Food Icons

Julian Burford, a Netherlands-based graphic designer has created a series of eight perfect food icons for an upcoming iPhone app. These look so good, you want to eat them and that's not an easy thing to achieve. Those who tried to render or design food know how hard it is to make something look remotely appetizing.

I remember trying to make a hand-drawn Snickers bar look edible back in College, sans Photoshop. Don't even get me started on trying to illustrate milk.

(via)

The Host

Stephenie Meyer, the person responsible for the mind-numbingly annoying Twilight Saga, also wrote a book which does not involve, or revolve around, the bland love story between a girl (who seems to be constantly drowsy) and a vampire (who seems to be incapable of using his facial muscles to their full capacity). I am sure that the Twilight books are much better than the movie franchise, but this one actually looks really good. "The Host" tells the story of a woman in the middle of an interesting alien invasion scenario, where aliens create the perfect society by integrating themselves to the majority of the human population. 

Saoirse Ronan stars in the film and Diane Kruger is in it too, so that's some great casting so far! The film comes out March 2013 and I can say that I can't wait to see it. (Cool trailer soundtrack by the way)

P/B Scheming... (As In Color-Scheming)

It's that planning, plotting, drafting and daydreaming period again and I am enjoying it, with all it's stressful dilemmas and inevitably tedious tasks that scare the little business-deficient dude in me.

The whole thing is already moving on a "trajectory" similar to the one I initially planned so I'm finding some sort of consolation in that. I think.

Gossip - Perfect World

Gossip are releasing their new album, A Joyful Noise, in May; three years after their previous album: Music for Men. And here is the first single off A Joyful Noise.

Their sound is so solid, and Beth Ditto's voice is so full of heart and I love the fusion of the sarp more rock-influenced sound with the overall pop feel. Suffice to say that I am obsessing over this and of course I loved the lyric video to Perfect World (what a great trend this is by the way), I obviously have a thing for kaleidoscopic imagery (just go back a couple of posts and you'll see) and condensed fonts over everything.

annakoumoushi S/S 2012 Teaser

Last weekend the AK and AP creative spirits united once again for a new shoot. 

The new annakoumoushi collection goes into exploring the path the previous one started. The SS 2012 line does that by introducing new shapes and volumes to what one would expect to be uneventfully small: accessories. The new rings, necklaces, earrings, broaches and headpieces are re-introduced in beautiful, organic-like constructed volumes and are delivered through amazing textures and color schemes. 

Back to the shoot; the material was great to work with and the new face of annakoumoushi, yet to be revealed, was refreshingly great to work with. So, once again, I was challenged to take the new campaign to a different direction. Still working on it, let's see where it will go. 

The above is one of the mini-teasers, head over to the annakoumoushi website to check out the other one.

Mary Katrantzou: Redefining Print

While we're on the topic of florals (and prints), Mary Katrantzou is the person we should be talking about. Her latest collection is stunningly good, I mean, I envy the designer (or is it Katrantzou herself?) who put the designs for those prints together, the tessellations and the color combinations. Somehow, her prints (and cuts and designs for that matter) manage to make many of the "established" designers' work look… well, pale.

(photos via park & cube)

The Weather Is Beautiful...

Over the past few weeks, I've been crazy busy working -among a myriad of other things- on one of the publications I'm art directing under the umbrella of IPWT. It's an English-Russian publication based here in Cyprus and this time around (the 4th Issue, to be precise) Status Magazine, focused on the various aspects and faces of spring. 

The above composition is what will adorn the cover of this issue. Despite my feelings towards the blatantly banal topic of flowers, my latest "friction" with the concept of floral prints and patterns made the creation of the above kaleidoscope-oid illustration a great experimentation with flower forms.

I should be posting the covers and layouts of Status Magazine on the IPWT website really soon.

"The weather is beautiful, wish you were here."

Daria + Vogue + Inez & Vinoodh

A while back I had posted about Daria Werbowy becoming a staple in the industry (and I mean that in the best possible way) and how good it was too see her in more and more stuff.

She recently teamed with Inez & Vinoodh for a February Vogue Paris fashion editorial, and most importantly a promo video shot in Las Vegas. The photos are amazing, but the video is excellent! I really like the flashing editing, plus Jessica 6 provide the soundtrack.

Enjoy the video below.

Alpines

Image: www.alpin.es

Alpines is a UK-based duo which has come to my attention only a couple of weeks ago (shame on me), when I found their collaboration with Dark Sky called Tremors. (Track at the end of this post)

I am currently obsessing over Coccoon (video -directed by hope- below) and their Akira Kiteshi Remix of Drive which heads to a much darker direction from the original version, in my humble opinion.  

Sofia Coppola Directs The Marni/H&M Ad

So, here -in this post- we have H&M, Marni and Sofia Coppola. Too bad that by the time I go to Milan -in the beginning April- absolutely nothing will be left, since the Marni/H&M line will be available on March 8.

The ad, filmed in Marrakech-Morocco, showcases the multitude of prints in the line and has an impeccably classy 80s feel and hue. The result is as fitting to the line, as was the choice to go with Coppola for such a collaboration between the Italian fashion house and the Swedish retailer.