13 covers.