A well-designed flag The US flag is made up of two distinct elements: Stars and Stripes. On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed its Flag Resolution which described the flag only in general terms. "Resolved that the flag of the United States be 13 stripes alternate red and white, that the union be 13 stars white in a blue field representing a new constellation." Nothing in the resolution dictated how the stars and stripes were to be arranged, resulting in some interesting designs. [more inside]
posted by jazon on Jul 5, 2009 - 19 comments

The Museum of Forgotten Art Supplies
posted by Miko on Jul 2, 2009 - 37 comments

Tart cards [NSFW] are the means by which many London prostitutes advertise their services. Step into almost any central London phone box and you can contemplate up to 80 cards inviting you to be tied, teased, spanked or massaged.... [Wallpaper Magazine] asked designers – from students to superstars – to find the tart hiding in every typeface and create their own graphic numbers.... all 450 cards can be viewed here. [NSFW] [more inside]
posted by carsonb on Jun 26, 2009 - 39 comments

Ross Racine's work may be interpreted as models for planned communities as much as aerial views of fictional suburbs, referencing the computer as a tool for urban planning as well as image capture.
posted by netbros on Jun 24, 2009 - 11 comments

In 1991, SNL unveiled the prototype for The Love Toilet. Almost two decades later, the dream has finally been realized: presenting The Love Seat Toilet and the TwoDaLoo.
posted by not_on_display on Jun 22, 2009 - 29 comments

Awards can't feed the hungry. (via, with supporting links)
posted by divabat on Jun 21, 2009 - 17 comments

"Pryde and I came across it one day in an old stable, on a sack of fodder. It is a good, hearty, old English name, and it appealed to us, so we adopted it immediately." That's how The Beggarstaffs, a short lived but influential paring of graphic designers, got their name. [more inside]
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Jun 16, 2009 - 9 comments

15 Classic PC Design Mistakes, along with explanations as to what exactly they were thinking at the time.
posted by Afroblanco on Jun 15, 2009 - 70 comments

Matt Dorfman is one of the creators of Mammal Magazine. Here's his client work, personal work, blog, and his wedding invitation.
posted by mattdidthat on Jun 12, 2009 - 18 comments

Old bowling alleys are often things of beauty. Some are (in)famous. The NYTimes just had a wonderful feature on a little-known bowling alley in the basement of the Frick collection, complete with pristine antique bowling balls and a gravity-driven return mechanism. [Previously] (mandatory Big Lebowski reference)
posted by ericbop on Jun 11, 2009 - 16 comments

"[Jax de Leon's] last project as a student was a graphic representation of every note, word, instrument and voice from Come on, Feel the Illinoise! by Sufjan Stevens." Read an interview with him here.
posted by spiderskull on Jun 10, 2009 - 19 comments

Jonathan Ro-Schofield is Jonny Cardboard, an artist and window display designer whose developmental medium is, yes, cardboard. Sure, anyone can fold a box, but can you make incredible sculptures or storefront display-designs and props? Perhaps Jonny Cardboard can cater your wedding cakes. [more inside]
posted by netbros on Jun 9, 2009 - 1 comment

Beautifully designed, quirky, colorful late 19th-century "artistic" and "gaslight" printing at Dick Sheaff's ephemera pages. [via, via] [more inside]
posted by mediareport on Jun 8, 2009 - 11 comments

The Served is a family of sites that brings you a steady supply of top quality creative work in specific categories: Fashion, Industrial Design, Photography [some nsfw], Typography, and Motion Graphics. All projects are streamed directly from the owner's portfolios in the Behance Network, along with proper attribution and a direct link to contact information.
posted by netbros on Jun 8, 2009 - 5 comments

If you love 1970s food-related advertising mascots as much as I do, you'll probably love Waffle Whiffer's blog. Loads of old posts on fast food characters, sugar cereal boxes, and even pogs! The Waffle Whiffer's flickr stream is a similar treasure trove of goodies with too many worth mentioning. Ok, just one: who knew the Thompson Twins had such great iconography (and why did they do a deal with Cap'n Crunch?)?
posted by mathowie on Jun 8, 2009 - 14 comments

20 Brilliant Bookcases via ( mightygodking )
posted by The Whelk on Jun 6, 2009 - 48 comments

Imagine nature's most elegant ideas organized by design and engineering function, so you can enter "filter salt from water" and see how mangroves, penguins, and shorebirds desalinate without fossil fuels. That's the idea behind AskNature, the online inspiration source for the biomimicry community. The featured pages are a good starting point. Cross-pollinating biology with design. [more inside]
posted by netbros on Jun 5, 2009 - 13 comments

