Forty-Four Links About Forty-Four Things

Shoot the Day: July 20th

noreply@blogger.com (Store 44 Reps) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:27:00 +0000

Stock photography agency PhotoShelter, along with Apple, Nikon, and others are sponsoring the first ever "Shoot the Day" worldwide event and contest:

"Wherever you are on July 20th, PhotoShelter wants you to Shoot! The Day. The mission is to revitalize stock photography. Thousands of photographers worldwide will connect, take pictures, and learn. Together we'll make the stock photo supply fresh again... In doing so, we'll also create success for photographers who want to sell their work as stock."

Details and categories here.

Recycled Bags - Three Inspirational Brands

noreply@blogger.com (A Hoover) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 23:55:00 +0000

Looking for a bag that says “me be hip, urban, and environmentally responsible? Vy&Elle, Freitag, and Baumm are three inspirational companies that use recycled billboards, truck tarpaulins, and seat belts to compose sharp, one-of-a kind accessories.

Based in Tucson, Arizona, Vy&Elle was founded in 2002 by British designer Nicola Freeguard. As of 2007 the company has reused over 100 tons of PVC billboard vinyl to create colorful totes, messenger bags, and other accessories.

Read more:
www.handbagdesigner101.com
Vy&Elle Bags, Treehugger.

If you've never seen a Freitag bag or surfed their ultracool website, just stop and click: Freitag. Around since 1993, the popular European brand offers an extensive line of graphically bold bags, computer and iPod cases made from truck tarpaulins, seat belts, and bike tubes. One of their newest products, the F84 Mac Sleeve Air is constructed from rooftop tarps and looks like a manila envelope.

The company’s keen eye for design is evident not only in its products, but also by its website. Be sure to play with the F-cut tool, which allows you to move stencils over a selection of truck tarpaulins and "cut out" your own bag.

Last but not least, Baumm is based in Buenos Aires and, like Vy&Elle, uses old billboards as its material source. Interweaving the arts with environmentally conscious product design, Baumm collaborates with artists and has also has entered the realm of furniture design. Especially clever is their concept “B-own,” whereupon Baumm designs bags with a company’s billboard campaign and gives them back to the same company as a new marketable product.

Read More:
Baumm Recycled Advertisement Bags, Inhabitat.

Animated Mural

noreply@blogger.com (Store 44 Reps) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:08:00 +0000

Italian artist Blu and his crew put together this excellent stop motion video called MUTO. Captured in a series of stills, the characters in the mural move across the walls and streets of Buenos Aires. Must see not-TV, for sure. I also enjoyed his sketchbook series entitled, Four Suicides. Paperwork. It's a killer. Found on Gizmodo.

Pro Photography use of iPhone

noreply@blogger.com (Store 44 Reps) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:20:00 +0000

Like you're just starving for another excuse to get a new iPhone, right? So here's an article listing 10 Ways Professional Photographers Can Use the iPhone. Gotta say it would make a good pocket portfolio.

Turf Tube Protects Tushes

noreply@blogger.com (A Hoover) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 05:20:00 +0000

Live through an Arizona summer and you’ll quickly learn that the most innocuous objects – flip flops, cell phones, patio furniture – can transform into searing weapons. To protect our rears from burns, Michael Dollin and crew from Urban Earth Design have invented Turf Tube, an indoor/outdoor seat covered in artificial turf. In contrast to materials such as concrete, steel, wood, or plastic, which can heat from 10-45 degrees above ambient temperature, artificial turf increases a respectable six. The turf's rapid heat dissipation makes it ideal to withstand the Arizona desert heat, where summer ambient temperatures range from 100 to 120 degrees. In addition to their burn-free surface, the no-frill Turf Tubes are durable, customizable, and manufactured locally. The designers envision a host of turf-topped possibilities including coolers, grills, lounge chairs, trash cans, lights, bar stools, swings, and pillows.
See also: Phoenix Home & Garden - Turf Tube

100+ Cool Business Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Store 44 Reps) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 03:31:00 +0000

I am just about out of business cards, and I found two great sites full of inspirational designs: 42 Awesome Business Card Designs, and 70 Amazing Business Cards.

Flip a Strip - Rethinking the Strip Mall

noreply@blogger.com (A Hoover) — Tue, 20 May 2008 19:31:00 +0000

Challenging designers to "transcend the non-descript status quo" of the Strip Mall, the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art organized a part invite, part open competition requiring participants to "Flip a Strip." The competition received 95 entries from teams in 46 cities and 6 countries. SMOCA recently announced the top ten finalists, which included three Phoenix architecture firms: Architecture-Infrastructure-Research, Scottsdale AZ, Gould Evans, Phoenix AZ, and Marlene Imirzian & Associates, Phoenix AZ. Work by these and other finalists will be the focus of an exhibit at SMOCA running October 4 through January 18 2008.

