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DESIGN INSPIRATION - CHICHI shoutOut on 14/10/11 by DuncanBoxie in peeps |
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If you are a fan of contemporary Japanese art and illustration chances are you would have heard of Yusuke Yamada…or as the rest of the world know him, CHICHI. This amazing Japanese designer has a style that incorporates a sultry mix of Western and Eastern influences, which mainly centres around female figures and natural elements.
While he first started out as a traditional artist, painting everything by hand, he then spent many years in the States, returning with loads of new skills to power up his craft. This is perhaps the main thing that I like about his design ethos. He is willing to use new digital design, but he is not willing to fully relinquish his roots. It sounds like his fear is that while computers give the freedom for anybody to express their artistic talents on a new level, there is the danger of imitation and saturation….in essence watering down original artist’s hard work.
CHICHI has since made a name for himself all across the globe. From Japan to the US, he has held immensely successful exhibitions, bringing the flavour of Japan to the world in a new and exciting style.
These days CHICHI is highly sought after and his amazing works adorn businesses across Japan. I would kill to get my hands on some of Yusuke’s work. I seriously need to order one of his prints.
What I would really like to get my hands on is his Line Drawing CHICHI artbook, which is jammed packed full of his best work. While this may seem like a perfect coffee-table book, I think I’d rather lock it away safely in a vault. Too precious to get pawed by people with sticky fingers haha. Thanks ;) What do you guys think of this super talented Japanese designer??
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Jeremy Loops - Rocking the Daisies shoutOut on 13/10/11 by DuncanBoxie in peeps |
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Jeremy Loops is one of those musicians that have the ability to create music which is fresh and uplifting, with his unique blend of audio madness. This music is an adventure which will never sound the same at any 2 live gigs. He also uses what is known as a loop pedal, which allows him to generate ‘multiple riffs’ and loop them on top of each other seamlessly. It’s like transforming yourself into a one man band that sounds like at least 5 members are jamming. Personally I have never enjoyed the harmonica, but Jeremy Loop really makes it work with his music. Impressed!
This man is certainly one of the South African music industry’s best kept secrets.
Jeremy planned his new EP launch to coincide with the Rocking the Daisies weekend, nice move, talk about the perfect place to strike!
This insanely cool EP was put together by the super powerful Vangers and Jollers design team. This also includes the slick, very memorable logo design. I really love the disjointed style and cartoon theme, very well executed. That little goat at the top of the design is crazy-cool, so fun and quirky. Unfortunately for me it seems it was a Limited Edition EP, so chances are all the marauding collectors and cool kids have already seized these precious lovelies!
For those of you who have as yet not heard Jeremy Loops in action here are some of his tracks which I found on good ol’ Soundcloud, enjoy. Power - Jeremy Loops by Jeremy Loops Gypsy Opera - Jeremy Loops by Jeremy Loops
Also, here is a clip of Jeremy at Assembly performing ‘My shoes’.
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Scary t-shirt design shoutOut on 11/10/11 by DuncanBoxie in peeps |
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Hi there one and all, October is the month where devils and monsters lurk in the shadows. It’s a time where the spirits of the ‘otherworld’ pass easily into the realm of men and make us shiver with fear…moooohahhahaa! Well hey, maybe if you are superstitious or a ‘fraidy-cat’, hehe. Halloween is awesome for me because an entirely different reason. This reason is the fact that designers all over the world, regardless of background, get into the Halloween spirit and create super cool scary t-shirt design. This year will be the first year that we have not had a specific Halloween theme, however this shouldn’t stop you guys from coming up with some really wicked scary t-shirt design. I hope that you will all conjure up some hair-raising design concepts and cast them through.
Check out these past Springleap.com designs that have their own spooky vibe. Most of them are very playful and cute. Stepdog by HannozanZyl ----- Got your back by CHUCKY
Zombie Boss by Cmatos ----- Zombunnies by AntiNexus
All my friends by Khutaza ----- Staring at a ghost by Wotto
You could wear any one of these designs and fit in perfectly at the upcoming Halloween parties. Some of these designs are already sold out, so please click on the ‘reprint’ button and who knows if we get enough clicks in the next week or two, we could have them ready by the end of the month!
I came across a really great Adobe Illustrator tutorial which will surely get you in the mood to create your very own spooky characters. Do you have any cool Halloween inspired scary t-shirt design which you would like to share with the community? Post it below or send us through a link! |
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Bastion - video game artwork shoutOut on 5/10/11 by DuncanBoxie in peeps |
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If there is one thing I love its mega cool video game artwork! This time around I look at the artwork of a really fun looking game called Bastion. Bastion tells the tale of The Kid, who travels through a broken world which was torn apart by an incident called Calamity. The realm is shattered into many pieces and has been overwhelmed by a legion of terrible monsters. The Kid journeys towards Bastion which is an ancient gathering point during times of strife. With the guidance of an old man The Kid sets about restoring the world to its former beauty by reconstructing it piece-by-piece.
