Nightjar Blog (previously An Ampersand)

I love Maps

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 11:32:00 +1100

and this one is a beauty. Via http://veronique.tumblr.com/.

I popped it on my iPhone as a wallpaper and it looks fantastic. Download here.

Vintage Aussie Design: Jerome Gould for Farmer's Union

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:57:00 +1100

This brilliant Farmer’s Union milk and dairy packaging from the 1980s should be revived in my humble opinion.

Via the wonderful Re:Collection, an online archive of Australian graphic design from 1960 - 1980.

The Australia Project

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:35:58 +1100

The Australia Project is an exercise in redefining the Australian stereotype and a new opportunity to discuss and explore our cultural identity as a nation.

The Australia Project is asking Australian creatives and the general public, to engage in a national debate regarding the current status of contemporary Australian culture.

We are seeking to explore and redefine clichéd national stereotypes in the hope of revealing unique and personal perspectives on Australia today.

The website is full of fantastic resources on Australian design, culture and identity, including links to Sydney photography project 52 Suburbs, work by Studio Pip & Co’s Andrew Ashton, Kevin Finn as well as other important essays and articles.

The Australia Project

Andrew Ashton / Studio Pip & Co.

Map of Aboriginal Australia

via Australian Creative

Shop: Present & Correct [UK]

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:58:00 +1100

Present & Correct is a fantastic online stationery store stocked with British and Korean gems (Korea being the mecca of stationery in my humble opinion).

Felt flowers & fluoro thread

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 13:23:14 +1100

I would be lying if I said I particularly cared for wreaths, however I do love these photographs of creamy felt sewn with fluoro threads, especially some of the shapes sewn on top of each other that create almost a topographic map effect.

From The Purl Bee, via Bloesem

Gasp these gorgeous ceramics by Jorine Oosterhoff are delights...

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 11:39:58 +1100

*Gasp* these gorgeous ceramics by Jorine Oosterhoff are delights that look like they hopped out of a Disney movie! I would love a set of these…

Bloesem: Jorine

Illustration: Claude Coates

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:37:02 +1100

I adore the gorgeous illustrations by Coats in this Golden Book edition of Lady and the Tramp by Ward Greene of Walt Disney.

The houses in particular are really charming!

These are all from the wonderful Golden Gems which I found via Karen’s fabulous blog Daily Design Discoveries.

(This is from a really large double-page spread which is now my desktop wallpaper)

Julian Restaurant, Kansas [USA]

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:14:00 +1100

I am loving this very complete and polished identity for Kansas restaurant Julian by Brent Anderson + Nathaniel Cooper + Jordan Michael Gray from Bernstein-Rein. View the whole branding photo set on Flickr (via designworklife)

A brand identity and voice for a new neighborhood restaurant in Kansas City that features refined twists on familiar comfort food from James Beard award-winning chef Celina Tio. The name derives from Tio’s main cooking influences – Julia Child and her grandfather Julian. Design elements took cues from Child’s well-known, well-stocked kitchen.

Where I'd rather be

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:11:19 +1100

(Calistoga Ranch in Napa)

Loving Space

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:55:59 +1100

One of my favourite activities is thinking about space and feeling tiny.

This original image is from space.com.

Émile Prisse d'Avesnes (d'Avennes) (1807-1879)

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:25:21 +1100

I was very taken by these gorgeous illustrations posted recently over at the indispensable BibliOdyssey. From BibliOdyssey:

Émile Prisse d’Avesnes (d’Avennes) (1807-1879) was an important mid-19th century French Egyptologist and something of a polymath. He was a soldier, engineer, writer, illustrator and talented linguist.

“When he returned to Paris in I860; Prisse brought 300 folio drawings of paintings of various epochs, each up to seven or eight meters (23 to-26 feet) long; 400 meters (1300 feet) of paper impressions of bas-reliefs; 150 photographs of architectural and ornamental details, plans,sections and elevations; and 150 stereoscopic photographs, together with his enormous collection of drawing and notes. He also brought back, and later donated to the Louvre, the skulls of 29 mummies which he had identified by era, position and individual name.” [source]

Incidentally, not long afterwards I was browsing Cooper Union Typography’s post on Aldo Novarese, and a specimen for his typeface Egizio uses a very similar image.

