Author Archives: Nicole Lavelle

Print Matters

A new kind of design book?

By Nicole Lavelle | Published: March 2, 2011

You won't find this publication on a bookshelf.

Video, sound lectures, interactive slideshows, 3D animations—we expect none of these things from books. But the release of PYRAMYD EDITIONS‘ new design book might just change that.

Open Projects: Non Standard Identities, the first digital book from the French publisher, takes advantage of the interaction inherent in the iPad to share content through a variety of media. “Based on the notion of interaction itself,” Open Projects is aimed at the design-savvy and covers a myriad of innovative graphic identity projects that turn standard branding work on its head.

What is most compelling about this publication is that it is offered exclusively in digital format. We’ve come to expect e-versions of print publications, and with the launch of projects like Apple’s The Daily can stomach the thought of iPad-only content. But to release a digital-only book for designers? To release a publication for a critical audience of makers that thwarts our accustomed understanding of the concept of “book”? That’s gutsy.

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Fresh Ink

Coffee Common, Scout Books, TED 2011

By Nicole Lavelle | Published: March 1, 2011

“The people serving you coffee today come from a movement, not a company.”

So reads the first line of the Coffee Common Scout Book, just one branded piece of the Coffee Common movement that debuted yesterday at the 2011 TED conference in Long Beach, California.

All week long, an all-star cast of baristas will be serving up specially curated roasts of coffee from their myriad roasteries to lucky TED attendees. They assemble in Long Beach under the name Coffee Common, the latest incarnation of the newly-launched Common Brand.

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Print Matters

The Manual: A printed guide for building the web

By Nicole Lavelle | Published: February 24, 2011

"Putting ink to paper crystallizes reasoning."

The latest conversation piece in the ongoing discussion about the tension between print and digital has one foot in each world.

The Manual is a new print magazine that covers web design, deliberately offered in print format under the premise that valuable reflection comes not from poking around on a screen but instead from taking a moment away from devices to think.

Spearheaded by an all-star team comprised of web man Andy McMillan, writer Carolyn Wood and illustrator/designer Jez Burrows, the Manual promises to deliver six illustrated, feature-length articles per issue, aimed at “bringing a greater depth and maturity to [the] craft and profession” of interactive design.

The first issue will be offered exclusively through Kickstarter, where the Manual is currently seeking funding. If you’d like to get your hands on this tactile addition to the conversation surrounding the emergent discipline of interaction design, pledge now.

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Fresh Ink

RRR: Second Edition

By Nicole Lavelle | Published: February 22, 2011

Chipboard, spot colors and perfect binding. Yes, please.

RRR.002 is the second edition of a collaborative zine featuring the talents of an international group of makers including Pinball friends and collaborators. This edition is printed in full-color CMYK as well as one spot color, and features a chipboard cover and perfect binding. Made possible by support from Simple Shoes, RRR.002 was printed on recycled paper by Canada’s Westcan Printing Group.

From the RRR website:

We make waste for a living. So now we’re gonna make waste live. With a very short deadline a number of international artists and photographers were asked to act and respond. Look around your environment, see what you can save, pick it up, turn it over, and look at it in a different way.

RRR describes the work in the second edition as being a bit more personal, offering a more intimate view of the artists included. The group of collaborators has grown exponentially. Can’t wait to get our hands on this one!

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Print Crush

Anthony Zinonos, Paper Collector

By Nicole Lavelle | Published: February 11, 2011

The UK-based artist uses found print ephemera to create new beauty.

Anthony Zinonos is a UK-based collage and print artist who has an impeccable eye for the textures, patterns and colors of old ephemera. Anthony’s hybrid collage-illustration work is visually striking yet transcends much contemporary collage work in its pointed consideration for content and narrative. His work can function in both an art context and the design world, emerging as editorial illustration in print publications as well as in the form of original collage and ephemeral pieces.

You can find his work in his online portfolio, in his online art shop, or in his online print-zine-poster shop.

Anthony lent us a bit of his time to talk about collecting paper, print in the digital age, and nostalgia. Check out a short interview below, along with more images of his work.

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Fresh Ink

Pinball Designer Card: Jess Hirsch, Opaque White and Chipboard

By Nicole Lavelle | Published: February 10, 2011

Experimental offset printing: success!

