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New product - Springleap iPhone 4 cases shoutOut on 6/10/11 by DuncanBoxie in wordUp

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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’.
The gameplay sounds like lots of fun and the ability to become more powerful and develop your ‘Bastion’ or HQ, through finding ‘shards’ sounds interesting, ne?

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.

If you would like to see more amazing artwork by JenZee you can always cruise across to her Deviantart gallery…prepare for serious droolage. She is overflowing with artistic power!

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!
While saying that I know plenty of older gamers who love this kind of artwork just as much. I would be interested to see the age group split for Bastion players.

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.
Heck, if you would just like to comment on how cool the game is….go ahead!

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.
However this time around I was Force Choked into submission by a very creative marketing campaign on Tokyo’s well know ‘design train’.

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 30^th 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.
This isn’t even counting the busier train lines, which cost as much as 15 million Yen for the same amount of time…BAM!
Shooo, that amount would have even put a dent in the construction costs of the Death Star itself!

The Force is strong with this one.

DESIGN CONTEST : Open Theme Oct 1 shoutOut on 28/9/11 by DuncanBoxie in wordUp

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OPEN THEME SEPTEMBER 2 shoutOut on 7/9/11 by DuncanBoxie in wordUp

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OPEN THEME SEPTEMBER 1 shoutOut on 25/8/11 by DuncanBoxie in wordUp

on 30/9/11 by helainehalpern

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Corporate printing - Running Cheaper than therapy shoutOut on 29/9/11 by DuncanBoxie in wordUp

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On your marks…get set…GO!!!

No matter what kind of corporate printing solution you need, Springleap is here to help you out!

We had to pull off an emergency printing solution for a contact that was running the Cape Town Marathon with three of her friends.

This was not going to be your average screen-printing job, because the client needed us to print onto their synthetic performance New Balance running tees, which he running group were going to compete in. This meant that traditional methods would not suffice and in-fact would make the print look absolutely terrible.

The solution - we would use a special vinyl printing method, which because this was a 1 colour job, would be perfect for the situation.

This was a smaller print run that we are accustomed to making, but hey, we didn’t want to leave them out in the cold and end up having to deal with some other substandard crew.
Springleap…TO THE RESCUE!

We absolutely love the concept behind their design. The design reads: Running – Cheaper than therapy.
That is absolutely classic, so clever and appropriate for their running club.
We tend to agree! There is nothing more uplifting than having a good run. Whether it be a jog along the Sea Point promenade, or accomplishing a full on marathon, there are few things that get the blood pumping and chase away all your negativity, quite like a run.

We are delighted to say that not only were the tees a complete success, but the clients running club also managed to finish the 42km run in less than 5 hours, which qualifies them for their ultimate goal, the Comrades Marathon.

Congratulations to the team!

Check out this great feedback from the client:
All four of us are very happy with the shirts! Thanks again!
I'm telling you, it's already started a "I-also-want-one" buzz. I'm certain that this is just the start of it!

We love to hear this kind of thing from our clients :)

If you would like to find out more, please take a look at our corporate printing page.

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.
However, one Springleaper rises to the occasion every single time and deals out one winning corporate masterpiece after the next.
That man in Ron Olivier, or as we know him, Incynqron!

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!

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!

If I could make a request any kind of theme it would be for him to compose some crazy landscape designs. Could you imagine a dense forest or undulating countryside done in his clean crip shard style…it would look amazing!

WE WANT MORE :)

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.

That’s right…medical t-shirts!

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.

These bad boys also have built in GPS, so you can tell exactly where the patient is. Now you may be wondering why exactly it is such a big thing to have a GPS on the vest. While most patients keep themselves confined to their beds, there are those few who like to be naughty and go walkabout right after an operation. If something happens to that patient they will be able to tell that they did in-fact move, where they moved, who they may have come into contact with and where they currently are. I suppose this would also work nicely with patients that are a high flight risk, such as criminals undergoing medical attention, psychiatric patients, or even drug addicts.

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.

This device could also be used in the world of sports as a way to test athlete’s vitals for signs of irregularity, such as an erratic heartbeat.

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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Customisable iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s Cases

Your brand - now available on iPhone 4 + 4S

So, how intelligent is your t-shirt?

Customisable iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s Cases

Your brand - now available on iPhone 4 + 4S

So, how intelligent is your t-shirt?

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