Last week, after some radio silence, we published a new project to our Behance portfolio while promising ourselves that we’d make a habit of doing so more often. This particular project is called Reading Local, and although it has since been abandoned by the client shortly after launch, we’re still happy with the results. See the rest over on Behance »

To be honest, this mixtape had been sitting around since the first episode was published; the holidays felt like a perfect blur, and this mix felt more like summer than winter, causing me to reflect upon it longer than necessary. My good friend Shawna (whom this mix was made for) has been ever so patient and passing the time making pretty stuff as usual. In an interview from Convention Magazine, she discussed how music influences her work:

“Music influences every part of my work! Depending on what I listen to, the drawing is shaped by that sound. My earlier work, a self portrait series called Phases, was created solely from one day of serious claustrophobia, being sick, and listening to the words of Cocorosie. My Girl-Animal pieces were inspired by songs with samples from sounds of nature – such as Yeasayer and Fever Ray. You can throw me some crazy electro-pop-dance shit and I will get feisty – well, my art does. I bet my viewers can pinpoint what genre of music I was listening to with each piece.”

With any luck, this mixtape will result in more similarly-influenced work from not only Shawna, but anyone else listening. Be sure to check out her website for more inspiration, and enjoy the mix!

Stream the mix below, or download/subscribe to the enhanced podcast with track chapters and album artwork.

41:46

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I‘m excited and honored to announce that we were recently published in one of the latest viction:ary publications entitled, Vectorism; an illustrative graphic showcase of some really amazing illustrators and designers from around the world. The pieces we submitted were our very own Encompass print and Kontrast Komponents print. [see above]

If you happen upon Vectorism, we highly recommend you picking it up, as it’s chalk full of some amazing illustrative inspirations, including some of our inspirations and friends, (e.g. Matt Lyon & Tamer Koseli, just to name a few).

I know we haven’t been as active on here as we would like, mainly because of our workload, but I’m excited to say, we’ve got a grip of new work we’ll be rolling out in segments. For starters, we just finished this little PSA entitled, Snack Invasion. The premise involves a mysterious hand that hungers for fresh fruit, but each time it attempts to claim its bounty, a tiny troupe of rogue bandits derails the plan.

We’re still unsure of whether or not we’re going to turn this into a small series, but we’re leaning toward doing it. Either way, I hope you enjoy.

Cheers!

PressPausePlay takes a probing look at the current digital landscape and our place in its past and future and asks some hard questions along the way. The pros of the digital revolution are obvious; instant distribution of media and instant access to it. But what of the cons? Does the fact that anyone can be a filmmaker, musician, designer or artist devalue the work of professionals or create healthy competition?

The film plays like a Rorschach test. Beyond the blatant statements both pro digital and con, there are plenty of gray areas and plenty of hope and fear about the medium’s future. Seth Godin sees nothing but opportunity (possibly forgetting that he made his name before the dot bubble crash) whereas a lone music blogger sees search engines playing a more important role than the actual music he wants to write about.

All in all, PressPausePlay is a worthy film that anyone working in the arts should see. There are also a few interesting excerpts and extra footage on their YouTube page.

In the spirit of mixtaping, especially for the inaugural episode, I figured it’d be a good idea to make this one out to my dear friend Liz who, through our many delightful interstate exchanges, unintentionally helped shape the idea of Colortones. I already discussed the idea and process in my last post, so I won’t go into much detail here. This particular mix ends with Pantone 292 (and the hope that the imagined sounds of blank cassette tapes hissing in the night will be replaced with a much better reminder).

Be sure to have the album artwork displayed in your media player for the best audiovisual results. Thanks for listening!

Stream the mix below, or download/subscribe to the enhanced podcast with track chapters and album artwork.

47:32

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Some of us still habitually call them mixtapes in this new era. We were probably those kids who lived and breathed DIY cassette culture, carefully compiling moods and themes and trying to be clever about what to do with the last ninety seconds of blank tape to end our perfect mix. And even if we didn’t have the best penmanship or drawing skills, we were still thoughtful with presentation. It didn’t feel unusual to spend an entire evening making a single mixtape because it was ridiculously fun or because we were ridiculously in love. Whatever the impetus, mixtapes are awfully personal statements. Sean O’Hagan wrote about mixtapes in The Guardian years ago, and his description sums it up pretty perfectly: “And, if a cherished record collection contains, on one level, a sketchy map of the human heart, a mix tape is a smaller, more intimate map, and a kind of diary of where you once were, and even who you once were.”

I’m sad to say that the last time I made a real mixtape was in the late ’90s. Even if I did so now, it wouldn’t change the fact that most people lack the means to listen to them. Over the last year, though, I’ve thought of copious ways to make and share digital mixes that retain the true spirit of the mixtape, taking into consideration that since they will be published on Colorcubic, they should also be thematically linked to design in some way. During this thought process, I remembered that as a teenager (and I still do this with other things now), I’d organize all my cassette tapes and CDs by color. Countless hours were spent replacing the original cover art with custom ones so that my shelves would look like a museum of Pantone swatches, all encased in glossy blocks of plastic. I disregarded genre, and instead, organized my albums based on mood. It was all sorts of lovely, and I felt strongly that it needed to make a comeback, but this time in the form of a digital mixtape series. It only seemed appropriate, then, to call the series Colortones; tones of color, mood, and sound to accompany our creative lives.