Here at Pinball Publishing, we’re all about collaboration, fun, and exquisite printing.

The latest installment in our designer card series combines these tenets, and features a photograph from Jess Hirsch, former Pinballer and artist extraordinaire. Jess is a multidisciplinary artist living and working in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is currently working toward her MFA in sculpture, and her new work includes engaging work like the Folk Feng Shui series, featured on this Designer Card.

These chipboard pocket postcards feature black ink overprinted on opaque white, to create a duotone image that almost shimmers. The black is rendered warm by its semi-transparent nature and the (somewhat translucent) opaque white ink creates a nuanced brightness when printed on the chipboard. The printing of these cards was wholly experimental (we didn’t know how they’d turn out!) but we’re positive the results were a success.

See the rest of the Pinball Publishing Designer Card series here, and find more of Jess’s work in her online portfolio. You can find these cards at select locations in Portland, New York and San Francisco. See more photos and print details below!

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Print Matters

Tracking innovation through posters

By Nicole Lavelle | Published: February 3, 2011

The ephemeral poster reveals a rapid history of technological advances.

Vintage posters might not seem like the most obvious way to look at technological advances. Yet this collection of vintage posters from an upcoming show facilitated by the International Vintage Poster Dealers Association walks us through a hundred years of rapidly unfolding technological triumphs, from the introduction of metal plumbing all the way to the release of the iPod. Wired has a selection over in their GadgetLab blog that reveals both the brisk pace of innovation and the changing design sensibilities implemented in the presentation of these new ideas.

Printed matter, especially ephemeral objects like posters, can serve as valuable artifacts of their time and place. Peek these posters and see for yourself.

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Fresh Ink

Bikes of San Francisco screen printed poster

By Nicole Lavelle | Published: February 1, 2011

Simple, straightforward, and oh-so-accurate.

From San Francisco-based cyclist and artist Tor Weeks comes this witty, beautiful screen printed poster. This two-color print was originally made for the San Francisco iteration Artcrank, a print show featuring bicycle-inspired artwork by local artists.

Maybe I like this print because it celebrates the architecture of the bicycle. Or maybe I like it because the wheel-less frame strapped to a pole in the Tenderloin speaks to an experience I once had with a cherished Bianchi road bike at the corner of O’Farrell and Leavenworth…

Either way. Bikes and screenprinting. Artcrank is on to something. See more photos below.

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Fresh Ink

The Ultimate Chipboard Trio

By Nicole Lavelle | Published: February 1, 2011

TRLA gets a new look.

When Will Bryant and Mark Menjivar join forces, terrific things happen. Terrific chipboard things, to be specific.

Will and Mark worked together to create this identity system for the youth advocacy arm of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA). Mark works with TRLA to offer aid to youth experiencing homelessness. He got in touch with Will to help him create a series of print items that could be at once beautiful, useful and durable. From that collaboration came three print pieces: a business card, a pocket postcard, and a Scout Book with custom-printed interiors that acts as a Youth Rights Booklet. Will also did the lettering and design for the snazzy TRLA Youth website. Chipboard internet? We’re into it.

In addition to being a chance to create a set of fun printed pieces, Will looks at this collaboration as an opportunity to help out: ”Enabling youth [with] the opportunity to better their circumstances is huge! Most of the kids come from rough backgrounds, so having access to this knowledge empowers them and provides hope for the future,” he told us. “It’s a blessing to be involved with a project that does this.”

And that, print friends, is why we think of Scout Books as little books for big ideas.

Check out print details and see more photos below.

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Fresh Ink

Valentine screen prints from One Point Oh

By Nicole Lavelle | Published: January 18, 2011

YOU and ME, the perfect combination.

Fresh from the studio of UK-based One Point Oh comes this duo of Valentine’s-inspired screen prints. Packed with intricate illustrative detail, these bright and beautiful prints are at once typographic and pattern-based. Massive slab-serif letters and an ampersand speak to the typographic enthusiast, and the impeccably paired duo of red and orange make for a set of prints that can live beyond the hype of Valentine’s Day.

One Point Oh is the collaborative partnership of Rachael and Stephen Allen. Their work functions in a number of contexts: advertising, retail, marketing, product development and graphic art. This set of prints joins a number of other fine pieces of printmaking and text-based works in their online portfolio. Check it out.

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