Hasta La Ideas

Information architect turned painter, Barnett gets his inspiration from video game environments. I have to admit my initial reaction…

was somewhat dismissive. However, I finally decided to write a post because of how this work reflects the times. Video games aren’t just for kids, not really for a while now (Before the holidays I found myself clueless, as I suspect my parents once were, searching out a Nintendo DS game for my mom). Beyond the pleasant appearance of some of Barnett’s work, where he gets his inspiration from calls attention to the kind of ‘landscape’ we’ve been spending time with these days. I look forward to seeing if he expands on this idea in the future.

He was mentioned on good.is recently, check out that article here. Or, his website here.

Brand new writing software for everyone who’s been using TextEdit because they hate how gross Word looks.

Best of all, it’s totally free! Get the latest beta version here (if you don’t see the links on the left side of the page to download just click a bit below the logo, some kind of browser bug I think).

Ommwriter is essentially the bare minimum in terms of a writing program. It offers a full screen experience, various soothing auditory accompaniments, and an auto-hiding tool bar (all of which look great). Personally I can do without all the sound effects, but totally appreciate a cleaned up screen.

A couple days ago Aol. launched their new brand platform. It was created by Wolff Olins, a brand and innovation consultancy located in London, New York, and Dubai.

The aim of the project is to be “deliberately disruptive, deliberately unlike what is being done by other media businesses. The reason is simple; the media world of today is entirely unlike the media world of yesterday.” The result is a system that caters to everyone (or at least tries to). Wolff Olins created a number of different images and short films (both with real and digital content) that the new word mark sits atop. Some of the results are certainly interesting, some not so much, but I suppose that’s kind of what they were going for?

So far I’m not impressed (it was hard deciding if this one should go under ‘Spanking’ or not). As far as the aesthetic of the new site goes, simply allowing users to change the colour scheme and background image of their home page is a far cry from ground breaking. However, it will be interesting to see how it’s received and the result of any other new Aol. initiatives.

This picture (more after the jump) is from an event curated by Italian group Petralito Rotiroti Associati (dedicated to graphic design, visual identity, editorials, graphics for exhibitions, and events). It involved five Italian street artists (BROS, ERON, IVAN, NAIS, OZMO) in a unique, experientially focused exhibition. Amazing venue too.

“The exhibit hosted by the Urban Metamorphoses section of the 2009 Creativity Festival showcases experiences rather than works of art. The project envisions five private spaces of which each artist takes possession and expresses his or her own artistic experience. The five previously unpublished works have been especially created for the exhibition and are featured in spaces where visitors can go in and listen to the narrations of each artist. The exhibition is curated by Michelangelo Petralito, Gianni De Simone, Iolanda Rotiroti and Serena Vinattieri.”

Photos by MAX ROMMEL

He’s a French illustrator that one day aspires to devote his life to time travel… Some great looking work though, definitely a popular styles these days.

via yay!everyday