Friday Blog-Spotting

Sam: Desktop Wallpapers at Grain Edit
I'm a big fan of the folks over at Grain Edit, who collect and share rather inspired graphic design and illustration past and present. They are definitely into modernism—but generally on the more playful side of things, which I appreciate. This week they posted a series of desktop wallpapers by Sigrid and Hans Lammie which feature a colorful and spirited approach to rendering cityscapes.

Jordan: My Paper Mind at The Trendy Girl
It's well worth a click to French site The Trendy Girl to check out this very cool stop-motion video by Javan Ivey. "My Paper Mind" features cut-paper animation rolling across the screen, a painstaking 30 second labor of love that took 18 hours to create. Beautiful and hypnotizing.

Miyoko: Waveform CD Case Design at noquedanblogs.com
I was reading six-word reviews of songs by bands playing at SXSW this week when I spotted this post on noquedanblogs (via NotCot). I instantly loved this concept by Joshua Distler for visually labeling tracks on a CD case using one-inch, black-and-white waveforms, each of which depicts a complete song from the album. Bjork's "Post" was a prime example.

Aaron:  Packing a Man's Suitcase at A Suitable Wardrobe
I'm a nut for men's fashion blogs, and I really dig this post from A Suitable Wardrobe. Not only is the illustration from a vintage Esquire really great, but the advice stands up pretty well too. I've noticed a lot of digital ink spilled on packing of late, but this post gets to the heart of how to pack: order, necessity, efficiency and knowing you'll need some gear for unforeseen events. Also check out photographer Maurice Schelten's website for an amazingly useful primer on packing—the geometry of the photos is to die for. (Click Editorial, then on the image of the suitcase all laid out.)

Sarah: East Side Garden Corps Vinegar at The Dieline
I've recently been loving The Dieline, which pulls together great packaging design for all sorts of products. Since I have a softspot for community-supported agriculture and edible gardens (go White House Victory Garden!), I was particularly drawn to this line of vinegars from the Minnesota Community Design Center's garden program, which engages local youth in growing food. (Also The Dieline's doing a book! If you have examples of great packaging, check out their call for entries.)

Also: Be sure to check out the Google homepage before the day is out for some Friday nostalgia! They're honoring the 40th anniversary of the publication of the Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Image: Sigrid and Hans Lammle Cityscape #1from Grain Edit