Click image to enlarge

Like Frank Lloyd Wright, I also champion the concept of limitations. He once said that when limitations were at their greatest, we built most nobly. The thing about old technology is that the limitations were a blessing in disguise. A limited duration meant an enforcement of quality; we adapted by including only the best cuts. Cassettes also forced patience upon the listener; we had to more or less listen to the mix continuously and in sequence, which is how it should be, anyway. For Colortones, each episode is limited to 12 tracks, mixed in one continuous file as an enhanced podcast. A wonderful feature of enhanced podcasts is the ability to include chapters and unique artwork for each track. Each Colortones track is associated with a unique Pantone color, and therefore unique artwork. If you pay attention to the artwork while listening, you’ll notice the subtle motion of the tape spool being wound up as you progress through the mix. Additionally, every track’s artwork contains a label in which the title has been handwritten just like you’d find in a mixtape insert. It’s a tedious making process, but it feels good, and more importantly, it’s ridiculously fun.

For now, the monthly episodes will be curated by yours truly under ‘Wolfe+585′ (a moniker inspired by Wolfe+585, Senior, a Philadelphian typesetter known to have the longest personal name in history), but there will likely be guest mixes in the future. My wish is for these mixtapes to become a soundtrack to your creative unfolding, just like my teenage color-toned albums were for me. Lastly, I hope you enjoy listening to Colortones as much as I enjoy making them.

When I was first introduced to Kwon Kyung-yup through a friend of mine,  I somehow dismissed her art as another example of the ‘battle damage’ fetish that seems to be a reoccurring theme  in popular anime and manga. I remember a plastic figurine of Rei, a character from the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion who was  frequently ‘damaged’ being constantly sold out during the heyday of the series.

It was a few days later that I found myself thinking about her work again for some reason. There was something off about her paintings. I couldn’t quite place it at the time but a subsequent viewing showed me exactly what it was that had piqued my interest.

It was the sterile environment and the lack of blood, bruises, or otherwise blatant physical damage coupled with the rather blank expressions on the subjects themselves that intrigued me. The large amount of white space and surreal yet sterile environments seem to speak loudly in her work. At least louder than any apparent reason for these semi-androgynous teenagers to be wounded in the first place let alone in a seemingly calm medical facility.

Since the inception of Colorcubic™, we’ve always tried to keep a solid sense of environmental responsibility when it comes to sustainability and our impact on the environment as a business. Our efforts include things like buying soy-based inks along with 100% post-consumer recycled paper for our printers, doing business strictly with sustainable printers, utilizing digital documents, carpooling, commuting to work by train, and using Energy Star efficient appliances. Little decisions like that really make a difference to the environment, and we love to see other businesses and designers do the same. That’s why I’m so impressed with Matthew Lim’s efforts in the creation of his Sustainable Turntable.

Lim, a recent industrial design graduate from Art Center of Design, conceptualized this Sustainable Turntable in hopes of pitching it to Sennheiser. But to my surprise (and please, correct me if I’m wrong), Sennheiser hasn’t actually picked up the concept. If this is true, it’s really disappointing. Matthew nailed this concept. Everything about it is beautiful, from the minimal details and design and use of cork to the high-density fiberboard and aluminum. I especially love the added touch of the collapsible tone arm and carrying handle for portability.

At this point, all I can say is, great job, Matthew! I hope Sennheiser gets on the ball and buys your concept. Alternatively, maybe you should consider collaborating with the great folks over at monome? This is certainly right up their alley.

Also, a huge shout out to our good friend Seyi, from HP & Sosa, who turned us onto Matthew’s work.

Watching Peter Falk’s performance in Wings of Desire is one of the many reasons I come back to the film. I remember being so impressed with the idea of Falk playing himself as a fallen angel who happens to meet another fallen angel while filming and episode of Columbo in Berlin. To me, the Peter Falk character is an integral aspect to the film, so it was quite interesting when years later I learned his character was a last-minute addition. During the initial contact from the Wenders crew, Falk was informed that his character — in addition to being himself — was also a fallen angel.  He paused and replied, “How did you know?” Even without a proper script or any idea as to what his actual part would be, Falk signed on play the role.

But experimenting with film concepts wasn’t new for the seasoned actor. His work with friend and sometimes enemy, John Cassavetes, features some of his best performances and a clear dedication to the art. The pair met by chance and being familiar with each others’ work, started talking about projects. Falk had a script he liked (Mikey and Nicky) and was thinking about Cassavetes for the other male lead. At the same time, Cassavetes was writing the script for a film (Husbands) and had thought of Falk as  a lead character. The rest, as they say, is history.

Among the many projects the pair worked on together, Falk’s performance in Cassavetes’ A Woman Under the Influence is one of a kind in his career, and perhaps my favorite. The film is quite depressing and not for the ADD generation, but anyone interested in drama or the art of acting for that matter are pretty much required to see it. Gena Rowlands delivers what is probably my favorite performance of all time.

Falk was always confused and challenged by Cassavetes’ approach to film making. Husbands, for example, was the film where the two really bonded. Falk and Cassavetes along with co-star Ben Gazzara would have long meetings to discuss their characters and the script was revised as they went along developing their characters. The film was exceptional in its creation and the performances were incredibly real as a result. Nevertheless, it was met with less than exceptional reviews, a trend that would plague the later Cassavetes’ films.

Peter Falk left us with an amazing body of work. From his role as the Grandfather in The Princess Bride to The Great Race to his work with Cassavetes, the man was just incredible and he will be missed.