Very excited to be apart of the blue team that is INDUS! Time to add my first post. I’ve become increasingly interested in the graffiti world lately, especially as it moves from paint to physical structure. Some great inspiration can be found in the work of Dutch collective Delta Inc.

Here is Indusblue’s reel of some banner advertisements we’ve done for various clients including Smirnoff, Mini, Toyota, Applebee’s, Canadian Tire, Cashmere, and the CFL. Enjoy!

This is something too good to pass on. Graffiti can be a strong positive force in the hands of the right people, (Evan Roth for instance) , but Paul “Moose” Curtis has moved to a whole new level, melding an exacting conscience with a brilliant sentiment. The impermanence is a poetic and acute razor slice.

Thanks for posting this Paulo!

The AGO recently presented their new graphic identity. My initial reaction was “gah” and I think many people have voiced this negative opinion on various forums and blogs.

Despite first impressions, after a few more glances I grew accustomed to its seemingly haphazard overlap of typefaces and colours. My reaction to the new design was similar to when I first saw the 2012 olympics logo designed by Wolff Olins. It also faced much initial criticism but in time it grew on me.

I don’t think this new AGO identity carries the same vibrancy and excitement of the 2012 Olympics logo. Although Bruce Mau Design was attempting a forward thinking approach, it falls short of its mark.

Just not quite the punch that I would have expected.

There is a trend toward radical (some can say “ugly”) design that really challenges our aesthetic sensibilities. Whether the design outcome is met with criticism or praise, I think it’s a refreshing start to an at times stagnant industry cranking out the same “beautiful” design over and over.

Impressionism was met with much criticism during its time. Like any major shift in aesthetics, most would react with an initial WTF? We’re so accustomed to expecting how certain things should look, that when thrown with something out of left field we’re quick to judge and criticize.

Kinda like that kid in 2nd grade who carried a Beatles lunch box while everyone else had superman. Looking back he was probably the coolest person in his grade. The AGO logo may not be as cool as the beatles lunchbox, but it is a stab at being the different kid, even if clumsy.

Scriptographer is fun for anyone who uses illustrator, but if you love programming little scripts, this is the type of tool that will eat your long weekend away without notice.

The engine is built in Java, but the API is all JavaScript. If you have experience with ActionScript, this should be rather easy to pick up. I’ve just started, but man is it consuming me.

First of all, I’ve always loved Illustrator. It’s all you need (and more) in a vector drawing application, but the addition of the Scriptographer plug in, makes the program a dream for coders with visual sensibilities.

Download it at http://scriptographer.com, and make sure you look at the documentation in the package. It’s a little cryptic, or rather sparse on explanation, but if you like code you can jimmy your way around with little problem.

If you are not a fan of code, but love illustrator, the plug in is still worth it, as there are tons of customizable scripts already written.

I created the above pattern really simply with the following mouse drag function:

function onMouseDrag(event)
{
   var mousePoint = new Point(event.point);
   var centerPoint = mousePoint.add(event.point);
   var endPoint = centerPoint.add(mousePoint);

   var segments = new SegmentList();
   segments.moveTo(mousePoint);
   segments.curveTo(centerPoint, endPoint, mousePoint);

   var path = new Path(segments);
}

Now as you can probably tell, nothing really curves in this function. It was actually an unexpected mistake and the same result could probably be created using a more sensible lineTo function. But I like these little errors, especially when they resolve to pleasant surprises.

Here’s a quick video taken at Yonge and Dundas Square this afternoon. We’re excited to feature our WSFF (Worldwide Short Film Festival) animations in a public space, right in the heart of Toronto. Amy Lee designed and animated these ads in conjunction with Doug Agency for the Canadian Film Council. We’ve also created a series of ad units that you’ll start to see online on sites like Blogto.com and Toronto.com.

It’s pretty cool to see the handiwork you created broadcaset in a public area as busy as Yonge and Dundas. Often times our work is confined to the virtual space, so it’s an awesome thing to have it manifest into something physical.

PS Amy says “what the funk”

I stumbled upon these wicked playing cards from Theory 11. They were designed by long time Flash design guys wa007, also know as web agent 007. Insanely cool design, you have to check this out.

So the designer in me is whining that there have been no posts on design so here is a small collection of things that I have recently stumbled upon.

Creatives Unlimited - Very cool website of the students of Hyper Island in Sweden - really great student work.  The interface reminds me of the Yahoo data visualizer that I have seen recently, I’ll post the link to that when I find it.

The things I have learned in my life - “This short documentary by designer and filmmaker Hillman Curtis on contemporary graphic design legend Stefan Sagmeister is truly inspiring.” - Motionographer.

Although this is quite true that Sagmeister is quite awesome, the film’s director Hillman Curtis is really someone who interests me. It was Curtis in the early days who wrote the book “Flash Web Design: The Art of Motion Graphics” that got me inspired to do the work we do today. It’s cool to see that his work is still pretty awesome and relevant almost 7 years later. I do have to say that his website hasn’t changed much though, I guess he doesn’t care.

Drawn.ca - An impressive blog founded by Canadians, hence the .ca. It is about illustrators and cartoonists and the work they produce - very, very impressive with many fantastic artists. If you are looking to hire an illustrator, this is a site worth visiting. I can’t believe I didn’t see this earlier.