The game itself is a level-structured action RPG with an immersive narrative and a path that is created ‘on the fly’. Although the game looks great I’m more interested in chatting about the video game artwork. First off, props to the very talented designer JenZee for her absolutely breath-taking artwork for Bastion. It is composed by employing a very slick chunky design style, with obvious influences from Japanese manga.
What is even more fantastic for me is the fact that they translated not only the original artwork perfectly into the actual game, but also that the digital colouring techniques echo seamlessly across to the game design as well. Don’t you just love these little Bastion characters! They really are so cute and badass in their own way. You will notice that all of the human characters are really short and stubby, which is the case even with the old man. I like that they have done this, it’s like a realm of Halflings, or some kind of gnome race. I suppose this lends itself to the more ‘childlike’ focus of the game.
The video game artwork of Bastion is perhaps directed more at a younger market. I mean what young gamer could resist the awesomeness that is The Kid character! Here are some great screenshots of the in-game design….it’s got an explosive fantasy ‘cool factor’!
For those of you who would like to check out the video game trailer for Bastion, scope it out below.
I would love to know what you think about Bastion’s artwork. D |
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Starwars Design Train shoutOut on 4/10/11 by DuncanBoxie in peeps |
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Usually when I comment on design which I have found interesting it has more to do with t-shirt and digital design. Imagine entire carriages decked top to tail with really clever Starwars marketing paraphernalia. It’s a dream come true for any Starwars fan! Well, truth be told, the Tokyo Design Train has been around for quite a few years now. Japan Railways actually designated specific train carriages, which could be used by companies in order to market various products, back in 1990. You are probably wondering what the whole hoo-ha is about…I mean haven’t people all over the world being doing this for ages. Heck even the crumby South African trains have advertising inside them. However, you cannot compare other train systems to the crazy awesomeness which is the Japan Railways Design Train!
The wrapping of handrails and other structures is a relatively more recent addition by Japan Railways, which started in 2001. This takes the aesthetic possibilities to all new heights and really serves to immerse lucky passengers to a full-on design experience. It must have been so much fun using giant Lightsabres as hand rails. Fans must have had so much fun. I can imagine all the hilarious pics circulating online at the moment! I just wish they had made the platform staff dress-up in Storm Trooper gear. That would have been absolutely wicked! This must have been an amazingly fun project to work on and I truly wish I could have seen it with my own eyes. Alas, the Starwars Lightsabre campaign concluded on the 30th September.
Don’t think that just any company can take advantage of this amazing marketing avenue. It’s hardcore expensive! Try $60 000 (4.7 million Yen) for a brief half-month contract. Seriously, this is the kind of money that only the select can muster. The Force is strong with this one. |
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FEATURED DESIGNER – Incynqron shoutOut on 28/9/11 by DuncanBoxie in peeps |
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Creating a design for a corporate competition is not an easy endeavour. Compared to Open Themes where you are the master of what you produce, a corporate compo requires a designer to ‘become one’ with the brand, to follow the guidelines closely and produce a design that is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also adheres to the spirit of the clients company.
There are very few designers who are able to consistently pull off this kind of feat. He first blew us away with his stunning POWERBIRD submission for the Vodacom competition. His design was perfect for the brief, it had a clean corporate vibe, was bursting with creativity and balanced minimal color with intense detail and execution. This was, for many voters, the quintessential design for the brand…Vodacom agreed and made this their BIG WINNER!
The next corporate design win he notched up was for Telkom ‘Pinnacle’ where his Diamond Fire absolutely burned its way to the top of the pile. Once again his very corporate savvy style and execution prevailed and wowed the client into submission. This was another MASSIVE win for Incynqron. Check out the posting I did on this winning design. This design genius almost walked away with his third corporate win in a year when two of his Lexus submissions (Fusion and Hydraturbo) made it to the TOP10 and went through a final stage of voting on Facebook. He narrowly missed out, but we are still convinced that he could pull off another corporate win by the end of the year.
Springleap takes it hat off to this crazy talented designer and hope that in the future some of the other designers will emulate his corporate design execution. There is no surprise that Ron Olivier is a baddass when it comes to corporate competition. He has his own design company, where he puts together this kind of design for some seriously big-name clients, on a daily basis. Perhaps it was just another day at the office for Incynqron when he composed his winning works. One thing is for certain – This is a designer that won’t be going away any time soon. He has the skills, a winning recipe for concepts and he really knows how to market his designs. Incynqron FTW! |
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Liam Brazier design shoutOut on 27/9/11 by DuncanBoxie in peeps |
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Time for some angular design inspiration! Very often when I select a designer that I would like to showcase to our community, it seems that I tend to go for designs that are highly detailed. My choice for today is likewise a very detailed form of art…but in a very different kind of way! While at first glance the artwork of the highly talented Liam Brazier may come across as ‘simplistic’ it soon becomes apparent that there is so much more going for his unique clean geometric shard artwork.
