Ello ello,

Some of you may recall the posting I did a little while back about the amazing art of Abe Viljoen , otherwise known as The Given .

Well, Abe just let us know that his personal portfolio page is now up and running…and I must say it is looking uber kickass!

First things first , this portfolio website looks absolutely brilliant.
It has a great layout and the browsing interface is really slick.
I’m loving the modern urban vibe , which is clean, but still has a bit of a grungy edge.

Very nice indeed!

I like how Abe has creatively separated his portfolio into 3 main areas: Photoshop, Hand and other .

When I think of his Photoshop design I instantly think of my previous Given posting and his breathtaking Iron Animals collection, which recreated a whole host of animals in heavy metallic and urban textures . Very cool!

There is of course more to his Photoshop work than this epic series…check out his watercolour Samurai and you will see exactly what I mean, WOWZERS .

It looks like Abe has tried his hand at everything from digital painting to creating custom paint jobs for vinyl toys .
Shooo, now this is a seriously diverse designer.

Peruse his page and be amazed at all the things this talented South African dude can do!

I also like how he has placed the CV and CONTACT button on the bottom right. It’s not invasive at all and has actually been integrated into the main focal design .

This means that while these 2 buttons are part of the design you can still see that they are in fact link buttons.

If you would like to chat with The Given please click on his contact button] .

Rock on Abe!

D

Hi there one and all ,

Many of you would have heard about the 13 week long BOOTCAMP Challenge that I took part in earlier this year.

Friends of Design gave me the opportunity to learn 3 awesome Adobe programs, whilst at the same time taking up challenges on each…to prove I had indeed learned something. This was not going to be easy as I was up against 3 other very talented contestants.
I really wanted to win this.
Not only to quell my competitive spirit, but also not to look like an idiot in front of all you guys, haha.

Luckily the gods smiled upon my efforts and I managed to win all of the challenges, except for one ….damn!

The final challenge was a gruelling one indeed. It was a full-on battle that was made up of a mental as well as physical task.

First off we had to complete a Photoshop task and run nimbly through a set of tires . Just when our heart rates started to accelerate we leapt onto the next Mac and had to summon our Illustrator skills. From there we made fools of ourselves with a skipping rope and finally hit the Indesign challenge.

Whew, I was shaking the whole time from the adrenaline, which made everyone laugh , but hey it’s all good it was still loads of fun, hehe :D

It would have rocked if I could have pulled off a flawless victory , but the two other contestants, Marina and Benjamin , were on fire that night and deserved to share first place.
Second isn’t too bad I suppose :P
First the worst, second the best, third the one with the hairy chest, HAHAHA!

Luckily for me the final challenge was not the be-all-and-end-all and only counted for a chunk of the overall points. I put in loads of effort in the other practical challenges throughout the course, which paid off in the end as I walked away with the grand prize.

WOOOHOOOOO!!!!

I would like to thank Friends of Design once again for organizing an amazing BOOTCAMP Challenge.
I really did learn so much and it awakened a longing to produce more designs!

HUGE THANKS go out to everyone who took the time to vote for my designs on the Friends of Design Facebook page…. mucho appreciado!
Take a look at the final Wrap Up posting on the FOD website for more insights into the final challenge.

It sounds like they will soon have a video up of the final challenge…which will undoubtedly cement my embarrassment for all time HAHA :P

Peace out!

D

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I have always been a huge fan of video game cover artwork . Ever since I was a little dude playing on my Atari , I marvelled at the crazy cool artwork that would adorn game boxes and cartridges .

Strangely enough the reason I wanted to do this posting was to show you some great examples of old video game cover artwork. However then a strange thing happened, I realized that the artwork of the past was no way as good as I had remembered it ROFL!

Don’t get me wrong it’s not terrible artwork, but compared to the lofty heights of the pedestal I had placed them on, they are not thaaaaat amazing!

Maybe it comes from being around design everyday…and not just any design, but the best the industry has to offer, which is delivered with the latest and greatest techniques….well, it just pales in comparison.

It is interesting to think about the technological factors that have contributed to the evolution of game cover art. Advanced programs like Adobe’s Illustrator and Photoshop have reinvented what is possible and digital painting techniques on drawing tablets has taken the art to new levels that were almost impossible to replicate with traditional means.

Also take into consideration that video games in the old days were nowhere as popular as they are today, there was less money in it and of course the more ‘powerful’ artists had ‘bigger fish to fry’ on mainstream commissions .

However these days the video game industry is one of the most powerful entertainment avenues around and there is huge kudos that go along with being involved with video game art.

The internet and mass distribution of games are both aspects of this industry that make it a very VERY good idea for artists to get involved with video game artwork , whether they be for covers, booklets, posters, or even concept sketches!

I have met a few designers over the years who are more interested in creating video game artwork than getting involved in the commercial side of design (or has it now become commercial itself). This probably stems from being able to fuse a passion with a skill ….heck, if I had the mad skills that some of these gaming cover artists do, I would also do nothing but video game cover art and game concept design .