@Issue: is the online blog of The Journal of Business and Design. Topics of recent interest include Drawords, an ongoing caption this drawing project, and Typography in China, an explanation of the availability of Chinese typefaces. Also, @Issue interviews an iconic group that includes captains of industry and design.
posted by netbros on Jun 2, 2009 - 5 comments

Urban Omnibus is an online project of the Architectural League that explores the relationship between design and New York City's physical environment. They are featuring Making Policy Public, a program of The Center for Urban Pedagogy, through their articles about Vendor Power and Predatory Equity. [more inside]
posted by netbros on May 31, 2009 - 3 comments

"I want our type to jump, scream, whisper and dance..." Ebon Heath and His Visual Poetry. "When I close my eyes I can see the words of great poets like Rakem or Tupac flying thru the air and dancing with the same physicality my body instinctually feels. My mobiles attempt to create a visual sense of rhythm and flow that is alive, not contained." This interview with Heath breaks down his Stereo.type and Purge projects. [more inside]
posted by netbros on May 30, 2009 - 8 comments

Lonely, lovelorn robots (film). Tardiness and sharks (film). Creative sounds with dominoes. (audio) Using Tetris as the inspiration for interior design elements. (visual) Just a few fun things floating around in the mind of Tomas Mankovsky.
posted by jeanmari on May 25, 2009 - 2 comments

"How did the contact with Keane come about? / Completely randomly. A friend of the band's, bought one of my prints from a mutual friend's shop. The band saw the print in his house and said 'this is the person we have to work with on our next album artwork'." Sanna Annukka (previously on MeFi) discusses how she came to illustrate Keane's album, Under the Iron Sea, and singles, the artwork of which is playful, lonely, and folklore-like in feel. [more inside]
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome on May 18, 2009 - 20 comments

You may have already noticed some of the visual tricks in these logos. Or maybe not. (I never saw the b--- in the T-------- logo before.) Or maybe you just think these are too obvious for words and there are much better examples out there. (via)
posted by maudlin on May 18, 2009 - 119 comments

Blanka is a collection of original, vintage, and limited edition posters and prints.
posted by netbros on May 16, 2009 - 9 comments

From 1895 to 1982 the Penrose Annual showcased typography and graphic design.
posted by the cuban on May 14, 2009 - 5 comments

Graphic Design Is: 50 Designs About Graphic Design
posted by The Whelk on May 9, 2009 - 26 comments

The Art of Penguin Science Fiction is a historical guide to the design of book jackets in the Penguin SF line by James Pardey. But before reading the essay I recommend looking at some of the wonderful cover designs, for example We, Deathworld, Rork!, The Drowned World, Star Maker, The Evolution Man, Fifth Planet and Alternating Currents. They certainly don't make SF book jackets like they used to. All hundred plus covers can also be browsed alphabetically by author. [via The Guardian Books Blog]
posted by Kattullus on May 7, 2009 - 25 comments

"...criticism, for lack of a better word, is good. Criticism is right. Criticism works. Criticism clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit…
posted by Brandon Blatcher on May 6, 2009 - 52 comments

Fyrdility has been busy with useful web building tools. First, he has a jQuery plug-in to provide support for the CSS Template Layout Module. Template layout demos using the plug-in here. Then, there's the When can I use... browser compatibility tables that let you know when you can start using the latest web technologies, like CSS3, HTML5, SVG, etc.
posted by netbros on Apr 29, 2009 - 14 comments

Design You Trust is a design blog and community that allows public posting like MetaFilter. Recent posts that I found interesting include Diz Decor Vinyl Stickers and Tetris Furniture and A Man Among Bears. This is an active community with several daily posts to choose from. [some posts nsfw]
posted by netbros on Apr 27, 2009 - 7 comments

WATIM [We Are the Image Makers] is an online publication that promotes Australian artists, illustrators, designers and photographers. Issue 19 is out this month. There have been more than 150 artist contributors in their four years online. [some art nsfw]
posted by netbros on Apr 24, 2009 - 3 comments

Downloadable original logos and badges for restoring old woodworking machines. Via Old Woodworking Machines and the Draplin Design Co.
posted by mattdidthat on Apr 22, 2009 - 12 comments

subprime. Beautiful animation about the US housing market.
posted by uncle harold on Apr 22, 2009 - 30 comments

The World of 100 -- 20 Posters by Toby Ng (via Daily Dish and Made in England) [more inside]
posted by fourcheesemac on Apr 11, 2009 - 9 comments

Today has turned into a real-life nightmare. I wish I could wake up. This nightmare started 9 months ago and has been recurring ever since.