The Dangers of Stock Photography

noreply@blogger.com (Store 44 Reps) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 19:38:00 +0000

I'd be smiling too if I had that many laptops. Remember to scope out your competition before buying stock photography.

Business Software for Photographers

noreply@blogger.com (Store 44 Reps) — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 19:56:00 +0000

ASMP put together this handy list of pricing guides and back-office software for photographers.

Work for Hire Contracts

noreply@blogger.com (Store 44 Reps) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:02:00 +0000

I was asked recently to assemble a post about Work for Hire contracts to give artists and students the opportunity to read about this process and educate themselves before entering into one with a client. Generally it's considered a bad idea for an artist to sign a Work for Hire contract because it strips the artist of all rights and claim of ownership. There are exceptions of course, and ultimately it's up to you whether you sign it or decline it, but you should know what you're getting into. Let's start with a good 'ol Wikipedia definition of a Work for Hire Contract. Now let's take a look at an essay by Attorney Lloyd J. Jassin titled, Working with Freelancers: The Work for Hire Doctrine. In it, he represents the client hiring the freelance artist. Now for the artists point of view: Photographers should check out this primer on Work for Hire contacts by ASMP (The American Society of Media Photographers), while Illustrators and Designers can review this article, What does "Work for Hire" mean for designers? by AIGA, the professional association for design.

Photoshop Express

noreply@blogger.com (Store 44 Reps) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:41:00 +0000

After a few months of teasing, Adobe has released Photoshop Express to the masses. Gadget blog Gizmodo has a write up, alongside Adobe's press release. This new online version of photoshop will sync with myspace, facebook, and eventually - flickr. The idea of free Photoshop for every myspace user is a little scary, but I guess when it's estimated that 60% of your product is being pirated, you have to make some changes to the business model.

Jumping From Space

noreply@blogger.com (Store 44 Reps) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:04:00 +0000

A friend recently shared this video with me. Although the event itself occurred almost 50 years ago, making it older than the internet, it's still pretty incredible. I guess they had video cameras attached to him, and the balloon. The result is magical. I think the song is by Unkle, but I'll leave it to the music snobs to correct me.

Branding Obama: A Designer's Breakdown

noreply@blogger.com (Store 44 Reps) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:52:00 +0000

Newsweek has an interesting interview with designer Michael Bierut in which he breaks down the elements of the current presidential campaigns, paying particular attention to Senator Barack Obama's cohesive branding across print, event, and the web. Judge for yourself with these links to the current candidate's websites: Clinton, Huckabee, McCain, Obama, and Paul.

Getty Images Bought by Private Equity

noreply@blogger.com (Store 44 Reps) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:17:00 +0000

If you were ever wondering how many stock images you could buy with 2 Billion Dollars, then private equity firm Hellman & Friedman has your answer: All of Getty Images. I have nothing else to add, except to brag that I guessed "private equity firm" when I was talking about the pending sale of Getty with food photographer and former Swanstock exec Jackie Alpers.

101 Ways Designers Can Change the Earth

noreply@blogger.com (Store 44 Reps) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 14:59:00 +0000

Here's a great list, courtesy of The School of Visual Concepts, Seattle, in cooperation with AIGA Seattle and Aquent, entitled, 101 Things Designers Can Do to Save the Earth. The list includes some sites to visit, books to read, and things to ask your printer.

Are You Being Greenwashed?

noreply@blogger.com (Store 44 Reps) — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 21:43:00 +0000

Interesting article about companies trying to appear green, and what designers can do ensure they really are making socially responsible decisions, and not just "greenwashing". From businessweek.com via Phoenix Ad Club

A Photo History Find

noreply@blogger.com (Store 44 Reps) — Tue, 22 May 2007 19:38:00 +0000

The New York Times Art and Design section writes of a recent photo find, featuring the 100 year old work of Edward Steichen, famous for his early color photographs, winning an Academy Award for best documentary, and serving as Director of Photography at New York's Museum of Modern Art. More recently, he made news when one of his early 1900's platinum prints, "The Pond - Moonlight" broke the record for photography auction at Sotheby's with a price of $US 2.9 Million.