The more you stare at his work the more depth comes into focus and suddenly the designs erupt with their own particular motion. Case in point: the Superman design above looks like it is moving faster than a speeding bullet. The Man of Steel has never looked better! Liam Brazier has also recently put together a series of Starwars inspired characters which capture these memorable characters perfectly. Forget the Empires carbon freezing methods…this is the way to truly capture the essence of a subject. One of the most interesting aspects of Liam’s technique is the fact that while his work is created digitally, it is not composed in Adobe Illustrator. Instead he used the Polygonal Selection tool form Photoshop and fills each shape with color. That’s right…this is not vector based! Perhaps you will now begin to see the level of commitment and patience this amazing designer puts into his work. I really appreciate this mans style. Liam’s approach to design reminds me so much of the Cubist movement and the work of men like Picasso. To create a design with such palpable depth, where you literally think you are looking at an artwork that is not flat, is a very powerful ability. Cubist techniques have been employed in everything from film to music and today its influence is still exerted by contemporary artists. I suppose there is no surprise that with todays technological advances that this style would live on in a completely new and evolved manner.
Hopefully Liam doesn’t mind me likening his work to the cubist movement, but I feel strongly of their creative connection…plus it is by no means an insult to be compared to such an influential ground-breaking movement.
I can’t wait to see what he does next! WE WANT MORE :) |
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medical t-shirt shoutOut on 26/9/11 by DuncanBoxie in peeps |
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So, how intelligent is your t-shirt?Now when I say “intelligent” I’m talking less about how clever the design on your t-shirt is and more about what it can actually DO!
It seems that these days t-shirts are undergoing an evolution in practical use. Gone are the days when they are used purely as a fashion item. Todays tees are even being used in the medical sphere as a clever way of monitoring patient’s vitals and location. Ok, so perhaps its not exactly a t-shirt…its more like a chunky vest of sorts, but hey, for now I’m going with ‘t-shirt’, hehe.
Doctors will be able to check the vital signs of patients at any time with built in thermometer and various bioelectrical recording devices. So you will be able to check how physically exerted the patient is and of course temperature and other technical data. Obviously these medical t-shirts are all wireless, which makes me wonder how safe they are to have so close to all other sorts of sensitive medical equipment. Well, I’m sure this has all been taken into consideration.
The medical t-shirt is definitely a clever concept, which could find purchase in a variety of medical situations. This device could be used to monitor patients while they are at home. If something happens to the wearer the device could send an instant 911 message to dispatchers, who could then take immediate action. I take my hat off to the Spanish researchers who created this device.I’m sure this ingenius ‘smart t-shirt’ could very well become the norm in first-world hospitals in the near future. Just in case you are wondering what the device is called, it goes by the tongue twisting name Localización y Biomonitorización a través de Redes Inalámbricas en Entornos Hospitalarios…or LOBIN, for those of us who don’t want to sound like complete idiots when repeating the name in conversation. Let’s see how this new device will feature in the market. Perhaps the tech could be implemented by big sporting brands, for not only professionals, but people like you and me, who would like to get a better understanding of our own personal fitness. Very interesting stuff! |
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Riaan Cruywagen - Loerie 2011 guest appearance shoutOut on 22/9/11 by DuncanBoxie in peeps |
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Yesterday I gave David Hasselfoff a big highfive for his appearance at the Loeries awards 2011 over the weekend.
Seriously, it is impossible to deny the awesomness that is our own local news reading vampire.
It seems like everyone knows him as this unflinching robot person with no emotion…which is pretty funny considering he looks similar to Data from Star Trek LOLZ. Just recently he added his power to the marketing campaign in what has been hailed as one of the best Loerie awards ‘build ups’...EVER!
The Loerie ad shows Riaan talking in his normal deadpan manner in what appears to be the studio but as it zooms out it shows him sitting in a Jacuzzi with loads of hot babes. It concludes with with Riaan sitting with a pineapple cocktail where he simply states, “I’m in a jacuzzi.”
Classic! Very much in the vein of the Old Spice ads….you know, the “I’m on a horse” one :P Riaan you rock SA to the core dude! |
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David Hasselhoff - Loerie 2011 guest appearance shoutOut on 21/9/11 by DuncanBoxie in peeps |
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The Loeries 2011 Awards was an explosive event!
That’s right boys and girls, legendary grape smuggling-leather jacket clad-babe magnet, David Hasselhoff, was on hand to set the Sunday night Loerie evening on frigging FIRE!
Seriously the Loeries just rocketed to a whole new level in my books. I can just picture the Loerie event team thinking of which possible guest celebrities to invite. Dudes you picked a solid gold winner.
What is even more awesome was the fact that he was cheesy as ever. Tons of classic Hoff jokes were thrown about, causing slight loss of bladder control for many I’m sure.
David has been crusing around Cape Town enjoying the sight and sounds of the Mother City. He supposedly had a great time with his girlfriend at Table Mountain. |
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