What do you think has been the biggest factors that have changed video game cover artwork since the 80’s . Do you see any possible trends forming in the next 5-10 years in regards to this artwork?

Also, if you have any cool video game cover art to share with us, please post it up ;)

1UP

D.

Hi there friends .

On Friday I attended the CTFC (Cape Town fashion council) summer trends preview for year-end 2011 into 2012 and I must say there were quite a few little surprises .

First off, these are the trends that the Foshini group are going with. They are not a reflection of the entire industry . However, Foshini are usually one of the best retailer for keeping up with emerging trends and forecasting what is gonna kick-bum!

Trend guru Johan Kraus was on hand to dish out his take on the season to come and seemed pretty optimistic about the direction. Well, perhaps not with the jumpsuits , he seems to despise them with a passion, haha. I must say I echo his sentiment!

The first trend I will talk about is the That 70’s Show theme.
Most of you who keep an eye on trends will know of the dismal failure of the 80’s look, which permeated the previous summer collection.
Not only did the 80’s vibe sink-like-a-rock in South Africa , but it followed suit all around the world .

So the powers that be have decided that the answer to this great failure was to go even further back in time . That 70’s Show look is set to be a MUCH bigger winner with consumers .

Paul and Joe seem to be leaning more towards tunics and jumpsuits , with a nice addition of ruffles to keep the femininity. Take a look at the above images and you will see what I mean. Also the color palette for this design house seems to be burnt orange and yellow tones with a fair mix of browns , which is very typical of the 70’s scheme.
I especially enjoyed the gypsy style coming through as well as the Palazzo pants that will work really well on ladies with long legs, mega sexy if you ask me.

The other designer that I have to mention is Mark Jacobs , who has also capitalized on the That 70’s Show look and is busting out a color direction similar to that of Paul and Joe.
Perhaps the most striking 70’s element of Mark Jacobs catwalk show was the frizzy 70’s style hair …maybe even more than the fashion itself, hehe.
I love the Missoni prints that his models were rocking! The angular lines really give a unique touch to the garments and attract the eyes. Awesome if you want to make a statement!

I hope you enjoyed this small peak at the summer direction.
This is going to be such a fresh change and I really can’t wait for it to blot out the memories of the dodgy 80’s nightmare we just survived.

Next time I will chat to you about the Road Trip theme, inspired by the 1950’s, which is going to be another great direction for the summer.

Thanks again to CTFC and Johan Kraus for putting together such an amazing talk.
I am dying for winter to be over so I can check out this HOT direction!

Stay tuned ;)

D.

When you think of offensive t-shirt design, what examples spring to mind?

Well, perhaps if you live in South Africa you think of the once popular Laugh It Off guys and their rather clever parody design that attacked popular brands and big business.
In many ways this type of t-shirt design was revolutionary….well, at least in SA at that time.

Look at these two examples above:

One of them is a well known offensive t-shirt that targeted ANC Youth League Julius Malema .
“100% ZUMA 20% WOODWORK” is a rather appropriate attack on a political leader that we all seem to love to hate. Often ridiculed for his lack of intellectual powers, this tee is geared for those who would like to see the back of Malema permanently .

However, in my opinion this kind of design only serves to spread hate in our country. We need to stand together, now more than ever. While this design is funny , it doesn’t serve to make our world a….’better place’.

The next offensive t-shirt design that I decided to use was that of a rather vicious take on Calvin and Hobbes . There are few comic strip lovers who haven’t had a good laugh at the maddening antics of the young boy Calvin and his imaginary pet tiger Hobbes. This bloody version of the duo is funny on its own rather twisted level , because…well because it’s an image you couldn’t really prepare yourself for.

Would you consider this an offensive t-shirt, or simply gross and unnecessary.
Either way I think many of the more sensitive souls out there would be offended, hehe.

Springleap.com is no stranger to having tees coming through that would be considered offensive.

Our eSempowenis design by WolFox , which is probably our best seller of all time, has ruffled more than a few feathers since it hit our shop page. While the Malema t-shirt goes for the jugular , the eSempowenis design is a more playful approach to the social scene in South Africa. Making a parody of the legendary Simpsons family was a shweeeeet idea if you ask me.

Another design that sparked some controversy was the Kitten Licken design by CHUCKY .
CHUCKY decided to take a clever snipe at the Chicken Licken franchise and Asian demographic.
This isn’t intended to be heavy hitting like the top designs. This is a playful design which is not supposed to make people get angry. One of our Chinese users was going mad to get his hands on this tee, which goes to show it depends on just how sensitive you are…and if you have a sense of humor .

Solution = chill out!

What about you guys , do you consider these to be offensive t-shirt designs?

Do you have any cool examples to add? If you want to add an image please ensure that it is nothing too rude or explicit please.

D.