Musical Interlude: The Flaming Lips "silver trembling hands"

Great clip of The Flaming Lips performing 'silver trembling hands' from their new album Embryonic. When i was about 17 i was totally obsessed with The Flaming Lips. Not anymore, but I still love 'em, and this ones a cracker. Please note this video includes gratuitous people-dancing-around-wearing-animal-suits content.

Colours

A colour palette i just put together working on a current project. I liked it, so i posted it.

All Tomorrow's Parties: The Film

Just ordered the dvd documentary about the magical, amazing, one and only ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES festival. You may remember i made a lengthy post all about my trip to the The Breeders curated event in May this year. ATP is a great thing for great people. Hooray for ATP!

p.s i am still sick of this too narrow template, if anyone knows how to make it wider please let me know, it would be much appreciated (you will be rewarded with a hug and/or a high five, i promise)

New Work: Machinerage.com

Here are the final billboard designs for for the recent Machinerage.com project. The website is supposed to be a forum for debate about energy consumption and waste and solutions to these problems. I felt an authoritative stamp was necessary for the whole feel, but it was important not to get into an aggressive territory - the billboards needed to get people talking and thinking, not feeling bad or throwing their TVs in the bin. Conversely, it is obvious that the issues that Machinerage.com wants to raise and debate are serious ones and that should not be overlooked. To see much larger images of the work head on over to my Flickr.

Overall the design process for this has been a bit of a rollercoaster, having totally scrapped a weeks worth of work and redoing everything, then going back and changing a lot of stuff again. I think i got there in the end though - and either way, no one ever said it was going to be easy!

Vincent Perrottet

Read about this mysterious frenchman on FFF today. I was bowled over by his large scale print work and his website is a treat (even though all you do is scroll down). Check it out: www.vincentperrottet.com

Hatch Show Print

Saw this on FormFiftyFive today and thought i would try and share it with anyone who might have missed it. I was lucky enough to see an exhibition of Hatch Show Prints whilst i was in Seattle earlier this year. Everything produced by the print shop is made using traditional letter press methods, pure and simple, which is a massively refreshing attitude in this day and age of buzzing monitors. I think i would be pretty happy if i just got a job there for the rest of my life.

Musical interlude

Tom Waits is a genius. This probably in my top ten favourite songs of all time. The Ramones did a cover of it which some people will try and tell you is the better version. Those people are wrong. Video directed by Jim Jarmusch.

Here, put this bandit hat on

I didn't put this attractive Jim Jarmusch quote together, although, i wish that i had (I just found it on google images and then put it on my flickr page, perhaps thats quite fitting though). This is something that i whole heartedly endorse, and pursue myself. Nailed it, Jarmusch!

In other news, Fantastic Mr Fox is...fantastic. Although it completely fails at being a kids movie, and the script is unashamedly Anderson-esque, it is still highly enjoyable and a real visual treat. Up is obviously the animated film of the year (and probably the film of the year full stop) but Fantastic Mr Fox is well worth the ticket price.

New: U Plan For Better Living

A sketch that came out during the recent billboard project which focused around electrical appliances and the debate about energy consumption and waste. A sticky debate. It seems obvious to say that energy consumption is taken for granted in the modern age but i'm not sure enough people look past these obvious comments to tackle the bloated and greedy nature in which we use energy and our resources.

Anyway, to avoid a rant, let's talk a little bit about Barbara Kruger.

Barbara Kruger was an artist that both me and my brother high regarded while we were growing up and studying art classes in school and in colleges. She is definitely one of the earliest and biggest influences on me, and more specifically on me wanting to become a graphic designer. Whilst her work firmly straddles the line between what is design and what is fine art, the graphic content is clear and above all, her work is about communication.

Marion Deuchars

Marion Deuchars is one of my favourite illustrators and absolutely a hero (heroine) of mine. Her combination of sparse block colour, naive handwritten typography, simple yet charming illustrations and use of photography is basically a culmination of all my favourite things. If she did a sleeve for Deerhunter my life would LITERALLY be complete (does that mean my life is kind of stupid?) Anyway, head over to her website and bask in her glory.

www.mariondeuchars.com

Above: Casa Jesus, Silkscreen, Limited edition of 25.

Albums to photoshop to No. 3

Minimal techno by the german label that has mastered the craft. All titles in this compilation series are fantastic, and if you fancy getting a little deeper and more ambient check out their "Pop Ambient" series also. Beaut.