Karen's Whimsy

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:13:27 +1100

I am thoroughly fascinated by history (especially the Middle Ages) and I love to unashamedly indulge in the elaborate, romanticised version of Medieval history that appears in books, films and illustrations. For this reason, I was very excited to stumble upon Karen’s Whimsy, a website containing hundreds of public domain vintage images of everything from King Arthur of Camelot and Medieval Knights to Victorian, Renaissance and other Vintage Fashion. In fact, I believe there are even some images of Molluscs and a section devoted to Celtic Knot Patterns.

Owen Gildersleeve for The Guardian… Amazing.

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:53:26 +1100

Owen Gildersleeve for The Guardian… Amazing.

JL DESIGNS: an eco-forest tablescape is so very beautiful! Visit...

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:07:27 +1100

JL DESIGNS: an eco-forest tablescape is so very beautiful! Visit the blog for more photographs of this stunning table setting.

Greatest Non-IE6 Compliance Notice Ever

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 16:46:11 +1100

Hi, if you are coming to this site via Internet Explorer 6, you might not be getting the best experience possible. Honestly, I can’t even begin to think about what your entire experience on the internet must be like? (…probably like riding a bike on the highway while cars blow by you on their way to Costco to get gallons of mayonnaise and 60-inch plasma TV’s). How will you ever be able to use this website?????? You wont. You’re an asshole and your browser is an asshole. So look, I’m going to be honest: I kind of hate you. BUT we c-a-n make this work. Here is what I am going to need you to do: fire up your Toshiba ShitBook© that weighs about 45 pounds, wipe the Cheeto dust off the screen, download Safari, delete Internet Explorer from your computer, punch yourself in the face, and get me a pulled pork sandwich.

— Tyler Thompson, Squarespace Creative Director

If 7UP brought these 70s can designs back I would probably start...

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 10:39:38 +1100

If 7UP brought these 70s can designs back I would probably start drinking it.

via pzrservices.typepad.com

The Clingstone House

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:45:00 +1100

I think I actually just died for a split second when I saw this house.. I would happily suggest you pay particular attention to the fact that in the third picture there truly is a classic picturesque boat sailing past. How can this be real? From freshome:

In 1961, the Boston Architect Henry Wood purchased this amazing island mansion with his wife for only $3,600 on Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay. Today, the Clingstone House (designed by J.S. Lovering Wharton with artist William Trost Richards) is a warm all-wood home with a 360-degree view of the ocean. Three stories tall, the Clingstone House has a large center hall, ten bedrooms and total of twenty-three rooms total. It would be hard to find a deal like this on today’s market for that little money, despite the fact that the salt and water-wear from the surrounding ocean on the oak beams would make maintenance of this spectacular mansion ridiculously expensive. But hey, you do what you have to do to live in your own version of paradise!

Visual Acoustics looks like a wonderful visual treat full of...

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:06:00 +1100

Visual Acoustics looks like a wonderful visual treat full of breathtaking modernist architecture as photographed by Julius Schulman. Can’t wait for this film.

http://www.juliusshulmanfilm.com/

The Print Directory [Australia]

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:09:00 +1000

The Print Directory is now up and running at theprintdirectory.com.au.

This is a really great resource for designers or anyone interested in printing, binding and finishing services. It’s also a really great resource for students because there are featured articles on printing and finishing methods, demystifying processes such as foiling or letterpress (the two topics covered so far).

TPD is a free resource connecting Australian printers to designers, artists and publishers. The website aims to streamline the process of supplier selection by listing printers on the directory and highlighting their capabilities.

It looks like the site will be continually updated with information and listings, so it’s definitely one to bookmark.

Mid Century Home Style

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:49:49 +1000

I could browse these mid century home interiors all day long.

All images are from http://www.midcenturyhomestyle.com/.

Nightjar Blog (previously An Ampersand)

I love Maps

Vintage Aussie Design: Jerome Gould for Farmer's Union

The Australia Project

Shop: Present & Correct [UK]

Felt flowers & fluoro thread

*Gasp* these gorgeous ceramics by Jorine Oosterhoff are delights...

Illustration: Claude Coates

Julian Restaurant, Kansas [USA]

Where I'd rather be

Loving Space

Émile Prisse d'Avesnes (d'Avennes) (1807-1879)

Karen's Whimsy

Owen Gildersleeve for The Guardian… Amazing.

JL DESIGNS: an eco-forest tablescape is so very beautiful! Visit...

Greatest Non-IE6 Compliance Notice Ever

If 7UP brought these 70s can designs back I would probably start...

The Clingstone House

Visual Acoustics looks like a wonderful visual treat full of...

The Print Directory [Australia]

Mid Century Home Style

Gasp these gorgeous ceramics by Jorine Oosterhoff are delights...