The Oxford Project

In the spring and summer of 1984, photographer Peter Feldstein announced that he wanted to take free portraits of everyone in Oxford, Iowa (pop. 673). By the end of the summer, he'd photographed 670 Oxford residents. Twenty-one years later, Feldstein went back, and this time he brought along writer Stephen G. Bloom to document people's stories. The Oxford Project (Welcome Books) is the remarkable portrait of a small town "virtually untouched by both the vitality and vulgarity of urban America."

The Oxford Project
by Peter Feldstein & Stephen G. Bloom
All images copyright © the authors, courtesy Welcome Books, all rights reserved.

Helvetica

Yesterday I watched Helvetica. Almost everyone in the office saw the movie when it originally came out, except me. I don't know if I'm easily convinced, but the movie sold me on how beautiful and expressive the Helvetica font is. The best example I can think of is the American Apparel brand. Helvetica made that brand bold and strong, yet delicate and sexy. It's almost frightening that a font can engage you on those levels. And coming from a programmer whose overall understanding of fonts begins with the word web and ends with the word safe, it is marvelous what designers do with typography.

Eco-friendly Fashion

I got one of these bracelets as a gift, and since that moment, every time I use it I have received great compliments about it. The great thing about this bracelet, is not its cool shape, or its really bright colors, but the fact that it is actually made out of recycled candy wrappers.

As a graphic designer, it is great to see that something you have designed can go further than its primary purpose, and can be recycled for something completely new. The company that makes this bracelet, and many other accessories, is Ecoist. Click here, if you are interested in this eco-friendly fashion.

Stress and Justice

After several weeks of waiting and rumors, the new Justice video for "Stress" spread on the net like fire powder. Extremely violent and highly stressful, the video, directed by Romain Gravas, literally exploded the blogosphere, ranging from praise to horror and consternation.

Whether you approve or are shocked, you must see it. A kind of "Clockwork Orange" for the new millennium...

[click to watch]

Okami is a Living Painting

Anyone who knows me, knows I love games. And when games like Okami are released it's easy to see why games have ingrained themselves into pop culture. Okami combines several Japanese myths, legends and folklore to tell the story of how the land was saved from darkness by the Shinto sun goddess, named Amaterasu, who has taken the form of a white wolf. The story is told (and played) through a stunning watercolor cel-animated look.

Okami was developed by Clover Studios (and ported to Wii by Ready At Dawn Studios)