Record Setting Nude Photo

noreply@blogger.com (Store 44 Reps) — Mon, 07 May 2007 19:01:00 +0000

Artist Spencer Tunick staged a record setting group nude photo in Mexico City's Zocalo Square. 18,000 people posed for the photograph, as police and no-fly zones kept the onlookers at bay. Tunick is famous for similar shoots in Germany and Spain.

And while we're delving into NSFW territory with a little nudity, here's an interesting blog submitted to me by an artist simply titled, "Sex in Art". 18 and over only, please! The site does contain some graphic imagery, and as a precaution, I'm linking to their disclaimer page.

Copyright Tools

noreply@blogger.com (Store 44 Reps) — Mon, 07 May 2007 18:24:00 +0000

Copyright Navigator: A Digital Annotated Concept Map of the Fundamentals of U.S. Copyright Law by Professor Lionel S. Sobel is a pretty awesome interactive flowchart that lays out the fundamentals of copyright law, and how it pertains to things like enforcement and fair use.

Ready to register those works of art? The United States Copyright Office has the step by step instructions and required forms for copyright registration of various flavors, including visual arts, literary works, performance art etc..

Creative Commons has a new "Termination of Transfer" tool based on the US Copyright Act that assists artists in reclaiming copyrights given away long ago. 35 years, to be exact. via boingboing.

Here's an interesting article in The Wall Street Journal about some new tools that can scan the web for violation of copyright. Attributor and Copyscape are the key players right now.

UPDATES 5/2/08

Attributor just raised 12 million and has the support of Condé Nast.

Photographic Forgeries

noreply@blogger.com (Store 44 Reps) — Mon, 07 May 2007 17:49:00 +0000

Awesome article in Science News about detecting photographic forgeries with software and math. You may recall this past year a Reuters Photographer was given the boot for cloning some smoke in an image of the war in Lebanon.

More on the forthcoming suite of photo authentication tools from Adobe via Wired Magazine.

UPDATE: CBS News looks at The Art Of Image Altering.

Kodak Rolling out New Products

noreply@blogger.com (Store 44 Reps) — Mon, 07 May 2007 17:23:00 +0000

Kodak's been busy with a few new product rollouts. Shown above, is the 100 Year ink cartridge for their new line of printers.

And check out this new mini printer with a built in camera - The Zink. Is this the return of the instant Polaroid?

Review of Super Bowl Commercials

noreply@blogger.com (Store 44 Reps) — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 21:36:00 +0000

Bob Garfield of AdAge reviews this year's Super Bowl commercials; Worst, consumer generated, best, and the biggest blunders. His take? Lots of slapstick violence with a dash of sexual insecurity. You can watch all the commercials at AdCritic.

Geotagging Images

noreply@blogger.com (Store 44 Reps) — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 16:37:00 +0000

AKA Geocoding, AKA GPS Photo Tagging, AKA I'm not sure what we're officially calling this yet, is the method of using GPS (global positioning) to Tag images with location specific meta-information. Software for iPhoto and linking to Google Earth here, and more options including Flickr and Aperture here. via TUAW.

UPDATE: Review of GiSTEQ, a device that syncs to your camera's clock and records you location for three weeks. via engadget.

Jail Time for Guerrilla Ad Campaign?

noreply@blogger.com (Store 44 Reps) — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 18:45:00 +0000

The city of Boston suffered a terrorist scare, as the guerrilla marketing campaign for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force cartoon on Adult Swim resulted in calls reporting "suspicious devices" - possibly Improvised Explosive Devices. Boing Boing is covering the story in detail. Fark has a funny thread going on the CNN story, Flickr has photos of the devices, and Gizmodo is reporting the devices are selling on eBay for 5 Grand. It's a crazy world!

UPDATE: Oh my god. The guys responsible for the stunt held a press conference outside the court where they refused to answer any questions that did not relate to 1970's haircuts. This can only get funnier. CBS4 Boston has the video.

UPDATE 2: So how much did this little fiasco cost? Turner Broadcasting has agreed to pay one million dollars.

UPDATE 3: City of Boston drops the charges. via boingboing.

CGI and the Undead

noreply@blogger.com (Store 44 Reps) — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 18:47:00 +0000

I was watching TV the other night, and I was a little surprised to see Orville Redenbacher back as a pitchman for his brand of popcorn. Surprised of course, because Redenbacher died in 1995. But through the magic of CGI, and stand-in actors, Mr. Redenbacher is making a comeback, and rockin' a new MP3 Player. Watch the commercial here.

Update: USA Today article. CP+B is the Agency.