Designer Jon Engle is being billed $18,000 by stockart.com. Some people are trying to save Jon. [more inside]
posted by wundermint on Apr 7, 2009 - 217 comments

Jorge Colombo is among the artists using the Brushes application on the iPhone as a digital palette and canvas to create iSketches. He has worked as an illustrator, as a photographer, and as a graphic designer. He also creates digital QT videos, initially restricting himself to one-minute movies, and lately moving into longer projects.[prev. some nsfw]
posted by netbros on Apr 3, 2009 - 11 comments

World Builder by Bruce Branit. A strange man builds a world using holographic tools for the woman he loves. There's more at Not Possible in Real Life, dedicated to identifying and sharing well conceived and realized content creation in Second Life® that would not be possible in real life.
posted by netbros on Mar 28, 2009 - 23 comments

How designers fail — "During college at the University of Arizona in 1992, I learned with other design freshman that revisions were part of the discipline; if you cried at critique you were a wimp, and the computer was just a finishing tool. . . . But something has happened since I was a college student in 1992: students just don’t believe these things."
posted by camcgee on Mar 27, 2009 - 64 comments

Danish 70's Interior Design, Porno Style. sorta NSFW-ish?
posted by 1f2frfbf on Mar 26, 2009 - 19 comments

The Museum of Modern Art began working in late 2007 to renovate its Web site substantially for the first time since 2002. It knew that it wouldn’t be just updating a few pieces — it would be entering a whole new era. Earlier this month, the new site launched, and is an almost complete reconstruction of how the museum presents itself online. It features livelier images from its collection and exhibitions, increased use of video and the new interactive calendars and maps.
posted by netbros on Mar 26, 2009 - 12 comments

Product Panic - Bruce Sterling on industrial design in the slump.
posted by WPW on Mar 20, 2009 - 20 comments

Fly-Post —a community event site dedicated to the art and utility of the promotional flyer. Post flyers about your event, or search for flyers by location, event, or keyword. Browse by best designs, or the latest posts. It's in beta and serving only a few U.S. cities right now, but looks promising.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese on Mar 18, 2009 - 6 comments

We've very much enjoyed the beautiful work of the NYT graphic and infovisual design staff before, but what about when those glorious graphs and interactive adventures don't turn out as expected? Still pretty neat.
posted by carsonb on Mar 11, 2009 - 17 comments

Canstruction is a design/build competition currently held in cities throughout North America. Teams of architects, engineers, and students compete to design and build giant structures made entirely from full cans of food. [more inside]
posted by netbros on Mar 9, 2009 - 10 comments

Postcards from Israel (or stamps, anyway). COLOURlovers (previously) has posted a set of color palettes drawn from designer and blogger Karen Horton's flickr collection of vintage Israeli postage stamps. [more inside]
posted by sarabeth on Mar 2, 2009 - 3 comments

"The brief was simple: to build a house to retire to in order to grow food, entertain and enjoy the East Anglia landscape. The outcome was as unconventional as they come. A structure that has the ability to vary or connect the overall building's composition and character according to season, weather or simply a desire to delight. Wallpaper* took a trip to the site to capture the physical phenomenon in the only medium that serves it justice - film." via
posted by Knappster on Mar 2, 2009 - 15 comments

You used to be able to ask Edward Tufte questions on his website. He disabled the new questions part a few years ago so only a topic or two a month comes out now. But the old topics form years long conversations running to tens of thousands of words, generally polite and insightful. Here are some excellent threads: recommendations for graphing software, Book design: advice and examples, Medical information exchange: The patient, doctor, computer triangle, Evidence and assumptions in tree diagrams, Airport maps, Lists, Advice for effective analytical reasoning, a celebration of Megan Jaegerman's news graphics, Design of causal diagrams, the merits of ISO paper sizes.
posted by shothotbot on Feb 27, 2009 - 10 comments

Looking for some new head gear for your next party? While many reach for a cap to cover up those bad hair days, Spanish designer Kepa Rasmussen would rather sculpt a mask. Crafting highly innovative facial sculptures under his label Aardvark K Mask, Rasmussen's conceptual pieces are hand-crafted expressly to make heads turn.
posted by netbros on Feb 26, 2009 - 4 comments

Looking to boost your mad Photoshop skillz? Here's a trio of sites that offer the latest in PS tips and tricks. Best Photoshop Tutorials has vectors, icons, and free brushes. PShero works with effects and shapes, and Photoshop Girl features photograph enhancement. That should get you started.
posted by netbros on Feb 19, 2009 - 15 comments

Can't talk, too busy looking at Andy Smith's art and typography
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Feb 18, 2009 - 7 comments