Alex Pardee Design Poster: Digging Up the Marrow

So one of my favorite artist is Alex Pardee a graphic illustrate who belongs to the upper playground collective. Alex recently designed a poster for an up coming horror flick called "Digging Up the Morrow". Alex Pardee is a great horror illustrator and has his unique approach to type face. In the poster we see the word, "the Marrow" used in a light tan color as if it was written with some sort of water based ink, then scaned and rasterrized on Illustrator. What i find fascinating is how the artist communicates a sense of feeling through the type face. Looking at it I feel like he is  trying to get a sample of my own marrow. That is very important for the artist to give the audience a feeling through a poster. This type face illustrations is similar to that seen by the artist Ralph Steadman (FIlm: Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas). The Type face sits on top of some creature with dark shadow covering his face. The background of the poster goes from a gradient yellow to a red, with the type face covering the eye sight of the creature in the back.

I wish Alex Would of illustrated the creature rather then using some sort of photo image, with textures. But the overall poster hold up, I appreciate the feeling I get through this design and I get a great idea of what the film is about

2008 Mini Cooper S

So I'd like to take this opportunity to review my car. Since I've bought the car everyone is always curios about what I think about it and  its features.

From the outside the vehicle is how you see it, small,  compact and sits very low to the ground. The front end design is similar to that of race car with the oval lights and and the extend grill. I have to say I do appreciate the fog lights in the lower part of the front end.. As you turn to the back its not as interesting. The rear end is small and the lights look like that of an SUV Escalate in a rap video, (not to fond of that). The car slants in and angle with the rear end hire then the front end, another thing i found annoying.

When sitting inside the car, it is comfortable in both the driver and passenger seat. I cant say the same for anyone sitting in the back, as it hold room for four people, or three and a half.  The first thing you noticed when in the Cooper is the overwhelming size of the speedometer located right in the center of the dash. This thing is so big it and resembles Big Ben, which makes since because the car originates from England. The interior design is so convenient for the driver to access and component within the vehicle.  The design of the interior is centered as all the interior light switches and power window switches are located in the center bottom  portion of the car. The designed of the stirring wheel allows the driver to change setting of the car. It does not encourage to have the driver and his hands at 2 &10 rather at 3 &9. Overall the car is fun to drive and fun to play with, the design is so convenient for the driver which allows for focus on the road.

Eric Koston 2 Skateboarding shoe By Nike

Nike is one of the most popular sneaker shoes ever made. In recent years Nike has made waves in the skateboard industry by taking its sneaker technology and putting in the feet of the most elite skateboarders out there. One of those products includes the Eric Koston Nike 2.

The overall design of this sneaker incorporates the concepts of past Nike classics that include Jordan and and the golf sneaker design. This skateboarding shoe is very comfortable and hugs the ankle tight. The comfort aspect is very important due to the fact that skateboarding  involves a lot of harsh landing to the the foot.

Although I have followed the skateboarder since his day with ES (another skateboarding company that manufactures shoes) his sneaker designs have never been to appealing to the eye, as he always sough to make his sneakers clunky. I do appreciate this design for its simplicity but I still see his approach and admiration for basketball. Although I admire his personal interest towards basketball i don't agree with having the same approach in designing a skateboarding shoe. The "lunarlon" in sole add to the comfort of the shoe.
The  shoe laces on this particulate shoe are too tight and narrow in the front, which make your foot look bigger than what it actually is. I feel like my foot looks like a size 10, even tho I'm a size 8. Like I mention earlier I do appreciate the caressing of my ankle. Small details in the design which distinguish this sneaker model from the rest of the Nike SB design include the overlapping of the stitching on the "Swoosh" em-bloom. I also like the weigh the shoot puts on the foot, as this is ideal for skateboarding. The series of patter behind the Swoosh is similar to that seen on the Kobe sneaker signature shoe. I would prefer the shoe to be a bit more narrow from the front.

What Nike does so great with all its sneaker designs weather SB or Basketball shoes, is print them in several patter and colors. This quickly makes the individual prints and colors to become collector item. Overall I'm very satisfied with this product and surprised it has lasted me overall a year, I do look forward to more Eric Koston signature Nikes in the future,

The New "Blood for Our Brothers" (BFOB) T-Shirt Design

I like to review the new B.F.O.B t shirt that was released last week. B.F.O.B is a local death-core band originating from Los Angeles and just like to point out they are good friends of mine.

Getting to it...

The shirt is entitled "Mislead the Loyal" t-shirt.

In this t shirt we have the image of a squid creature similar to the character from Pirates Of the Caribbean: At Worlds End.  The squid character is wearing a pope wardrobe as he hovers over a group of lost individuals (backs facing the viewer). All this is taking place in the woods while space shifts hover around. The bands signature type face is placed over the image while the title of the t-shirt is placed under the image.

What is working in this Design...

Considering the bands lyrics, that question the idea of a God and embrace the idea of extraterrestrials, I do like the concept behind the design. The actual illustration is symmetrical and well balanced. I also appreciate the negative space that help form the silhouette of trees in the distance, that helps eliminate the feeling of cluttered square.

What is NOT working in this Design...

The concept is there but execution didn't sit well with me as I felt like the use of the squid character made no sense. The header type face should have been bigger than the title of the shirt in the lower part. That alone did not give the design a proper well balance feeling vertical, just made it too bottom heavy. The use of yellow on the design would have made the design a bit more vibrant and appealing to the eye. Yellows were only use on the type faces.

Overall this design has potential but it lacked on several aspects.

Negra Modelo Beer Label

I like to take some time and review the beer label for one of my favorite Mexican beers, Negra Modelo. The packaging of each individual bottle is wrapped with a gold trim similar, witch reminds me off the golden chocolate bar wrapping from Willie Wonk and The Chocolate Factory. Already you feel somewhat prestige unwrapping a drink with the gold trim. Getting to the main label its shape as a square, witch compliments the short thick bottle. The label has a yellowish band cutting through the label from corner to corner holds the black type slight italic with a white outline. The yellow label does not do the design any justice (in my opinion) although it does make the name pop, its color is random and not repeated through the overall design Behind the yellow band I see a water mark on s goldfish tin. The water mark depicts a code of arms with two lions with handwritten words to the left.

Id like to say this is a successful design in my opinion due to the simple fact that its elegant  and I feel like royalty when I drink this beer.